For those that love fruit bomb natural Ethiopian... - Page 9

#81: Post by **jpender** » March 17th, 2020, 5:37 pm

JokerJacket wrote:I don't know about the older Northbound mentioned above, but the new one they started selling in January has been pretty good. I'm on my 3rd 5lb bag now.

https://northboundcoffee.com/store/#!/E ... ory=720650

There were people who liked the natural from a year ago. The OP liked it enough to start a thread about it.

I don't know, this stuff just tastes bad to me. Funky, not fruity. I bought a bag of Northbound "Coffee Lover" in January. It's 50% natural Yirg and has that same taste in it, just not quite as strong. I still have the bag, I don't know why. It's been in the cupboard at room temperature for about six weeks. Maybe I'll drink it if the zombie apocalypse is fully realized.

#82: Post by **cpreston** » March 17th, 2020, 6:39 pm

S&W Craft Roasting has an Ethiopian natural that I have been enjoying very much as both espresso and aeropress, over several bags.

https://swroasting.com/ethiopia-kebede- ... heff1.html

#83: Post by **pcofftenyo** » March 18th, 2020, 10:29 am

jpender wrote:
I don't know, this stuff just tastes bad to me. Funky, not fruity. I bought a bag of Northbound "Coffee Lover" in January. It's 50% natural Yirg and has that same taste in it, just not quite as strong. I still have the bag, I don't know why. It's been in the cupboard at room temperature for about six weeks. Maybe I'll drink it if the zombie apocalypse is fully realized.

Some naturally processed coffees have those funky/off notes which are attributed to poor processing, blending, or other defects. I've had some I don't like too and they linger or get blended.

#84: Post by **jpender** » March 18th, 2020, 11:46 am

Yes, I know that. The best coffees I've ever had were Ethiopian naturals. But that category also includes some of the worst I've had. It's interesting that there can be different opinions about the "same" coffee. Perhaps mine wasn't quite the same being a different batch. Who knows.

March 18th, 2020, 12:31 pm

^ I had a very short window where the flavor of the beans I referred to in my first post of this thread was just incredible; truly Juicy Fruit gum-like flavor. Some refer to this as a defect but I liked it, what can I say?

The peak flavor window, just like a vast majority of natural process beans I've pulled, was only a few days with significant fall off thereafter. And after vacuum and freezing the beans I'd estimate 75% of the big fruit & floral notes were gone; again just like a majority of the natural process beans I've used over the years.

The only natural process beans I can remember surviving with nearly 100% of their fruit & floral flavor notes intact after the same vacuuming and freezing process were some Ethiopia Wote Konga beans from Vertigo Coffee Roasters (San Juan Batista, CA) a few years ago.

March 18th, 2020, 12:47 pm

I think that a few years ago there was an amazing Konga going around everywhere. I remember making it in my sr500 I think it was? and it was so incredible, also a local roaster and some other big name, all at the same time period form the same region. Haven't had one nearly as good since, but I bet it was the same lot. Freaking blueberry like I have never had in a coffee before but have always wanted to get again.

#87: Post by **jpender** » March 18th, 2020, 3:15 pm

spressomon wrote:The only natural process beans I can remember surviving with nearly 100% of their fruit & floral flavor notes intact after the same vacuuming and freezing process were some Ethiopia Wote Konga beans from Vertigo Coffee Roasters (San Juan Batista, CA) a few years ago.

Curiously these nearly year old vac-sealed beans still have an intense and pleasant blueberry aroma. It keeps me wondering if there is some way I can coax that into the cup minus that funk flavor.