USA Drop Reviews and Impressions
Hey All,
With all the EOFY hype and Australian roasters being promoted I wanted to post my impressions from the last USA drop before we all forget about it, lol. Once again my process for each of the coffees is the following:
- I divide the 50g into 3 servings - 15g, 15g, 20g.
- I standardize everything to a 1:16 ratio with 93*c water.
- I use 1/2 strength TWW which should be roughly 75ppm.
Normally I would consider playing with some of these factors but with the limited number of servings I just leave it.
With the doses I go with:
- 1st brew with a ZP6 set at 5.5 (zero is burr rub) brewed in a plastic 02 V60.
- 2nd brew with a Ode Gen2 at 5.2 brewed in a Switch with Coffee Chronicler's recipe.
- Final brew is whichever I preferred (or another change if I think I really missed something)
I think this methodology allows for a clearer, more acidic brew initially, then a more full bodied, complex brew second. Hopefully giving a rounded impression of what the coffee has to offer.
With this in mind here's my review of the coffees we had. Noting I prefer lighter roasts though medium is fine, am happy with funky processes or clear washed offerings and generally like my African coffees over South America despite its popularity at the moment.
Coffee 1: Prodigal Tabi Andino
Origin: Huila, Colombia
Variety: Tabi
Process: Washed
Tasting Notes: Grapefruit, Cherry, Caramel
Rating: 8/10
Review: This coffee presented like a nice, light washed coffee. Very tea like on the body and I appreciated the subtle caramel flavour to keep the "coffee" taste present. I didn't get much distinction outside of that, despite different brew methods, but I definitely enjoyed it.
Coffee 2: Prodigal Finca Las Delicias
Origin: Narino, Colombia
Variety: Gesha
Process: Washed
Tasting Notes: Peach, Earl Grey, Berries
Rating: 7.5/10
Review: This was another nice, light, washed coffee. Very tea like with some hint of stone fruit. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I found the flavour to be very muted in general. As with all coffee this may have been my fault - perhaps I needed hotter water or could have brewed it a little bit fresher (this was 4 weeks) - but it left me a bit wanting considering the supposed gesha pedigree (though this variety gets thrown out all over these days).
Coffee 3: Prodigal Finca Las Palmas
Origin: Huila, Colombia
Variety: Bourbon Aji
Process: Anaerobic Washed
Tasting Notes: Elderberry, Raspberry, Winey
Rating: 9/10
Review: This coffee was the highlight for me. It was much juicier than the others with a strong taste of berry/raspberry. The winey note was also completely different than the Gayo Shiraz we've had previously, coming in under the radar with just a subtle bit of booze, not in your face at all. Highly recommended.
Coffee 4: Hydrangea Hacienda La Papaya
Origin: Yacuri Farm Ecuador
Variety: Typica Mejorado
Process: Yeast Inoculated Washed
Tasting Notes: Guava, Orange, Grape
Rating: 8/10
Review: This coffee was very light in my opinion, with a clean, tea-like flavour and texture. I can't say I picked any of the notes out individually but it was all around good and enjoyable. I would also note it didn't have any of the citrussy/booziness I would maybe have expected from a yeast inoculation - not really a good or bad thing, just an observation.
Coffee 4: Hydrangea Hacienda La Papaya
Origin: Yunguilla Farm, Ecuador
Variety: Typica Mejorado
Process: Natural
Tasting Notes: Grapefruit, Apricot, Honeydew
Rating: 8.5/10
Review: This coffee, for me, just improves on the previous one. A little bit more body, hints of apricot coming through and all around juicier. If I could only pick one from from Hydrangea this would be it.
Coffee 6: Hydrangea Finca Los Capachos
Origin: Florencia, South of Cauca, Colombia
Variety: Pink Bourbon and Gesha
Process: Washed
Tasting Notes: Lime, Pomegranate, Granadilla
Rating: 8/10
Review: This was another beautiful, light, tea like coffee. I got hints of lime with some of the "cane sugar" type profile I associate with Geshas. I didn't get any of the punchier, tropical fruit notes.
TLDR; A suite of excellent coffees, all of which I could recommend with my favourite being Prodigal Finca Las Palmas - the raspberry was very nice for me, almost like a raspberry tea.
On an interesting note I found all 3 Prodigal coffees, for me, excelled in the Switch/Ode2 combo with a higher body brew, and all 3 Hydrangea coffees excelled in the v60/ZP6 combo for more clarity.
Lastly I'd like to add that some of these coffees might have benefitted from higher temps (maybe 96) and brewing them closer to their roast date (perhaps as early as 2 weeks). I can't say for sure but I think a few of the missing notes could have been more apparent with those modifications.
How'd everyone else go?