Terroir Coffee


 
T

Tom Chips

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So, along with the thread about the coffeemakers, I was wondering if anyone has had a chance to try out this guys coffee? I figured it deserved its own thread, since it's not about the coffeemaker itself.

The prices are high, so it wont be an everyday thing, but man it sounds good.
 
I have not purchased it to try it but have had a cup of a couple different kinds in stores, by the cup. It is spendy--but I don't care so much about that. I'm planning to try a couple or three at home.
 
Three more days....

I bought their 3 highest rated coffees, and a package deal that had a sampler of 3 different beans.Can't wait to try them.

I finally broke down and tried Peets Coffee for the first time last week in LA. I have never been a big fan of Starbucks ( even though I worked there for a brief time) and I figured Peets couldn't be much better, since Starbucks was founded by Peets guys. But I gotta say, it was better tasting, and the flavor actually had nuances that Starbucks burns to hell with their overroasting.
 
I like Peet's.

Please report on the coffees when you try them. I'd love to hear your impressions.
 
There is definitely a fascinating flavor profile in these beans. Alot of bright acidity, and many berry like flavors. Good aftertaste too. I like it, but at the price I paid, I hope to find a good suitable alternative.
 
I'll look at them when I get home, I can't recall off the top of my head. The only one I have tried so far is I from Kenya I believe. It's the one on George's site that received a 97 on a tasting eval, so I figured why not give it a try and start there.

He wasn't kidding about not overroasting the coffee. Its packed full of good flavor,acidity, and of course, CAFFEINE.

All together I bought four different 1 pound packages. I bought the Kenyan one seperately from the other, 3 pack variety of coffees they were selling for about $39. I don't want to get an expensive habit up and running, so I might go back to roasting my own.
 
well, certainly the kenyan, as will most east african coffees, will give you those berry/fruit flavors; i love the winey flavor of ethiopian yrgecheffe!!
 
Sean, I bought the following: Mamuto, from Kenya, Kirinyaga Region. Matalapa Vienna Roast from El Salvador, La Libertad Region. Els Descanso from Columbia, Huila Region, and Kangocho from Kenya, Nyeri Region.

I think the goal is, to give it the hardest to pronounce name, that way you can charge more.
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To date, I've only tried the Mamuto, which I do enjoy it's complexity, and various flavors, but I'm not real big into the fruity flavors. The Ethiopian bean is too winey and fruity for me personally.

I definitely look forward to trying the other packages in the next week. But for the price and quality of the beans, I don't want one package open until the first one is done.

What I can easily see happening, is me buying a big bag of green coffee beans like Columbian and roast it myself in small batches.
 
hehe, i love the winey ethiopians; they are my favorite. one time we brought a container of yirgies in (300 60kg bags, or roughly 40,000 lbs) and we had the sampler bring us a full 60kg/132lb bag to our office for *coughcough* "testing" purposes.

we drank well at home for several months
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it's a lot of fun to try the different varietals/origins and find one and a roast level that you like.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">i love the winey ethiopians; they are my favorite. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Ditto. Big time. After that it is the other Africans and the Indonesians.
 
Add one more Ethiopian junkie! I think I have 9 or 10 different ones in my stash right now
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For those of you who home roast, stop by the Green Coffee Buying Club

We are a group of home roasters who buy in bulk to get he savings and then split the bags. We have a bunch of distributors who will buy the coffee from the importer and then split it up and ship it to the members. We buy some amazing coffee at great prices.

Tom... Terrior is a great roaster. You may also like Intelligentsia in Chicago. There is probably a local roaster near you as well.
 
Thank you Ron, I will look up both. I'd love to throw my hat in the circle as well, especially since it will probably net me better coffee beans in the long run.

I haven't tried the yirge's on my new technivorm, but I'm nearly certain that I have with my press pot. I have always taken my coffee black, and very strong. Maybe I will have to not do that as much, in order to learn to appreciate the wine like flavors and astringency. For now, I find it too concentrated.

It would probably be a great Latte though.
 
Sean, that is an insane amount of coffee! It was gone in a few months? How many drinkers do you have?

That much would last me for the rest of my life.
 
here's a silly question and a few comments. I kind of find myself feeling palate-less or something. (I would just say "not as cool as you guys" for lack of better wording) Because I drink lots of the black stuff, like you, but have never understood any of the terms very well like "buttery aftertaste" or "berry like aromatic notes" (or something).
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anyone know what i mean? I've been wanting in on this conversation for a while now but dont know what to say! I take a drink and can tell good from bad, and the "best" i've had and clearly know it, even in a blind test of several of my favorites i've had, that we jokingly played around with. (me and my girl) ...anyway the best around here is a place called "dog-house coffe" and is just a local roaster dude...god its good, all of it. I find myslef unlike most people liking lighter roasts. I completely understood the comment made by someone of everyone over roasting the hell out of em, thats just sad.
 
Dan-- It depends on the bean, the roast and the method of making the coffee but, believe me, you would be able to get the 'winey' notes of properly roasted Ethiopian beans, the spice notes of Tanzania Peaberry, the full fruit of Sumatra Mandheling, the smoky character of Guatemala Antigua.

What it usually takes the first time is a coffee with qualities that lend themselves to distinct words or phrasing (not all really do though they can be terrifc regardless). Once you taste them and can match the words/phrases to what you are tasting, it becomes easier to taste other coffees with that in mind, i.e., with a mind toward 'pulling out' flavor variables from the mix of flavors in your mouth and distinguishing them with words.
 
dan, like kevin says the roast level is key. different countries produce coffee with different flavor due to variations in climate and soil components as well as specific coffee varietals used. as a general statement, coffee from east africa (ethiopia, kenya, tanzania, and to a slightly lesser extent burundi and rwanda) will have a winey, fruity acidity. coffees from indonesia/malaysia/papua new guinea will tend to have heavier body and a spicier characteristic. coffees from guatemala/el salvador/costa rica/nicaragua will tend to have brighter acidity and at times a buttery (as in a slight malolactic flavor for you wine buffs) flavor. brazils tend to have a sweet, fine acidity and somewhat of a nutty finish. And so on. but these are just general characteristics.

a good thing to try, if you have a few dollars to play around with, is to find a good specialty roaster who does a decent amount of business (this is important because if he sells a lot of coffee than what he has at any given moment will be fresh) and pick up a half pound or so from one of the coountries in each of the chatagories i mentioned above. the key here is that each coffee be roasted to the same color and that color must be fairly light. the darker a coffee is roasted the more its individual characteristics are lost; since you want to taste the differences you need to have the coffee roasted light.

and get a couple of coffee makers and make yourself several pots and taste them; i'm sure you'll find it pretty neat.
 
Like Sean said, but I'd like to add: start early in the morning! Your kidneys and your nervous system will thank you.
 
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