Esmeralda Especiale Auction Lot, Roast #2, Zoka Coffee Roasters, $120/.5lbs (estimated)
I don’t think this coffee is even available, but Zoka sent out some of their second (and last) roasting of the Esmeralda Especiale coffee to me – a luscious half pound of the most talked about coffee of the year… and it included something else in the box – a Frieling 2 cup insulated all steel press pot to go with it!
What can I say about the Esmeralda that hasn’t already been said. This time around, we had it as press, in a vac pot, and at the Elysian Lab on two occasions, off the Clover. It was easily one of the top two or three Clover-brewed coffees of all time for me, and that’s saying something about the Esmeralda – because normally I struggle to “love” a Clover brew. We even organized a small public tasting of the last 185g of the coffee I had from Zoka’s generous care package. It was everything the Esmeralda has to offer and then some – a nice Earl Gray nose and aroma off the roast and grinds; in the cup, super forward juices, really balanced out acidity, tropical flavours galore. We were able to introduce this coffee to a few people who’ve never had the chance, and isn’t that what great coffee should be all about?
As a side note, I’ve always been a fan of Zoka Coffee Roasters, going back to the days when Dismas and Chris D. would be roasting on the small 5kilo antique (I think it was 5 kilos) they had at the back of their original location. It often seems as if Zoka, an early pioneer in pretty much everything “specialty coffee” for the last 10+ years is an afterthought these days by some, but certainly not for me. They source awesome coffees, and they roast them almost always perfectly for each bean selections’ individual requirements. If you haven’t given them a taste recently, check out their website – it’s been overhauled not too long ago, and everything is up for easy orders.
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.
