In the shadow of Cerro el Tigre, an inactive volcano, you'll find Maria Cristina Llach's farm. For this microlot, she chose a blend of orange and red bourbon and the result is a luxurious brew - dessert in a cup. It's super rich with a velvety body and big notes of dark chocolate, cashew butter, caramel and cherry.
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Volcanic soil and high-quality coffee go together like peanut butter and chocolate. So it’s no surprise to find that many of the farms producing amazing coffee are in the shadows of volcanoes. And that’s right where you’ll find Maria Cristina Llach’s farm – on the slopes of Cerro el Tigre (Tiger Mountain), an inactive stratovolcano. An eon ago, that farm wouldn’t be able to exist due to the violent nature of a stratovolcano eruption, but tens of thousands of years later we get to enjoy the fruits of some of the best soil in the world. I suppose everything has a silver lining, even if you have to measure it on geological time scales!
And Maria Cristina is making the most of that silver lining by producing several varieties of incredible coffee. For this microlot, she chose a blend of orange and red Bourbon. While I typically expect bourbon to exhibit bright acidity, I was surprised to find this coffee on the muted side. But what was traded for in acidity was super rich body and velvety texture. For a washed coffee, it’s surprisingly sweet with big notes of dark chocolate, cashew butter, caramel and a gentle undertone of black cherry. It’s a dessert in a cup folks, a downright chocolate bomb! If you like your brownies a little nutty or you’re a fan of peanut butter cups, you’re going to love this coffee.
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Recommended Roast Range: City+ to Full City+ (Light-Medium to Medium-Dark)
Most folks will likely prefer this coffee right at Full Medium roast or after the 1st crack has ended but before the 2nd crack begins. That’s where we found the best combination of sweetness, body and brightness. Lighter roasts will exhibit more a bit more fruit and acidity while darker roasts will really lean into the dark chocolate and toffee character in the coffee.
I roasted two pounds of this last week in my grill-based drum roaster. I drink espresso milk drinks. I went into the rolling 2nd crack just about 460degF drop temp and 17.5% weight loss. At this roast level the coffee was clean, full bodied, velvety smooth. The descriptors used were accurate except that at this darker roast, the fruity and floral notes were toned down as I expected. It didn’t need much of a rest. Very enjoyable as a SO espresso milk based. It may be worth trying a roast blend with this coffee. I will be buying more!
This is a great coffee! It's what you might get if an island coffee had a baby with a full natural. The write up doesn't mention the pronounced citrus notes or the similarities with island coffees but to me this is a big part of this coffee. It's unique and amazingly aromatic in a dessert kind of way. I found good results in slowing down the roast a tad and going for sweetness - since it has such a strong aroma already and roasting for sweetness really rounds it out. This is just my opinion and your mileage may vary.
I like to tamper with stuff like this. So I'm experimenting with my roasting profile to get the flavors I like. It's amazing how much change five degrees in Target temp can make. I just bought 10 pounds more so I have plenty to play with. Seems like all my attempts have been good but I haven't zeroed in on the one I want. Gettin' close.
All things considered, this is my favorite bean from CC. Every roast turns out well. I'm mostly shooting for 14-15%. I just ordered 3 lbs. of the newer October shipment. I'm hoping I love it as much as the previous.
Takes heat very quickly. I would recommend a similar profile to a decaf to start. Haven’t cupped yet, but my 1st pound roast went to FC in 5:50. I obviously carried way too much momentum though charge/drying. Nice looking bean - will try again.
Well I must say WOW!! This is outstanding. I roasted to the second crack going pretty good and shut down. It is everything I like my morning coffee to be. I drink my coffee black and It has a great mouth feel, smooth and creamy. Then the taste is chocolate, nuts, caramel with a nice finish. This is my favorite for sure
Very smooth, medium to mild flavor. Roasts in 7 minute range for 1st crack, showing great color profile. Think of blending with an Indonesian variety to add bolder nuances.
I got some from my brother before I placed this order which is still not here. Apparently a 1 day holiday delay translates to four days. USPS says I got the shipment yesterday the 29th but tracking says it just got to Portland Oregon this morning so maybe tomorrow? It took 4 days to get from the Captain's facility to the local post office but that includes the Holiday when the shipping label was printed. Anyway, should be here tomorrow the 31st. This is a freak occurance for sure as I usually get Captain's shipments in 3 to 4 days versus 12 should it arrive tomorrow. Luckily I still have two batches worth to roast and one degassing so thankfully it will arrive in time to maintain my time frame.
This coffee is very good, easy to roast to medium and I let it degas for 6 days then brewed it with a pour over process. The coffee needed no cream, sugar etc. It was not bitter and was very pleasant. If I can drink it black and enjoy it, it's good stuff, this is some good stuff here. But, that's my preference yours may be different but you should try it. Some coffees I run out of before I can unlock the secret to a good cup needless to say I don't re-order those.
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