I know, I know! It's been for fucking ever since I posted! I have good reasons though! We have had the fortunate opportunity to bring in some new coffees. This means, though, that I needed to familiarize myself with them, so I took a break to do so. The first coffee on the list was an old favorite with a new face.
The Ethopia Sidamo is one of my favorite coffees. It's versatility makes it one of the most fun coffees to experiment with. It's bright, juicy, and complex as an espresso. It has beautiful milky, chocolatey goodness as a drip and pour-over and an equally chocolatey experience as a cold brew. I've used it many times in the past for all of the above. This is all found in its naturally processed state and as a city roast. Our roaster, New Harvest Coffee, features a different coffee every month or so as a really great dark roast, appropriately titled "The Dark Roast of the Decade". Love it. So where is this going? In a stroke of pure genius, New Harvest chose to roast the natural processed Sidamo as a dark. Perfect.
I did a few things with these two together.
First- Cold brew. I did two batches. Equal parts dark and city. The first was the city on the bottom. The end result was beautiful. Viscous and rich in body, full flavor profile for your tongue, and as smooth as shot of Bushmills. Chocolate EVERYWHERE. Flavored like a mild dark chocolate. The second batch was dark on the bottom. All of the above descriptors with the added bonus of being the most decadent glass I've had yet. Simply the best dark chocolate you've ever had. A little bitter, very rich, very smooth, all chocolate. Amazing.
I then decided that it was time to fuck with the Fetco. I layered my coffees accordingly. The result is the same. So Fucking Good!
I strongly suggest that each and everyone of you abandon your blends and do it yourself. If you're a roaster, stop mixing. It's old news. LAYER! Layering is the way to go. It all extracts differently creating a much more complex flavor profile. Seriously, just try it. Take your favorite blend and pick it apart, create your ratios, and layer.
So with that, dry your portafilters, weigh your shots, stop blending, try something new and enjoy your creation.
