Friday, February 18, 2005


dried cherries & chocolate pudding

i can't stop wrestling with this gillies organic and fair-trade certified sumatra tankengon gayo double-pick (dp) european preparation (ep) coffee.

i've been making it in different strengths in the cafetiére to see where the best balance of flavors comes out.

in my usual way -- 55g. (2oz.) coffee per 1 liter (32-33oz) water -- the chocolate-y, allspice aromas of the coffee came out clear. i also thought there was something a little sparkly about the coffee: brightness or pink grapefruit?

what was also clear is that it had an unusually heavy body, even for a sumatra. i used the word "gelatinous," since i'm really searching for new ways to say "thick enough to stand a spoon in."

yesterday i made it stronger -- 65g (2.3oz) coffee -- and a nice dried cherry note came out right away. the chocolate feeling also intensified and combining that taste with the thick mouthfeel of the coffee, i had an instant "chocolate pudding" memory.

and yet there was also a mysterious "other flavor. . ."

however, making the coffee this strong shocked some people, so this morning i made it again at 50g (1.8oz) coffee to 31 oz (0.9 liters) water. this revealed that the "other flavor" was in fact tongue-pinging.

but not a sparkly or grapefruit tongue-ping: pepper. others describe it as tellicherry pepper.

as you can see this gayo is just a special coffee that rewards thought and attention. highly recommended.

posted by fortune | 7:38 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments