MarkPrince Moderator Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 5,144 Location: Vancouver Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Frankenstein'ed LM Linea Grinder: Anfim Super Caimano Vac Pot: 1922 Silex Drip: Krups Moka Brew Roaster: Hottop
Posted Tue Jul 30, 2002, 12:42pm Subject: Chocolate Explosion with Fruit Blend
Yesterday, I roasted up a blend in the AM. I just pulled my first shot from it, and I can easily say this - I have never had a more chocolatey, yet nicely balanced blend in my home. Here's the details:
166 grams (2 HWP batches) of Maui Moka 99 crop. Roasted to full city, no surface oil (the way the maui likes it), picked and sorted a bit to get rid of about a dozen defects.
85 grams Yemen Mocca Rimy 2002 Crop, freshly purchased from Sweet Marias. Roasted to a Full City / Viennese roast. Like all yemens in my experience, this one roasts very uneven in a air roaster, and the colour ranges from city to light french. Doesn't matter - it's yemen mocca - it gets a pass.
85 grams Kenya AA Karani Auction Lot 2002, freshly purchased (again) from Sweet Marias. Roasted to Full City. Note, Tom said in his cupping notes this one gets dark fast, even as first crack starts, and he's right. I have technically a "full city roast", but the beans are almost black (no surface oil).
The blend and thoughts behind it:
I love chocolate. Not the real stuff (well, I do, but I rarely eat it) - I'm talking chocolate notes in a coffee. And this blend was strategized to give that, but also some brightness and citrus/floral/fruity taste. The chocolate component beans I picked (yemen, maui) tend to be mellow, low acid beans in my experience, and I wanted something with a brighter note that brought something to the plate besides brightness (which knocked out my current crop of Guat Antigua).
I've been sorely disapointed in all the Kenyas I've tried in the last three years. Something seemed missing. But when Tom cupped the Karani at 90.5 (and Tom's a tough cupper), I had to get some. I'm glad I did. More on that below.
First, I know the Maui's hard to get, so I would suggest the following substitutes if you want something approximating this blend:
a) more yemen mocca - a yemen/kenya blend would lose a bit of what I got in this cup, but be close nonetheless. Do a 2:1 ratio, or a 3:1 ratio of yemen:kenya.
b) A new crop of Guat HueXoc that I've tried recently is super chocolate punch with some interesting side notes I can't quite place. Mine is a direct-relationship coffee (read: bought straight from the farmer) that I get from JJ Bean in Vancouver. There may be other sources.
Okay, the Maui is still the most intense chocolate note coffee I've tried, but this new Yemen is pretty close. Yemen... sigh, I must constantly resist picking thru the roasted beans to look for defects - with yemen, most of the beans look defective! So I resisted, and put the whole batch in.
The Kenya brings two things to the table - more brightness, and a floral/citrus tone that, and I agree with Tom's cupping here - is very blackcurrant like. It brings an awesome balance to the blend.
Not twenty minutes ago, I pulled my first shots. After dialing in (like I gotta do with all new blends), I pulled a proverbial god-shot on the Livia (she likes me again), and wow. wow. wow.
Posted Fri Aug 2, 2002, 7:16am Subject: Re: Chocolate Explosion with Fruit Blend
Not quite the same but I recently did one of my Complete Ignoramus Blends (oh-about 1/3 Sulawesi - Full City; then some Karamundi -vienneese w/ some oil but not "black", some Guat Huixoc Full City and some Moka Reimi Full City+ - the last three in app. equal measure).
It was one of those shots - like nothing I've tasted before - chocolate , fruity and a spice that was almost peppery...It WORKED! I felt like a Tex Avery cartoon character. Not only was it delicious but it was truly a gustatory adventure. Delicate and yet assertive. Muscular and yet cerebral. I was ashamed and yet strangely excited...no, no, I digress. It was one of those moments that made all the work and expense of the espresso endeavor very worthwhile.
jim_schulman Senior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 3,772 Location: Chicago Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Fri Aug 2, 2002, 9:57am Subject: Re: Chocolate Explosion with Fruit Blend
Mark, I looked at your recipe, 1/4 kenya & 1/4 mocha in an espresso mix, and thought you've become an acid hound. Then I noticed the roasting notes.
The really dark, no oil AA is something Zabars used to have back in the late 70s, and I still remember how unbelievable wine/berry taste it had out of a mochapot. Haven't had anything like it since. All the dark roasted AAs tasted like charcoal water, and the light ones way too citric. Looks like the Karani is the real Kenya Mccoy.
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