Monday, November 07, 2005


ecco's la nueva

now what was i saying? oh yes, andrew b. of ecco caffe was sweet to send me his 2005 nicaragua cup of excellence prize-winning beans from the la nueva estate.

due to my recent surgery, these had sat around for a bit, and so i was worried that i wouldn't be able to do them justice. that aside, when i made them this morning in the cafetiére (that's a french press to you!) they showed plenty of bloom and still had a fair bouquet.

(remember the 3 "sets" correspond to the 3 inner divisions of the aroma side on the scaa flavor wheel: the enzymatic, sugar browning and dry distallation).

unlike the cupping competition judges, i didn't find any particular pear or melon, which is probably due to the coffee's age, or perhaps to the fact that i didn't make it in a vac pot, which would have highlighted these possibilities.

this morning, andrew's fair-trade and organic coffee had a medium-heavy body and a sweet taste. it was roasted to his usual northern-italian color, which i'm calling city + or maybe full-city-slightly-minus, since i didn't see any oil on these beans.

i found the coffee had a spicy-floral fragrance, maybe cardamom, in the dry grounds, and at this age, a slight citrus aroma. the aftertaste was definitely in the dutch cocoa range.

with some light cream and brown sugar, i thought the citrus came out a bit more. the coffee was really yummy for breakfast.

even tho' i enjoyed it today, i wish i had caught it when it was a bit younger to pick up some of that pear quality the professional jury described. maybe a hint of this will remain if i make it tomorrow in the bodum santos.

as always, i love andrew's coffees and i think every real coffee drinker would as well. highly recommended!

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