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Beans: Agua de Nieve, Typica, Caturra, Bourbon, washed, Jauga, 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 and roaster of Agua de Nieve. 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 environmental 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.
Agua De Nieve is a farm in the Juagu area in Peru. The owner, Delvis Anchiraico Cosios, grows his coffee at an altitude between 1800-2000 meters above sea level and creates this coffee with 19 other farmers. The area surrounding Juagu is mountainous and the climate is perfect for growing great coffee. Keen Coffee pays twice the amount of money for this coffee than coffees on the conventional market, ensuring a better income for the farmers. Because of the fact that this is a direct trade coffee, Keen Coffee actually knows that all of the money flows back into the community instead of the pockets of brokers and traders.
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.
Inside the package I see beautifully roasted coffee. There is some change in roasting colour between the varietals but that is to be expected and done intentionally. When eating some of the beans I get a citric flavour that is accompanied by vanilla blossom/jasmin tea. It’s very fruity and floral and has a close resemblance to an Heirloom bean from Ethiopia! There is also a bean that gave off a slight bitternes with a hint of liqourice-stick (zoethout) and the third varietal that I ate gives off a broth and bitter flavour.
When I grind the coffee the aroma festival starts with a soft floral aroma, sweet berries and a hint of plum. The jasmin tea is nowhere to be found unfortunately. Let’s brew!
Keen Coffee – Agua De Nieve: The Tasting.
I have reviewed this coffee by grinding with the Eureka Brew-Pro and the Comandante C40. I brewed on the V60, Aeropress and Clever Dripper, where the V60 gave off the best overall result in terms of fruitiness.
When brewing this coffee you will find some sweet aroma’s of berry jam and plum. A hint of vanilla can be found as well but it’s faint and only at the end of brewing. The real palette starts to open up when you pour the coffee into a glass.
While the coffee is hot you will get a sweet raisin aroma, sugared tea, and a hint of cinnamon. As the coffee cools down you will find a floral note, a hint of chocolate on the nose and lychee. The lychee is deep sweet, like candy, yet not dominant on the nose. It kind of mingles with the chocolate and the floral note.
The flavours.
Agua de Nieve pulls you in from the start with a lychee and grape-juice note. It reminds me of the grapejuice they’d give me as a kid on sunday in church. While the coffee is hot, it is the grapey aspect of the coffee that is dominant but the real fun begins when this coffee cools down.
As soon as the coffee cools down you will notice how the acidity of this coffee changes from grapey to red apple. It’s lovely and totally supports the lychee and chocolate flavours that are popping up more. There is also a hint of sweet raisin in the background. The mouthfeel is silky but there is also a slight bitter that reminds me of grape peel/lychee pit. It’s more a roughness than bitter.
The aftertaste is great on this coffee. The red apple acidity remains while the aftertaste is fully taken over by a praline chocolate aftertaste that is accompanied by a hazelnut flavour as well. Normally you’d expect this with a Costa Rica or perhaps a Geisha. It does not linger for long so savour it while you can. The coffee is not juicy but it does create a very nice mouthfeel in the aftertaste.
The Verdict.
This Peruvian Agua de Nieve is a very nice coffee. Keen Coffee obviously has an eye for great coffees since they have never let me down before. The Agua de Nieve is fruity, has a floral hint and gets better by the second. The best part is the praline chocolate aftertaste that is creamy and sweet. The red apple acidity is great and go’s splendidly with the lychee, grape and raisin notes.
I hope that Keen Coffee will keep selling this coffee. The price is right, the quality is great and it is a coffee that is suitable for everyone.