Today I was excited to try out some new coffees, especially as I was interviewing for new Decaf and Light Roast lines at Doney Coffee. I tried a Decaf Colombia and a couple Ethiopia origin beans. Also, the Doney Coffee family has grown by nearly two pounds, in the form of our new kitten named Dragon. She is pictured here helping test the scale. Anyway, here is what I found in cupping five coffees.
Doney Coffee - Friendly Neighbor - Medium Roast Peru: I included this old friend as a benchmark for the other coffees. It's ground/dry aroma is remarkably like brownies, though if I sniffed enough I could pick up a little something else. Maybe raisin. When sipping the coffee (slurping with a spoon), I didn't pick up anything new this time. Probably because I did a terrible job getting the grounds out, and it was rather distracting. I really appreciate how this is so smooth and acidity-free.
Decaf Colombia - Valle de Cauca "Sugarcane": This will do fine for good dark Decaf, which is what I was hoping to find. It didn't have a lot of aroma, but the taste was smooth, rich, and balanced. I picked up some raisin and brown spice. As it cooled, it brought out the darker flavors instead of becoming more sour/acidic. Quite enjoyable.
Danger Monkey Blend - Single Speed Roasters: I want to cup some beans roasted by other Flagstaff roasters, to make sure that my beans are keeping up with the competition. I grabbed this from White Dove for $21.62 a pound (I sell mine for $10). It was a very light roast. It was bracingly acidic, but that could be partly in relation to the other coffees I was cupping today. It was a nice acidity, definitely not a bad sourness, and it did have a hint of something else in the background. Maybe a bit of nuttiness? It's probably just me, but I had trouble getting past the acidity.
Ethiopia Guji - Natural/Dry Processed: This coffee was fascinating. The dry aroma wasn't especially distinctive, but the flavor was amazing. It was a happy, interesting flavor, but it had a relatively muted acidity. I picked up a slight floral flavor, and the closest description I found on the official flavor wheel was peach. Overall, it was a pleasant, interesting coffee that will make an outstanding Light Roast.
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe: I have really enjoyed Yirgas in the past, and this was good too. I found it's strengths to be a nice lemony acidity but combined with hints of apple or similar fruit. It was good, but I think I'm going with #4 the Guji.
Overall, I was quite pleased with the Colombia Decaf and the Ethiopia Guji, and will be offering them at Doney Coffee under the Early Sunset (Decaf) and Summer Rain (Light Roast) lines. I was also pleased at how my coffees measure up to the competition, who charge twice as much and I don't find to be superior. That being said, the White Dove coffee shop serves the best espresso drink I have tasted in my life, the Revelation. I highly recommend you check out their drinks and friendly service, though I (predictably) think you should buy Doney Coffee beans for home.
We just used some of the leftover Yirgacheffe and Danger Monkey for a cold brew, and I'm going to give the Decaf Colombia and Guji the French Press test before ordering some boxes of green beans for roasting. Hope you all enjoy the lovely Spring weather!
Update: The cold brew is very good.