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Beans: Aguas Claras, Colombia, Castillo, Washed, Huila, Colombia.
Shop: Audun Coffee, webshop, Poland.
Audun Coffee: Background information.
Audun Coffee ‘Aguas Claras’ was roasted by Norwegian roaster Audun Sorbotten. Audun started his career at the oldest Norwegian roastery Solberg & Hansen and it was there that he really started loving coffee for what it is; complex, flavorful and diverse.
In 2011 and 2012, Audun was part of the Solberg & Hansen-team that became the Nordic roasting champion and in 2015, after moving to Poland, he became the roasting champion of the world.
When I contacted Audun about reviewing his coffee, the thing that stood out was the fact that he never changes his roasting techniques. The Norwegian roasting style is what he perfected and what his clients expect of him. In turn, Audun wants to roast coffees form all over the world and roast them as best as he can. These two things combined make him one of the most sought after roasters in the world. The moment I wrote about reviewing his coffee’s, a Hong Kong based follower on Instagram told me he missed drinking his coffee. That says a lot I guess?
The Aguas Claras coffee comes from the Aguas Claras finca in Huila, Colombia. The owner is Jaiber’s Joven and his farm is at 1800 meters above sea level. Jaiber is growing a mix of Castillo and Colombia varieties and has produced seriously great coffee with the Coocentral cooperation. This has been so for over the last years, earning him the right to participate in the Nordic Approach program. In the case of small producers like Jaiber, the cherries are picked by hand. After fermentation (12 to 16 hours), the coffee is washed and floaters and damaged cherries are separated. The coffees are rinsed in clean water before being sent to the parabolic dryers.
Coocentral is the main Cooperative in Central Huila. The members of the cooperative normally have 2-3 hectare farms in altitudes from 1400 up to 2000 masl. Main varietals are Caturra, Castillo and Variedad Colombia. They currently have 3747 Members, where of 2098 are active members delivering their parchment to the Copperative reception points in the respective local villages (Veredas). They have purchasing points in Gigante, Garzon, Guadalupe, Suaza Tarqui, Pital, Agrado. The harvest in Central Huila is very spread out — some have the main harvest in May – July, and others from October – December.
Audun Coffee – Aguas Claras: Opening the package.
Audun Coffee comes in a black bag with black and white logo on the front. The fun thing is that the design of the logo will change with each coffee you buy. In total, I received four coffees with four different logo’s.
On the coffee there is information about the process, the varieties, the name of the coffee and the origin. Obviously, the package has a ziplock and degassing valve to keep the coffee as fresh as possible.
When opening the package there is a black tea and soft cocoa aroma coming out. The beans are crispy and immediately give off a flavour of black tea, a slight bitterness and woody note as well.
The beans look evenly roasted and there are no defects in the hand of beans that I scooped out. Grinding the coffee will give off a low sweetness and an aroma of broth. Let’s brew!
Aguas Claras: The tasting.
I have reviewed this coffee on the Hario V60, Aeropress and Siphon brewer. I use my Eureka Brew-Pro to grind the coffee. I prefer to brew this coffee on the Aeropress since it will bring out more sweetness to the coffee.
When brewing this coffee, I recommend already sniffing in the aroma’s. When you are brewing you will notice the herbal aspect to this coffee; lavender, thyme and rosemary are all mixed into one aroma. When you’re done brewing and pour the coffee into a glass, you will find totally different aroma’s! The aroma’s turned into a soft sugared tea, vanilla and butter aroma. Later, when the coffee cools down even more, there will also be an aroma of white chocolate. The cheap white chocolate (which is also the best white chocolate haha)
Take a sip and notice how there is a floral note to the coffee. This is not a specific floral note such as roses or white blossom, but a mixture of notes. The flavour mingles with a sweetness that changes into the butter note that we had on our nose before.
When the coffee cools down a little more, this butter gets a herbal roughness to it that you normally find in Kenyan coffees.
Swirl the coffee round in your mouth and you will notice a plum note popping up together with a hint of cloves. This is a sweet and herbal note that go so well together. This note produces faint tannines on the gums.
And then it’s time to describe the aftertaste of this beautiful coffee. In the aftertaste you will get a mixture of thyme, lavender and rosemary that blends easily with the pomelo citric acidity and satin mouthfeel of the coffee. And then, as a final act, the coffee produces a creamy white chocolate aftertaste. This aftertaste lasts pretty long and eventually gets accompanied by the flavour of used tea leaves. What a journey!
Audun Coffee – Aguas Claras: The verdict.
The Aguas Claras is a great Colombian coffee. I love how the herbal notes on the nose are so intense and the flavours in turn are so diverse. Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary, cocoa, plum, chocolate…that’s an odd bunch in a cup! And that is exactly why I would suggest you to try this coffee.
Take note of the butter-aroma when you pour the coffee in the glass, it’s amazing.
This is the second coffee from Audun Coffee that I am reviewing and I am definitely not disappointed. Thank you Audun!