Monday, September 29, 2008

This Year's Coffees

2008 has brought with it a persnickety issue involving me and coffee.  The more I cup and try coffees, the less I'm satisfied with my older standards.  This especially applies to espresso, but even so to French Pressed coffees and other things of the sort.  Unfortunately the constant renovation of such things tends to lead to snobbery.  This is unfortunate.  I cannot express how much I would like to head to any old coffee shop and be able to enjoy it.  However, I simply cannot slurp down some of the coffee drinks they offer.

"Is this a good or bad thing?" one might ask.  The answer is: I'm not sure.  Several friends of mine have different opinions, but I tend to argue that snobbery is a bad things inasmuch as it makes you a jerk, and a good thing inasmuch as it urges you to love perfection.  It is what we're striving for, after all.

So, this dilemma averted, I began to try coffees with a different aim; to find perfect coffee.  Sadly for me, there are no perfect coffees.  Though, I did find some that taste really (really) good.

The first winner I tried way back in January: El Salvador, Monterey Estate.  A 100% Bourbon varietal.  Yum.  This coffee was great.  Lovely body, subdued spiciness and brightness with a buttery, nutty lace on it that absolutely catered to me.  This is a coffee that many people aren't impressed with.  It doesn't cup exceptionally well, nor does it knock everyone's socks off, but it has been my favorite American coffee these past months.

Number two really floored me.  This one is an Ethiopian Sidamo,  from Korate (or maybe Karate.)  This coffee kicks.  We're currently featuring this at the shop, and you should definitely pick some up.  If you're really into it, maybe even ask for a shot of it pulled in our Linea.
So yes... this may be my favorite single origin espresso I've ever had.  It's immensely buttery and fresh tasting with a bunch of berry notes, especially blueberry, and a nice chocolaty body to it.  It is excellent as a shot or macchiato.  This coffee floors me.  I had a press of it just tonight, and it still holds up to its hype for me.  This coffee has also been blogged about quite a bit by Mr. Wilson Hines, as well as here.  The stuff that addicted me was roasted by these guys.
From my perspective, this is my coffee of the year.  I've tried a lot of stuff, too.  Even some of the microlots roasted by Counter Culture, Intelligentsia, and one from Square Mile, but the Korate (or was it Karate?) truly stood a shoulder above.  Bravo Kevin!


Cheers!

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