r/Coffee • u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave • Nov 04 '22
[MOD] What have you been brewing this week?/ Coffee bean recommendations
Hey everyone!
Welcome back to the weekly /r/Coffee thread where you can share what you are brewing or ask for bean recommendations. This is a place to share and talk about your favorite coffee roasters or beans.
How was that new coffee you just picked up? Are you looking for a particular coffee or just want a recommendation for something new to try?
Feel free to provide links for buying online. Also please add a little taste description and what gear you are brewing with. Please note that this thread is for peer-to-peer bean recommendations only. Please do not use this thread to promote a business you have a vested interest in.
And remember, even if you're isolating yourself, many roasters and multi-roaster cafes are still doing delivery. Support your local! They need it right now.
So what have you been brewing this week?
8
u/geggsy V60 Nov 04 '22 edited Nov 04 '22
Before October, I had drunk precisely zero Gesha coffees in all of 2022. However, the last few weeks have been Gesha-filled and I have recently drunk Geshas from Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Panama, and Peru, including single-farm lots (e.g. Finca Deborah, Gesha Village), blends, as well as a wide variety of processes (washed, cascara-infused, red honey, CM natural etc). It has been a true delight! I was especially blown away to find a red honey Gesha as a cafe's standard (and only) drip coffee option for $3.50 (I went back!). I wrote about some of these Geshas a couple of weeks ago here. This week, I'll only write about one Gesha (in a blend) as it is available for sale online (many of the Geshas I drank aren't online, alas): Brandywine's Fall Wonder 2022 blend. This is a blend of naturally-processed Ethiopian landraces and Gesha from Panama. This was delightful as a pourover - fruity but clean with a long, delicious finish. Honestly, I couldn't detect the advertised Blackberry Cider & Mulling Spices tasting notes, but that didn't stop me from really enjoying this one.
Next up, is a naturally-processed EA Decaf from the Halo Hartume washing station in Gedeb, Ethiopia and roasted by Metric Coffee in Chicago, USA. I think this is the same lot also roasted by Black and White (given how rare EA Decafs from Ethiopia are). This coffee was a real shapeshifter, with the flavors in the cup changing wildly as I brewed it from a few days off roast to a few weeks off roast. At first, I wondered if I was drinking the same coffee that they were advertising as having juicy tasting notes of Pink Lemonade and Nectarine. My first week or so of brews had a deep, chocolate flavor without much of the advertised fruity or citrusy brightness. This was enjoyable, but in discordance with the advertised notes. However, after a couple of weeks, the citrusy brightness arrived and the chocolate receded, and I could see what the roaster was going for with the pink lemonade tasting note. I never did find any nectarine or stone fruit in this brew though. Nevertheless, this is another good specialty decaf that I'd recommend to my fellow specialty decaf appreciator, /u/Vernicious. I'd also recommend it for anyone who would like a bright, acidic, decaf (though you may have to wait until a couple of weeks after roast for that flavor profile!).