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Beans: Finca Cruz Loma, Typica, Honey, Pichincha, Ecuador.
Shop: Broz Tostamos Cafe, Quito, Ecuador.
Broz Tostamos Cafe: Background information.
Broz was introduced to me by the owner of Traviesa in Quito. Felipe told me of Broz when I wanted to visit some new shops after corona. Broz was started by Philou in 2018 in Quito. After studying in Australia, and working in the coffee business to make a living there, Philou decided that he wanted to start his own coffee brand. Already knowing a lot about coffee due to his time in Australia, Philou needed to learn how to roast and did so with Felipe from Traviesa. In 2018, Philou started Broz Tostamos Cafe and by now he is a skilled roaster and well known in the city.
After having tasted his coffee in Quito, I thought it would be time to try out his Finca Cruz Loma Typica Honey and write a review!
This coffee comes from Finca Cruz Loma, and internationally known farm who has been selling their beans all over the world. Galo Fernando Morales Flores, who own the farm with his family, grows sugar cane, guanábana (soursop), corn, beans, and oranges on the farm called Finca Cruz Loma. Despite being in specialty coffee for only 5 years, his focus on quality was recognized with a first-place finish in the 2019 Best of Quito-Pichincha coffee competition. The size of the farm is so immense, that many parts of the land are not accessible. Many roads and paths only connect to the required amenities and buildings. There is also a large waterfall at the top of the property which overlooks the jungle area of the farm. An ideal place to grow coffee huh? This particular coffee is the typica varietal which has undergone a honey washed process.
Broz Tostamos Cafe – opening the package.
The Broz coffee comes in a brown carton/paper bag with a degassing valve and ziplock. The material is unbleached and therefor a great way to contribute a little to the environment. On the front of the package you will see the name, the logo and a little information about the coffee. The logo depicts the process of coffee in a single frame. A blooming coffee plant, with cherries, sits on top of a coffee machine which is brewing coffee in a cup. A nice way to show a tiny bit of the whole coffee-chain. The information shows the name of the farm and the region it is from. You will also find the name of the producer, the varietal and process and altitude of the farm. The information also mentions the type of roasting. I do really miss the tasting notes of the coffee for those consumers who rely on those.
When opening the package, you will find evenly roasted beans that all have the same size as well. I could not detect any notable defects. The aroma coming out of the package was that of black tea, chocolate and a hint of fruitiness. When eating a bean you will notice that it’s crispy and has a lot of tea leaf notes together with a hint of fruitiness and cocoa. Let’s brew!
The tasting.
Since this coffee was roasted in Quito at an altitude of 2850 meters above sea level, I had to take into account that this coffee was roasted for lower brewing temperatures. After all, water in Quito boils at 90 degrees celsius. I reviewed this coffee on the Aeropress, V60 and Clever Dripper. All results were of equal quality and thus I do not make a brewing recommendation.
When grinding this coffee, you will find a fruity and chocolate aroma popping up. There is also a hint of black tea and the aroma is quite pungent. After pouring up the water for brewing, you will get a sour grape, vanilla and fruity aroma on the nose. These aroma’s are displaced by others as soon as you finish brewing and pour the coffee into your glass.
Vanilla, brown sugar and red apple pop up as notes on the nose. The notes are all balanced and make for a pleasant smell.
Tasting the first sip of coffee immediately made me think of sugared earl grey tea mingled with a sweet note of red apple. slurping in some oxygen, and swirling the coffee round in my mouth, also gave way to a soft chocolate aroma and light brown sugar. The acidity when the coffee is hot was more citric but as the coffee cools down it leans heavily towards red apple acidity.
what I liked about this coffee was how light and balanced it felt in my mouth; there was not one flavour that dominated the palette. The coffee turns a little juicy when cooling down and gave off a tingly sensation on my gums. The aftertaste of this coffee leans towards dark chocolate, cookie spices and a sweet sugary note as well.
Broz Tostamos Cafe – Finca Cruz Loma: The verdict.
Broz has created a nice and easy to drink coffee out of the Finca Cruz Loma typica. The coffee doesn’t have a very high acidity but does have a balanced flavour profile. What I liked most is the red apple note and how easy this coffee feels when it comes to the mouthfeel. The aftertaste doesn’t really linger all that much, but long enough to make want to take another sip. All in all a great coffee to have on the shelf.