Keen Coffee: Finca Aladino.

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Beans: Finca Aladino, Caturra, Tabi, Semi-Carbonic, Cajamarca, Jaen, Peru.
Shop: Keen Coffee, webshop, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Keen Coffee: Background information.

In the centre of The Netherlands lies the city of Utrecht. A city known for it’s marvelous cathedral, canals and bustling everyday life. It is also host to Keen Coffee, one of the best coffee roasters in The Netherlands. In 2015 Keen Coffee was founded by barista’s Bonne Postma en Rob Kerkhoff. The brand name has connections to the adjective ‘keen’ and also to a computer game Comander Keen which was released somewhere in the ’90s.
Keen Coffee roasts it’s coffee on the Loring roaster which is considered the most environmentally friendly roaster out there.
Since 2015 Keen Coffee has been on the rise and even provides championship coffees to competitors all over the world. This helps them to explore new area’s when it comes to roasting and sourcing coffee.

The Finca Aladino is a farm in the northern part of Peru, in Chontali, Jaen to be precise. The farm is located on an altitude between 1871 and 2100 meters above sea level. The climate is perfect for growing coffee and the temperatures can be very warm while the humidity can be very high. Jaen is surrounded by mountains and the fertile slopes, making it an ideal area to grow coffee. The coffee got a semi-carbonic process that lasted for 96 hours in a closed tank. After that, the coffee was depulped and dried for about 20 to 25 days on end.

Opening the package.

The package of Keen Coffee is white and blue colored. On the front and back, you will find an abstract crystal logo that reminds me of The Dark Crystal (yes, I am THAT old!). The package comes with a degassing valve and a ziplock. On the front you will find a label with the name, flavour notes, varietal information, producers name, process and the roasting date. On the back you will find some info on the adjective ‘Keen’ and a quote about the philosophy of Keen Coffee.

When opening the package I see a nicely roasted coffee. There is a clear distinction between the Tabi and the Caturra beans but they are all without defects. There is a sweet raisin and fruity aroma coming out of the package when you open it and also a hint of blackberry and choco. The beans are crispy and give off a flavour of berries, sweet raisin and a slight bitter that reminds me of roasted tea leaf. When grinding the coffee, there is an aroma of sweet berries, broth and a savoury aroma that reminds me of a Kenian coffee. This is very interesting indeed.

Finca Aladino: The tastin.

I reviewed the coffee of the V60, Aeropress, Clever Dripper and Siphon. The best brews I had were from the Aeropress since it had the highest sweetness overal.

When brewing the coffee you will find a sweet aroma coming off of the brew. Soft tea mingles with a fruity citric aroma and sugar cane. It is not until you pour the coffee into a glass that the aroma’s freely come out. Take a deep sniff and you will find a hint of floral fabric softner when the coffee is hot. This dissipates into aromas of sugar cane, soft rum-raisin and a hint of vanilla. When the coffee cools down, the aroma’s get that savoury aspect that you will find in Kenian cofee’s and remind me of cranberry sauce and even a hint of tomato on the nose.

Take a sip of the coffee and slurp some oxygen inside your mouth. Swirl the coffee round and let it rest of a second or two. Notice how the acidity on this coffee is a distinct lemony citric acidity? Keep this in mind because this will change when the coffee cools down. The flavour of this coffee is a mix of rum-raisin, cranberry and a hint of blacberry. There is also a hint of dark chocolate on the tongue as the coffee cools down. Wait, are we sure this isn’t a Kenian coffee?

The coffee is pretty juicy, meaning that it will produce alot of saliva underneath the front of your tongue. The enzyms in the saliva will make the coffee sweeter with each sip, so savour it! As the coffee cools down, you will notice how the mouthfeel of the coffee leans towards apple juice and the acidity changes into a soft alkaline acidity. Alkaline acidity can best be described as the feeling your mouth gets when putting your tongue to a squared double battery if you get what I mean. The after taste is fruity with notes of raisin, blackberry, tea leaf and a cranberry bitterness on the sides of your tongue. And perhaps there is even a slight wooden note to it in the background. The aftertaste lingers for a long time and

The verdict.

The Finca Aladino, roasted by Keen Coffee in Utrecht, is an amazing coffee. I know that coffee’s from Peru can be good but still this coffee really surprised me. The Finca Aladino has the quality of a good Kenian coffee and often times I was confused in tasting it. Cranberry, Blackberry, savoury aroma, amazing citric acidity…it’s all in there.
What I loved about this coffee is that it gets better when cooling down. The fruityness becomes stronger, the acidity changes for the good and the flavours get more distinct. I reviewed this coffee when it was not older than 10 day old but the full potential wont be reached untill 14 days or more. Guess who is saving this coffee for later haha.

If you are able to purchase this coffee I recommend doing so. You will not regret it, I promise! Once again Keen Coffee has shown why it’s one of the top roasters in The Netherlands.