Monthly Archives: July 2022

Fika Fika Coffee

Posted on by
Reply

Fika Fika Coffee (Yelp) is a local coffee shop. I can’t seem to find a website for this coffee shop. I’m not sure where they roast their beans. They only have two shop locations (Pasadena, Arcadia) but these shops don’t appear to have much space for a roasting machine. Else perhaps the square footage is larger than it appears.

Since I’m finally finished with the Hawaiian beans and my coffee subscription shipments from Angels Cup and Drink Trade don’t start back up immediately, I needed some beans to hold me over until the coffee subscriptions packages start to come in. I opted to try these medium roasted Columbian beans. I’ve had beans from this region in Columbia before.

Here’s what I think of the beans.

Coffee AspectsYes / No
Intense AromaNo
Balanced AromaYes
Other AromaYes
Intense 1st sipNo
Balanced FlavorYes
Chocolate FlavorYes
2nd cup?Yes

A Simple Qualitative Coffee Ranking System

Posted on by
Reply

To be honest, I’ve been unsatisfied at just describing what I’m tasting. As a result, I’ve decided to expand “my coffee reviews.” I recognize I’m not an coffee connesiur nor I do I have formal coffee training as a barista or other coffee related mastery or associations. I also recognize that different people will describe different flavors when tasting the same beans.

What makes me the most qualified unqualified person? I have had over 2 years of different roasters sending me light/medium/dark roast beans and I’ve come to appreciate the complexity of the roasted beans’ aromas and flavors. In some ways, I want to establish some qualitative ranking system to discover what makes a good coffee bean roaster… perhaps a way for future recomendations.

There will be seven simple/submjective aspects that I measure “yes/no”.
1) Is there an intense aroma?
2) Is there a balance between floral, fruity, and nutty aromas?
3) Is there any other aroma that’s not floral, fruity or nutty?
4) On first sip, is there an intesne taste?
5) Is there a balance of floral, fruity and nutty/earthy tastes?
6) Is there a chocolate-like flavor with each sip or after taste?
7) Do I want to drink another cup immediately after finishing this cup

Mountain Thunder Coffee

Posted on by
Reply

With a name like Mountain Thunder Coffee, I exect big bold flavors from these Private Reserve Kona beans. Unfortunately, the friend accidentally picked up a lighter roast. Per the website, the American roast is a light roast. If readers recall, most of the previous Kona beans have been medium and dark roasts.

Making my latte, I definitely do not get the ashy flavors typical of dark roast Kona’s. The bold flavors from Kona coffee are absent. Instead, I’m left with delicate hints of floral and fruit flavors.