I received this coffee as a gift following a mission trip. After doing some research I found some interesting facts about this Vietnamese coffee. Apparently the story goes that this Vietnamese coffee is similar to the Kopi Luwak process instead of being digested by a civet, it is digested by weasel. This process is said to reduce bitterness and create a smooth brew. However Vietnamese companies also claim to have replicated the digestive process with an enzyme. We prepare this coffee with Hario v60 pour-over and a clever coffee dripper. The first thing to notice was the beans were roasted extremely dark very similar to a French roast and the surface of the beans were covered in oil. While the aroma was intensely smoky it did have an uncharacteristically very sweet buttery caramel aroma. I was very hesitant to make this coffee as it appeared that it had been soaked in a fragrant oil. With the first sip, the coffee was extremely smooth with very little aftertaste. If it was true this coffee passed through a digestive process, it really diminished the palate cleansing acidity for this cup. Both batches of coffee produced a very slick oily surface even with using an able cone filter with the pour-over, and a #4 filter with the coffee dripper. Instinctively the coffee paired well with a soft Caramel sauce that included butter and vanilla bean in the ingredients.
When the coffee cooled I finally figured out what it reminded me of: Burnt kettle corn. While I enjoy tasting this coffee for broad exposure, it affirmed to me the importance of tasting wide varieties of food to get an accurate experience on the palate.
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