I was particularly excited to roast a batch of this Colombian, given the same coffee had recently been used in the QLD Aeropress Championships and I had also tried some of the filter roast at Strauss, in Brisbane’s CBD. My initial batch was roasted a couple of weeks ago, and did not go as smoothly as I would have liked, hence this post being delayed until I had the chance to try another batch. Let’s see how things went on the second attempt.

Coffee

• Colombia Finca Hato Viejo Narino
• Town: Pasto
• Villiage: La Pradera
• Atlitude: 2000m
• Variety: Caturra
• Processing: Washed and sun-dried
• Crop Year: 2013

Nariño is located in the south of Colombia, right in the border with Ecuador, this farm is located in a village called La Pradera, one of the best producing regions in Colombia and where most of the best Cup of Excellence coffees come from.

Information courtesy Ministry Grounds

Brew Types

Hario V60 Filter, Aeropress, Espresso

Impressions

This coffee was highly enjoyable when consumed with milk as a latte or piccolo, having a nice buttery mouthfeel, and notes of dark chocolate, berry and a little honey. There was enough body to carry these milk-based drinks well, and it certainly did the job as a morning starter. When consumed black, my pick was the V60, particularly once cooled, as the flavours really developed well, including some citrus and a little berry complementing the base chocolate flavours, with a nice clean finish.

As espresso, it made a great filter! No doubt a feature of my roast more than the coffee itself. Served short, the sweetness was certainly evident, however the acidity quite intense and overpowering. I intend to roast the remaining green beans I have just a little darker and assess things again. The Aeropress was probably somewhere in the middle, again the flavours increasing proportionally to the temperature cooling in the cup. Here I would mostly tend to brew and let rest a good few minutes before polishing off the cup fairly quickly while it was in this “sweet spot”.

Final Thoughts

On occasion I order in some green beans to roast and probably don’t quite hit the target with the roast profile – I think this is one of those times. There is probably something else at play here too, that being my expectations. Having consumed this coffee elsewhere prior to my roasting and brewing attempts, I had certain pre-conceived notions about the taste and flavour.

The difference? More than likely professional roasters and high quality baristas being far more adept at the entire roasting and brewing process than myself, producing superior results in the cup. Had I not tasted this first, perhaps I may have rated the Hato Viejo a little more highly. It is probably worth reminding anyone reading, the results of these What’s Brewing posts are influenced just as much (if not more so) by my roasting and brewing techniques, as they are the merits of the coffees themselves, and should be viewed accordingly.

Don’t get me wrong, I was certainly not disappointed and this is a highly enjoyable coffee, though (I) probably missed the mark slightly this time.

Rating: 3.5/5