Cup Review 01: Kenya Chinga by Hasbean
This is the first episode in what I intend to be the bulk of my blog, coffee reviews. It’s as simple as it sounds, I drink and take notes on the current coffee I am brewing and write up some form of a review. No more, no less.
A brief note on the motivation behind these segments. Coffee tasting is, without a doubt, a learned process. And that is my intention, to learn that process and to have a better palette than when I started. I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but the hope is that by writing down my notes in a documented blog, I can enhance that learning process. So without further ado, on to the first review!
Coffee Information
- Origin: Kenya
- Process: Natural
- Variety: SL28 & SL34
- Roastery: Hasbean
- Brew method: V60
This was the first Kenyan I had drunk in a little while, and I was definitely excited to have one back on the menu. I have always liked Kenyan coffees, potentially due to the apparent uniqueness of them. Back when I first started to take coffee seriously, Kenyans were always the ones that stood out the most. The jam-like fruit notes and acidity are un-deniably there, and really contrast the typical chocolate/caramel/nut notes that I was used to associating with coffee.
Tasting
The coffee has an interesting flavour profile. A rather heavy bodied coffee beginning sweet, while finishing with a much more warming selection of flavours. A seriously sweet start with notes of strawberry turn into a more rugged tangy orange peel, ending on warming aromatic notes of clove and cinnamon.
Verdict
Definitely a drinkable cup, but nothing that wowed me. I can’t help thinking that perhaps a brighter approach to brewing might have brought out and highlighted a little more acidity. And although it lacked a little bit of punch, the ending was certainly pleasant.
