When I typically see chocolate in the flavor description of a coffee, I usually assume it’s going to lean more traditional, roasty, nutty, etc.  Peru Alejandro Chacon Yucra from Ruby Coffee Roasters throws all of that out the window with this coffee.  I often times find some of the flavor descriptors from some roasters to be a bit farfetched or out of reach for the commoner, and with very specific notes of “chocolate malt” and “brownies”, I thought that was the case with this one at first as well.  However, after this coffee has been given a good amount of rest, I was astonished by how accurate they really were.

Opening the bag, grinding, and even brewing, the coffee smelled like a package of brownie batter, and not in a subtle way, it was strong and rich.  These flavors with chocolate malt also came through when brewed and as espresso.  I really like when I can taste what the roasters lists, and this one was bang on.  These flavors were definitely more muted at 5-7 days post roast, so plenty of rest is the key with this one, I would say 10 or 12 days post roast is the sweet spot. 

As espresso, this coffee only got better and easier to work with, with more rest.  The “lemon pie” note comes through in the form of subtle acidity, and it’s all hazelnut and brownie batter from there on out.  The coffee is very sweet, approachable, and drinkable.  Combined with small amounts of milk, it was like a weak glass of Ovaltine, filled with chocolate malt flavors.  I particularly enjoyed it as really wet capps (more flat white / latte microfoam consistency) and macchiattos.  I found the best shots were pulled at:

• 18 grams in an 18 gram VST basket
• 33-36 grams out in 28-30 seconds, using 200*F water – pretty standard espresso shots.

When brewing in the 02 size Hario V60, I went with a fine-ish grind, long bloom, and really targeted even and full extraction.  The coffee was very smooth, with a silky mouthfeel and the brownie flavors lingered as the coffee cooled.  The brewing recipe was also fairly standard at:

• 22.5 grams in 02 size Hario V60
• 65 – 70 gram bloom for 40 seconds, stirred, using 200*F water
• Slow pour to 225 grams, stir
• Repeated pours, maintaining that water level to 360 grams total, or 1:16 ratio
• 3:00 total brew time.

Unfortunately, it looks like this coffee is no longer available on their website, but they do have a different coffee from Peru available here.  Or, as I did, jump on the 4x 12 ounce bag sampler for $60 shipped, which is a very reasonable $15 a bag for high quality, thoughtfully roasted coffee.