This is big bean coffee, both in terms of looks and flavors!  It starts with a sweet, dark-bitter smell with really pronounced organic-earthy aromas.  Some unusual notes include scalloped potatoes and sweet onions with a hint of freshly mulched flower bed.  The mouthfeel stands out as very thick, deep, and rich and continues through with big body.  The flavors include some slight fruit notes such as black cherry and fig – think about the sweet earthiness ones gets from dried fruit.  There are clear wood tones like cedar wood mixed with nuts, and dark, dark baker’s chocolate.  This cup is well balanced and finishes smoky-peppery and dry, and has practically no acidity. A really superb coffee.

The first word that jumps to mind is wood.  The aromas are the first clue, starting with a distinct cedary smell combined with fruit, and meaty organics tones. This coffee is very dry, with a contrasting creamy finish.  There is a tiny tinge of tartness which suggests some acidity, but it is very slight and quickly fades to the background against a cocoa-wood combination – think dark chocolate covered walnut, if such a thing were to exist.  There is a smooth, watery mouthfeel with a mild, very long, dry finish that is dusty and powdery.  Another excellent Indonesian.

At Peregrine Coffee we love to explore. Not only the different regions of the coffee-growing world, but also the variety of coffee species. The high-quality Arabica and the low-quality, weed-like Robusta are most common. Robusta is typically used to “fill the bag,” boost the caffeine content and add bite to cut through milk and create denser crema in espresso. Alone, Robusta typically has a burnt rubber, wet cardboard taste. However, this month, we have a small lot of Panama Guyami Indian Robusta — an extremely high-quality Robusta that has been tended more like a prize plant rather than a weed. This very atypical Robusta has a singular flavor of dark, dark chocolate. The aroma is more complex with some spices, nuts, and cedar-y tones. This leaves a bone-dry mouth feel — the opposite of silky — and the finish has a slight nutty, papery taste. The french press brewing method works very well with this unusual bean.

The quintessential Central American chocolate/citrus combination is present in this cup but with a very well rounded, buttery mouth feel and balance that puts this at the top of the region.  Soft, silky-smooth cocoa and chocolate flavors mingle in perfect harmony with lime peel acidity. The finish moves away from the citrus and into a smoky, dark chocolate underworld.

The Matalapa Estate is 4th generation-owned, by Vickie Ann Dalton de Diaz.  The 2008 El Salvador Matalapa Estate was judged and took #10 in the Cup of Excellence.