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Dose: 20g
Ratio: 1:17
Filter: Sibarist Fast
Grind: Neutral
Brew Time: 2:40
TDS: 1.33%
Extraction: 19.8%
Sensory Description:
Well-dialed cups of Equalizer exhibit the unique tasting notes of both blend components. The fruity sweetness of Savage Afterglow with the floral and citric notes of Savage Illumination. The result is an exceptionally complex all-Gesha blend.
You can expect a lot of florals on the aroma similar to hibiscus and white flowers. There’s a lively acidity similar to fresh lemon, fresh cherry, starfruit, and freeze dried strawberry. The sweetness is also very fruit-forward, reminding me of nectarine, peach, plum, and apricot. The body has a medium weight and a creamy texture which made me think of limoncello. The finish is simultaneously floral and milk chocolatey. Overall, you should find these cups to be exceedingly complex with a high degree of clarity.
Dial Notes:
I recommend using the Sibarist Fast Filters for pour overs of this coffee. These filters allowed the coffee to flow through the paper smoothly and maintain a high degree of clarity.
Both over- and under-extraction of Equalizer were still good cups of coffee, so pay special attention to the last bit of fine tuning to make the cups excellent.
Over-extracted cups of Equalizer were just slightly muted compared to the better-dialed cups. The upfront acidity was a little lacking and not as complex. I still got notes of cherry and strawberry with a good texture, but there were more chocolate-like notes and a slightly bitter finish. I also did not notice as much florality on the more-extracted brews. In this case, I would grind slightly coarser for the next cup.
Under-extracted cups were quite bright, reminding me of lemon and raspberry. However, they lacked some of the texture and sweetness that more-extracted brews had. This left the coffee with fewer of those stone fruit notes and a quick finish on the aftertaste. For the next cup, I would grind a little finer.
For a natural processed coffee, well-dialed cups of San Joaquin are quite chocolatey. And much like our other El Salvador offerings, this coffee is very sweet and has a nice creamy texture. You can expect a lot of candy bar flavors like milk chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. There’s also an underlying red fruit characteristic that adds complexity to the cup. Pay special attention to subtle notes of cherry and red apple when dialing. On the finish, you’ll find some cola, maple syrup, and pecan-like notes.
A well-dialed cup of Esperanza Kenya will present with a lot of fresh fruit-like sweetness similar to peach juice, clementines, and ripe strawberries. Compared to most naturally processed coffees, there is also a unique pop of citrus acidity that reminded me of lime. This fruit characteristic is paired with a lot of candy bar flavors like milk chocolate and nougat mousse, making the overall cup profile one of fruit and chocolate notes working very pleasantly together with a creamy, relatively heavy body. On the aftertaste, you should get some subtle florals and a lot of chocolate bar.
