Review 10: Starbucks Medium Colombia

Source: Starbucks 'Medium'
Date: 11 May 2014
Country: Colombia
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: Rich, nutty, even
Colour of brew: Deep, dark brown
Nose of brew: Earthy/leaves, but pretty faint
Early flavours: Light, nutty
Finish: Short, punchy finish

Tasting notes:

Guest Review 1: Waitrose Kenyan AA Arabica

Source: Waitrose
Date: 4 May 2014
Country: Kenya
Beans: Arabica, AA
Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: Rich, citrusy with a sweet "after-nose"
Colour of brew: Brown
Nose of brew: Slightly nutty, soft
Early flavours: Smooth and light taste
Finish: Short and clean.

Tasting notes:

At £3.29 for 227g, this is one of Waitrose's premium range of coffee beans. I've tried a few different Kenya AA coffees, but this is the first supermarket-branded variety I've seen, and I was curious to see how it would compare to others.

As it happens, I was most impressed by the smells of the beans and the grounds, both of which left a distinct mouth-wateringly pleasant sensation. The coffee drinking itself was enjoyable, but I think I might have slightly overestimated its strength, and didn't get all the flavours coming through in the actual brew.
The citrusy flavours that the label suggested were not the most prominent, but there was a distinct sweetness about the coffee. It was easy and light to drink, and left a clean pleasant feeling on the tongue.

Coffee maker's notes:
A top AA graded coffee grown in the northern region of Nairobi on high plateaus surrounding Mount Kenya and to the west along the Rift Valley, at an altitude of between 1500-2100 metres. This climate produces two harvests per year, in March and then October. The fermentation time ranges from 24 to 48 hours. All coffee is graded by the Kenyan coffee board and then sold at fortnightly auctions. Use this sticker to reclose.

Review 9: Nespresso 'Leggero Lungo'

Source: Nespresso
Date: 2 May 2014
Country: East Africa/Central America/South America
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Nespresso machine - Lungo

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Red-brown
Nose of brew: Light, floral, spices.
Early flavours: Cinnamon
Finish: Medium, balanced finish with spices.

Tasting notes:

Review 8: Nespresso 'Lungo Decaffeinato'

Source: Nespresso
Date: 1 May 2014
Country/Continent: South America
Beans: Arabica (with some Robusta)
Preparation: Nespresso machine

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Pale brown/orange (almost tan)
Nose of brew: Slight sweetness
Early flavours: Creamy and bold coffee flavours with a developing sharpness
Finish: Slightly acid/bitter with a longish finish

Tasting notes:
This represents my first foray into decaffeinated coffee. I have to admit, that for an avid coffee drinker I don't 'do' caffeine much into the afternoon, and no matter how much coffee I have had over my life, I haven't developed an 'immunity' to caffeine which means I can take it at any time of the day.

The main thing I think about when drinking a decaffeinated coffee is how obvious the fact that it's decaffeinated is, and I must say that this coffee does really well on that count. Generally I find that the difference is in the finish - there can be a fair amount of deep and complex flavours in a decaffeinated coffee, but when all is said and done it feels a little less satisfying when you put the cup down - which doesn't necessarily take that much away.

In this case the coffee has a bold and sharp start to it - it really hits the sides of the mouth and the back of the throat and it feels like a heavy, creamy coffee. There are some hints of caramel but on the whole it is dominated by what feel like strong coffee flavours.

The finish is what gives it away; there is a sharpness that grows and comes to dominate the finish, so it feels quite tart in the end, and this is the flavour that lingers. It's a familiar flavour that I feel like I notice in lots of decaffeinated coffees; I'm not sure why.

Overall, it's a good decaffeinated coffee which I felt does the term 'decaffeinated' justice. In fact, if I was served this in the evening, I might hesitate to be certain that it was decaffeinated - which is a good thing.

Coffee maker's notes:
Velvety and Aromatic. A blend of decaffeinated South American Arabicas and Robusta, this coffee reveals flavours of red fruit balanced with sweet cereal notes.

Review 7: Nespresso 'Lungo Forte'

Source: Nespresso
Date: 29 April 2014
Country: South America
Beans: Not stated
Preparation: Nespresso machine (Lungo)

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Rich, Dark brown, with orangey tint
Nose of brew: A hint of vegetable aromas
Early flavours: Light, creamy
Finish: Long, smooth, fairly bitter finish

Tasting notes:

Review 6.1: Nespresso 'Livanto' - update

Source: Nespresso
Date: 11 April 2014
Country: Central/South America
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Nespresso machine (espresso)

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Caramel brown
Nose of brew: Caramel and vegetable aroma (maybe asparagus?)
Early flavours: Sharp and a bit sweet
Finish: Strong finish with a balance to it - still a bit sharp.

Tasting notes:
Having had the Livanto in a Lungo shot, i thought I'd do what was recommended and try it in an espresso shot. The main reason was I felt that the original was a bit weak and watery. The result was a much more interesting coffee. The flavours were more intense, with some of the original notes coming out a bit stronger. However, it was still not the strongest - it feels like it's just a more delicately flavoured drink.

Office Coffee 1: Astra Necta

Source: Astra Necta coffee machine, office building, Paris
Date: 04 April 2014
Country: No information given
Beans: "100% Arabica" according to the machine
Preparation: 'Expresso' (Selection 12)

Nose of grounds: N/A
Nose of brew: Creamy, slightly bitter aroma
Early flavours: Slightly nutty, rounded coffee flavours
Finish: Bold, fairly long finish

Tasting notes:

Review 6: Nespresso 'Livanto'

Source: Nespresso
Date: 8 April 2014
Country: Central/South America
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Nespresso machine (lungo)

Nose of grounds: N/A
Nose of brew: Bitter and sharp (though not unpleasant)
Color of brew: dull brown
Early flavours: Rounded, broad based coffee flavours
Finish: Not much there.

Tasting notes:
This is another of the Nespresso offerings that I found while based in a client office. Having been slightly disappointed with the Vivalto Lungo, I wondered whether the Livanto would be any more interesting.

There was a decent broad base to this coffee to start off with but I found that it was a little watery towards the finish. There were some interesting flavours in there, though none of them dominated and indeed it was a little difficult to detect exactly what they were. This may be because according to the Nespresso website, the capsule is designed to be had as a short drink (i.e. espresso/ristretto). It may be that this is the reason why the coffee felt a touch weak to me. Then again, I would argue that to have a type of drink that is so restricted isn't that great either.

On the whole, quite an interesting coffee, but could use a little more depth when served long.

Coffee maker's notes:
"A pure Arabica from South and Central America, Livanto is a well-balanced espresso characterised by roasted caramalised notes."

Review 5: Nespresso 'Vivalto Lungo'

Source: Nespresso
Date: 24 March 2014
Country: South America/East Africa
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Nespresso machine (Lungo)

Nose of grounds: N/A (capsule)
Nose of brew: Bitter, spicy aroma, with a definite edge
Early flavours: Flowery, almost like rosewater
Finish: Not too strong but with a bit of tang

Tasting notes:

I've always been impressed by the simplicity of the Nespresso machines and the fact that you can get good coffee quickly and (I imagine) without too much mess. I decided to give a test to the different flavours of the Nespresso machine.

The flavours that hit you are sharpness and delicate flavours combined. It's an interesting combination and the coffee feels like it does not have the broad base of strong coffee flavour, instead emphasising the 'higher', interesting flavours. I like these flavours which are all interesting and in a well-balanced combination, though ultimately I find the coffee a little unsatisfying. It's worth noting that I went for the 'Lungo' brew - the larger cup where the machine creates a full cup (as opposed to an espresso with added hot water). If I had made it myself, I'd have probably put a little less hot water to retain strength, but then I doubt it would have that broad coffee base but simply be a little sharper and a little spicier.

On the whole, though, I was impressed!

Coffee maker's notes:

"Vivalto Lungo is a balanced coffee made from a complex blend of separately roasted South American and East African Arabicas, combining roasted and subtle floral notes."

Coffee Kit: Travel mug

Aladdin Travel mug

Recently I was given a travel mug for Christmas. It's the Aladdin recycled plastic mug which does a great job for a number of reasons.

No odd taste

This was actually the most important part for me. I've owned a number of different travel mugs/vacuum flasks, but most of them have metal on the inside, which makes the coffee taste funny. And when you care about the taste of coffee enough to write a blog about it, then this matters. There are apparently a number of methods you can use to eliminate this, but they sound a bit complex. This mug has no discernible impact on the taste of the coffee, though I should say I have only tried it with my standard Lavazza-in-a-cafetiere morning coffee routine.

It's recycled

It's made of other plastic bits. Usually that's a good thing (I say usually because there are some recycling processes that are worse than starting from scratch), and here they claim to use up to 95% recycled plastic. And the mug can be re-recycled, according to their website.

It's watertight

I don't know why this is not more common, but so many travel mugs have slide openings at the top which are not actually watertight. They're completely fine if you're just carrying the mug from home on the train or similar, but you can't put them in a bag (in case they fall over) and there's always a bit of concern if you're putting them in a car and they slosh around a bit.

These mugs don't have that issue - the lid clips shut and I've had no qualms about putting it in my bag even upside down (though there's no need to tempt fate). Better yet - you can still open and close it with one hand, though reassuringly it's not very easy.

It actually keeps your drink quite hot

Though this is the weakest point, the mug does a great job at keeping the drink inside hot. You can put it in your bag when you leave home and half an hour later it's at a great temperature. I reckon a neoprene sleeve would cover over the weakness of it not keeping it hot for hours, but for a commuter mug it's great.

Any downsides?

Apart from the fact that it won't act as a long-term solution, the only downside that I could think of is that it can't be put in a dishwasher. But as I'm using it every weekday, that isn't really a problem. And washing it out on a daily basis keeps the likelihood of an odd taste creeping in to a minimum.

Review 4: Sumatra

Source: Whittard's Coffees of the World
Date: 15 March 2014
Country: Indonesia
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: Rich, very background hints of spice, cocoa.
Nose of brew: quite a bit of wood/pine, slight burnt notes
Colour of brew: Dark, rich, almost purple at the edges
Early flavours: Earthy, complex but subtle
Finish: Long-ish finish, more earth and wood.

Tasting notes:
The tasting notes make this coffee sound rather grand and exotic, though I must say that I'm really not sure I 'got' all of the suggested flavours of fruits present in the coffee maker's description. However, the coffee has a nice rich and certainly heavy flavour,  but not too all-encompassing. Sometimes very heavy coffees leave the tongue feeling like it's coated with oil, but not this; it has a slightly more delicate finish. There is certainly an element of sweetness to the coffee while not being sickeningly so.

I think this is a great morning coffee, though there are some reviews out there which would suggest it is also great after dinner.

Coffee Maker's Notes:
"From the Indonesian island of Sumatra, this full-bodied coffee has an exotic nearly floral taste. The beans are grown on small plots on the shores of Lake Aceh before being picked and semi-dried in the sun. Our Sumatra is dark roasted for a heavy smooth fragrant taste. It is subtle and sweet, reminiscent of figs and apricots and has a complex earthy aroma. An exceptional coffee; serve black to appreciate the nuances of the beans."

Review 3: Paddy & Scott's

With my work I travel to a lot of client offices and sometimes spend a few days there. The type of coffee machine they have makes some difference to how my day goes. Usually I start off my day with a travel mug of Lavazza Rosso coffee brewed at home in a cafetiere, and if the coffee machine at the client is poor, that will be it for the day.

On this particular week in February I was travelling long distances (50 miles) morning and evening, and the tiredness was creeping up on me. So I decided to fuel up and, with the coffee machine serving instant brown liquid, I had to shell out at the cafeteria.

I found that the cafeteria served Paddy & Scott's Slow Roasted coffees. I'd never heard of them before, so I thought I'd apply the coffee tasting to them to see if I could tell the difference that they claimed was obvious.

Source: Paddy & Scott's Slow Roasted coffees
Date: February 2014
Country: ?
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Café espresso maker (espresso shot)

Nose of brew: Strong and bold espresso aroma, with a sweet fragrance on the edge - like candy floss (cotton candy). Maybe a slight hint of spices
Colour of brew: Deep brown, on the orange end
Initial flavours: very even. No sharpness or burnt flavours; maybe a bit of bark. No trace of the sweetness of the nose.
Finish: a bit of sharpness in the finish, but not overwhelmingly so. Pretty smooth but not a long-lasting finish. No great bitterness and no particular after-taste.

Unfortunately, though I looked over their website I could find nothing about the beans themselves apart from the fact that they only seem to do Arabica bean coffees. But the key thing they seem to market is that the coffees that they make are slow-roasted. I love a bit of slow-roasted meat, but I hadn't heard of slow-roasting coffees (in fact, I don't know much about roasting at all). I'll do an additional post about roasting once I've done a bit of research, but for now I can talk through the flavours.

What I definitely found was that the flavours were very even. Often I find that one thing dominates - spices, or a savoury burnt flavouring, or flowery tastes, or something else. But in this case it was really very even. The flavours of the coffee all came through subtly; there was definitely some spice, and a bit of fragrant sweetness, but nothing too strong. It wasn't too bitter nor was it too bland.

Was it interesting to drink? Not particularly. I wouldn't say that I knew much about the slow roasting but it is very possible that the slowness added to the evenness of the flavours. It would be a good coffee to drink on a daily basis though I felt that it lacked a bit of punch, even as pure espresso. And later on when I added a bit of water to see if that developed any of the flavours, I couldn't say that anything came out.

But in the end, all that was important was that it kept me going for the day!

Review 2: Mocha Djimmah

Source: Whittard's Coffees of the World
Date: 1 February 2014
Country: Ethiopia
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: Earthy, slightly sweet, quite light and airy
Nose of brew: citrus, spice
Colour of brew: deep brown, but not opaque.
Early flavours: spices
Finish: earthy and light

Tasting notes:

The Mocha Djimmah is another coffee from Ethiopia, like the Yirgacheffe about a month ago (this wasn't intentional - in fact, it doesn't necessarily say which country it comes from). It is also the lowest strength rating in Whittard's Coffees of the World box; it has a rating of 2.

The spice flavours of this coffee are noticeable but not so prominent as to become unpleasant or lose the idea that you're tasting a coffee. In the past I have been given coffees from far-flung places such as Uganda which seem to lose the feeling of drinking coffee and become more like a cup of soup.

On the nose there is no single dominating note. And throughout the tasting, the different flavours rise slowly to the front of the taste and then fall back slowly again. The coffee is well balanced, though I can see that it is definitely worth its strength 2 rating; it is a light coffee that I could probably enjoy in the late afternoon.

Interestingly, when I started using wine tasting techniques I found more flavours - a touch of saltiness and a little more spice.

Coffee maker's notes:

This soft, fruity coffee comes from the southwest of Ethiopia, the birthplace of 'Arabic' coffee. In taste this is as close as you will get to wild coffee. The plantations grow in the shade of the dense forests until they are ready to be picked. The young coffee 'cherries' are then laid out to dry in the scorching sun. This process helps develop the beans' rich flavour and winey, spicy aftertaste.

Review 1: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

Details

Source: Whittard’s Coffees of the World

Date: 4 January 2014

Country: Ethiopia

Beans: Arabica

Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: Citrus, light, complex

Nose of brew: floral, light

Colour of brew: fairly light; definite brown

Early flavours: Earl Grey, light,

Finish: a bit of earth, but very light and balanced;

Tasting notes:

Being the first coffee I have thought about in depth with regards to its flavours, I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking for or what I should be thinking about. However, I’ve done a lot of tasting of wine and whisky, so I’m approaching it in the same way.

It’s a coffee that holds its depth while being light - it doesn’t have a bitter or very rich taste. However, it is not watery either, as some ‘light’ coffees can be, with very little taste. There is a definite reminder of tea there, especially as the flavours first hit the tongue; to be certain, I inhaled from the tin of Earl Grey. The fragrance isn’t quite as strong as the bergamot of Earl Grey, but it’s along the same lines. The middle and end of the tasting delivers a little more weight to it without overpowering you in any way. There is no bitter, burnt end to it either.

It’s not the jet fuel that I might want on a work morning, but it would be great for a weekend or perhaps in the afternoon. The flavours are so delicate that I wouldn’t eat with it either.

Coffee maker’s notes:

"One of the most unique tasting coffees in the world, Yirgacheffe comes from the lush rolling hills of south-western Ethiopia. These beans are famed for their clean floral flavour typical of this stunning region. This is accentuated by a process of soaking and slight fermentation that coaxes from the beans complex zesty notes and a refinement strangely reminiscent of tea. An exceptional coffee; serve black to appreciate the nuances of the beans.”

The joy of doing something with more depth

This Christmas (2013), I was given a set of coffees from Whittard of Chelsea: their "Coffees of the World" collection. I'm a big coffee drinker but mostly for the caffeine, on a day-to-day basis.

Anyway, I decided that rather than just charge through it without thinking, I would want to compare the different coffees to each other and get an idea of the types and flavours that come out with each different brew.

From there, it led to simply creating a Google Doc with a few notes. Having started that, I thought that sharing it on Google+ would work - then decided to go the whole hog and set up this series of posts. So we'll see where it leads!