Anyone else brewing Coava coffee? Share your recipes?

#1: Post by **dsc106** » October 4th, 2021, 5:00 pm

Just wondering if anyone else here drinks coffee from Coava in Portland and if so, what their favorite recipes are from any of their varying roasts?

#2: Post by **yertchuk** » October 4th, 2021, 5:55 pm

I had a very nice espresso at Clive Coffee in Portland recently. It was a Coava single origin, but sadly I didn't note down which one. Be interested to see if anyone else has input.

#3: Post by **cgibsong002** » October 6th, 2021, 9:28 pm

I often buy Coava. Just picked up a bag of their Mexican SO for the first time. Haven't brewed yet. What do you have right now?

#4: Post by **spressomon** » October 6th, 2021, 9:44 pm

Coava is one of my few reliable and delicious daily drivers (espresso only here) along with Northbound; very much enjoy all the beans I've purchased over the past few years from them. Just finished up the Juan Francisco Pira Guatemala and leaning into more of the Nayo Ovalle Guatemala again.

#5: Post by **Scheissami** » October 7th, 2021, 12:01 am

I live in Portland, have been really happy with the Kilenso for pour over (V60). Bright, nice flavor, rounded and balanced. My wife isn't too keen on acid-forward coffees, she quite likes this one. I brew 30g in, 500mL out. Use a kettle set to 98C and have the temp held there in between pours.

I just got my first espresso machine ~3 weeks ago so grabbed a 2kg bag of Meaza so I can isolate one of the variables as I struggle through acquiring a new skill set! I quite like it: interesting on its own, not just typical "Italian style" medium/dark roast coffee, but more muted acid and fruit notes so still tastes great as a milk drink. I have a Decent, have been going through a few different profiles but generally doing ~8s preinfusion, 22-25sec pour time (so total of about 31-35 seconds), 18g in, 45g out 1:2.5 at 92C.

The decaf Honduran is just okay, but I don't think that's a problem isolated to Coava; I'd say it's pretty typical of most decaf coffee-fairly dark, leaning more towards chocolate/roasty notes rather than fruity/acidic. Good with milk drinks, just okay as straight espresso and pour over (at least in my experience so far-happy to be proven wrong). Have generally be doing a fairly standard Decent espresso profile, short preinfusion, 9bar peak pressure but quickly declining to maintain flow around 2mL/sec. 18g in, 36g out 1:2 at around 25-30 seconds at 88C.

Without hijacking your thread, would love to hear your (and others) favorite local roasters, beans, and recipes (have lately really enjoyed Heart and Proud Mary). Also, any feedback on the recipes provided here!

#6: Post by **cgibsong002** » October 7th, 2021, 1:00 am

Scheissami wrote: The decaf Honduran is just okay, but I don't think that's a problem isolated to Coava; I'd say it's pretty typical of most decaf coffee-fairly dark, leaning more towards chocolate/roasty notes rather than fruity/acidic.

I haven't tried a ton yet. Give the Heart Colombia decaf a try. It's pretty wild by any standards. Very red grape forward with cocoa/vanilla. Very good on its own. I'm also doing Happy Cup Decaf now which is very opposite, but a nice med/dark for cheap.

For Coava, the Kilenso was the first true fruity coffee i ever had and will definitely always remember that. I still buy it on occasion but not as heavy into naturals anymore.

spressomon wrote:Coava is one of my few reliable and delicious daily drivers (espresso only here) along with Northbound; very much enjoy all the beans I've purchased over the past few years from them. Just finished up the Juan Francisco Pira Guatemala and leaning into more of the Nayo Ovalle Guatemala again.

Do you custom order their espresso roasts, or just get the standard roast? Now that I'm more into espresso I'm really curious how they fair, especially on some of the traditionally lighter beans.

#7: Post by **spressomon** » October 7th, 2021, 1:11 am

@cgibsong002 I have not tried using their pour over roast for espresso; only their espresso roasts. I've been giving the two Guatemala beans long pre-infusion until 10-grams in the cup (first drops at approx 25 seconds for Juan Francisco Pira, less for Nayo Ovalle), then to full brew until 26-28seconds total (total from first drips of PI to end) with 32-36g in cup.

The Nayo Ovalle from earlier this year was bigger all the way around especially bigger notes of orange and dark chocolate: One of my favorites this year and wish I had 15lbs stashed. Whereas when they brought it back later in the year, its lighter on the flavor notes; although still enjoyable. I suspect its the difference between two different crop years.

#8: Post by **Scheissami** » October 7th, 2021, 6:15 pm

cgibsong002 wrote:I haven't tried a ton yet. Give the Heart Colombia decaf a try. It's pretty wild by any standards. Very red grape forward with cocoa/vanilla. Very good on its own. I'm also doing Happy Cup Decaf now which is very opposite, but a nice med/dark for cheap.

Got a bag of the Heart decaf Columbia on my counter right now, excited to dive in

#9: Post by **Robph914** » October 10th, 2021, 12:45 am

I've been a big fan of the Los Naranjos & Nathalia Maria for pour-overs over the past year or two. I've had a little bit of a problem with the Kilenso clogging my filters, but I haven't tried it with my new Ditting grinder, so that problem may not affect me anymore! Pretty much everything from Heart (who's been mentioned a bunch in this thread) is great. The taste of the batch brew from the cafe is unparalleled - I don't know how they get so much clarity!