Another blog post, another coffee review! (ed.note: we are pulling these coffee reviews from defunct opinion article posts on the old CoffeeGeek website, and posting them here for posterity).
Karaba Microlot, Rwanda Golden Cup Top Three, Counter Culture Coffee, $31.95 / 12oz.
A super-star coffee, what can I say. This just arrived a few days ago, and we were able to taste this during the Esmeralda function at Elysian Labs. Buttery strawberry (taste it and you’ll see what I mean), with (and if you can believe it), a bit of that stuff that’s used to wrap sushi… what is it called – Nori! Sweet Nori! The Counter Culture cupping notes say almond blossoms, but I disagree – I got (again) candied almond on the side tongue. Cooled down like a thoroughbred.
Just a spectacular and very limited offering coffee. Peter Guiliano, CCC’s coffee buyer almost never scores any coffee higher than a 95, and even then that kind of score is rare. He scored this one 97 (!!!) Try it as a press pot and in a vacuum brewer if you have one, it shines in both brewing methods.
When I talk about coffees being culinary, this one’s a poster child for that. It is pricy at $32, but a total “must try”.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
