Time for another coffee review (ed.note 2021: we’re pulling a bunch of these coffee reviews from the website and posting them as archived blog posts for posterity).
Ethiopia Natural Limu, Batdorf and Bronson, $11.75 / lb.
First, this coffee is an absolute steal at less than $12 per pound. Next, I have to admit that when I first read their cupping description (before tasting it) and I read “blueberry cheesecake” I laughed a bit. I thought this was a case of a roaster going a bit wild (or mad). Once I tasted it?
Holy cow – blueberry cheesecake!
I should really qualify this. It isn’t as if you’re literally drinking something that tastes exactly like cheesecake. When I talked about Havana Reserve having an almost lemonade taste to it above, I didn’t mean it was lemonade, disguised as espresso. And here I don’t mean it’s a slice of blueberry cheesecake, disguised as a cup of coffee. In both cases, it’s more of a hint, a reminiscence, a floating, tangible element in your tastebud memory stores that brings you back to those tastes. In the case of this Limu, I was getting hints of blueberry, but in a creamy, almost dairy fashion out of the cup.
This was black, done in a press pot, and it was delivering up what I thought was the subtlest hint of milk…. in the cup of coffee. The creaminess and texture of the beverage out of the press both gave it impressive body with an overall very pleasing finish.
It’s not the best cup of coffee I’ve had this year, but it’s certainly one of the best $12/lb coffees I’ve gotten to enjoy. I’ve had it both in a press and in a vac pot, and both brewing methods present lots of interesting characteristics in the cup. Buy it fresh, grind it fresh, and this coffee will definitely please.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
