Hits: 10
Beans: El Bosque, Catuai, Red Honey Process, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua.
Shop: Schot Koffie, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Schot Koffie – El Bosque: Background information:
Finca El Bosque has been owned by Julio Peralta since 1991. The farm is situated on the slopes of the Nuevo Segovia region. This region borders Honduras and provides spectacular views of the surrounding area of Jicaro and San Fernando. Finca El Bosque lies at an altitude between 1250 and 1500 metres above sea level. The climate provides an annual rainfall of aproximately 1800 millimetres which in turn makes for excellent conditions to grow coffee in.
Finca El Bosque has 140 acres of land but only 30 of them are used for coffee production. The rest of the land is used to grow varieties of pine and oak. The combination of growing coffee, tree’s and implementing sustainability on the Finca resulted in the Rainforest Alliance certification.
Schot Koffie – El Bosque: Opening the package.
The package of Schot Koffie is a beige carton package with a degassing valve and ziplock to keep the coffee fresh. On the back you will find the white logo of the roaster. On the front there is a sticker that holds a little card with a lot of information about the coffee. You can read about the tasting notes, washing station, process, varietal, altitude and origin of the coffee. I like to have a lot of information about the coffee and this card is perfect.
When I open the package and look inside I notice the equal roast and size of the beans. The scent that emanates from within the package is that of liquorice and syrup. I bite down on a bean and the get a soft flavour of popcorn that is accompanied by grain and a light bitterness that turns a little heavier as I keep chewing. When grinding the coffee, the scent of biscuit cookies and a sweet syrup slowly fill up the room. Time to brew!
Schot Koffie – El Bosque: The tasting.
For the El Bosque I used 18.5 to 19 grams of coffee. I Notice that there are quite a few flavours that appear when I use a little more coffee in the portafilter.
The coffee gives off a nice beige brown brew that slowly flows into my cup. I get a nice 30grams of coffee at 25 seconds. Aroma’s of liquorice, almond, popcorn and honey mix pleasantly in my cup.
When I take a sip of the coffee a soft sourness is still detectable. It reminds me of tangerine a little. Right at the start I get flavours of almond and maple syrup together with soft tannins on my gums. On the lower sides of my tongue there is a liquorice sensation that feels nice and keeps pulling saliva in my mouth. When swirling the coffee a soft tangerine flavour and mouthfeel comes forth and lingers for a while. It pushes back the almond and liquorice at the same time. After swallowing the tangerine gives in to the almond and maple syrup flavour. The winey mouthfeel is thick and creamy and also has a tiny bitterness of grapefruit to it. The sparkly acidity is a good addition to the set of flavours and only comes up after a second or two after swallowing the coffee.
Schot Koffie – El Bosque: The verdict.
The Nicaraguan El Bosque is a nice espresso that is easy going but in no way boring. Notes of almond, maple syrup, tangerine, liquorice and popcorn are all easily found in the coffee. The texture of the coffee is creamy and thick. The winey mouthfeel in the aftertaste is nice and complemented by a sparkly acidity. If you are looking for a nice all day long coffee, the El Bosque is a sure hit. It also does great as a Cappuccino with the tangerine complementing the milk in a great way.
Click here to go to the El Bosque webshop page!