December 11th, 2006
Coffee Review: Indian Monsooned Malabar
I roasted some coffee tonight and thought I’d start reviewing coffee or telling what my experience was. I plan to review mostly coffees that I roast at home. Sometimes, I can imagine that based upon my experience I might review the same coffee, but at different roasts. I don’t know if this will be a regular thing or not, but we’ll see. I can’t drink all the coffee I purchase very quickly so these reviews are likely to come once in a while. I’d suspect that the reviews will increase as the new coffee season comes next year and as it gets warmer. It’s hard to roast in cold weather (or at least I haven’t found the right trick or equipment) and the family doesn’t really appreciate the fresh smell of roasted coffee, so I tend to roast outdoors whenever possible.
A couple of weeks ago I purchased 4 green coffees from The Roasterie, in Kansas City. They air roast their coffee just as I do, only on a much bigger scale. I had the privilege last time of seeing their warehouse when I went to pickup my order. It was pretty cool. Maybe some day I’ll have an official tour. I purchased Indian Monsooned Malabar, Papua New Guinea Kimel Estate (again), Costa Rican Brumas Del Zurqui (again), and Mexican Altura. I’ve had the Kimel Estate and still have a lot of the Del Zurqui (at about 12 bucks for 5lbs who can argue? And, they’re for gifts this season)
On to the review! I wasn’t sure what to expect from this coffee. It had a unique description. Here’s an exceprt from theroasterie.com:
“The meticulously prepared dry coffee slowly yellows and expands, taking in the smooth earthy texture of the environment. It is this process that makes Monsooned Malabar so special. This is undeniably the most unique and eye opening coffee to be found. A testament to the way things were, and to they way they can become.”
See what I mean? I can truly say that it’s eye opening, because I only had 2 cups and I’m wide awake at 12:30 in the morning.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the bag of green beans, was that the smell wasn’t like other green coffees I’ve roasted in the past. I think this has to do with the fact it is unique and probably something to do with the region and monsoons there, hence the name. The green beans seemed like they had a spicy / pepper type smell. They were also a little more yellow than other beans I’ve roasted. I know it’s weird, but that’s what I noticed. The roast took a little longer, but in a few minutes I was stirring to cool the beans anticipating the tasting.
The overall taste of the Malabar was very earthy and smoky to me. It was kind of like a Sumatra, but there was something different about it I still can’t figure out. It did have slight nutty tones, but I mostly noticed how smooth, dark, and bold it was. I tasted this just after roasting, so we’ll see in the morning if I’ve changed my mind. In any event, I think it’s going to be a fairly promising coffee. It’s also a special offering by the Roasterie, so I’ll have to be sure to grab some before they stop offering it.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the first review. There wasn’t much review as there was talking about the review process. Hopefully next time around I’ll have something more to say.