||ETHIOPIA|| PT's Coffee - Ethiopia Biloya Selection One

Coffee: PT's COFFEE - ETHIOPIA BILOYA SELECTION ONE
Price: $23.95/12 oz + Shipping = $2.29/oz
Year: 2007 (December)
Location: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. This is a special selection lot of dry processed coffee
Roast: Medium-light ... probably toward end of City

What they say: Various roasters have sold this coffee over the last year. Here is Ken David's review of 4 of them, which provides a good idea of what to expect. I tasted the coffee corresponding to this review.




Tasting Notes:
FRENCH PRESS; Score - 95

Fragrance: The dry fragrance out of the grinder is extremely powerful, and the flavor is undeniable - blueberries, blueberries, and more blueberries. Subtle background hints of ginger and pepper

Aroma: A delicious wet aroma that follows through where the dry fragrance left off. I looked forward to cracking the crust every single time I made this coffee, because the aroma was just so unique and pleasing. Blueberries, tropical fruit, and sweet honey predominate. In the background are earthy notes, and a hint of the roast comes through. Even sitting in the cup, the aroma really permeates the whole room.

Body: It feels like a big bodied coffee, which I would describe as almost tannic - like young Bordeaux wines or Cabs. This puckering flavor is separate from the acidity, and really coats the mouth. There is also a nice earthy body in the cup, which mellows a bit as the cup cools.

Acidity: There is no doubting that this is a bright coffee. Very well balanced. A nice, bright, grapefruit-y sensation is the first thing to hit the tongue. This immediately melts into the driving flavors behind the coffee - blueberries, and a wonderful tartness. If the Lord created a fresh blueberry that had the tartness of a cranberry, this is what it would taste like.

Finish: The coffee finishes quite mildly. As the fruit and acid fades, the coffee flavors left in your mouth are very earthy. Sweet spices - like corriander and ginger - reveal themselves. The finish isn’t big, and it isn’t complex. But it is delicious. Simple, sweet, earthy. There is very little lingering aftertaste, but it does leave a tannic sensation in the mouth, and begs for the next sharp sip.

Profile & Flavors: Blueberries. Earth. The flavors were so straightforward, that I think this coffee can be aptly described with those two descriptors. I could use more: honey, corriander, ginger, and tart. But as I said, this coffee was straightforward ... and delicious. Many people get caught up in culinary complexity. Complexity is great. It’s unique. To execute complex flavors requires skill, and when executed properly, can create whole new avenues in flavor. But complexity isn’t everything. The sum total of a complex dish (food, drink, cup of coffee, etc) won’t come together unless the characteristics of its individual ingredients are impeccable. And once that makes sense, it becomes extremely easy to appreciate simplicity ... even to celebrate simplicity. That is exactly what this coffee brings to mind. It is quite simply amazing quality. The tart blueberry flavors exploded in my mouth and nose. I do want to emphasize the tart flavor. First of all, tart does not equal bitter, and bitter does not equal bad. They are two different things in my mind, neither of which is meant to sound better than the other. I found this coffee to be much more tart than bitter, which I can't recall from any coffees I have tried before.

Pairings: A great “drink-alone” coffee - I found myself drinking this coffee by itself in the afternoon as a snack. Paired well with fresh fruit. Paired poorly with cheese.

Buy Again? Without a doubt. This is the highest I have ever rated a coffee, and I will undoubtedly remember it for a long time to come. Again, like some other coffees I have written about, this is a great example of how good coffee can be. For people who consistently drink good coffee, I think this would be a chance to appreciate the difference between great coffee and good coffee. And for the casual, pre-ground, drip coffee drinker, I have been told the difference is “mind boggling.” The price was certainly high, but among the high priced coffee in 2007, I think this had to be one of the winners.

ESPRESSO; Scores - 83, 85, 86, 85

Crema: Thinnish, reddish brown crema. Tastes nutty.

Aroma: Pineapple and tangerine like aromas. Interestingly, as obvious as the blueberries were in the grind and in press pot coffee, I really didn’t find when pulled as espresso.

Body: A medium body, thinner than most traditional espressos. A nice mouthfeel however, with definite earthiness throughout the sip. The tartness apparent in the press pot is also apparent in the shot.

Milk: I only made one big milk drink with this coffee - a cappuccino. As you might guess, it was quite fruity and sweet. A good cappuccino - different if nothing else. I did make a couple macciatos, and a couple espresso con panna drinks. The con panna was my favorite overall way to drink this espresso - richly sweet with an underlying fruity taste. Quite tasty.

Profile & Flavors: Overall, this coffee is not particularly difficult to pull as espresso, and produces a thinnish, yet nicely balanced shot. This is certainly no ground breaking SO espresso, but it is worth pulling and drinking in my opinion. To put it simply, the shots have an earthy background, with a tartly sweet taste at the beginning of the sip. It finishes mildly, but the sweet flavors linger throughout. I think adding high fat milk helps these flavors stay in the mouth longer, and create nice drinks.

Pairings: Works very well by itself. As an espresso con panna, having a fruit scone or muffin on the side was a very nice treat.