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Monday, July 15, 2013

Coffee Review - Onyx Coffee Lab's Colombian Valle de Cauca

Welcome to the very first coffee review here at Fresh Press Coffee.  For the first coffee, I have a Colombian Valle de Cauca from Onyx Coffee Labs.

ORIGIN: Colombia
REGION: Valle de Cauca
FARM: fina de Herrara
ALTITUDE: 1600m
VARIETAL: Caturra & Typica
CERTIFICATION: Organic & Rainforest Alliance
PROCESS: washed
CUP: cherry, lemon zest, milk chocolate, mouth watering acidity

Brewing Process:
 Aeropress
Water: 135g
Coffee: 9g
Acidity: bright
Body: medium/light mouthfeel
Flavors: lemon, mild cherry sweetness, and slight chocolate finish

Notes: The aeropress had the brightest acidity of all the methods, medium body and all the flavor characteristics on the bag were present.  This made a very nice and moderately clean cup.  If you like a cleaner cup this is the method you should use to make this coffee at home.

Brewing Process:
 Melitta
Water: 135g
Coffee: 9g
Acidity: medium tartness
Body: medium mouthfeel
Flavors: lemon and chocolate sweet

Notes: The melitta came out pretty much just medium all across the board.  It was neither too tart nor sweet.  The cup was about middle of the line between clean and heavy bodied.  The flavors were good yet slightly muted, the cherry was hardly there at all but the sweetness still came through. Overall it was definitely a good cup but don't expect all the characteristics of this coffee to show up.

Brewing Process:
 French Press
Water: 135g
Coffee: 9g
Acidity: low
Body: medium heavy
Flavors: lemon and cherry with mild chocolate

Notes: This had the lowest acidity of the group, but it wasn't missed.  The rest of the cup more than made up for the lower acidity.  Although the french press has the heaviest body, it is not too heavy.  I would rate it cleaner than the majority of coffees I have had in french press.  This is the only brewing method that brought all the flavor characteristics out in full.

Brewing Process:
 Autodrip
Water: 630g
Coffee: 39g
Acidity: mild tartness
Body: medium light
Flavors: cherry and chocolate with a slight citric tartness

Notes: The drip brew was a quality cup. It wasn’t exceptional, but it was good.  It was another medium for the most part.  The acidity was lower than expected but the clarity and body was on the lighter side and helped carry the overall cup.  The flavors were pretty good, the cherry was the most prominent of the three and the lemon was hardly noticeable.

I think this coffee performed very well through all methods.  They all brought the majority of the flavors to the cup.  I did like the french press method the best for this coffee.  It showed every characteristic of the coffee.  It was a little cleaner than most coffees made through a french press.  And if you don’t like french press, this coffee will make you change your mind on that.  The aeropress was the next closest performer.  The only drawback is that it doesn't bring out quite as much as the french press.  It is pretty clean so if you prefer a lighter bodied coffee, this is a great way to drink it.

Check back on Wednesday for the roaster spotlight.  You can learn all about the roaster and where the coffee is from as well as where to buy it.  In the mean time, let me know what your expectations are in the comments below.


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