Verve Coffee Roasters is a longtime favorite of mine. Maybe it's the laid back surf town vibes of Santa Cruz, the great packaging, or solid information on their site. Or Maybe it's the fact that they roast really good coffee. I always appreciate that their roasts are light and allow the origin's flavors to come through, but they're also still developed enough that I'm not drinking battery acid. This particular coffee, which I'm unfortunately no longer seeing on their website (but they do have some other really promising looking Kenyan's), is a washed varietal from Karinga Settlement in Kenya.

The tasting description lists it as being, "vibrant, acidic like fruit punch, with flavors of tangerine and raspberry." The more simple flavor notes on the bag include: Tangerine, Fruit Punch, and Luminous, and I would say these are pretty accurate. I found the "acidic like fruit punch" particularly interesting because the nose and flavor reminded me of that stain everything in sight Hawaiian Punch Fruit Punch, keeping with a juicy, in the sides of your cheeks acidity. The coffee is bright, has pleasant acidity, a lot of sweetness, but it's also smooth, and I attribute that to Verve having some experience in the game not just pumping out barely roasted coffee.

I went straight to the V60 for this one, and haven't been too motivated to change it up much, because it's tasting spot on. I'm finding this coffee to be really peaking about 10 days post roast and favoring the faster side of brewing. My favorite recipe so far has been:

1:16 ratio - meaning 1 gram of coffee per every gram of water.
203F water temperature
:30 second bloom
About 7 stirs after first slow and steady pour.
2 more pours to final wet weight, with final pour rinsing the edges of the filter.
Total brew time 2:15 - 2:30

Every inch of these bags has great information and attractive graphics.

Verve's new packaging is on point, looks great, and the shipping is always free. This one was $19.50 for a 12oz bag, which is getting up there, but I do feel this coffee is of high quality and roasted properly. Although they no longer have the Karinga, this Karogoto looks pretty tasty... While you're on their site be sure to check out all of the information about the coffee farms and Farmers, and the really informational and well produced video series on their website. Until next time, have a great weekend all.

but wait, there's more....

I decided I had to do a shout out to the best pour over I've had so far this year, and I've had it twice now: Puerta Verde from Cartel Coffee Lab. Cartel has a location in Phoenix' Sky Harbor Airport (Terminal 4, C-gates) making it the best airport coffee in the country, by my vote anyways. I've had this coffee as V60 twice, and both times it has been so juicy, fruity, layered, and smooth, I board the plane regretting I didn't just buy a bag. This is probably the first natural Guatemalan coffee I've had, and it's a mixture of Bourbon and Caturra from the Antigua region. Cartel's tasting notes are: Mango and Macadamia Nut, with complex berry notes. Because this is a naturally processed coffee, the berry notes are cranked to 11, and I think the "macadamia nut" is the smooth nutty complexity I also pick up. The coffee isn't cheap, and I'm not sure exactly how they're brewing it, but from those I've chatted with at Cartel, they generally stick pretty close to their recommended brew parameters. Anyways, I thought I had to shout this coffee out because it's been so damn good on two occasions, so if you're in Tempe, Tucson, Phoenix, Scottsdale, or Sky Harbor, be sure to grab a cup, pick up a bag, or even order one online.