r/BeanDrop

Please use this megathread to post up comments, questions, reviews from this drop.

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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?

Heya keen-Kenyan coffee drinkers, if you haven't see this - Mantaray is doing a kenyan coffee flight. Coupled with the EOFY sales it's great value and nice way to explore terroir and origin.

I've been reading a little and listening to podcasts exploring Kenya as an origin so this has come up at the right time for me.

Some good material that I've come across linked below, but do feel free to share your experiences and thoughts about Kenyan coffee too. Have the experimental Kenyan 'taco roll' coffee in Ozdrop3, so keen to hear your thoughts on that one too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRMsTq-pzOM

https://timwendelboe.no/blogs/tim-wendelboes-coffee-podcast/purchasing-coffees-in-kenya-live-from-the-cupping-lab-51

Tim W's other episodes on Kenya also interesting - but this one going through a green buyer's experience and thought process selecting coffees, is pretty interesting.

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I ordered separately from the BeanDrop just because I spotted it and figured to try it out.

Brewed on a Deep 27 following the Walnuts recommendation of 15g to 225g of water. Grinded with a ZP6 with the grind setting on 6 (for now) but I have gone as low as 4. I tried 93C for Las Aguilas, Kii aa, and Halo Golden Honey but have also gone up to 95C. They were roasted on 7th of May, so I waited until about 35 days before trying any. Since then they have opened up a bit, but still seem to be improving. My water is around 80ppm.

The coffees have come out as tea-like body, some acidity, and some of the suggested flavours given by Walnuts. Halo golden honey stood out as mostly floral and sweet with a stone fruit aroma. Kii aa has been bright, juicy, and showing that blood orange. Las aguilas is light, floral, and just has that slight acidity of passionfruit.

Recommended if you really like light floral flavours and bright acidity.