Explore Aroma w/ Starbucks Gold Coast Pour Over

Here is a Coffee tasting I Completed with Gold Coast pour over on the importance of utilizing whole bean and ground coffee for aroma attributes during a tasting.  

Whole Bean at 70 degrees releases certain CO2, when I  grind the coffee on my Burr Grinder it elevates 5 degrees increasing the amount of CO2 released introducing new aromas. 

First pre-wet your filter to warm the cone, remove paper taste and loosen fibers for great extraction then add coffee grounds, shake to flatten the bed and add a small dimple using a spoon in the middle to direct your water.

The introduction of Hydrolysis (Hot water to coffee bed) elevates temp, since CO2 repels water there needs to be a 30 sec bloom time to allow gases to escape and prepare the coffee bed for the remaining water. Only then will you unlock flavors on your second pour and create unique slurry, adding water in circular motion starting in the middle and working you way out without touching the sides of the filter.

Enjoy!

Lien Saigon - Vietnamese Weasel Coffee

 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.