Trade Coffee sent me this wonderful bag of beans from Anodyne Coffee Roasting Company for January. The single origin beans are from Guatamala’s Sacatepequez region. Through google maps, it appears to be right outside the capital city of Guatemala City.

Immediately an amazing floral aroma greets me when I open the bag. Every time I go in to scoop out beans, the floral aromas linger long enough that the beans start smelling like honey. As I make my latte, I’m very surprised at how thick the crema layer is. Normally, I get about a quarter inch of crema with other roasters. However, with these beans, it’s at least half an inch. With such a think layer, it makes scooping the crema out relatively easy. What is crema? Crema is the result of released CO2 from hot water mixing with ground espresso. Generally the oils and fats from the beans are extracted out as well in the crema so it adds to the flavor profile. My experience is that you really need a lot of crema to significantly change the taste. I usually try to scoop out some crema out of the inverted aeropress before I press down to extract the espresso syrup.

Making my latte, the first sip contained an explosion of flavors. It was sweet, fruity and nutty at the same time. With each sip, the sweet nutty flavor tends to dominate the flavor. Usually by the end of the cup, I get a rich chocolatey flavor that ends up with me making a 2nd cup sometime later in the day because how delicious the latte was.