Hey, coffee lovers, how are you? It is Sunday and although I am in a bit lazy mood, I decided it is a good time to throw some words about coffee around me.
Last week my wife had to visit the capital - Sofia so she asked me if I wanted some coffee from there. And that was the question that I was waiting for! Of course my answer was positive! And I requested a special coffee shop!
The Urban Embassy coffee shop is located in a small garage in the center of the city and the packaging of their coffees has always been “alternative” and eco friendly. Their coffees come in these glass bottles, and when you return your empty bottle, you have a discount on your next coffee. Labels are also missing here. Rather than, the owner writes the coffee variety on the bottle. You can find more information about the coffee in situ, at the shop, or on their website.
The Uganda Masira Good Times coffee is anaerobically processed and should carry Prunes, Rasins and Young wine notes in its flavors. It is an omni roast, which means it has to be equally good brewed on espresso and filter, like V60 too.
I have tried it on espresso… it is really good, but to be honest it shines when brewed on V60 or aeropress. Lets grab the press now!
The beans are medium light roasted. Sometimes the light roasted beans doesn’t have the qualities to deliver a full bodied sweet cup of an espresso coffee. Yet, you can use a bit cooler water to extract medium roasts with filter methods and still eliminate harsh and bitter flavors.
For this coffee I use water, heated to about 90-92 degrees centigrade.
When I ground the beans, I immediately smelled the magical aromas of the anaerobic coffee. There was some tropical sweetness with a lot of ripe mango domination. When coffee met the water, all of this became more intensive, with some wine appearance already.
There is always something spectacular in the process of brewing anaerobic coffees, with different aromas coming one after another. And also the aromas that come toady may be different from these that came yesterday.
Two minutes later and the coffee can enter my Japanese cup.
I just love it! It is one of these fermented coffees that can retell fairy tales with their flavors. It has this fermented flavor which is full of fruitiness and sweet vibes alongside the acidic beginning.
This coffee reminds me a bit of the Colombian 200h fermented coffee that I bought about two or three months ago. It is ideal to be enjoyed and to take you in a unique new world… And what can be better than sharing the taste with other coffee lovers?
I know that the owner of out favorite coffee place in town likes the coffees of Urban Embassy too, so I put about 30 grams of the beans in a little glass jar to carry him. He was very happy to receive it and felt a sort of an obligation to return me the favor immediately.
He entered the storage room at the back of the shop and brought an interesting looking, unfamiliar brand of coffee.
Paso paso is an interesting brand, because it is a “Farmer owned coffee”. But what does this mean?
Miaho said that the farmers here grow and process their coffee as usual, then they dry it and give it to a third party to roast the beans, afterwards they sell the coffee themselves. The coffee leaves the farmers as soon as it is dried enough. Only roasting is done outside of the farm, but the roast profile is made with their cooperation.
Misho gave me 30 gram of coffee, just enough for two espresso shots. He said that although this is an omni roast, espresso is the way to go.
Tombe honest it was nothing that special, but still very tasty. I just was happy to try a “Farmer owned coffee” for the first time, and it was interesting.
Now it is time to leave you and spend the rest of the Sunday with the kids who just woke up from their afternoon nap.
See you soon and have a wonderful week!
What an extraordinary way to do business so that everyone wins!
One of the things I don't like about the cafes in my city is their preference for disposable cups. I think it's time for us all to think more about environmental conservation. I think it's great to use glass bottles, since glass is inert. It wouldn't hurt to protect that bottle from direct light.
Beautiful post, beautiful cup, beautiful photos.
Of course no one carries his transparent bottle full of beans in his hand on the streets. 😁 All the time we use to put the coffee we buy in our bags. When you are at home, you can easily put the bottle in a dark place.
I like a lot the approach of these people about the packaging of coffee and I think this has to be some sort of norm in the modern world where we tend to put everything in plastic bags.
Thanks for the nice comment!