Kafferäven Per Nordby – Vara Blanca

I’ve actually had my eyes on Vara Blanca for a while and since everything that’s happening in the world, I felt that we got no time to lose. So I clicked one home.

Coffee from Costa Rica are one of my definite favorites, I’ve never had a bad cup from Costa Rica to this day. But how did Kafferäven Per Nordbys coffee taste? First of all, I’m used to drinking honey-processed coffee from Costa Rica. However, this time it was a Natural processed one and it might be one of my favorites ever from Costa Rica.

I tried it without any info on what the roastery had in their description of the coffee. This is something I always do, I just want to clear that out, and later on, I try to feel the notes they do describe.

It had some exotic flavors, but it also had a mature taste to it like a fermented drink. I could not find any chocolate notes and it wasn’t acidic at all. It was just a pleasant experience from hot to a bit cooler. Even when the coffee hit a cold temperature it was amazing, which is a very good sign of its high quality in both beans and roast. Let’s review what they wrote as their description:

“Winey, bold, pickled peach, pear, tropical fruit”

First I’ll cup the coffee which means that I’ll try to find different flavors in the coffee. Just to give you as a reader a hint of understanding of what I go through. I’ll also write how to do a cupping. You can read that below:

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 at 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.
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:
Fermented drink with mild exotic flavors.

Information for the coffee Vara Blanca:

Origin: Costa Rica
Variety: Yellow Catuai
Producer: Mario Marin
Region:  Santa Maria de Dota
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1 850 – 2 050 masl.

Pour Over recipe for Vara Blanca: 

20g coffee coarse grind
300g of filtered water
50g bloom 30 seconds
95 degrees Celsius

1) Pour 50g water for blooming for 30 seconds.
2) 30 seconds in, begin your second pour of 50g of water.
3) 1 minute in,  begin your third pour of 200g of water.
4) 1 minute and 40 seconds in, you should have around 20 grams of water left. Use the last 20 grams to end your pouring with a spin around 1 minute and 40 to 45 seconds.
5) Stop the dripper at 2 minutes and 50 seconds

*Always rinse the paper filter with filtered hot water, don’t forget to wash the coffee server with clean water afterward, because the taste of the paper might linger.

Review:
This was so good, I mean, it’s by far their best coffee I’ve tried. Kafferäven Per Nordby is a class for himself, but this coffee is just amazing. There’s some coffee I could drink every single day because it’s good but it’s not too acidic or too sweet, this is like that but so much better. It’s tastier, juicier, stronger in body and you just feel the quality shine through.

I’ve written it before and I’ll do that again. Kafferäven Per Nordby is one of our most famous coffee roasteries in Sweden and this just proves it. I’m more than happy with Vara Blanca and I hope to review more of their coffee soon!

Rating: 8.0/10

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