When Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company proclaimed a few weeks ago that it would be selling a limited amount of the highest grown coffee in the world, I put a note in my calender and dug out my Groupon. I have a penchant for coffees grown at higher elevations. As one climbs, I feel that the fruit and flower notes come to the fore, especially as the coffee cools.
Cafe Takesi is cultivated at elevations between 6200' and 8500', an almost absurd height for coffee. The highest coffee I've ever had previous to this was George Howell's Terroir Coffees El Vergel, grown at 6100' (if you recall I raved about it last July). Cafe Takesi takes its name from the river valley where they are grown. This coffee won a Cup of Excellence in 2009 as well; no small feat. Apparently the Inca Trail runs right through the farm, other than placing it on the Western side of the Andes, that fact hasn't helped me find the location of either the river valley or the farm. Maybe I'll ask Jeff Babcock this weekend when I'm in Seattle.
My 12oz of these sold-out beans arrived last night and I just made a cup after coming home from pilates (so good to be back in the swing of having a core).
I filtered a fresh pot of water, ground up 26g, prewetted my paper Hario v60 filter, and slow poured 12oz at 204 degrees. The bloom was amazing. I need to wait ~40 seconds next time for a denser puck and a better pour. Nevertheless, it turned out well.
Like the El Vergel, this coffee has definite belgian ale lightness, almost floating to the roof of your mouth. Smooth, syrupy going down, finishing with a bread/yeast/graham cracker like taste. The fruit notes are super complex. Oranges, raisins... well, smells like citrus and feels like raisins. Chewy almost. Mellow. Sugary, but in a super subtle way. Like a sweet potato or a beet.
I'm going to have to ponder this one; one of the more complex coffees I've had.
happy sipping!
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