Hits: 8
Beans: Caturra, Castillo, Colombia, Washed, Huila, Colombia.
Shop: Crno Zrno, Ljubliana, Slovenia.
Crno Zrno – El Jordan: Background information.
Crno Zrno is quickly becoming one of my favourite brands in Europe. I am fortunate enough to have a brother living in Slovenia and so I can get my hands on this coffee once in a while. Todays review is about Crno Zrno’s El Jordan.
Beneath the Colombian Nevado del Huila, lies the small town of Gaitania. Surrounded by Colombian forest, Gaitania is home to fifty coffee farmers who grow coffee for the El Jordan. The area is under influence of an active volcano and it has given this region volcanic soils and microclimates to grow outstanding coffee. De Huila region has been under constant threat by guerilla forces for over forty years but despite this threat, the farmers have managed to grown their coffee nonetheless. In 2003 the logistic partner of Crno Zrno has begun developing the process to produce high quality coffee by providing education and training to the local farmers. The result is this great coffee!
Crno Zrno – El Jordan: Opening the package.
The package of Crno Zrno is somewhat special. The coffee is kept in a white bag with a degassing valve but no ziplock to close the bag. Around the bag is a carton label with a lot of information about the coffee. It will tell you about the variety, country, region and some notes. Inside the label, you will find a little card with tasting notes, processing method, harvest information and even the shade plants. Wow!
When opening the package the beans look great and I cannot find any defects at all. The fruity aroma is mixed with a caramel chocolate scent along with a mild candy like aspect to it.
The beans are crispy and have no particular bitterness or sourness to them when I bite down on them. My grinder finishes the grinding job pretty quick and when I smell the coffee grounds, my nose is filled with an aroma of sweet almond and an aroma that makes me think of broth; its savoury but at the same time nutty. Very interesting since I hardly ever get this aroma.
Crno Zrno – El jordan: The tasting.
I reviewed this coffee on the Hario V60, Aeropress and siphon. On each brewer the coffee had different things that I liked, but the Hario V60 was my favourite. I used a 20/300gr recipe with four pours. I used 50grams of water for the 35 seconds of blooming at a temperature of 92 degrees.
As I brew the coffee a pleasant sweet aroma comes off of the coffee. When I pour the coffee in a glass I can clearly make out the scent of almonds and caramel. As I take a deep sniff, a hint of pepper comes into my nose as well.
I take a sip and slurp oxygen inside quickly. At high temperatures it is the flavour of almonds with a soft grapefruit mouthfeel that are most apparent.
I let the coffee cool down and in turn let the flavours develop in the glass. When I next take a sip, there is a big difference in flavours. The coffee is rich, full of fruit and a caramel sweetness that grows at the same time. The fruitiness is a soft flavour of the green part of a melon, as if you’re taking a bite near the melon peel. Notes of Grapefruit and Almonds slowly appear in the back of my mouth while swirling the coffee round. I love how sweetness accompanies a savoury aspect of this coffee. The citric sparkly acidity on my tongue is accompanied with an almond chocolate aftertaste. In a way this Huila coffee has the appearance of a Kenyan coffee…and that is a good thing!
The aftertaste lingers for quite a while and even after a couple of seconds it is still a pleasant as it was before.
Crno Zrno – El Jordan: The verdict.
There is a lot to write about the El Jordan from Crno Zrno. The coffee is fairly simple when it is served hot, but it transforms into a rich fruity and sweet coffee when cooling down. The flavours of caramel, almonds and lemon are perfectly pitted for the sparkly citric acidity. This coffee has a lingering aftertaste that stays fresh and crisp. This is a coffee that you could serve during a get together or drink throughout the day. Lovely coffee, well done Crno Zrno!