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Beans: Chaman, Castillo, Caturra, Colombia, washed, Huila, Colombia.
Shop: Manhattan Coffee roasters, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Chaman: Background information.
This Chaman coffee comes by way of the Productor company which is run by Rodolfo Battle. Rodolfo is a third generation coffee farmer and consultant from El Salvador. Rodolfo has has been operating in Colombia for the last five years, slowly building up strong relationships there and investing in the Colombian communities producing some amazing coffee’s.
Chaman is a regional lot coming by way of the San Juan de Opico region in San Augustin. San Juan de Opico is located at one of the highest altitude’s for growing coffee in this region and you will find the results of that in the cup of coffee. The village of San Agustín is located near the Nevado del Huila, Colombia’s second-highest peak, an active volcano, of which the tallest cone reaches 5,364 meters above sea level. The Province of Neiva (in present day Huila Department, southwest Colombia) sits near the southern end of the Cordillera Oriental. The climate ensures an average daytime temperature of about 32 degrees Celsius, dropping to a warm 25 degrees at night. The average humidity is about 70% throughout the year
The lot itself is named after the region’s name for the local Shaman who have a spiritual connection to bats. So this coffee’s name is kind of like Batman.
Manhattan Coffee Roasters: Opening the package.
Manahattan Coffee Roasters have a beautiful elegant package with a stylish logo of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. On the label you will find information about the origin of the coffee, the processing, varieties and some tasting notes. On the bottom of the package you will find the roasting date. Just to be sure, Manhattan Coffee roasters put a sticker on the package that says ‘Filter’ (or ‘Espresso’). The package obviously comes with a ziplock and degassing valve to keep the coffee as fresh as possible.
When opening the package a soft chocolate smell comes up together with a fruity note. The roast looks even which is impressive since there are three different varieties in this coffee. I couldn’t detect any defects in this bag of beans. The beans are crispy and when eating one, there is no sourness or bitterness to be found in the beginning. After chewing more, the bitterness comes forth a bit but the most prominent aspect is that it pulls saliva a lot.
Chaman: The Tasting.
I grind this coffee on my Eureka Brew Pro and use it to brew the Chaman on the Aeropress, Hario V60, Gabi Master A and Siphon. On all the brewers this coffee tasted great. My prefered brewing method was the Aeropress where the sweetness of the coffee was most apparent.
When grinding the coffee, the aroma’s coming off are that of milky chocolate and a savoury aroma. Brewing the coffee gives off a sweet sugared tea smell and a hint of 7Up/Lemon. When drinking this coffee the first thing that you will notice is a flavour of sweet red apple. It reminded me of the flavour of one of those red candy apples that you will find on a fair. Together with this flavour is the pulling of saliva…and this will continue throughout the tasting.
The acidity is citric at first but it will turn into a medium malic acidity later on. This is one of the things that I like a lot in this coffee; the changing of the acidity. At one point the acidity will remind you of an unripe pear or a Nashi Pear. This is a pear which is a mix of an apple and a pear and tastes delicious! And then it’s time for the aftertaste. The aftertaste brings two very pleasant surprises!
After swallowing the Chaman you will notice a very soft chocolate flavour that grows stronger along the way. The chocolate turns out to become a very nice Nutella like aftertaste that is creamy and lasting. When the coffee cools down, this Nutella flavour becomes stronger and then another surprise pops up: nutmeg. The nutmeg flavour doesn’t feel harsh on your gums of dry, it’s just the overall nutmeg flavour that accompanies the Nutella and completes it in a way.
Manhattan Coffee Roasters Chaman: The verdict.
Let’s not beat around the bush on the Chaman. For the price you will be paying (8 euro’s excl. tax/250 gr) this is a ridiculously good coffee. The flavours of juicy sweet red apple and milky chocolate complemented with nutmeg, all fit together perfectly somehow. The changing acidity makes this a very interesting coffee for those who are a little deeper into coffee than the regular coffee drinker. But the most pleasant aspect of this coffee is definitely the Nutella aftertaste. It is full, creamy and lasting…exactly how I like it. Ben Morrow and Esther Maasdam did a great job purchasing this coffee and the roasting is very well done!
Here you will find the link to the webpage of this coffee. Since I firmly believe in supporting your local coffee roaster, this link is a non-paid link and a courtesy on my end.