Brew Analysis by Joshua Wismans
Desta Gola has been a staple of our Crown Jewel menu for a number of years. His work has always been excellent and consistent. This year is obviously no exception. What’s beautiful about this relationship though is each year reveals the variable nature of coffee harvest. Always full of delicioius florals and citrus, this real revealed a sweetness that we leaned into for a lot of our brews. This coffee was also a bit less soluble than years past, allowing us to grind finer and explore a different dimension of Ethiopian coffee.
Our first profile, ground fairly fine, brought out the more delicate nature of Ethiopian coffees. Orange blossom and green tee were complimented by melon and bergamot. This year, we found the Hario V60 worked well, allowing for a crisper flavor profile. With the finer grind, and a moderate dose, the TDS was still right in the middle at 1.36. In years past, this profile would have been bitter and over-extracted. This year, it was subtle and delightful.
Our second brew profile for this brought our dose down and made the grind finer. This allowed us to squeeze the coffee a bit more. Also brewed with the V60, this TDS was almost the same, but had a higher extraction percentage. The resulting cup was one of the sweetest Ethiopian brews I’ve had. There was still plenty of florals, but instead of a brighter citrus, there was an incredible caramel and dried fruit sweetness.
The coffee this year reminds us that we should embrace things as they change, meeting them where they’re at rather than forcing them into our preexisting notions. This coffee is less soluble this year, allowing an exploration of finer grind settings that highlight the delicate nature and sweetness in new ways.
Look to use a conical brewer, finer grind, and low to moderate doses to bring the most out of this coffee.
