The Coffeevine March 18 Box – Wood Grouse

Part 3 of The Coffeevine March 18 box, in this post I’ll only write about the coffee from Wood Grouse. In Monday’s 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.

As I was cupping Wood Grouse – Ilomba Tanzania I feel like It was close to its description (Sweet, lemon juice, green tea & cherries). As I feared, it tasted extremely much like green tea, unfortunately, one of the lesser tones I know when it comes to coffee. So to make it better (100% personal) you should try my recipe for pour-over below. I would also like to know how good this coffee would be with “fika”. I tried it with dark chocolate with sea salt. I understand that this can be a weird thing to try out, as almost all coffees are well matched with chocolate. But there are those who really don’t, and that may mean they are only preferred enjoyed on their own. For example: Do you like green tea with chocolate? I certainly do not. I think you know how it went … I did not like it at all.

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, 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 & citrus zest.

Information and recipe for the coffee:

Origin: Tanzania
Variety: Bourbon
Farm: Ilomba Coffee Group
Region: Mbozi
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1 900 meters above sea level.

Pour Over:

17 g coffee (grind setting 25B at Baratza Sette 270, coarse)
225 g filtered water
40 g blooming 60 seconds
91 degrees Celsius

1) 40g blooming for 60 seconds, stir with a bamboo stirrer to get all of the coffee wet.
2) 100 g of water in a circular flow (this including 40 g of water blooming). This including 60 seconds of blooming should be on in 1 minute and 55 seconds
3) 125 g of water in a circular route that ends with a flow (approx. 10-15 g) on edge. The total brewing time of 2 minutes and 40-45 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: Just by an ocular exam, the beans have good quality and even roast. It’s a good coffee, but the tones are not really there for me. I like when it comes to sweetness, acidity or some kind of chocolate tones.

When you brew according to the recipe above (Pour-over) you get a more complex flavor. It will still taste the green tea, but the complexity will help the coffee to create a better cup. You also get nice citrus zest tones, it’s almost different every time.

If you have an Espro and a Pour-Over … What should you choose to brew with? Do you want a more balanced cup, go with the Espro, you also get a great result every time as it’s impossible to make mistakes. Do you want your cup to be more aromatic, brew with a Hario V60 etc. It becomes more spicy, aromatic and nicer on its own. In this case, I would avoid the Espro press, it will be a powerful blend of green tea and coffee. In this case, I prefer the more aromatic variant. Wood Grouse from Germany has shown good quality of beans and roasting, I would like to see their coffee from other countries.

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.