The last installment of my current Verve Coffee Roasters run comes courtesy of Columbia. I touched on it last week when looking at their Streetlevel blend, Colombian coffees seem to be straight killing it this year. I remember trying some Colombians when I first got into specialty coffee and not being overly wow'd as compared to many of the African origins, so maybe my tastes have changed or maybe whenever all of these coffees were harvested was a stellar growing season. Either way, all I know is every Colombian coffee I've had this year has been sweet, smooth, flavorful, and just down right good.
This single origin offering from Lucila Bolanos out of the Cauca region of Columbia is no different. This wet-processed Castillo cultivar is described as being, "syrupy and intensely sweet, like a rasin, pairing with red fruit like a clementine." This coffee is just that, very sweet, with a juicy, every so slightly puckering acidity that seems to be highlighted most out of the Aeropress. I happen to like sour candy and some of the more acidic coffees, so long as they are developed enough to have some accompanying sweetness, and not just be a cup of battery acid or orange juice. This coffee tames that brightness well with all of the syrupy sweetness, as described.
Taken camping this past weekend, I was delighted to that bright, in the full of your cheeks acidity, that turned to sweet raisin sweetness more and more as it cooled. My recipe kept is pretty simple:
- 17g ground on Hario Mini Mill, 9 clicks open, inverted method
- Water taken 20s off boil at near 8000', so I'm guessing this was around 185* or so.
- Pour half way to wet grounds, stir three times, complete pour, stir three more times.
- Screw cap on, and flip over, rotating barrel as I flipped. Pull up on plunger slightly to keep it dripping through the filter.
- Press for 20 - 30s at 1 minute, total brew time 1:20 - 1:30.
The (car) camping kit - prepping some Verve Lucila Bolanos in the Aeropress.
In the V60, some of the acidity was tamed for a super smooth and more balanced cup, I tended towards the 2:15 - 2:30 brew time with a 30s bloom at 205*F. Overall this coffee was just good. I don't know if there were necessarily any deep nuanced flavors and aromas, but I can say it made a damn smooth, good, well rounded coffee that I always wanted more of when finishing each cup. And sometimes, that's all you need.
The bag says it all, sweet syrupy raisins with the tiny orange sweetness.
Next week, I have an espresso blend from a third wave roaster in China, and in the meantime, if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to comment, tweet, instagram, or email. Until then, make sure to drink good coffee and win the weekend.
