Best Coffee Beans I Have Tasted in 2017

1. El Salvador Finca San Francisco Santa Ana, Coffee Collective, Copenhagen 

2. Rwanda Mahembe Nyamasheke, Workshop Coffee, London

3. Burundi Kibingo, Square Mile Coffee Roasters, London

4. Kenya Nyeri Giakanja, Tim Wendelboe, Oslo

5. Costa Rica Alejo Castro, Great Coffee, Aarhus

6. Ethiopia Diima Natural lot#3 Gigessa Guji, Supreme Roastworks, Oslo

7. Ethiopia Beloya Israel Degfa, Drop Coffee Roasters, Stockholm

8. Ethiopia Adado Shara Guanga, Probador Colectiva, Istanbul

9. Ethiopia Sidamo, Fabrica Coffee Roasters, Lisbon

10. Ethiopia Kochere Chelektu, Stooker, Amsterdam

Tim Wendelboe, Oslo, Kenya Giakanja

There comes the post for probably the most famous Nordic specialty coffee spot, Tim Wendelboe. I guess it won't be overestimation if I say that he is one of the key names behind the current state of roasting profiles in specialty coffee business in especially in Europe and people dealing with light roasts and nuances around it. It was a break moment between heavy and multi-directional rain showers of Oslo when I decided to walk the way of around 3 kilometers from my hotel in city center. The unique façade -which really looks like a gourmet kitchen entrance indeed- opens into a single cozy room full of coffee people one of whose corners is allocated with a roasting machine. There are some passages to other small rooms which I think are used to pack the beans and prepare the posts throughout the Europe. TW is continuously delivering coffee to professionals as well as home consumers over subscription. The bar had always been busy and the queue had always been long when I was there. When I managed to order I asked for the tasting menu of 4 brewings for 4 different beans which is indeed suitable for 2 people. It was too much for me but I could easily find someone else there to share this impressive tasting session with me. As far as I can see TW only uses aeropress for brewing. Two Honduras in the first set is followed by another table for a Geisha variety next to a Kenya. Well, the beans, the brewings, the serving styles... They were all great. The elegant acidity was there in all cups with no clue of unwanted sourness or unnecessary heaviness. The details and layers in flavours were really beautiful. The clarity was impressive especially for aeropress.

Kenya Giakanja made the biggest impact and I carried a 250 grams package with me on my way back home, where I tried my reference recipes for aeropress, V60 and kalita wave brewings. My best cup was in V60 12/200gr. Aeropress was better with a little bit coarser setting in the grinder compared to my reference. The specific flavours of these beans are rose hips and red berries. Adding the inevitable tea-like background for Kenya beans in general, the output was a like a very high-end floral tea. I am really looking forward to trying other beans from this amazing place as soon as possible.          

Great Coffee, Aarhus, Costa Rica - Alejo Castro

Aarhus is not close to Copenhagen, so you need to have solid reasons to see this nice and cosy city if you are in a vacation in the capital of Denmark, which already have a lot of highlights to do and to be seen. Meeting Soren Stiller Markussen, as the owner of the Great Coffee in Aarhus, was one of the main reasons I visited the city by taking the 3 hours train trip from Copenhagen back and forth. We did not arrange a meeting with him, so I find myself very lucky for having found him there and tasted great samples directly from him. Costa Rica, Alejo Castro is advised directly by Soren, who emphasized these beans as honey processed, special and rare ones. We tried a V60 brew of this Costa Rica as well as a heavenly espresso extract from an El Salvador. I recommend every coffee enthusiasts go there and talk to Soren about coffee. The way the coffee bar designed, the precision in recipes and the way he serves and explains his coffee are all parts of a complete specialty coffee experience.

Costa Rica Alejo Castro became the package that I carried back to home for my own trials. Citrus and a slight bit of hibiscus flavors were more dominant in my reference V60 recipe for 12/200 gr. A kalita brew with 12/225 gr with 95 degree Celsius water was more balanced with caramel background, being my favourite for these great beans. I am really looking forward to getting some more samples from Great Coffee to brew at home.    

    

Coffee Collective, Copenhagen, El Salvador Santa Ana, Finca San Francisco

Being a very important specialty coffee center in Europe, Coffee Collective is one of the main destinations on my Scandinavia trip. Coffee Collective have four locations in Copenhagen but not with a chain style. I tried each and every one mostly to try the consistency level of brewing bars of this highly acclaimed brand. To be honest, I stayed speechless against the level of standardization of cups including several nuances which are not easy to be controlled indeed. I tried several beans but the highlight was the El Salvador San Francisco Santa Ana and the espresso 1 blend of beans from Guatemala and Kenya. The strawberry and apricot flavors of Kalita brewed El Salvador San Francisco was totally mind boggling.  Considering that there are also solid hints of complex passion fruit aroma, the roaster is indeed a master magician in this case, creating an African-like layered texture from a non-African coffee.  

Coming back to the espresso 1 blend, the acidic and crispy hit at the first second followed by a balanced and soft finish was really impressive. This was probably the one and only blend that I accepted as something from specialty coffee world so far. For me the most impressive location was the one in the Godthabsvej, which also looks like the headquarter - where I also came across a cupping session held as a part of a training for the new baristas, showing again their care about the education on coffee professionals. They also let me get some sips from several new beans they put recently on their shelves including a Panama Geisha.

The open bar style of Torvehallerne location in this open market area and the newly opened cosy and pub-like place in Kristen Berniko are again must see places for Coffee Collective.    

The package that I carried from my Coffee Collective surely belong to the amazing El Salvador San Francisco Santa Ana beans and I did my best to try it in several methods. Coffee Collective is mostly using Kalita Wave 155 for brewing at their serve. I also managed to get real good and sweet extracts from V60 with these beans applying my reference method 12/200gr 12/40 grind with 95 degree in 2:20, however it looks like the best result was again from Kalita 185 15/225gr 16/40 grind with 97 degree in 2:30. My trials produced a little bit more acidic results compared to what they brewed in Copenhagen probably because of the calcium content in Dutch water but still the fruitiness in the coffee was just amazing in all trials.   

     

La Cabra, Aarhus - Kenya Kapsokisio

I visited La Cabra in a very rainy day of the Aarhus, the cosy university city of Denmark. Impressively full with people, the wooden dominant ambience of the place welcomes you in a gentle manner also by spraying some sour dough bread smells into your face right after the entrance. Minimal espresso bar is seperate than the one for the brewing, whose background is supported by a shelf full of the almost cubic cartonette packages of specialty beans roasted by La Cabra. It was not easy to choose among several options there but we tried two different beans (Kenya Kapsokisio and Guatemala Domingo) for two different brews in aeropress and one single shot espresso. The impressive parts were Kenya Kapsokisio's espresso shot matched with some bread and butter and Guatemala Domingo's brew. They are mostly using aeropress and kalita for brewings and the recipe used in aeropress there was based on coarse grind level, shorter immersion time and lower temperature.

I carried some samples from Kenya Kapsokisio back to home to try it myself on some brewings. As usual, I first tried my reference method for V60 - fine grind, 95-97 degree celcius, stir at bloom, pour in 3 steps, 2:20 in total. As expected depending on the trial at the coffee bar itself, it was a little bit on the overwhelming side so I passed to aeropress trying to do something between La Cabra's recipe and my reference recipe in Aeropress, which is again on the finer grind size, longer immersion time and higher temperature. The result was better but I was not satisfied enough also with the aeropress. So I found what I am looking for back in V60 with a little bit coarser grind (14/40 in Baratza Virtuoso) and 94 degree celcius, keeping the rest as in my reference. The apple was really dominant at this last trial and this is exactly how an elegant acidity should be. The slight winey impression is softened as the temperature decreased and the cup is balanced in time. Certainly, a very impressive coffee... 

Some Trials for Turkish Style Coffee Brewing

This time some obsessions on Turkish style coffee brewing... A grinding level around espresso is applied to 7 grams of some fresh natural processed Brasilian beans from one of local roasteries here in Eindhoven, namely Bean Brothers. The initial temperature of the 70 grams of water is set to 60 degree celsius and the heat source is set so that the total brewing time is 2:20. Even though it all started with beans from Ethiopia and Yemen back in very old times, the Turkish coffee turns out to be labeled by a certain taste/aroma/flavour of some Brasilian beans from a not very qualified variety and region indeed - mostly because of economical reasons and purposes. So this is a nice experiment to see the results with a higher quality and more controllable parameters. The traditional methods applied currently in Turkey generally start with cold water and a very fine grind, mostly in order to increase the extraction rate since the coffee is usually stored as ground. It is not so easy to apply the same rules when the definition of the coffee beans are changed. For your information, the brewing recipe is based on Turgay Yıldızlı - one of the cezve/ibrik champions - and my cezve is produced by Soy from Turkey.

10 (+ 1) Best Coffee Beans I Have Tasted in 2016

1. Rwanda Huye Mountain, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, New York 

2. Ethiopia Nano Challa, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, New York 

3. Ethiopia Bifdu Gudina, Five Elephant, Berlin

4. Kenya Kamwangi AA Kirinyaga, Drop Coffee Roasters, Stockholm

5. Ethiopia Burtukaana Lot 2 Adola, Probador Colectiva, İstanbul

6. Costa Rica Finca La Cueste, Probador Colectiva, İstanbul
7. Ethiopia Kochere, Probador Colectiva, İstanbul

8. Ethiopia Wote Yirgacheffe, Aslı Yaman - LOL Coffee Roasters, İstanbul

9. Kenya Thunguri AA Kronotrop, İstanbul

10. Colombia Aromas Del Sur, Kronotrop, İstanbul

11. Colombia Rio Blanco, Cauca, Stielman Koffiebranders, Rotterdam

Coffee Brewing Workshops

I decided to open my coffee brewing workshops held within Ankara Coffee Community to enthusiasts from Ankara and İstanbul. 

The workshops include brewing with V60, Chemex, Aeropress, Kalita Wave and some other equipment. It is interactive and attendants can find the opportunity to brew their own coffee to compare the results. We also share intensive technical information via slides. The groups can be between 4 and 8 people.

It lasts around 3,5 hours and the fee is set not to exceed the price of a 500 grams package of specialty coffee.

If you can not get satisfactory results from your brewing equipment at home or you are a barista but not good at new generation brewing methods, or else you are planning to open a coffee shop and need consultancy, or you are just planning to buy new generation equipment, you can join.

For more information, schedule, location and reservations please apply fatiherkanmail@gmail.com

Stay with good music, coffee and love,

Faith

Kahve Demleme Atölyeleri

Şimdiye kadar Ankara Kahve Kulübü dahilinde yaptığım atölyeleri belirli bir takvimde Ankaralı ve İstanbullu kahveseverlere açmaya karar verdim.

V60, Chemex, Aeropress, Kalita Wave ve diğer bazı demleme ekipmanlarını içerecek şekilde uygulamalı, ekipman ve kahve çekirdeği ile ilgili bir çok teknik bilginin sunum aracılığıyla paylaşıldığı 4-8 kişilik sınıflarda interaktif olarak sizlerin de demlemeler gerçekleştirdiği bir eğitim.

Yaklaşık 3,5 saat sürüyor ve kişi başı ücreti yarım kilo nitelikli kahve fiyatını aşmayacak şekilde ayarlandı.

Evinizdeki demleme ekipmanı ile bir türlü istediğiniz sonucu alamıyorsanız, veya baristaysanız ancak yeni nesil demleme ekipmanlarında başarılı sonuçlar elde edemiyorsanız, veyahut evinize yeni nesil demleme ekipmanlarından birini almak istiyorsanız, ya da kahveci açacaksanız ve danışmanlığa ihtiyacınız varsa katılabilirsiniz.

Daha ayrıntılı bilgi, takvim, yer ve rezervasyon için fatiherkanmail@gmail.com adresine başvurabilirsiniz.

İyi kahve, müzik ve sevgiyle kalın...

Fatih

Acaia Kahve Tartısı - Kesinlik, Hız, İşlevsellik ve Bağlanabilirliğin Kahve Demlemedeki Önemi

Başlığın firmanın kendi reklam yazısı gibi tonladığının farkındayım; ama Acaia kullanmaya başladıktan sonra kahve demleme ile ilgili yaşadığım devrimi -evimde kendime ve küçük atölyelerde bazı arkadaşlarıma demlediğim sırada- tam anlamıyla anlatabilmek için olabildiğince kısa bir başlıkta tanımlayıcı bir kaç kelime kullanmam lazımdı ve sonuç bu oldu. 

Özellikle V60 ile yaklaşık 3 yıldır -ve bir çok diğer metotla yaklaşık bir yıldır- kahve demleyen biri olarak, kahve demlemedeki en önemli noktanın tutarlılık olduğunu düşünüyorum. Her ne kadar bu sadece kahvecilerde ve nitelikli kahve mekanlarında bir zorunluluk gibi görünse de, evde aynı çekirdekle ve ekipmanla hep aynı kahveyi demleyebilmek de bence oldukça önemli. Tartı çok açık bir şekilde bu standardizasyon zincirinin en önemli parçalarından. 0.1 gram hassasiyet, öğüteceğiniz kahveyi tam olarak tartabilmek ve öğütücünüze gömülü tartı yoksa demleyeceğiniz kahve miktarını tam olarak görmek için, şüphesiz tutarlı kahve demlemek adına size çok yardımcı olabilecek bir özellik. Zaman zaman göz ardı edilebilen başka bir özellik ise tartının cevap süresi. Basit ve yavaş ölçüm yapan 1 gram hassasiyetli mutfak tartıları ile %5 hata yapmak çok kolay ve bu tartılarla az miktardaki kahveyi tam tartabilmek için yeniden yeniden uğraşmak oldukça vakit kaybettirici olabiliyor. 

Dürüst olmak gerekirse, kahveye özel olarak tasarlanmış hemen hemen her tartı hassasiyet ve kesinlik konusunda yeterli performans göstermekte. Hız konusuna geldiğimizde ise sanırım Acaia'nın kahve dünyasındaki yerini tarif etmek için araba dünyasının Bugatti Veyron'unu kullanabiliriz. 

Yine de, bu hız meselesinin kesinlikle Acaia'nın kahve tartıları arasındaki ayrıcalıklı yerini tek başına açıklayabilecek bir özellik olduğunu düşünmüyorum. Bence Acaia'yı farklı yapan, tartının Bluetooth üzerinden kontrol edilebiliyor ve arayüzünün akıllı cihazlardaki uygulamalarla takip edilebiliyor olması. Zihninizde canlanan o soruyu duyuyor gibiyim: "Kim neden bir kahve tartısını i-Phone'una veya i-PAD'ine bağlama ihtiyacı duysun ki?" Açıkçası ilk bakışta benim de aklıma gelmişti bu soru; ama yine de yakın zaman önce bir tane Acaia edinme kararı aldım.

Benim için hikayenin ilginç kısmı tam da bu karardan sonra başladı. "Brew Master" adında bir uygulama -standart Acaia uygulamasına ek başka bir uygulama- ile daha çok vakit geçirdikçe su akış hızının da kontrol edilmesinin mümkün olduğunu öğrendim. Kahve demleme reçeteleri su dökme anlarını belirliyor olsalar bile ne zaman durulması gerektiği ile ilgili bir bilgi vermezler. Bunun dışında, başladığınız ve bitirdiğiniz anları biliyor olsanız bile -ki bu size ortalama bir akış hızı verir- tartınızı gerçek zamanlı olarak inceleyerek döküşünüzün sabit hızda mı dalgalanmalarla mı olduğu hakkında bir bilgi edinmeniz çok zordur. Bu bilgiyi edinmek sadece demlemenin ardından yapılabilecek bir inceleme ile mümkündür. "Brew Master" uygulaması bunu yapmanız için size inceleyebileceğiniz bir grafik sunmakta. Akış hızını ve tutarlılığı grafiğin eğimlerinden ve genel yapısından inceleyebiliyorsunuz. (Lütfen benim fotoğrafımdaki ortalama akış hızı verisini dikkate almayınız; çünkü benim demlemelerimde karıştırma ve "tapping" olduğu için tartının ölçtüğü değerlerde ani iniş ve çıkışlar olmakta. Ama sadece eğimleri inceleyerek kendi akış hızım hakkında bilgi edinebiliyorum.) Tecrübelerim sonucu söyleyebilirim ki, bütün diğer değişkenleri sabit tutarak, sadece akış hızı ile oynadığımda çok farklı kahveler üretebilmekteyim. Sonuç olarak, hızlı cevap veren ve Bluetooth üzerinden incelenebilen Acaia ile döküş hızını inceleyebilir ve sevdiğiniz kahve için en uygun hıza kendiniz karar verebilirsiniz. Buna ek olarak, bu uygulama ile demlemeleriniz için sıcaklık ve öğütme kalınlığı gibi bütün değişkenleri içerecek şekilde notlar alabilir ve diğer kullanıcılarla bu bilgileri paylaşabileceğiniz bir sosyal ağa katılabilirsiniz.

Bluetooth bağlantısının benim için iki avantajı daha var: Tartı zaman zaman yeni sürüm yazılımlarla internet üzerinden güncellenebilmekte. Minimal tasarımlı tartının üzerindeki iki tuşun fonksiyonlarına kadar daha kullanışlı değişiklikler gelebiliyor yeni sürümlerle. Bu özellik bence oldukça faydalı; çünkü zaman geçtikçe kullanıcıların oldukça farklı ihtiyaçları ortaya çıkabilmekte. İtiraf etmeliyim ki diğer avantaj biraz bana özel; ama atölye çalışmalarımda daha fazla insana ulaşmak için demleme oranlarımı ve döküş hızımı/sürelerimi bir i-PAD ile katılımcılara gösterebiliyor olmak müthiş faydalı bir özellik.

Bitirmeden Acaia Pearl'in bir de siyah modeli olduğunu (benim fotoğraflarımdaki Acaia Pearl White) ve firmanın en son tasarımının espresso tablalarına da sığacak küçüklükte ve sızdırmaz özellikteki Acaia Lunar olduğunu belirtmek isterim. Diğer bütün ayrıntıları Acaia'nın kendi sitesinden takip edebilirsiniz: http://acaia.co/                       

Acaia Scale - The Importance of Precision, Speed, Functionality and Connectivity in Coffee Brewing

I agree, the title looks like the brand's own advertisement but in order to give details about the revolution in my coffee brewing experience after Acaia -which is at home for myself and at some workshops for my friends and followers- I need to choose some descriptive words in a short title and this is the result.

As someone brewing coffee especially with V60 for almost 3 years now - and many other methods for about a year - I think the most important part of coffee brewing is the consistency. Even this looks like a "must" only for coffee shops and specialty coffee centers, it is essential, also as an amateur at home, to get the same cup every time you deal with the same beans and the brewing equipment. Scale is obviously one of the most important parts of this standardization chain. Sensitivity of a 0.1 grams in weighing your coffee amount to be brewed (and to be ground if your grinder has not a scale on itself), is a feature that can evidently help you to create consistent cups of coffee. One other feature, which can easily be ignored, is the response time of the scale. With a simple slow responding kitchen-scale you can easily make %5 mistakes during pourings and lose time while trying to weigh the beans and ground particles of amounts of 1 gram.

Frankly, almost every coffee specified scale on the market can satisfy a sufficient sensitivity level and accuracy. For the speed, although most of these scales can supply a satisfactory result, Acaia seems to be the Bugatti Veyron of the brewing world. 

However, this speed issue can not be the only key feature behind Acaia's distinguished place in coffee scales. I think, it is its connectivity features based on Bluetooth what makes Acaia really different. This way you can easily connect to your scale with an application on your smart phone or tablet. I can hear the question that arises in your mind: "Who may need to connect a coffee scale to a smart device?". At first sight, I thought the same but I decided to get one and try to use all its features. 

Then there came the interesting part for me. As I spent time with an application called "Brew Master", which is an additional one to the basic Acaia Scale application, I learned that there is a way to control the flow rate too. Even if the recipes for coffee brewing methods mention the instants for starting to pour, they generally do not care when to stop pouring - which can give you an average flow rate actually. Besides even you know when to start and stop, you can not know whether you pour consistently or not by just watching your scale's display in real time. This can only be observed as a post-processing activity which may be achieved by a recorded data. The Brew Master applications let you do this and it creates a whole record for your brewing, which you can see the slopes and curves created from your pouring rate. (Please do not care about my average flow rate in the photo, since I stir in the bloom and tap the V60 in this example, resulting in a big change in the scale's data. But I can use the slopes shown in the graph easily.) With all my experience, I can say that fixing all the other variables, I could create completely different brews with different pouring rates. Thus, with the fast responding and Bluetooth interfaced Acaia, you can play with the pouring rates by analyzing your data and decide on the best one on your own taste. Plus, with this application you can take notes on your brews including many variables such as temperature and grind size. There is also a social network between users where you can share and learn about all the other user's brews. 

Bluetooth connectivity has two more advantages for me: The scale is available to be updated with a new firmware over internet - including the functions of two keys on minimal design of Acaia. This can be a very crucial feature since user's may need different functions as time passes. I should confess that this can be a very specific feature, but if you are demonstrating brew ratios and timings to an audience - maybe during workshops as you can see in the photo - you can make it easily by connecting the scale to an i-PAD. This way you can reach to more people.

I need to mention that there is also a black model for the Acaia Pearl. (The one you see in my photos is Acaia Pearl White.) Besides, the ultimate scale lately produced by the company is Acaia Lunar, which can even be located on espresso trays with its small footprint and totally water proof design. You can see all other details from here - on their website: http://acaia.co/                       

Cafflano Klassic - All In One Coffee Maker - Some Notes from A Home Brewer

Looking like a big thermo-mug at first sight, Cafflano Klassic is certainly one of a kind with its ultimate practical advantages in carrying all necessary equipment for fresh coffee brewing in a compact form. 

Detaching the upper part by twisting, you face the grinder which seems an equivalent of a Hario Skerton with a rough evaluation. The intention of the design is to use the grinder with the below part so that what you grind fills the metal dripper located just below the grinder. The design allows you to put them on the smallest scales on the market and measure the amount of beans. There are just two disadvantages: The design has no tiny bell to grab strongly while grinding and it makes hard to grind light roasts. There are no covers for grinder and while trying to grind fast it is not easy to prevent some beans to spread at first trial - you can learn in time not to bend a lot.

The detached part is not a kettle but a "pouring apparatus" with which you can pour in a controlled way - but not as controlled as a dedicated kettle you can find from Hario and Bonavita. Be careful while pouring hot water from a kettle since the small detail in the bottom can result in some dangerous gambols. Use the red cover (detach it and put it over the pouring apparatus) to keep the water hot. Another warning is for the pouring rate: Don't try to be so fast and increase the decline a lot, otherwise some hot water can get over the limits. 

The dripper is a metal one and not surprisingly the ouputs are similar to what you can get with metal filtered chemex. Although the below cup seems large, taking the immersed part of the dripper into account I can easily say that the dripper performance and all other sizes are optimized for a single cup of 200 grams. For more coffee you had better grind very coarse because the drip rate is very slow and the filter size is very small. Filling the pouring kettle twice maybe necessary for more brew amounts. 

For me, it is critical to clean and dry the parts of the dripper and the below cup before gathering the Cafflano, because wetting the grinder for the next grind can be a messy experience. 

As a summary, I found it a very practical design for fresh good coffee in anytime anywhere just with a scale and hot water addition to the bag. There were certainly some small issues to be fixed if I were in the designers' shoes but they are not in front of the functionality success of Cafflano Klassic.

My Brewing Notes for A Sample from Probador Colectiva, İstanbul

La Niebla El Carmen Guatemala - Probador Colectiva, İstanbul

Altitude: 1800-2000

Varietal: Red Bourbon, Catuai

Harvest: April - July 2015

Process: Washed

Bright Citrus Acidity
Complex Fruitiness
Clean Aftertaste





I have chosen 95 degree Celsius for all brewings unless otherwise noted. I could start to taste the beans 7 days after the roasting date.

1. Tasted with V60 V01 with a ratio of 12/200gr with stirring in pre-infusion and tapping in the last 1 minute, with a grind size of 10/40 over Baratza Virtuoso. Poured in 3 steps including pre-infusion - 2:20 total time with 45 seconds pre-infusion: The bright acidity is obvious. There are some flowers as well as fruits in the middle and the aftertaste is really clean. But I am sure I can get a better result with increasing the ratio a bit and going to a coarser grind size.
2. Tasted with V60 V01 with a ratio of 20/300gr no stir no tap, with a grind size of 16/40 over Baratza Virtuoso. Pre-infused for 45 seconds: My overall best result with this coffee with respect to my own taste. Even it is not in the cupping notes of the roaster, I feel very happy to get some chocolate flavors after the first second besides a very balanced output composing all the cupping notes -not surprising in my opinion for beans from Guatemala. 
3. Tasted with Chemex 6 cup with a ratio of 15/225gr with a grind size of 20/40 over Baratza Virtuoso. 45 seconds Pre-infusion time: The fruitiness is dominant in the cup but I feel a weakness in the aftertaste. I can go a little bit higher ratios such as 24/360gr or even 26/340gr with the same grind size. 
4. Tasted with Aeropress with a ratio of 18gr/250gr with a grind size of 10/40 over Baratza Virtuoso. 30 seconds pre-infusion with 50 grams and pressed in 20 seconds. Total brew time is 3:00: The first hit is too acidic in my humble opinion even for a bright acidic coffee. I may try a slower press or try a lower coffee/water ratio.  
5. Tasted with Aeropress with a ratio of 16gr/255gr with a grind size of 10/40 over Baratza Virtuoso. 30 seconds pre-infusion with 50 grams and pressed in 30 seconds. Total brew time is 2:30: Acidity is more balanced compared to my other aeropress trial.
6. Tasted with Kalita 155 with a ratio of 18/250gr with a grind size of 20/40 over Baratza Virtuoso. 50 grams pre-infusion in 45 seconds. Total brew time is 2:00 with pulse pouring: The first hit is a little bit too acidic again. Plus the fruity notes seems to be closed by this acidity. But I have to confess that the aftertaste impressed me much more with its strength.
7. Tasted with Kalita 155 with a ratio of 20/250gr with a grind size of 25/40 over Baratza Virtuoso. 50 grams pre-infusion in 45 seconds. Total brew time is 2:00 with pulse pouring: One of my favourite results for this coffee. I have a very balanced thing in my mug and I feel like I am very close to the cupping notes of the roaster. 

My Brewing Notes for Two Samples from Five Elephant, Berlin

Five Elephant – Ethiopia Bifdu Gudina - Agaro, Kaffa 

(Roasted on February 21st – <Light-Medium>)

Varietal: Heirloom

Harvest: December 2014

Producer: Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative 

Union, Aprrox. 130 smallhold farmers

Process: Washed & sun-dried on raised beds 

Elevation: 1800-1900 masl.

Flavor: Floral Notes of Magnolia with Citric Acidity, Plum Sweetness and A Spicy Finish

I have chosen 95 degree celsius for all brewings unless otherwise noted. I could start to taste the beans unfortunately 10 days after the roasting date.

1. Tasted with V60 12/200gr with stirring, with a grind as fine as aeropress – i.e. just a little bit coarser than espresso: A very dominant citric acidity is very well finished with a soft earthy feeling which does not conflicts with the roaster notes as spicy finish. As time goes by it passes through a spicy feeling and stays really like a plum (not too sweet). My favourite in all methods I have tried.
2. Tasted with Chemex 15/225gr (approx. 30/40 grind with Baratza Encore): The heavy spicy smell that you can easily get, just after grinding these beans is successfully projected into this brew's aftertaste. Plus the plum sweetness seems to be maximized. In contrast, the citric acidity is minimized. 
3. Tasted with Aeropress 18gr/250gr with a grind just a little bit coarser than espresso: The body is well dominated compared to V60 but the floral heaviness of the bean –thanks also to its freshness- is so overwhelming that all the entrance, first touch to the upper part of the tongue and the long term aftertaste became something really unique with the aeropress.
4. Tasted with Kalita 20/300gr with a grind as fine as chemex in my experiment: The first hit is too acidic in my humble opinion with this grind size, so when I tried a little bit coarser but even grind, the result is a better and balanced extract. The spicy finish is very well defined and the strong floral notes and acidity is fairly softened.

Five Elephant – Kenya Kamwangi AA – Kirinyaga District, Central Kenya 

(Roasted on February 21st – <Light-Medium>)

Varietal: SL 34

Harvest: January 2015

Producer: New Ngariama Cooperative

Process: Washed & sun-dried on African beds 

Elevation: 1800-1900 masl

Flavor: Vanilla and blueberry with a transparent creamy body and citric acidity.

I have chosen 95 degree celsius for all brewings unless otherwise noted. I could start to taste the beans unfortunately 10 days after the roasting date.

1. Tasted with V60 12/200gr with stirring, with a grind as fine as aeropress – i.e. just a little bit coarser than espresso: The introduction is very soft and creamy and the aftertaste carries impressive vanilla notes. I may call a little bit too acidic for what's coming next to first creamy feeling. 
2. Tasted with V60 12/200gr with stirring with generally accepted standard as 17/40 in Baratza Encore: Better than finer grind size. More balanced but I am stil a little bit suspicious about what I am drinking. I may play with another variable controlling the extraction level. 
3. Tasted with V60 12/200gr without stirring with a grind as fine as aeropress – i.e. just a little bit coarser than espresso: Surely, a more balanced extract compared to my other V60 experiments. The creamy feeling, vanilla and acidity are all there in very balanced portions.
4. Tasted with Chemex 15/225gr, with a coarse grind like 30/40 of Baratza Encore: My favourite result compared to all others. No detectable flaw exists and the citric acidity is comparisingly soft in this brew. For the body, it may be more visible and I think we can get this with 24/360 gr ratio.
5. Tasted with Aeropress 12/175gr with a grind just a little bit coarser than espresso: Acidity is very well more visible than V60. It is the first feeling you get with or without slurping. Vanilla is still evident but blueberry seems to be hidden behind something. The body is more dominant compared to V60 results and it is really creamy consistent to the roaster’s cupping notes.