November’s Trade Coffee (yes I’m late in posting) comes from Red Bay Coffee Roasters. The beans are from Mbeya, Tanzania. I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to taste any beans from Tanzania. So this bag will be a new experience. I also haven’t had too many medium-dark roast beans as well too. I also found out that the Angels Cup subscription sends me light roast coffee. I’ve updated that to medium roast and perhaps in a few months change to dark roast.

The initial aroma opening this bag was amazing. Fruity, nutty, and a strong roasted aroma filled the room. I literally kept smelling the beans for a full minute. The aroma from the ground beans had more of a fruity and nutty aroma. Making my latte, the first sip was delicious. I was shocked at the berry, chocolate and roasted nut(?) flavors. The lingering roasted nutty aftertaste tied all the flavors together at the back of the tongue. Each sip added to the berry flavors making this latte very enjoyable for the morning. I haven’t enjoyed a latte that wow’d me in quite some time.

A third Kickstarter from Julian Kimmel popped up on my feed last night. I’ve been impressed with their Puerto Rico and Columbian beans that were also from Kickstarter. I already made my pledge for 3 bags of beans. The Kickstarter campaign ends around the 27NOV2020. So if you’re interested in supporting local farmers, consider pledging on this Kickstarter.

November’s Angels Cup comes from Queen City Coffee Roaster. I’m happy they sent a small sticker but it’s difficult to peel it off the backing! These beans are from Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region.

Opening the bag, I’m greeted with a wonderful floral and fruity aroma. What stands out to me is the intensity of the fruity berry smells. Making my latte, I’m greeted with a pleasant nutty and berry taste. The after taste also coats my mouth with this milk chocolate taste. The consistency of the latte and the beans really showcases just how good Yirgacheffe Ethiopian beans are.

November’s Trade Coffee (referral link) comes from Caffe Vita Roasting Company. Everything about these beans are different from the normal single origin, light to medium roast beans that I’ve been receiving from other roasters. This bag is clearly a blend so the origins of the beans are unknown. However, since this is a French roast, I think the origin of the beans are not as important as the roasting promise.

Upon opening the bag I get strong charcoal, ashy aroma reminiscent of beans that have gone through dark roasting. Making my latte, the first sip definitely reminds me of a dark roast with a charcoal, ashy flavor. After the initial flavor hit, I start tasting hints of berries and citrus which is overpowered by a milk chocolate after taste. Although the milk chocolate is pleasant, it really becomes the dominant flavor with every sip. I actually enjoy these beans. It’s a different aroma and flavor then previous lattes that I’ve made.

October’s Angels Cup comes from JumpyMonkey Coffee. They’re from Papua New Guinea which I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of tasting before. Specifically the beans from this Ulya Waghi Valley region which from the looks of the Google Map is situated pretty much in the middle of the country.

Opening the bag, I’m greeted with a very smoky, ashy aroma. The aroma reminds me of a dark roasted Kona or Maui coffee smell some time ago. While the beans are being scooped out to be grounded, I start getting whiffs of fruity aromas.

After making my latte, on that first sip, I taste this deep smoky, roasted, and brown sugar flavor that very much reminds me of the recent Julian Coffee Puerto Rico beans or the Taiwan Dongshan beans. The deep smokiness also is reminiscent of Kona but there’s less acidity. The initial smoky flavor fades into this wonderful chocolate after taste that coats the tongue. What’s interesting is that this coating doesn’t last too long and each sip almost always starts with the smoky flavor that fades into chocolate. Sometimes I get hints of citrus when I immediately go for a 2nd or 3rd drink quickly. But for the most part, I’ve been taking my time to really enjoy this coffee.

October’s Trade Coffee (referral link) comes from Ritual Coffee Roaster. These beans come from Colombia. Colombian beans have been fairly rare so not only am I excited to try the beans but I am actually pretty excited to try this roaster again. For some context, before I started down the path of monthly and then semimonthly coffee deliveries from various roasters, I was gifted a short term subscription to Ritual Coffee as a birthday gift years ago. I’m not sure if the current version of this blog will contain my reviews from the subscription period. But I may have bought and reviewed beans from Ritual whenever I went up to the SF Bay Area.

I smell hints of berries and citruses with subtle hints of toffee. The subtleness of these aromas makes me want to just smell the beans forever. Making my latte, I taste berries, fruits and a subtle milk chocolate after taste. What I find interesting is that with each subsequent sip the flavors are changing to a more fruity/peach flavor. In addition the milk chocolate after taste also begins to take on this more nutty flavor that just sits at the back of the throat. I’m always disappointed that I finish my latte so fast. It just goes to say how delicious these beans are.

September’s Angels Cup comes from Cafe Kreyol. The beans come from the Ramirez Estate Microlot in Dominican Republic. I haven’t had too many beans from the Dominican Republic. I’m not sure what it means to be “Red Honey Processed.”

Opening the bag, I am initially greeted with a wonderful sweet and fruity aromas. As I prepare to grind, the aroma morphs into a pleasant chocolate, earthy, nutty aroma. This mix of sweet, fruity, chocolate and nutty aroma is such a great aroma every time I go make my latte. After grinding and making my latte, the first sip has a very subtle sweet and fruity flavor. There is a pleasant chocolate after taste that lingers at the back of the tongue after every sip. The smoothness of the latte is pretty amazing.

September’s Trade Coffee (referral link) comes from Broadsheet Coffee Roasters. The beans come from El Salvador in Central America. I haven’t had too many beans from this region especially from El Salvador so this will be a nice treat.

Opening the bag, I’m greeted with aromas of honey, sugar, and fruity aromas. A subtle nutty aroma also lingers at the end with each sniff. Making my latte, the initial sip brings an explosion of citrus flavors mixed with a subtle brown sugar taste. A few sips later, a wonderful rich chocolate flavor emerges coating my tongue. The subtlety of the flavors are pretty amazing. Every time I’ve made my latte, I always end up sipping and enjoying the flavors as they dance on my tongue.

The August’s Angels Cup offering comes from Ironclad Coffee Roasters. The beans are from Ethiopia’s Kochere region in the Gedeo Zone. These beans are apparently roasted two ways (light and medium).

Opening the bag, I smell strong aromas of berries, oats and yogurt. Grinding the beans, I also start smelling this subtle nutty aroma mingling with the oats and berries. Making my latte, the first sip brings an explosion of berry, peach and honey flavors. As the coffee coats my tongue, I realize that there’s a subtle milk chocolate after taste. The nutty flavor also comes out with each taste. I think this is an interesting blend of two types of roasted beans. This is the first time a roaster sent beans in this fashion. It’d be interesting to see something similar from other roasters in the future.