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There are just so many amazing coffees this summer – most of the Cup of Excellence coffees are just hitting the market right now, and the coffees of Ethiopia and Kenya are hitting North American shores. I’ve tried so many of them, and I recapped some in a recent CoffeeGeek Podcast. In this article, I’ll talk about a few more – namely the summer’s biggest rock star coffees!
49th Parallel Coffee Roasters
Cupping several 49th Parallel Coffees against others. Included are the Esmeralda #4 Microlot and (far right), the Best of Panama winner, La Carleida.
I continue to be impressed by the roasting skills of Mike Piccolo and the purchasing decisions of Vince Piccolo of 49th Parallel Roasters based here in my hometown. When they first started, the product was fairly immature, but today, I feel very confident in calling them one of the top five roasters in all of North America – and possibly top three.
I got to taste several of their offerings recently including two really interesting Kenyas, last year’s Esmeralda off-auction lot (they keep it vacu-sealed and frozen in green format before roasting), but right now, they have three superstar coffees that surpass even these.
Esmeralda 2008 Auction Lot #4
This coffee, which is unique amongst all the Esmeraldas auctioned off this year, is a “double pass” coffee following in the pioneering footsteps of Australia’s Mountain Top coffee. What’s double pass? This processing method follows the Ice Wine industry’s modus – the cherries are left to essentially raisin on the plants, and they are dried longer. This allows a lot more interaction between enzymes, chemicals, nature – you name it – between the cherry, mucilage and the bean within. Some believe it results in a sweeter coffee.
My tasting notes: Definitely a sweeter version of Esmeralda – I’ve tried five lots this year, and this is by far the sweetest. It doesn’t quite have the super delicate florals of some of the other lots, but makes up for it in a kind of juicy-fruit overall sensation, with adequate body. Quite an impressive coffee.
This coffee will be available exclusively through Vancouver’s Caffe Artigiano.
Ethiopian Beloya
For me, Biloya (now Beloya) was last year’s coffee of the year. I had it from four roasters last year, and from three of them, it completely blew my mind and palate. I was very much looking forward to this year’s offerings, and I got 49th’s microlot first.
Tasting Notes: When you grind this coffee, you immediately get a kind of watermelon / cantelope / melon smell – its quite unique and shocking to those who haven’t experienced culinary coffee. The cup is a cacophony of pleasing tastes – you get base coffee, but lots of big soft fruits, a nice big wallop of body, and a medium and quite pleasing acidity. The finish is impressively long. This is a fantastic coffee.
It’s also a special order coffee from 49th. It’s not on their website, you’ll either have to visit their cafe (4th Avenue in Vancouver) or call to be put on a notification list for it. So far, it’s the best coffee I’ve had this year.
La Carleida – Best of Panama First Place Coffee
49th Parallel scored the top coffee in 2008’s Best of Panama auction, and I was able to sample 12 ounces of this precious (and very expensive) brew.
Tasting Notes: Big huge florals, citrus and a sparkly acidity. This is a juicy, spritzy, low body coffee that will impress anyone who normally thinks coffee is a commodity / utility drink. I served it to a French wine sommelier friend of mine, and in his very French way, described it as “a very beautiful, well endowed woman with a PhD.” Very apropos.
Again, this is a limited, special order coffee. Contact 49th Parallel Roasters to find out how to order or taste.
PT’s Coffee Selections of Beloya
Simply beautiful and impressive Beloya offerings from PT’s Coffee.
Kansas’ PT’s Coffee also sent me not one, but two Beloyas to sample in the last few weeks, and both were amazing, further cementing this coffee type as my possible coffee of the year.
Beloya Selection Eight
My slight favourite of the two Beloyas PT’s sent me, this one just had some intense grapefruit and floral aromas on the grind and brew. In the cup, the juicy fruits continued, but I found a lot of spiciness, yet I couldn’t quite place the spices. And talk about complex – here’s my raw notes: Creamy, some wine, not much, definite blueberry, the melon’s all in the aroma. A coffee with texture on the tongue. Cools like a champ. Aftertaste is lingering, almost spicy again, clean but lasting – it’s a like a big blueberry Kenya without the acidity. Love it!
Beloya Selection One
Nearly as good as Eight (and better than 98% of the coffees I’ve had this year), this one seemed to be more into the blue fruits. Again, my raw cupping notes: Cream. No, wine. Cream and wine. Juices, blue fruits, some melons. More cream, body is killer. Finish is fantastic and long lasting.
Both of these coffees are special orders from PT’s coffee. Contact them to find out when they’re roasted and what the prices are. I highly recommend these.
About the Author
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.