Well, I had this coffee ready to drink with 3:45 left to go in the game between my Toy Cows and the Arizona Cardinals. How ridiculous, at least rename the team Coral Snakes or Gila Monsters if you move them to Arizona.
Upon opening the bag, I was struck by the rustic, irregular nature and generally tiny to medium size of the beans. I was also amused by the rather light roast on a few beans here and there, while most were somewhere between medium and slightly dark roasted. The aroma upon grinding was extremely powerful and chemical like. I was curious and left it for two or three minutes, then sniffed it again. Over a couple more minutes I sniffed it a few times more and sure enough, the old memories of taking the bus with my mother and sister to visit my grandfather in Atlantic City. I've told this story before, won't go in to it, but learned eventually that those huge pipe structures along the highway which emanated the worst smelling stuff in the world, through a SEALED BUS, were oil refineries.
Okay I thought, I've smelled this in a freshly ground coffee, didn't I? Was it an Uncle Beanz coffee, or was it a cigar, a bourbon? It seemed more like it had to be a coffee, but the aroma was extremely sharp and unmistakable, making me wonder about the taste. Something that sharp had to have good wake up qualities and interesting flavor. I couldn't wait to try it. And so there I was, with the Toy Cows poised on the verge of a remarkable fourth quarter comeback, watching the game live on my cell phone, but it was not to be. The Toy Cows were victimized by a case of Foot Muck Up of Extra Point and Hang Your Head Disease. Otherwise, I'd still be watching, because we'd be in overtime.
But this coffee is a surefire winner. African coffees have always been among my list of favorites, well represented, and Yrgacheffe is among the tops on my list. But this has to be the most interesting expression of that mark of coffee, and one of the most unique coffees I've had in years. A number of African coffees are said to be marked with earth and lemon notes, and in the latter department, this is exceptional. This actually tastes like a heavy shot of fresh squeezed, filtered, sweet lemon juice with gentle earth notes in the background, perhaps a wee bit of caramel on an occasional aftertaste, like a lone frog chirping in a big field.
This was my first taste of this, and as I had looked forward to this special edition of Thursday Night Football, the coffee was a perfect compliment, as it was a new and very unique one. Another winner, that's five in a row out of the eight I recently purchased. Plenty of this one left, then three more to go.
Upon opening the bag, I was struck by the rustic, irregular nature and generally tiny to medium size of the beans. I was also amused by the rather light roast on a few beans here and there, while most were somewhere between medium and slightly dark roasted. The aroma upon grinding was extremely powerful and chemical like. I was curious and left it for two or three minutes, then sniffed it again. Over a couple more minutes I sniffed it a few times more and sure enough, the old memories of taking the bus with my mother and sister to visit my grandfather in Atlantic City. I've told this story before, won't go in to it, but learned eventually that those huge pipe structures along the highway which emanated the worst smelling stuff in the world, through a SEALED BUS, were oil refineries.
Okay I thought, I've smelled this in a freshly ground coffee, didn't I? Was it an Uncle Beanz coffee, or was it a cigar, a bourbon? It seemed more like it had to be a coffee, but the aroma was extremely sharp and unmistakable, making me wonder about the taste. Something that sharp had to have good wake up qualities and interesting flavor. I couldn't wait to try it. And so there I was, with the Toy Cows poised on the verge of a remarkable fourth quarter comeback, watching the game live on my cell phone, but it was not to be. The Toy Cows were victimized by a case of Foot Muck Up of Extra Point and Hang Your Head Disease. Otherwise, I'd still be watching, because we'd be in overtime.
But this coffee is a surefire winner. African coffees have always been among my list of favorites, well represented, and Yrgacheffe is among the tops on my list. But this has to be the most interesting expression of that mark of coffee, and one of the most unique coffees I've had in years. A number of African coffees are said to be marked with earth and lemon notes, and in the latter department, this is exceptional. This actually tastes like a heavy shot of fresh squeezed, filtered, sweet lemon juice with gentle earth notes in the background, perhaps a wee bit of caramel on an occasional aftertaste, like a lone frog chirping in a big field.
This was my first taste of this, and as I had looked forward to this special edition of Thursday Night Football, the coffee was a perfect compliment, as it was a new and very unique one. Another winner, that's five in a row out of the eight I recently purchased. Plenty of this one left, then three more to go.