I'm not familiar with coffee from Hawaii, but this sounds wonderful.
Enjoy your trip, and your coffee, @Madhatter32.
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Enjoy your trip, and your coffee, @Madhatter32.
And, @Madhatter32, tasting notes will be both appreciated and gratefully received.
Personally,I love some of the coffees from east Africa (Ethiopian coffees in particular, above all, their "natural" processed coffees), and am also partial to some of the coffees from El Salvador (over the past decade, I've enjoyed some superb coffees from El Salvador).
In recent times, a coffee from Thailand (black honey processed) impressed me, - it is important to occasionally venture beyond (my) coffee comfort zones (otherwise, I'd never order or consume anything but Ethiopian coffee), but others have left me less enthused.
Personally,I love some of the coffees from east Africa (Ethiopian coffees in particular, above all, their "natural" processed coffees), and am also partial to some of the coffees from El Salvador (over the past decade, I've enjoyed some superb coffees from El Salvador).
In recent times, a coffee from Thailand (black honey processed) impressed me, - it is important to occasionally venture beyond (my) coffee comfort zones (otherwise, I'd never order or consume anything but Ethiopian coffee), but others have left me less enthused.
Will do. I agree that venturing outside my comfort zone is difficult especially since I often find myself disappointed with the results. I'm a little bit picky I suppose. Thailand and Ethiopian coffees do sound intriguing though. I will need to find a good place to try them. Central and South American coffees are a lot easier for me to get ... Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rican, Mexican, etc. I did recently try a Guatemalan coffee that I bought from a local store and that particular sampling did not move me -- especially at the relative cost.
I'm happy that a have found a particular type of coffee (like you have) that I really enjoy as a "go to" mainstay. But, like you you said, I will always be open to the occasional venturing out to try different varieties, locations, roasts ... and, yes, even processing methods.
Interesting, and thank you for your thoughtful reply.
I, too, have been less than wildly enthused by some of the coffees that I have had from Guatemala, - and agree re the relative cost - and a recent coffee from Laos also left me underwhelmed.
(But yes, I wholeheartedly approve of the idea of ensuring that we can sample and savour coffees from hitherto unknown and undeveloped sources, places, regions and countries, and that such markets can be - and ought to be - encouraged and developed).
In general, I have discovered that I tend to prefer "natural" processed coffees to "washed" coffees; re the "honey roasted" process, I prefer the 'darker' types - "black honey processed", and "red honey processed" to the 'lighter' versions, namely, "yellow honey" and "white honey" processed coffees.
Re Colombian coffees, my experience has been uneven. Actually, I have had some excellent coffees (mostly "natural" processed coffees), whereas, I have been less impressed by some of the others, even a few supposedly well regarded coffees. But, it is all a matter of taste. Sometimes, very subjective taste.
I'm not really much of a fan of Mexican coffees, but I have enjoyed some of the coffees from Costa Rica that I have been able to lay hands on.
But, it is all a matter of (subjective) taste, although, as mentioned earlier, I do like to try new coffees, if only to ease myself out of my coffee comfort zone (which simply reminds me of just how much I truly love Ethiopain coffee).
This year, I have had some excellent coffee from Rwanda, and, as always, also really like Kenyan coffee.
A civil war is currently tearing the country apart, hence, for obvious reasons, coffee exports are difficult to obtain - but, a few years ago, I was able to lay hands on some coffee from Yemen, and found it excellent.
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Very interesting. Sounds like we have had similar experiences with the Colombian, Mexican and (recently for me) Guatemalan coffees. Also, I too have enjoyed certain Costa Rican coffees depending on the roast. I once tried coffee from Yemen (I think anyway -- it could have been Turkish coffee) decades ago during a trip to the region. I was just beginning as a coffee drinker at that point and still remember it -- it was that memorable. I remember it being very rich, strong and very good, which is strange because I usually do not go for very strong coffees (at least these days). I'll keep my eyes out for some of the African coffees you mentioned -- Ethiopian, Rwandan and Kenyan. Thanks for the tips.
All of this coffee discussion reminded me that it was high time - more than high time - that I prepared another coffee.
Hence, I am now sipping a coffee from Ethiopia, served with organic hot milk.
Hence, I am now sipping a coffee from Ethiopia, served with organic hot milk.
I worked with someone how was way too happy. We figured that it was the coffee: the more they drank, the happier and more annoying they were. Coffee can fix some people that aren't 'morning people', but not all of us...
endured a so-so Guatemala coffee this morning, no milk or sugar, just coffee
(I've had some excellent Guatemala coffees, but this one does emphasis the point that, as others have posted, their coffee doesn't seem to be consistent in quality)
(I've had some excellent Guatemala coffees, but this one does emphasis the point that, as others have posted, their coffee doesn't seem to be consistent in quality)
I love Guatemalan beans 😜
But only buy from places I know have quality. That's the trick.
Had an espresso made from a bag that was a mix between Guatemala, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Brazil beans - ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 - today.
That bag is soon empty. And will get into some Mexican beans. Looking forward to that. Evaluation will come later.
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As both @Macky-Mac and @Lioness~ have already said, (and I echo what they have written, for my experience is the same) coffees from Guatemala can be very uneven and inconsistent in quality.
Actually, I don't honestly know.
And, in my experience, a few years can show an astonishing degree of improvement in the coffees grown in some of the less traditional coffee exporting regions.
Candidly, if left entirely to myself, I would probably never venture far outside my coffee comfort zone (Ethiopian, Yemeni, Kenyan, and some coffees from El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and, more recently, Rwanda).
However, these days, I also like to try new coffees, and coffees from regions that have only recently appeared on the coffee growing map of the globe; inevitably, the quality of the coffee will be a lot more variable (growing, processing, climate, actual weather, soil, terroir, actual strain of coffee bean, extent of ambition, vision, and experience of the growers, etc, not to mention the influence of external factors such as war, civil war and other forms of instability), but it is important to support them (many are small family owned, - often headed by women - ecological and environmentally aware businesses who attempt to produce coffees of quality) by buying the coffee they produce.
Maybe you'd be interested in trying Black Honey processed coffee from El Salvador.......when I was looking for some black honey processed coffee to try, I googled for a source and one of the search returns was in the UK.
That wasn't useful for me, but since I'm under the impression that's where you are, you might take a look at this;
Currently I'm waiting for a new supply of coffee to arrive.
Many thanks, and much appreciated.
Actually, I've been very impressed by the "black honey processed" coffees that I have tried so far - I had a superb coffee from Thailand that was "black honey processed".
Got a tool to make nitro cold brew coffee. Outstanding.
a nice cold coffee can make a hot summer day a bit more pleasant
This is something I have never encountered; fascinating.
For me, in hot weather it tends to be an espresso (with plenty of mineral water on the side), rather than any of the other coffees (flat white, latte, cappuccino, or the coffees with hot milk I tend to prepare for myself, the rest of the time).
Enjoyed an extra large cup of coffee ice cream yesterday. No toppings needed. Not sure if this is the place to post about it, but it was delicious.
Busy perusing coffee sites; I noticed that I am running low on coffee, and I shall need to replenish my supply of coffee later this week.
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Good to have several dealers in case of emergency and low supply.