It's no secret, that I could ever turn down an invite only coffee subscription box,
so James being as clever as he is created a monthly box, completely invite only, and I felt great that I was one of the lucky ones he asked.
(we're also going to ignore the fact that this blog post is over a month late at this point)
(we're also going to ignore the fact that this blog post is over a month late at this point)
Being the first box, I wasn't sure what to expect, but oh my, I was definitely not disappointed.
This lovely box included 6 (yes 6!!!!) coffees, 3 100g bags, and 3 200g bags.
To keep it relatively easy, I ended up using the same recipes for all coffees the first time round, all using the Aeropress.
I used 16.5g of coffee to 245ml of water, all brewed for 1.45 minutes with a 30 second bloom and a 30 second plunge.
Horsham Coffee Roasters
Brazil Recanto
Region - Chapadoa de Ferro, Brazil
Varietal - yellow Catuai
Process - natural
Flavour Notes - Ameretto, Fudge, Dates
Dry bean aroma - sweet cacoa
This Brazilian had really sweet aromas when brewed, and tasted real sweet and syrup-like, it was super smooth and had a really light mouthfeel.
Los Nogales el Robles, El Salvador
Varietal - Boubon Pacas Hybrid
Process - natural
Flavour Notes - blueberries, Parma violets, fig
Dry bean aroma - fresh berries
I'm very new to El Salvador coffees, but mmm this one was good, it had a really strong flavour of dark fruits, a real full bodied coffee with a smooth and crisp finish.
Bunaberry
(the only one I didn't take a photo of apparently)
Ethiopia Adado, Yirgacheffe
Varietal - Ethiopian Heirloom
Process - fully washed
Flavour Notes - apricots and peaches
Dry bean aroma - fruity, like stone fruit
I love me some Yirgacheffe, and this coffee didn't disappoint, all I wrote down for the notes was "fruity af" so that's an indication that I enjoyed it too much to even try and make more notes on it.
Untold Coffee
Jack in the box
Timana, Huila, Colombia
Varietal - mix of Colombian varieties
Process - sugar cane decaffeination
Flavour Notes - caramel and sweet spices
I first tried this one at Bestival when I was on a caffeine ban (that went really well fyi) so I was playing around with recipes a lot, but oh my, this decaf was LUSH... It was so smooth, light and syrupy with a gorgeous crisp finish, and sweet spice aftertaste.
Love potion
40% Costa Rica
40% Honduras
20% Kenya
Flavour Notes - cacoa and berry muesli
Dry bean aroma - sharp, chocolatey
I was unsure if this would work as a filter coffee due to it being a blend, but surprisingly it worked so well that I've now finished the entire bag in less than 3 days. It was so chocolatey, with a smooth finish and a dark chocolate after taste.
Tutti Frutti Smoothie
Bwishaza, western Rwanda
Varietal - Red Bourbon
Process - thick natural
Flavour Notes - blackcurrants, cherry, strawberry
Dry bean aroma - fresh berries
This one again, was one I wrote "fruity af" on the notes, but this coffee literally had no acidity to it. It was so so sweet and syrupy, I could literally drink it like water, which could get slightly dangerous, but you know, isn't that just any Barista's way of living???
It had a super light mouthfeel to it, and was super smooth.
Seeing as I'm so late for this blog post to publish ... Look out for box number 2's blog post to be out in the next few days (oops, yay time keeping)
I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and hopefully I won't be so crappy at actually publishing posts once again (yes that's the fifth time I've said that...)
