Profile Overview
@ted
Theo Chan, Managing Editor
Member since
Preferences: Barista for Coffee Roast, mainly drinking espresso and pourover. I try to take a sommelier type approach to coffee, and generally know how varietals/regions should taste (but also like being surprised!)
Gear: Lucca Spaziale A53 Chemex Coffee Maker Alessia Moka Pot Hario v60 - Ceramic at home, plastic on the road
Reviews(1287)
4.28(1287)
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I'd say I struggled with this one a bit as a prosumer barista but there's really a ton of flavor here. I never find Burundian coffee especially easy to work with. It's a cool natural coffee, with a bit of funk and a ton of fruitiness. It's powerfully dark chocolate, citrus zest, and raspberry. I thought it was very good at a lower temperature.Cupping Method:Pourover first at high temp (~207) and then lower including 200 and 195F. Best at 195F.
Rated: 4.50 -
A lovely light roastdrip. Natural sweetness and green apple at the front of the palate gives you that old school green apple Blow Pop or Jolly Rancher flavor. The green apple hangs around. A slight almond nuttiness in the middle and a clean finish. It's a little more milk chocolate than black tea in the background. Clean finish.Cupping Method:Drip at Revival Cafe in Cambridge, MA
Rated: 4.50
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A smooth, nutty, caramel Brazilian roasted on the lighter side of medium that was very smooth and easy to drink. Lightly chocolate in platform. Not complex, but very clean. A touch of citrust acidity and nice mouthfeel, full-bodied but not heavy.Cupping Method:Hario v60, 203 degrees F
Rated: 4.50 -
This Costa Rica peaberry is really nice. It has a really nice citrus acidity note in the sweet mandarin orange range, and has a honey like sweetness and texture. It's not super complex but it drinks very smooth and has a nice mouthfeel.Cupping Method:v60, 203 degrees
Rated: 4.50 -
I enjoyed this, Ethiopian myself, though I could see why my partner didnt love it. It is pretty grapefruity mid-palate. In between black tea and milk chocolate platform. Otherwise, its smooth and has a really nice mouthfeel.
Cupping Method:V60 pourover 205F. I have some leftover and might try a lower temp to see if I can V to like it.
Rated: 4.50
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A balanced, well-executed, prototypical washed Ethiopian with a touch of floral, a lot of natural sweetness, and ripe peach flavor. It's very bright and juicy, but didn't necessarily get tropical or red fruit like the roaster suggested. It's not very complex or acidic, but extremely smooth and extremely clean.Cupping Method:Hario v60 pourover
Rated: 4.50 -
I found this is an interesting coffee and I really liked the end result after a bit of work. The acidity is pretty subtle and it definitely was best right off the boil. This was suggested to me by the roaster. Peru in general can be a bit of a struggle for me as the flavor profiles can be quite unique but a bit tricky to draw out.
The final brew at 210 was great. It was very balanced with a clean mouthfeel. I got the toasted pecan/walnut as a hovering note, as well as a satsuma-type citrus. It's a naturally sweet.
198 and 203 the cup with smooth but it was hard to pick up the subtlety.
Enjoy is a cool roaster doing some challenging and fun things with different varietals and I hope to try more of their coffee soon,Cupping Method:Multiple Hario v60 attempts with EKG Stagg.
Rated: 4.50
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A well-executed dark blend with nice, bright acidity for a balanced cup. The acidity is lemony/fresh plum, which goes pleasantly with the milk chocolate character and natural sweetness. Very light smokiness, very light earthiness for a darker roast. It's not too dark as dark roasts go, and when I had this the beans were all Latin American (which makes sense for the less smoky/less earthy).
I've found Perkatory to beCupping Method:Hario v60 pourover, 205 degrees. A few days late on the Green Kettle Connecticut coffee advent.
Rated: 4.50
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A chocolatey, lively coffee with some earthiness but not overwhelming. Syrupy and bittersweet as espresso with a pleasant linger. Acidity is intermingled with a rich/bittersweet note but it's not too tart. Definitely some walnut or pecan. Fluffy medium crema.
I tried V's iced americano and thought it did very well in that format.Cupping Method:Made it on my espresso machine at 95C. I'd considering dialing it back to 94C as I might have slightly overextracted but these were solid results.
Rated: 4.50
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I like this Tanzanian Peaberry. It's very fruity and smooth. I get blood orange, plum, and chocolate. Short, clean, finish. A lot of natural sweetness. Good hot or cold.
Cupping Method:Hario v60 pourover, 204F. First of 8 coffees from a Volcanica sampler.
Rated: 4.50
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Smooth, slightly nutty, caramel, milk chocolate decaf. Clean finish. Very enjoyable!Cupping Method:At the Cometeer stand in the Chesnut Hill mall from a frozen Cometeer puck.
Rated: 4.50 -
Found some old notes that I liked this coffee. Smooth, fruity, and mild and just a touch smoky.Cupping Method:At a general store type place near Sugarloaf (ran the marathon up there)
Rated: 4.50 -
This was a pretty unique and interesting coffee that I enjoyed. I left with the feeling that I didn't quite get the perfect extraction of it.
First is the aroma which is pure sugar cane juice. I grew up drinking it and chewing sugar cane, and it's a full on hit including nostalgia!
The coffee...
I tried 4 temps and grind sizes. No matter what I got an aromatic and smooth cup of coffee with a lot of natural sweetness. Bergamot mid palate, and a slightly buttery mouthfeel seemed consistent. I got a bit more of a lactic taste at the highter temps.
The roater described a creamy lime, and I think that's fair. I wanted more, and a bit more acidity would have taken it over the top. This sounds like it was a complex fermentation technique, and it's definitely a unique coffee. I think everyone is still sorting out the market expectation for Pink Bourbon, and I've had a couple similar to this one that are quite floral and muted on the acidity.Cupping Method:v60 pourover from 195F to 205F, Chemex at 204F. I bought the bag from Resident directly on the Internet.
Rated: 4.50 -
An interesting and unique coffee. Incredible aroma on the ground. Smooth, a touch of spice, vanilla and a plum/orange fruitiness. Drinks medium.
Cupping Method:V60
Rated: 4.50 -
Super Fine indeed!
Very naturally sweet and smooth coffee with velvet mouthfeel. Chocolate forward. No bitterness or funk at all. A touch of black cherry acidity. Not complex and maybe could use a touch more acidity but very easy to drink.Cupping Method:Hario v60. 204 degrees F
Rated: 4.50 -
I really enjoyed this decaf. It has a ton of natural sweetness, and the first thing that hits is the caramel. There's a lot of natural sweetness here, the I get a sort of honey/blackberry combo and a clean finish. Platform is a light black tea.Cupping Method:Hario v60 pourover
Rated: 4.50 -
Superfruity, with lots of berry notes, some peach, and definitely a hint of florality. I haven't had a lot of DR Congo coffee, so wasn't totally sure what to expect. The platform was black tea transitioning to green tea, with a fresh, floral, slightly grassy finish.
Cupping Method:Hario v60, 205 degrees F
Rated: 4.50 -
Caramel and nutty with good balance. A touch of earth. Nicely within all bounds and would make a great cafe roast.Rated: 4.50 -
A very clean dark roast that has a touch of smokiness with lots of chocolate. Some citrus in the acidity. It's not over-the-top dark, which is what makes it work fo me. There's a good amount of natural sweetness, and a medium body.Cupping Method:Hario v60 pourover
Rated: 4.50 -
This was a pretty interesting coffee, figgy, a bit lactic, a ton of different berry and citrus notes, plus both chocolate and black tea. V really liked it, which I thought was interesting because Kenyan is normally more my thing than hers. But I think this does drink a bit more like a Colombian in a lot of ways. I would not have guessed a washed Kenyan, that's for sure. But very enjoyable!Cupping Method:Revolver Advent. Hario v60 pourover, 205 degrees F.
Rated: 4.50
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Super tasty medium dark roast espresso with blackberry, balanced acidity, dark chocolate, earthy, and roasted walnut. Could be a bit tart for some. Makes an incredible initial impression with a gorgeous crema.Cupping Method:House espresso of 1369, a coffee shop in Central Sq. Cambridge MA
Rated: 4.50
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A nice fruity Burundi with a big hit of fruit mid-palate, strawberry and citrus. Definitely get a strongly brewed black tea in the background. There's some complexity and a lot of flavors going on. Just a touch of funk that I didn't mind as I've definitely been seeing with this year's Burundis, natural or washed. It's not quite even mouthfeel wise but it's a fun coffee roast overall.
Cupping Method:Green Kettle Advent. Hario v60 pourover at 203 degrees F.
Rated: 4.50
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This is a really nice washed Ethiopian with tons of fruitiness. I get blood orange and strawberry lemonade here. I'd like the acidity to linger a bit longer and finish a touch cleaner, but that's the tradeoff with the washed Ethiopians. More fruit, a touch of funk. It's ever so slight here and this is a very enjoyable coffee.Cupping Method:Hario v60 pourover
Rated: 4.50
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I get the fresh fig and vanilla here, then a blood orange/lemongrass. It's very tea like. The acidity is nice. This is a cool and unique coffee, not totally sure it's something I want every day.Cupping Method:Side-by-side tasting with a Natural Ethiopian. 204C Hario v60
Rated: 4.50 -
Well, fairly straightforward on the flavor spectrum this dark roast, but this is extremely smooth and easy to drink. The smokiness is only a touch. There is a lot of natural sweetness and a balanced acidity perhaps resembling blueberry.
Cupping Method:V60 pourover from Green Kettle Advent (#13)
Rated: 4.50
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I thought this was a very good dark roast. Very chocolatey, spice, a little bit of acidity. Good crema and nice mouthfeel.Cupping Method:Espresso only. Used my La Spaziale A53 at 95C
Rated: 4.50
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A tasty espresso that drinks as a medium at a cafe. European breakfast biscuit, chocolate, and a touch of blackberry. Massive crema and great mouthfeel.Cupping Method:From a Nespresso Professional machine.
Rated: 4.50
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A lovely washed Ethiopian that sits on the usual black tea platform. This one has balanced acidity, for me dried apricot and bit of bergamot. It's very pleasant and easy to drink.Cupping Method:Hario v60 pourover. Comparison tasting with a Colombian from Great Minds in CT. Got this from the Revolver Advent Calendar.
Rated: 4.50
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Well executed classic Colombian with chocolate, citrus, and full bodied mouthfeel. Super smooth, no bitterness, and light but pleasant acidity.
Cupping Method:Green Kettle Advent #10
Rated: 4.50 -
Heavy on the milk chocolate, immensely naturally sweet Ethiopian with no funk (despite being natural processed). Super smooth with low acidity. It doesn't have the florality or complexity you might expect from a natural Ethopiian but is a very smooth/easy drinker. A slight blueberry note gives it a touch of fruitiness.Cupping Method:Hario v60 pourover. Coffee #15 in the Revolver Advent Calendar.
Rated: 4.50
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