I've been wanting to try Onyx Coffee Lab for awhile now, but being honest, their coffee is expensive and they charge shipping on top of it. Well, I guess the stars aligned because just as I was looking for who to order from next, Onyx posted a code for free shipping in honor of their recent Sprudgie award.

The coffee is still not cheap, this SL28 and SL34 varietal from the Nyeri region was $22 for a 12 ounce bag, but I can say that it is delivering. The coffee is described as "black currant, floral, red wine, and candied grapefruit," and I think that is a pretty accurate profile. The huge beans produce a sweet and bright cup with a red wine like acidity and mouthfeel and sparkling sweet grapefruit brightness.

Very large beans, and great descriptive packaging.

Brewed on the 02 size Hario V60 at a 1 : 16 ratio in 3:30 for a 375 gram yield produced very juicy and sweet cups once it was given ample time to cool. Juicy like you felt like you could kind of chew it in your cheeks!

The coffee was tricky as espresso, and may not be the best suited, but I still managed to pull some excellent shots. Dosing 18 grams in an 18 gram VST basket, 3 second preinfusion at 2 bar, 23-25 seconds at 8 bars, for a total shot time around 25-28 seconds at 31 grams out produced some really tasty shots. Pushing the preinfusion or the shot time too long and the coffee got a bit empty or powdery and dry. Keeping the yield on the tighter side retained body and mouthfeel, and really brought out the candied grapefruit in the finish.

Kenya Gachatha OT-19 is available for $22 for a 12 ounce bag from Onyx Coffee Lab.