First up is the odd-ball of the lot: Guatemala Patzun - Finca Santa Anita. I've always been fond of Guatemalan coffees which tend toward heavier body and richer texture than most central American coffees. This coffee takes it to the limit with a heft rare outside of Pacific island coffees. But where a good Sulawesi (e.g.) presents the weight with tones of moist earth and tropical foliage, this one is nearly flan in a coffee cup. At full city, I get a rich caramel, almost trending toward butterscotch in its density as the honey tone emerges. Early, I get dark cocoa, which tones down toward milk chocolate as the coffee cools. Tom gets a bit of nectarine-apricot, where I get a bit more mandarin orange.
An unusual and delightful coffee - seems best at Full City, but may have secrets to yield a a darker roast = first hint of second crack.
Next, an exemplar of my single favorite region in the world: Ethiopian Zonegediyo Kochere Yirga Cheffe. It is nearly certain that coffee originated in Ethiopia, or at minimum was discovered and developed as a beverage there. It's worth a quick search, at your leisure, of the origins of coffee. Some of the discovery stories are delightful.
Good Yirgs are delicate coffees that are suited exclusively for light roasts - they are bright, citrus sharp, floral coffees that begin to wilt rapidly once into full city or darker roasts = avoid at CharBuck$ (tm). This coffee is so delicate that I actually pull it from the roaster as the first crack winds down, pour it into the cooling colander at let the crack continue for a while longer before cooling it over the fan - a minimal City roast.
So what's special? A clean light coffee base flavor over which there are touches of lemon zest, cardamom, other aromatic spices, and vague, unidentifiable (by me) floral tones, all above a bright, almost sparkling acidity. Reminds me of great Lebanese food, in some of the flavors (yum - a favorite cuisine).
How much do I like it? My first 5 pound order has been supplemented with 20 more - I doubt I'll see another Yirg this good in a while.
Finally, Kenya Nyeri Gatomboya AB (in Kenyan coffees, the letters refer to bean size rather than quality). Again, this is a stock-up coffee for me. If Welsh's fruit juice blenders ever tasted a great Kenya coffee, they'd run away screaming to find jobs doing something useful, like selling time-shares.
I'll just quote Tom's description from the label:
IOW - like all excellent Kenyans, this has a panoply of tart fruit flavors balanced by a foundation of mild sweetness. I've got no idea what a kumquat tastes like - maybe that's why I get a touch of very ripe persimmon (soft and mottled - bite a hard persimmon and you won't unpucker for week -DAMHIKT!)Grape, blackberry, pineapple, orange, kumquat, grapefruit, lychee, ripe but not winey, peak sweetness, tea-like finish with Dutch chocolate.
I find this coffee a bit too acidic at City, so I let the the first crack entirely complete and add 30 seconds or so = City+-very light Full City.
It's been a long time since I've had three coffees on the counter as different and individually excellent as this group. Jimbo - if you try them, I'd suggest the whirly for the Guat. and the popper for the others