I helped suprolla (Roger) troubleshoot his Olympia Coffex brew group, and he sent me a delicious coffee in return. It's Boomtown Coffee's beautifully roasted Organic Amaro Gayo. The flavor is like fragrant wood, with the wood being a nice backbone of gentle acidity with spicy flavor notes. The "wood" is also like an Ovaltine chocolate. As it cools to room temperature florals and berries appear, well worth the wait. I brewed it for four minutes in a Clever Dripper starting at 208F, using my BunnDitting grinder. The roast level is City to City+.

drgary wrote:I helped suprolla (Roger) troubleshoot his Olympia Coffex brew group, and he sent me a delicious coffee in return. It's Boomtown Coffee's beautifully roasted Organic Amaro Gayo. The flavor is like fragrant wood, with the wood being a nice backbone of gentle acidity with spicy flavor notes. The "wood" is also like an Ovaltine chocolate. As it cools to room temperature florals and berries appear, well worth the wait. I brewed it for four minutes in a Clever Dripper starting at 208F, using my BunnDitting grinder. The roast level is City to City+.

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This was the first coffee I ever tasted that zinged me with such intense blueberry flavor, that I've been hooked ever since. It must be fresh though to get the blueberry, it fades as it stales in about 7-10days.

Thanks
Roger

Chert wrote:This week my taste buds have been quite pleased with two coffees I pulled from my freezer stash.
What is wowing me?
Manners Ethiopia Baaroo: I enjoyed three shots with variations along the them of classic 3WOJ: bright, tangerine citrus, nuanced with bergamot. thin of body typical of the Nordic style.

Olympia Big Truck Espresso. cocoa - cherry - cola. resonant in lingering finish.

What is your technique for freezing coffee... i understand the basic goal is to cool it down without exposing it to moisture but I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to figuring that out.. thanks

Despite the oft heard recommendation against freezing coffee, it works well for me. I rent a cold storage locker. I have green coffee and roasted coffee stored there. This week I have a bag of Velton's Mexico Nayarita roasted in April that is making wonderful espresso. I simply put the sealed bag in the freezer. I freeze it as soon as I receive it or at peak for extraction, either way works for me. When I remove it and it has come to room temperature, I divide it into 8 ounce mason jars and leave 8 ounces in the bag for use over 2-3 days. The mason jars go into my home freezer until ready for use.

We haven't much space in our home freezer, but I sometimes leave coffee sealed in bags or jars for 2-4 weeks in the home freezer as well.

Gotta run, to pick out a bag for this weekend's Farmer's Market popup.

I hope that helps.

suprolla wrote:This was the first coffee I ever tasted that zinged me with such intense blueberry flavor, that I've been hooked ever since. It must be fresh though to get the blueberry, it fades as it stales in about 7-10days.

Thanks
Roger

The berry flavors are becoming more pronounced this next day, and the coffee is more balanced, less acidic. The aroma of whole beans in the bag is a good guide to the intensification of flavors. I brewed it today at 209F. A very fine coffee, thanks!

I definitely have to check out that Boomtown Amaro Gayo, as I am always in the hunt for blueberry.

Am drinking a lovely cup of Ruby Kenya Gachatha AB, brewed by CCD. I agree with the superlatives on the label - while all Kenyans are washed, and therefore seem a bit muted when compared to the funk of a dry-processed Ethiopian, I think this allows some of the more refined beans to show their worth. This is such a cup. Very low acid for a bean from Northeast Africa. A tasty brew.

Yeah, LOVE Amaro Gayo - but it seems the Blueberry may only be there in a pronounced way every 2-3 years unfortunately. Tried Six Depot's, Temple's, and other versions of Amaro Gayo this year and got the same wood and chocolate flavors pointed out earlier (DrGary - thanks for confirming).

Nothing too exciting this year unless I am missing any - and I know I am. But love the acidity on the Spyhouse Kenya Gachatha:
http://spyhousecoffee.com/pages/offerings

The Yemen that Bodka had on offer a couple of weeks ago is outstanding. I've had great success with it as pourover in the Chemex and shots on the Cremina. There is always a Nebbiolo-like dried cherry component in Yemens for me, and it's very noticeable in this coffee. Delicious stuff.

grog wrote:The Yemen that Bodka had on offer a couple of weeks ago is outstanding. very noticeable in this coffee. ..

He still has some if others wish to grab it; I checked.

One of the joys of going down the home roasting rabbit hole is the ability to try unusual coffees. This morning I'm trying a raisin-processed coffee from India that I sourced at Mr. Green Beans in Portland. It's a Bourbon varietal, picked after the coffee cherries have become raisins on the tree. As expected, it's very sweet. It also has low acidity. Dirk at Mr. Green Beans suggested I roast it relatively dark. There was slight oil on the beans a day after the roast, and this is day 2, so second crack was just starting. It's almost grape-like in its sweetness (of course, because of the raisin processing). I'm enjoying it as I usually do with a darker roast, with a little cream and sugar (in my case I use Wildwood Soy creamer). I brewed it at 178F and steeped it for 3:15 in a Clever Coffee Dripper, which avoids the harshness of darker roasts. Here's more about that coffee. It's called Amrita, from the Karnataka Coffee Plantation in Mysore. The description at Mr. Green Beans is full bodied and "sweet concord grape, carob, cinnamon, and graham cracker...". Here's the link. Apparently the importer is nearby, in Hillsboro, OR. I'll have to try my two other roasts that didn't go as dark and see if the other flavors appear.

On the other side of the spectrum, I've been blown away by the spicey flavors in the Yemen Red Marquaha sourced by Mill City Roasters. Here's my flavor description 1 day post roast, taken from the thread on that coffee.

drgary wrote:In the jar after resting overnight, the smell of the beans is more and more intense berry. Grinding eliminates that in dry aroma. In the cup it's exotic oriental spices. The taste is like sandalwood, cardamom, cinnamon, all in subtle blend. Mouthfeel is silky. As the cup cools all of that is blended with a cherry-like sweetness, but the cherry doesn't resolve in the flavor yet. This is a very elegant coffee, structured with a soft acidity. I've never had anything quite like it, and I like it a lot. Janet took a sip and said, "Wow, that doesn't even taste like coffee." There is none of the leathery aftertaste one gets so often in other coffees. That resolves instead to nutmeg, allspice, marjoram.

Another roast took it slightly darker and missed all of those spice flavors, although I'll be interested to see what develops as it rests.