2017-11-27 — El Salvador Alpina Pacamara

Roast Date: 27 Nov 2017
Duration: 11m36s
First Crack @ 8m5s
Rating: ★★★★☆
1.2lb → 1.003lb; 16% Weight Loss

Sweet Maria’s

This Pacamara lot from Alpina has such an interesting herbal sweetness in the cup. City and City+ roasts have flavors of sweet basil and celery soda, and an delightful green floral accent note. The fragrance and aroma smell complex, floral tea and sweet herbaceous notes permeate from the coffee, and the impressions I get are reminiscent of Maracaturra coffees, the large bean hybrid of Maragoype and Caturra that is popular in Nicaragua. This coffee excels as a pour over brew, with well articulated flavor notes discernible in the cup. Acidity is brilliant in light roasts, like tangy citrus, a vibrance that holds up as the coffee cools. The level of sweetness is moderate, and transparent like simple syrup sugar, lending sweetness without the added molasses flavors that come with sugar in the raw.

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Acidity: Bright acidity reminiscent of some kind of citrus thing, or maybe celery, as SM said.

Sweetness: The sweetness is subtle and pleasant. I can taste it mostly on the edges.

Mouthfeel: Oilier than I expected, given how light this roast turned out.

Flavor: Very rich; almost tastes coppery, but certainly not over-acidic.

Finish: A long, slow finish that echos the flavor.

Balance: This coffee is really good. I associate it with the last Salvadoran I had in that it has a very clean flavor, but it’s not at all bland.