This little story begins about a week agoā¦ It was Saturday and I decided, in the company of my wife, to visit my favorite specialty coffee place in the town. It was their lst working day before their deserved summer vacation. I always admire Misho and his girlfriend Nikki, because they have no days off at all.
And even though we had quite a busy working schedule in the Saturdays (I have to work sometimes, and my wife teaches some online japanese classes) we couldnāt resist to grab the opportunity and visit our favorite weekend place at least for half an hour.
My choice was a cold brew while my wife preferred a double espresso shot. But that is not the topic nowā¦ who said āgiftsā?
While we were enjoying our drinks, Misho started to look around and inside various cabinets. Eventually he found a bottle with a handful of beans inside.
-How much coffee do you use for your espresso shots?
-About 12 gramsā¦ Why you asking?
-Umā¦ Here are 9 grams of this coffeeā¦ Thatās all what is left and I want to clear whatās left here. Youāll manage to extract it, right?
-Iāll find a way, thanks!
He put the beans in this paper cup and explained that this is an anaerobic coffee, that had quite a special and extraordinary taste. And it smelledā¦ fermented! I was already excited!
But how did I brew this coffee, when it was only 9 grams and I needed about 12? Well, my decision was to add 3 grams from one of my available coffee beans and create a sort of my own coffee blend! The sour and rich taste would definitey dominate over the other, more simple and ordinary coffee.
I went on the finest grind setting, because my experience already showed me that anaerobic coffees must be ground a lot finer than the traditional specialty coffees. This fresh grinding releases all the unique aromas of the beans and they are so intense!
Distributed and tamped! Ready to brewā¦
Well, this was amazing! Although my wife didnāt like it alt all, for being quite sour and strange, I absolutely loved the taste. In the nose there was a lot of vanilla and sweetānāsour aroma. It almost felt like some sort of a special and gourmet dessert. Although quite sourly tasting, the flavor was balanced with a fermented fruit sweetness. Pineapple, mango and creamā¦ It even resembled a bit some liqueur like Baileys. Ohā¦
But! Letās go back at the Specialty placeā¦
Misho continued his seek gameā¦ He went into his back room and shortly after, came with a bag of Dabov coffee beans. It was almost empty, but there were still like 50
Grams of coffee inside. He knows that I shop from Dabov a lot!
-Have you tried this?
-Umā¦ No! But I have looked on this coffee for quite some time now, I will maybe grab a bag of these with my purchase next monthā¦
-Here you are! It is a good coffee, but it is already a bit boring for me. Enjoy!
-Wow, thanks!
About brewing this coffee, I felt like the AeroPress was gonna fit it quite nicely, so here we go! Nice and simple, the brewer is ready!
These beans were very lightly roasted. This is a thing that I like a lot! The lighter, the betterā¦ Of course, when I go for espresso I like a bit darker roasts, but these are perfect for any type of pourovers.
Their aroma was very clean and nice, again, although not that special like the prevous coffee. After all this one is processed semi-anaerobic, whatever that means. You still have the special string in the taste, while keeping the delicious Honduras coffee character.
I grind the coffee similarly to my V60 coarser setting, pre-wash the filters (a must) and then infuse the coffee with hot water.
In about 2,5 minutes coffee is ready to be pushed out. I use my traditional kitchen jars, rather than a coffee mug. They have the characteristic of being extremely cheap, so no worries if I accidentally break it. š
This coffee turned out to be very light in color. It has the image of being fresh and easy drinking even without tasting it.
The promised (on the label) chocolate flavor was very light and exquisite, while the fruity character was better pronounced. It definitely felt like a more everyday coffee compared to the other one, and still posessing this special character. A great coffee to enjoy before my Saturday work!
It is always great when you have a barista friend and he wants to get rid of all his leftovers, right? š
I am really looking forward to visiting this place again. Misho promised a lot of new coffees when he gets back from his summer break.
Well, friends, thatās for today! Wish you a nice weekend and see tou soon!
Bye!
