Grower´s Cup, Finest Specialty, Tanzania

Grower´s Cup Tanzania, Mountain Coffee

The best Tanzanian coffees are grown mainly on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru near the border with Kenya. The coffee from these regions are often marked Arusha, Moshi or Kilimanjaro and resembles Kenyan coffees with their rich wine like acidity.

This particular coffee bean is almost from the geographical described area above, but is specific located in the Ngoro Ngoro area. The Ngoro Ngoro area is a gigantically crater spreading over 260 square km., which is 600 m. deep. The beans are a product of the Shangri-La plantation which is placed in 1.400-1.800 m. above sea level and own by the danish coffee farmer Christian Jepsen.

Grower´s Cup, Finest Specialty, Tanzania close up

Acoording to people at Grower´s Cup this coffee should have a strong and powerful cup with dark notes of red berries, likewise the aftertaste should be very balanced and dry. The cup was very strong and aggressive, almost bitter in its flavor at the first taste, than came a sweet and dry aftertaste in my opinion. The coffee literally made me thirsty, cause of the dry aftertaste (like bottled water). Nevertheless I liked the aftertaste and enjoyed the coffee about 50-60 degrees, cause when it was about 80 degrees, the powerful and dark flavors just dominated the entire cup and when cooling the cup for a bit, there was some more sweetness and flavors to be found and explored. At the 50-60 degrees the sweetness in shape of flavors of red berries came alive and suddenly the cup wasn't so bad.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a strong espresso shot, but I would prefer a sweet and silky brewed french press. I think that almost anybody can achieve a strong and dark cup of coffee, even from coffee purchased in a supermarket, but there is an art in developing the sensitive and sweet flavors in a cup of coffee. I liked this coffee bean, but it was far from my favorite, maybe I went off starting with the best coffee bean from Grower´s Cup. Only time will tell, when I review the other brewing bags from the shipment.

Thanks again to Grower´s Cup for sponsoring these product for reviews. I wish all the viewers a great saturday and thanks for watching!

// Hendrup

Grower´s Cup, Finest Specialty, Guatemala

Grower´s Cup Finest Specialty Guatemala Antigua Los Volcanes

I have already tested a coffee from Grower´s Cups Finest Specialty product line, but that coffee were indeed at the line of expire and therefore this will be the first real judgement of the Grower´s Cup and their on-the-road coffee brewing bags.

The Grower´s Cup are in constant development with their product solutions and therefore is there currently 26 gr. of freshly roasted coffee included in the brewing bag instead of previous 24 gr. as blogged about in the Rwanda coffee, see link. This upgrade of the coffee grounds puts the brewing bag closer to the SCAE golden cup rule and later on I will describe if that really works in this case.

Im a huge fan of this disposable french press, as the company think is the best description, and I think its a great solution instead of the classic, bad tasting instant coffee. I have blogged about the technique behind this brewing bag, see link.

The particular coffee used in this case is the Antigua "Los Volcanes" from Guatemala, which is a volcanic high grown coffee bean. This 100% arabica coffee bean is grown in 1.500 m. above sea level and the specific area, where this bean is from offers grown coffee from an altitude of 1.500-1.700 m. above sea level. The Antigua valley is one of the most notorious and eldest growing coffee regions, with volcanos almost surrounding the area, creating a valley with a shallow water table. The coffee region of Antigua is an enclosed valley formed by three volcanos, the Agua, Acatenango and Fuego, where most of the coffee trees are planted on the valley floor, like this coffee bean, in 1.500 m. above sea level. Some farmers cultivate the slopes of the volcanoes up to 1.700 m. above sea level, which is the highest grown coffee in this coffee region.

Picture of the brewed cup of this particular bean

The coffee should according to its label have flavor notes of dark chocolate with an aftertaste of vanilla and jasmine. Actually I didn't get those flavors; starting to wonder if I have some off taste buds. Never mind, I took a first sip at the brewed cup and I was just wondering what it tasted like. I mean, it hasn't got a specific flavor note, but is more delight and just pleasant to drink. I sat and took another sip just enjoying myself, but I couldn't clarify the notes. There was a gently low, clear and crisp acidity and a full body with a sweet aftertaste. As the cup went colder flavors like light caramel, milk chocolate and sweetness properly from caramelized sugars turned up.

I must say that its a clear improvement of the previous tested coffee bean Rwanda and I have never experienced a press pot being so crisp and clear. Its a wonderful joy to have a great solution to grap, when you are needed on the road and still have your coffee addiction. Suddenly 25 DKK ($4,25) doesn't feel like a lot of money, cause its actually as pleasant as a coffee from a good coffee bar. Likewise rumor has it, that these brewing bags can be found around 15 DKK each ($2,5) or ten bags for 100 DKK ($17), which in my opinion is very cheap!

A little downside and there always has to be one, is that I also received a bag holder, which is not quite easy to use and hides the label. But I can surely live with that as long as the coffee is as good as it were today.

// Hendrup