Coffee

What’s Brewing – Panama Carmen Estate

/ Pete Denison / 1 Comment
English: View of the Rio Caldera from the home...

English: View of the Rio Caldera from the homemade bridge near Volcan Baru national park, Boquete. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Although I am hesitant to call something a good all-rounder, this is probably the most apt description for this variety from Panama’s Carmen Estate. This tag often carries with it the connotation of being solid without ever reaching any great heights. I don’t think that is probably a fair description of this crop, however is something I keep coming back to in trying to describe it for this review.

As I mentioned in my previous Coffee post, the expectation for this “honey” processed lot was for a fairly full-bodied brew with reasonably low to medium acidity. A little on the Carmen Estate from Ministry Grounds:

Carmen Estate is situated in the Paso Ancho Valley, which is located in the Chiriqui province, close to the border with Costa Rica in western Panama. Paso Ancho Valley lies on the western slopes of the Baru Volcano. The Baru is an inactive volcano located between the Boquete and Volcan-Candela areas. At 3,500 meters above sea level, the Baru is the highest point in Panama. The Baru Volcano has provided very rich, deep and fertile soils to the Paso Ancho Valley micro region. This coupled with regular rainfall and appropriate altitude are a key factor in the outstanding quality portrayed by the coffee produced in this micro region.

Expectations aside, how did it actually taste?

The Whack

What
– Panama Carmen Estate
– Altitude: 1250–1500mtrs
– Crop Year: 2013
– Varietal: Catuai Caturra Typica
– Processing: Washed

How
Latte; Hario V60 Pourover; Aeropress

Assessment
Milk course – When brewed with milk, there is enough body to carry the drink, and a nice creamy finish, however the low acidity and overly subtle fruit flavours result in a fairly middle of the road experience overall.

V60 – Hints of stone fruit sweetness in this form of brewing; really came to life after most of the heat had come out of the brew. A fairly long, subtle finish. I suspect this would make a great cold brew.

Aeropress – Performed pretty well in this method. Noticeably low acidity, with undertones of the fruitiness seen in the V60 above. Both the V60 and Aeropress would be my preferred methods of consumption with this particular varietal.

Conclusion; Know this
Overall, a solid performer across most forms of brewing. A couple of points to note however. Firstly, the sweetness of the brew increased significantly as it cooled, and perhaps would be well suited to a cold brew. In addition, it would probably work quite well in a blend, providing some body in the middle and creaminess to the finish. I’m of the opinion it just needs a little more fruitiness to drive the overall flavour profile.

Rating 3.5/5

Wait…there’s more
Thankfully, brewing the Carmen Estate overlapped with another batch of roasting which included this Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, a variety I have always found brings a lot of fruit to the cup.

Hence, a blend was created with 40% Carmen Estate, 40% Yirgacheffe, and 20% Indonesian Blue Batak. The Yirgacheffe added a great burst of fruitiness, with blueberry and lemon/lime flavours, whereas the Blue Batak provided a hint of spice, which together, improved the milk based drink significantly and really packed more sweetness into the V60 and Aeropress.

So to conclude, the Carmen Estate is certainly an enjoyable drink as a single origin, however is at its best when part of a blend with varietals that will provide a little more acidity and add to the overall flavour profile.

Related articles

What’s Roasting #6 – Panama Carmen Estate

/ Pete Denison / 1 Comment

IMG_1334Recently I’ve been clearing out some remaining green beans left over from blending experiments, and along with roasting the usual decaf batch for my wife’s consumption, finished the last of my store from Panama’s Carmen Estate.

Details on the particular processing method described by Ministry Grounds:

This is a Honey processed lot, which means that fully ripe cherry is picked, sorted & pulped the same as a fully washed coffee, however after pulping the mucilage is left untouched on the bean and is sent to dry with the mucilage on. “Honey” coffees are sun-dried and normally on raised beds to allow greater airflow during drying as the mucilage left on the bean provides the opportunity for spoiling. The result is a more full-bodied, sweeter coffee, with less acidity.

Most coffees I have tasted from Panama generally do not disappoint, so I am expecting the same from this batch. From what I understand this has a lot to do with the very unique microclimate and rich volcanic soils enjoyed by the coffee producing estates in this country.

Here’s hoping for enough body to punch through the milk in my morning latte, and I’m also looking forward to a few sweet V60 and Aeropress long brews. A nice light roast should do it.

Tasting review to follow soon.

Ironman Geisha – Your Choice

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A little humour from The Guardian Australia Foodblog:

There’s this coffee called Caterer’s Blend. You find it in the tearooms of tight-arsed institutions that have a high volume of randoms floating through in search of a caffeine transportation vehicle. A little “black magic” so they can endure the next five minutes without killing themselves or the people they are paid to deal with.

In my office, the Caterers a Blend equivalent is Nescafe Blend 43, which I have mentioned in less than glowing terms in a previous post.

Ironman Geisha, well that is another story, and is something else that I will not be consuming in any great quantity (or at all). I must admit I am a little envious of those who will give it a try though. The reason being that this coffee was recently purchased at the Best of Panama auction by Australia’s Campos Coffee for AU$666.00 per kilo, and will be sold in 150 gram jars for AU$100.00. Nice jars too if you check out their online store.

Then, much to my disappointment, a little humour from The Guardian went to a moan and groan:

Which makes the story of the Ironman Geisha such a monumental wank.

And to be honest I don’t care what this coffee tastes like, at $666 a kilo it’s still a ripoff. Who asked for this?

It is fairly clear the writer has completely missed the point about these types of limited consumer opportunities. Simple supply and demand, the chance to “try it out”, and the choice of any consumer in what they spend their money on, to name but a few of the reasons people will buy this coffee and be glad they did.

A better article if it simply described the Geisha, the writer asking whether they would pay $100 for 150 grams, answering a simple no, (as many who browse the Campos site will also say) and getting on with it. “Who asked for this?” – well, no-one. Who is forced to buy it – well strangely enough, no-one. It is not fluoride in a water supply and I’m pretty sure no-one is being held hostage until they suck $100 from their PayPal account.

We could rattle off a long list of food and beverages people choose to pay far too much for, many of which are consumed in a fairly short period of time. Oh – wait…they choose to pay for. Nothing further I need to say, apart from well done Campos, you can be well satisfied when every last jar is shipped.

As far as the Guardian article is concerned? Relevant point completely missed.

The final word on this must go to Dan (who at least tried the coffee, unlike The Guardian) in an article and short cupping video in The Brisbane Times. Oh…who incidentally is a non coffee drinker who picked the Ironman out of a line up in a blind cupping session – just saying.

Crop to Cup – Part 5 | Tasting

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Photo 22-10-2013 4 25 25 am

Here we go, the finale in the Crop to Cup series, where we sample the end result of the past 6 weeks caring for and nurturing (let’s be honest – processing) our microlot of coffee beans. As you can see by the image above, it was going to go one of two ways. Over this time we have worked through pulping and fermentation (Crop to Cup – Part 1); drying (Crop to Cup – Part 2, and Crop to Cup – Part 3); and hulling (Crop to Cup – Part 4) prior to roasting.

After such a long process, my concern was that I would be somewhat biased about the result. Also, given I had such a small amount, how was I going to brew? After setting aside half of the massive 27 gram (roasted) crop to return to the generous barista who gave me the coffee cherries in the first place, only enough remained for a single brew, whichever method I chose.

After much deliberation, I went with my Hario V60. My rationale being I wanted a method that would allow me to assess the coffee on its own merits rather than being combined with milk, and in the knowledge that the returned beans to my barista friend would be tasted as an espresso. The V60 seemed like a good fit as I would be able to enjoy six or so weeks worth of care and attention for a little longer, rather than having an espresso that was both created and consumed in a flash. Though in saying that, I would also be in for a longer period of disappointment and torture if the resulting brew was horrible.

Photo 22-10-2013 4 30 44 am

So, how did it turn out?

The Whack

What
Jen’s Australian Microlot
Harvest Year: 2013
Wet processed; sun dried
Sorry, no further information regarding the exact origin of these beans!

How
Hario V60 Pourover

Assessment
The section I have been waiting to get to for some time now!

In summary, the resulting brew was fairly ordinary, however drinkable none the less. Overall, it lacked any real body and had minimal sweetness, even as the brew cooled. Underneath there were some very mild floral and herby notes doing their best to be tasted. Accompanying these were some earthy flavours which thankfully did not overpower the brew, though lingered in an aftertaste that was a little, shall we say … strange.

Generally speaking, none of the flavours really overpowered the brew, making it a little “flat” overall. Given the light to medium roast of the beans, perhaps in retrospect I should have roasted them a little darker.

Feedback from my barista friend on the espresso experience was not positive at all. The concentrated form of an espresso shot seemed to magnify everything that was wrong with the beans, particularly the lack of any discernible body. I am told it was quite a flavourless experience.

Conclusion; Know This
In conclusion, although a little labour intensive, processing from the original cherries into something I could roast and then brew was a very satisfying experience. Yes, the taste test above did not reveal anything outstanding, however the brew was certainly drinkable and knowing that both the roast and brewing variables could be tweaked and improved if more of the “raw materials” were available was a promising sign for any future attempts.

I must also note here that I am comparing this with some fairly high quality beans I routinely purchase from Ministry Grounds Coffee, my usual supplier.

Rating : 2/5

If you have followed this 5 part series, thanks for sticking with it over the past couple of months. I hope it has given some insight into small batch coffee processing had you not already experienced it yourself. For me it will be back to the usual roasts and posts. I’m not sure if the labour intensive nature of processing from scratch suits my lifestyle. Then again, my mother did say there is a nice young coffee tree in a pot she is saving until my next visit. Perhaps I am about to become a grower as well…

Directions in Brew Consistency

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James Hoffmann in Three Things I’m Working On:

The common theme between all this is not that I want to automate the barista out of a job, but that I want to make getting to great coffee more easily. I’m tired of fighting coffee, I’m tired of serving coffee that we know could be better and I’m tired of drinking disappointing coffee as a customer.

Many of those prominent in the coffee industry around the world are currently attending the HOST Expo in Milan (see this article on Sprudge for an explanation of HOST), and there are many new equipment releases and project updates surfacing as a result. Any for the amateur home roasters out there? I think not, however the above article by Hoffmann does point to the direction those striving to improve brew consistency are headed – even greater temperature control and more accurate brewing by weight.

Interesting times ahead. I think we would all applaud the last sentence in the above quote.

I highly recommend James’ blog if you enjoy thoughtful, well written articles on the coffee industry.