Commonwealth caught my eye a few months ago with their fantastic packaging which turns out to be even better in person with little details for each specific coffee on nearly all sides of the bag. This small lot washed Ethiopian from the Sidamo region is said to be very complex, intensely floral with notes of citrus and honey.
Being described as a delicate and nuanced coffee, the trusty ceramic Hario V60 got the nod with the thin Hario paper filters to try and bring out all of those subtle notes. When brewed, the coffee is definitely very light and delicate, with a lot of organic and tea like qualities and mouthfeel. The honey note is very prominent in the aroma with a bit of jasmine nose as well. Sweetness is also in the form of honey with subtle citrus acidity and a lavender, jasmine, maybe star-anise like floral notes. Brewing at 1-17 ratio allowed that balance and subtlety come through at:
- 21 grams in the 02 size Hario V60 using 203*F water
- 60 gram stirred bloom for 30 seconds
- Slow spiral pour to about 250 grams
- Additional pours to 357 gram yield in 3:00 total brew time.
Lots of chaff from this washed coffee.
I haven't been washing the water or allowing the water to hit the sides of the filter lately, and it seems to be more fully extracting but still allowing a nice flat bed of coffee in drawdown without excess grounds stuck to the sides due to stirring after the initial pour. The coffee was light and subtle as expected. What was not expected was that it pulled pretty nice espresso shots as well.
Espresso shots were tricky to balance but definitely had more intensity and turned the subtle flavors up significantly. Over and under extraction were easy to hit and difficult to balance but shots in the sweet spot had the same description of the brewer coffee amplified with a lot of honey sweetness and spicy floral qualities. Shots tasted best when pulled at 18.2 grams in to 30 grams out in 32 seconds at 203*F in the 18 gram VST basket.
Shots were tricky but good when hit just right.
I found the coffee got lost in milk but it was a fun and slightly challenging coffee to work with overall. It does look like this particular lot is now sold out, but they do have another washed Ethiopian from the Sidamo region for $17.50 for a 12 ounce bag with all orders over $50 shipping free.