Miguel sent me this coffee last month to review. At a light roast it was to regular Yirgacheffe as honey is to flowers, yrg-honey, so to speak. Since my first taste, I was jonesing to try it as espresso. There must be something in the air, since at the SCAA it appeared in three different guises as espresso. Heather Perry, former US Barista champ, used it as the center piece of her blend in competition. Steve Schulman of Dallis Brothers casually produced a bag of it in a darker roast, labelled as an ultra-premium espresso. In Miguel debuted his SO roast at the espresso fest, where it completely wowed all the participants.
Miguel's roast was quite masterful, tasting how an yrg **should** taste as espresso, but never does -- pleasant flowers, tangerines, and pit fruit, medium bodied, and no hint of tannic bitterness or lemon sourness. I tried two roasts of my own, a slow light one to get the "yrg-honey" from the cup, and a fast dark one to bring out the hints of chocolate and dark fruit I got in the cupping. The lighter roast was indeed honeyed, but quite boring -- I had roasted out all the flavors. The faster darker roast was a hit -- all the yrg stuff plus some of those complex deeper tones.
If you fancy yourself a roaster, you should order it green and try your hand. Careful though, the slow light roast took 12 1/2 minutes to 440, the fast dark roast, 11 1/2 to 445F; so this bean is a challenge. For others, and for roasters wanting a reference, order it roasted too.
I hope Abe chimes in, since he tried my roasts and also Dallis Brothers'.
