Friday, May 19, 2006


the batdorf sun-dried la minita

let me start by saying -- it's fabulous. a more romantic la minita.

ok, now what do i mean by that term, romantic, in this context? give me a moment to explain. . .

long-time readers will recall that following ken davids, i do see a certain spectrum in the specialty coffee industry -- romantic cuppers to clean cuppers.

for example, james freeman goes so far as to describe his unique yemen as "uncomfortably similar to being picked up by the lapels, shaken, then tossed into a grimy manhattan snow bank." the clean cuppers wouldn't like this coffee, precisely due to its extremely earthy, sandalwood-y character.

james himself is admitting it's a wild, near-dirty cup; he goes so far as to call it "grimy!" that yemen's flirting with the edge, there.

james might be an example of an ultra-romantic -- what's unique and interesting about a coffee, as long as it's still within the expected profile, even if pushed an extreme -- is all good. another example of this might be barry jarrett's famous sentiment that the worms in the sumatra do make it taste better!

at the other extreme is super-clean george howell, who finds fruity flavors in coffee an unhappy event. he would probably not be thrilled with say, the finch wa.

i've discussed this at length before (see the last of the 6 comments on this post here). la minita is an easy way to find out where a person lands in the range.

everyone agrees that la minita is fine coffee. but is it exciting, soul-stirring coffee, worth a prose poem?

some of the ultra-romantic cuppers might find the squeaky perfectionism of la minita dull after a few cups, while the ultra-clean cuppers might view it as the pinnacle to which most coffee should aspire.

scott's batdorf sun-dried la minita has more fruit and more body, i find, than regular la minita. that's why i say, it's a more romantic la minita in the cup -- it's a tad more unleashed.

that elegant businesswoman in the chanel suit is taking off her glasses and casting a sultry, sideways glance at you. . .

the so-called regular la minita has a famous taste everyone knows: mild, lightly bright (i'd call it "sunny"), with a light-medium body, and aromas of green apple, roasted almond, and vanilla.

sun-drying la minita gives the fruit flavor and body more time to develop as the coffee workers rake it around the patio with a zen-garden precision.

i've always appreciated the symmetry, refinement, and delicacy of la minita. but brewing scott's 3-day-old, city roast, sun-dried la minita in the chemex made me love it even more.

highly recommended! can't wait to try this in the vac pot to see if i can get more of that green apple outta the fragrance and into the cup.

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posted by fortune | 8:48 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments