KaffeBox February 18 Box – La Cabra – Shembati

Part 2 for KaffeBox February 18 Box, in this post I’ll only write about the Colombian coffee Shembati from the coffee roastery La Cabra. In Thursdays post, you’ve been able to read about the coffee and also what I expect from the coffee. In this part, I’ll share my recipe for an awesome pour-over and Espro travel press as usual.

At my cupping of La Cabra – Shembati,  I found that it reminded very much about Talor & Jørgen’s coffee from the same place. It tasted unbelievably much like green tea at first, but the more it went down in temperature, it got further flavors. Rosehip came at the perfect point to drink the coffee and finally, I found a lot of cranberries. As usual, I would also like to know how good this coffee would be with dark chocolate, I always use chocolate with sea salt because it’s quite natural and captures the flavors better with salt to sweet, acidic and bitterness. I will quote Talor & Jørgen – Lime & Green tea coffee: “Chocolate and this coffee did not go well together and it’s a bit of a deal breaker for me..”

When I do a cupping I do the following:

1) Grind 11 g coffee in a medium-coarse grind, I’ll remember the coffee’s fragrances now when it is dry to compare with the let grounds later.
2) Pour 180 g of water with a temperature of 93 degrees Celsius.
3) Let it sit for 4 minutes.
4) Stir 3 times and try to find as many scents.
5) Remove all foam that’s formed on the top, as shown in the picture below.
6) Wait for 6 minutes so the coffee cools down and to let the coffee grounds fall down to the bottom, then I’ll take my first slurp with a deep spoon. The idea is that you will spray the coffee inside your mouth. That way you will be able to easily recognize the tones contained in the coffee.
7) Wait for 6 minutes and do the same procedure, the reason behind step 7 is that it’s the most optimal time for tasting coffee. If the coffee is still good after 12-15 minutes, then it is a high-quality coffee!

Cupping notes:
Green tea, rosehip & cranberry.

Information and recipe for the coffee:

Origin: Burundi
Variety:  Bourbon
Farm: Shembati Smallholders
Region: Kayanza
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1 800 meters above sea level.

Pour Over:

17g coffee (grind setting on 19D Baratza Sette 270, medium)
225g of filtered water
40g bloom 30 seconds
88 degrees Celsius

1) 40g bloom for 30 seconds, stir with a bamboo stirrer to get all coffee moistened.
2) 225g water in a circular flow (this includes 40g water blooming). This including 30 second blooming, your timing should be on 1 minute and 50 seconds.

Espro Travel Press:

19g coffee (grind setting on 26B Baratza Sette 270)
284g of filtered water
94 degrees Celsius

1) After pouring both the coffee and the water, stir the coffee 10 times. I suggest you use a bamboo stirrer. Avoid sharp objects.
2) Screw the press and let steep for 4 minutes
3) Press slowly, if the press gets stuck, just lift the press and try again. It is normal.
4) Serve or seal the lid.

Review: A coffee that is almost too close to green tea in taste, I use 88 degrees Celsius of water to not get the taste of burned tea. After 12 different versions (13g coffee each try) of trying to perfect this coffee, I went back to my 88-degree variety. There is a little too much green tea for my part, it does not really want to taste like my coffee. Rosehip and cranberries come to the end and lift the coffee a bit, but only a little.

This is an interesting coffee, but I can’t really enjoy it. On the other hand, I think the coffee might be better as a cold brew.

The chocolate I ate was dark chocolate with sea salt.

Rating: 5.0/10

The rating is only based on taste and quality and is not based on price.

If you want to buy your very own KaffeBox and go through my recipes and reflections, be sure to order it so you can be ready for next month’s KaffeBox. Click here to order from their website. Use “kaffenytt” as voucher code, you’ll get 20% off your first purchase and I won’t get anything, this is only something I requested so I can give something to you readers!

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