Law On Coffee

Burundi Bwayi Lot No. 8 – Counter Culture June 9, 2009

After a month tasting Trader Joe’s, and going through my local supply of Counter Culture, I was ready for something new. Thankfully I saw this tweet from @coffeegeek raving about a new batch of coffee from the Bwayi community of Kayanza, Burundi that he reviewed. I went right down to Southern Season and picked up a pound, no questions asked.

I’m not usually a fan of coffee from Africa. It’s usually too smoky, too fruity for my taste. This is some really good coffee. It’s still got a smokyness to it, but nothing that will overwhelm you. I don’t taste any fruityness, maybe some chocolate, but nothing too sweet. It’s just a really strong coffee taste, a taste I really enjoy.

I’d go back for another pound of this coffee. While it’s no Huehuetenango or Kuta to me, it’s right up there with the best of them.

Buy Burundi Bwayi Lot No. 8 from Counter Culture

El Salvador Pasa – Counter Culture January 30, 2009

This Counter Culture, El Salvador Pasa was a tough coffee to review. I first bought it during the Winter break, and drank it out of a drip system every morning with the wife. It was good, but it was drip. I really wanted to taste it with a press pot so I could compare to the rest of the coffees I’ve reviewed. Not to mention, it’s the right way to drink it.

So now a few coffees later, I picked up another bag of the Pasa and can finally appreciate it for what it is, a pretty great cup. Very smooth, no beginning or end, just coffee. It’s hard to explain, but picture that point in taking a sip when you know the coffee is past your tongue and you get that aftertaste. This coffee didn’t have any of that. Like a hot Krispy Kreme glazed donut, it just melted.

There’s a nice crisp fruit flavor, but nothing overpowering like a Yiracheiffe. I get a little smokyness, but not a ton. Just a good coffee taste with a hint of fruit, very little acid and no bite. Really great cup.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see this coffee available on the Counter Culture site. Maybe I grabbed some of the last they had, or maybe it’s just not listed.

Peru Valle del Santuario – Counter Culture January 16, 2009

Back to the office after a nice 2 week break, and back to Counter Culture to start the new year off right. My friend John roasted some Peruvian greens from Counter Culture over the holidays and was raving about them, so I figured it was worth trying some pre-roasted.

I’ve never had coffee from Peru before, but I would imagine it’ll taste like most South American coffees, bright and crisp. This coffee comes from a few farms in the San Ignacio area of Peru, so while it’s not a single farm, it’s definitely single origin by my book.

This coffee doesn’t disappoint. It’s extremely smooth with subtle vanilla and chocolate flavors. There’s no crazy finish, what you get from the first sip stays with you, but the flavor lingers a bit in your mouth. It’s really nice for a breakfast cup, I would totally get this again.

Buy Peru Valle del Santuario from Counter Culture

Costa Rica Tarrazu – Uber Geek Coffee Roasters January 2, 2009

This is a weird one. My wife is big into cloth diapering for our daughter. So much so that she makes her own sometimes, knits covers and posts of message boards. The most popular way to sell your diapers or covers is using hyena cart, which is a web service that lets you set up your own store, stock it, etc. Once day cruising Hyena Cart’s site, she found the Uber Geek Coffee Roasters and got me a bag.

Talk about local roasters, these guys are as local as you can get. Not to me of course, they’re in Montana somewhere, but this is what I think of when I hear “small local roaster.” They literally roast in their backyard, and close down the business when it’s too cold to go out. Awesome.

I got a bag of their Costa Rica Tarrazu beans. It’s rated a full city but I felt it was a little lighter than that. Great aroma and color from the bag. Since I was at home for the winter break, we made drip as well as french press. I think these beans made a great drip coffee, strong coffee taste with a mellow ending. The french press however, nothing special to report. Just tasted like Costa Rican coffee, bold and rich.

I’d like to try some of their other coffees, especially their Huehuetenango since I liked Counter Culture’s so much although it is listed as decaf, so I dunno. I like the idea of helping out the little guys, and these guys are definitely little.

Learn More About Uber Geek Coffee Roasters

Idido Royal Yirgacheffe – Counter Culture December 2, 2008

Another round with Counter Culture, this time with a really unique bean. My first experience with Yirgacheffe was as a “free sample” bag added to my wife’s espresso order. It smelled great, but I put in way too much coffee for the amount of water I used making the strongest coffee ever. I spent the rest of the morning dizzy and decided I didn’t like Yirgacheffe.

Everyone deserves a second chance, so here goes with Yirgacheffe. Counter Culture has a few Yirgacheffe varieties, all from different farms in Ethiopia. This one is their Idido Royal Washed variety. One thing hit me from the first time I opened the bag, these beans are much smaller than normal beans. Here’s a pic of the Yirgacheffe next to a Huehuetenango and a Bean Martin blend. It’s almost like a Peaberry, but I don’t think they are.

The flavor is very unexpected, really fruity. It took my wife having a sip for us to identify the flavors, she has a much better palate than I do. If you didn’t know you were drinking coffee, you could swear it was an herbal or black flavored tea. That’s great if you’re in the mood for fruit, but I really want coffee in the morning, not a lemony-peach.

I’ll finish out the bag, but I don’t think I’ll order this again unless I’m in the mood for a fruity coffee. It’s pretty crazy that coffee can taste like this though, I’m sure learning a lot about beans.

Buy Counter Culture Idido Royal Yirgacheffe

Guatemala Huehuetenango: Finca Nueva Armenia – Counter Culture November 18, 2008

I wrote a few weeks back that I was interested in retrying the Huehuetenango coffee I first reviewed. As you’ll remember, this was the coffee that started the site. I’ve reviewed 6 coffees since my first cup of Huehuetenango and was curious if it still deserved the high praise I remember it.

Well, yeah it does. This coffee is amazing, a perfect cup. The levels it brings must be tasted to believe. The strong coffee flavor, nice bold hit in your mouth, then the smoky almost-nutty-but-not finish. Very nutty, hazelnut maybe but without that crazy flavored mess that gums up a grinder.

If you have a Counter Culture supplier near you, and are interested in a different experience for your morning cup, you should really give this a try. It’s unlike any of the other coffees I’ve tried and again, is the reason why I started this blog.

Order Guatemala Huehuetenango from Counter Culture

Colombia la Golondrina – Counter Culture August 14, 2008

Another Counter Culture gets a turn, this time their Colombia la Golondrina. I’ve always loved Colombian coffee, the Colombia Supremo is probably the coffee most popular coffee blend in the US. It’s what normal coffee tastes like, usually a medium-dark roast, nice level taste. It’s the one with Juan Valdez on the packaging, the logo of Colombian coffee.

This coffee is from the same region, but from a single farm. I read a bit about it on the Counter Culture site. They say the Colombia Supremo we all know is actually a mix of a bunch of Colombian coffee farms, which together creates the taste we’re used to. However, there’s some really good farms out there which if separated from the rest of the beans, really shine.

First sip I didn’t think anything of it. It’s just normal coffee, nothing to write home about. Then I got a little more into it, and the flavors started coming out. I’m not a professional taster or anything, but I swear I taste some dark chocolate in this. Nothing too overpowering, like the stuff my Mother in law gets from Sam’s Club, just a subtle hint of chocolate.

I’m gonna give this coffee a good rating, but not great. It’s really just a middle of the row, good quality coffee to me. Maybe good for a mid day espresso, it’s got that kind of smoothness. I wouldn’t want this for my breakfast cup during the week, there’s no get up and go here.

Order from Counter Culture

Guatemala Huehuetenango – Counter Culture July 27, 2008

I picked up a pound of this at Southern Season on sale for $9.99. These beans are from Huehuetenango, Guatemala which is a mountainous region in the northwest of the country. As with all of their Counter Culture coffee beans, they’re roasted just up the street a few days before they’re delivered here, so they’re real fresh. 

When my wife asked how to pronounce Huehuetenango the guy behind the counter told us a story about how good this was for a breakfast coffee. The employees at Counter Culture would have a saying “Start your day the Way Way way!” referring to the pronunciation of Huehuetenango. If that isn’t a vote for the quality of these beans, I don’t know what is.

The aroma of the brewed coffee was just what you’d expect, strong coffee smell everywhere in the room. Very bold, this had a very strong coffee taste which hit hard in the beginning and then tapered off after a few seconds. Almost sweet at the start, leading to a smokey, almost nutty flavor. I tasted this coffee on many levels, which is saying a lot for me.

I highly recommend this coffee, it’s my new breakfast coffee of choice and actually the reason for starting this blog.

Order Guatemala Huehuetenango from Counter Culture