Hi all

So I roasted some Panama Esmeralda 2 days ago to a city/city plus roast. I prepared it as a pourover using a 1:15 brew ratio, brewing 200ml of water over 2.5 minutes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the cup - fragrance was top notch. Flavors were very pleasant with citrus and some prunes/berry. The front and mid palate was smooth and buttery. So far going well.

I was pretty disappointed at the finish of the cup though. The flavor did seem to slip away a little too quickly, and I did detect a little bit of bitterness towards the end of the cup, which really pulled down the cup.

This was in contrast to the comments I often hear about the "long, deep, contemplative, etc etc etc" finish on the Panama Esmeralda.

What do you guys recommend that I do in order to try to polish up the finish a little? Would increasing the brew ratio a little/brew time help?

Thanks
Sing

To me, Esmeralda has an incredible finish. Every once in a blue moon, the finish is imperfect, but that's rare. (the bar may be raised some day)

If you're drinking for pleasure, I'd *try* removing some of the fines (perhaps using electrical charge). Maybe increase the brew time a little.

It should be able to take a light roast. Maybe fast, maybe slow, it depends.

Do you know if it is from the 2010 or 2011 harvest? I would be very surprised if the 2010 still has that great finish.

For fines, you might try a better grinder.
Also consider the filter you're using in the pourover.

A simple trick for removing fines: pour the grinds into a styrofoam cup, then pour them out (into the filter).
The fines are stick to the styrofoam because of the static charge, but the larger grinds are too heavy to stay stuck.

You can wash, dry, and reuse the cup.

Give it a couple more days too/

Not to be a killjoy... but perhaps it's the roast?