I'm excited about this part of Sow Coffee Project, it's short, sweet, and focuses purely on coffee by spotlighting new drops I am really excited about brewing at that moment. This section is called Fresh Drops. This particular drop from Padre Coffee I've been enjoying for the past two weeks now, and it's been such an easy coffee to work with. It's a perfect example of a beautiful Guatemalan coffee, boasting in clean and complex flavours that leave you wanting more and more after each sip.
Imagine you've got a warm bowl of peach cobbler in your hands, the vanilla ice cream on top melts into a pool inside your bowl resembling a crunchy island surrounded by a smooth layer of soft custard. After that last spoonful you're left hanging, scrapping the sides of your bowl with a spoon but there's nothing left, only a faint taste of that delicious memory. That's how I feel about this coffee, it's a journey with a sweet finish!
Santa Isabel is located in San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz; a wonderful region with remarkable mountains, rainforest and impressive flora. It is located in the upper part of Alta Verapaz, very close to Coban, a region that produces strictly hard coffee with a altitude around 1400 - 1600 MASL. This particular coffee from Santa Isabel has three different varietals - Caturra, Pache and Catuai. I haven't been drinking a lot of coffee from Guatemala recently and this is an awesome way to start 2019!
What I'm tasting in this drop: floral, bright orange acidity, juicy nectarine, sweet caramel, with a silky body. The beautiful thing about coffee is that when we smell, drink and taste it, we all have a journey of discovering what the coffee has to offer. Some people talk about seeing colours in coffee, others may categorise a coffee with a group of similar fruits like stone fruits, citrus fruits or berries. The first thing I noticed about this coffee was the sweet aroma which in my opinion reminded me of poached nectarines in brown sugar with a floral hint. This is what made me fall for this drop, the smell!!! It's such an awesome experience when you smell something, then taste it. The fragrance and aroma set the expectations and the flavour delivers the punch. I smell it, I see it, I taste it, it's present, it's real, and it's all flavour!
The aftertaste is this delicate caramel finish that once cool, takes me back to that poached nectarine in brown sugar aroma. I keep on harping on about the sensory experience of drinking coffee because it's such a beautiful part of enjoying coffee. One of the things I love experiencing with coffee is after I'm done with my brew, 5 or 10 minutes later, I have a glass of water and the water honestly tastes like it's had sugar dissolved into it. Sugar water, yes, sugar water, the experience keeps on going!!!
Guatemala Santa Isabel Recipe
1 Cup V60 Serving
Dose - 13g
Yield - 200g
Time - 1:50 min
Ratio - 1:15
Temp - 98 degrees
Grind - 20 clicks on the Comandante
Bloom - 40g, 30 seconds
Preparation
Fold the V60 paper filter down the seam to make placing it into you pourover easier, we want it sitting snug along the sides.
Place the pourover on top of your server and rinse the paper filter with hot water. This will rinse the filter from any papery taste and heat the server at the same time!
Discard the water from the server and tare your scale off to zero.
Add the ground coffee to your v60 giving it a gentle shake to level the grounds and tare once again. You're ready!
Method
00:00
Start your timer, pour 40 grams of water onto your bed of coffee, ensuring all the dry grounds are completely saturated. You can achieve this by either spinning the saturated grounds in a circular motion or using a bamboo paddle to achieve the same effect. Be careful to not over agitate, remember we only want to saturate the dry coffee. This part of the brew is called the "Bloom" and it prepares your coffee for the rest of the brewing process.
00:30
In a circular motion pour the remaining 160 grams of water slowly until you reach the one minute mark, concentrating your pour on the middle of your v60.
01:50
At this point your brew should be finishing up, if you find your time is noticeably slower it's a good indication that your grind size is too fine. If you brew time is really fast, it's a good indication your grind size is too coarse and it means you need to adjust your grind size finer to find the suitable size for this recipe.
Swirl it, smell it, pour it, enjoy it! 👌🏽
For more on this Fresh Drop check out Padre Coffee! ✌🏽