Today I went with friends on a coffee safari. No, we didn't hop from
one coffee shop to another! We were invited to a coffee-tasting at a
friend's home. The coffees, however, came from exotic locales - where
the best coffees grow.
I
had no idea my friend Dante was a member of a local coffee club. As
you can guess, he doesn't have coffee at coffee shops because he enjoys
making his own at home. He has a collection of coffee gadgets, ranging
from grinders, to roasters, to French presses and espresso machines! He
buys international single-origin coffee beans from a trusted source,
and only roasts 250g of beans at a time. He grinds his beans just
before making his coffee, in order to take advantage of the beans'
freshly-released flavor and aroma.
We had, in order: Peruvian,
Ethiopian dry-process (where the coffee berries dry in the sun
naturally, as opposed to wet-process where the berries are hulled and
the beans are dried separately), Jamaican Blue Mountain, Panama La
Esmeralda Gesha and Ethiopian Harar coffees. Plus an Ethiopian
dry-process Americano (1:1 espresso and water).
Dante used the
hand drip coffee method. I was wondering if the ceramic dripper was available locally, and found out it was being sold at
Craft Coffee Workshop along Broadway Ave. in New Manila, Quezon City. It's also available
in different sizes , along with other coffee accessories, on Amazon.com.
The
coffees all had a wonderful aroma, each different from the other. The
aroma of the ground coffee was much stronger than that of the whole
roasted beans. I wish I had taken tasting notes, but I don't know the
terms. Dante arranged the progression of flavors in terms of complexity
and body. I guess it would be like how a sommelier arranges wines to
complement a dinner. We tried each coffee black, then with some
muscovado sugar, then with non-dairy creamer. All the coffees were very
good, but the Jamaican Blue Mountain and Panama La Esmeralda Gesha were
particularly delicious. Sublime. (Jude, to me: "So, did you hear the
choir of angels yet?" With my mouth full of coffee, all I could do was
nod and smile.)
Yes, we had a LOT of coffee, in small cups, not
the big American-size mugs. We were served pan de sal (soft breakfast
buns), with our choice of filling - butter, strawberry jam, peanut
butter and Spanish-style sardines. We also had a lot of water on the
side, to cleanse our palates. You would think that all that caffeine
would render me into a quivering mess, but I checked my hands and they
didn't shake. Dante explains that when coffee has been made properly,
you get the flavor of the coffee without too much of the caffeine. To
prove his point, he served me and Christine an Americano each, made of
the Ethiopian dry-process beans. My sixth coffee, but in a tiny
double espresso cup. I felt extraordinarily alert, but I felt great!
No palpitations.
Of
course, this isn't something I'd do on a daily basis. I don't think
I'd ever get to experience that in a commercial coffee shop, or even in a
hotel. It was such a treat (thank you so much, Dante)! I learned so
much about coffee that I never knew before.
I like to support
Philippine coffee bean producers. My usual coffee at home is Arabica
from the Cordilleras or Liberica from Batangas ("barako"), so Dante
suggested I try the local coffee brand
Monks' Blend. It's produced by Benedictine monks from the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. We have an active
Philippine Coffee Board,
so maybe one day I'll work my way through the different local coffees,
which I see being sold in organic weekend markets, food trade fairs and
sustainable lifestyle stores like Echo Store.