“City to FC: Fruit-forward profile, pineapple, mango, guava, berry, raisin, panella-like sweetness, spice and floral accents. Good for espresso.” -Sweet Marias
The first thing that jumped out at me with this cup was a bright fruit profile. I definitely got the pineapple and raisin, but did get the sense of the mango. With a medium body and a finish that lingers it gives plenty of time to pick through the flavors. The sweetness is smooth, and does not overpower the fruit hints. There is little acidity in the cup, but it has a light spice.
Still at a medium temperature, the flavors have integrated a little more, but there was a light acidity, which came with the guava notes. I was a little surprised by that flash of guava, but it didn’t last long. The sweetness is still there, but seems to have balanced with the dark fruit notes. The spice hangs around in the finish and adds a nice flavor to balance the sweetness.
I liked the bright fruit notes on this roast. They paired well with sweetness and helped to balance the cup. There was some acidity, but it was light. The fruit notes were apparent from the beginning, and I liked the subtle hints of fruit that came through as it cooled, especially the guava. I enjoyed this roast, and I can see this being my first cup in the morning, with the fruit notes and spice. As for the roasting details, the roast was done in the Gene Cafe roaster, with a heat setting of 460 degrees, for 15 minutes. First crack started approximately around 13:00 minutes and continued for about 1.5 minutes. Cooling was done in the Gene, down to 215 degrees, and then removed and cooled in a colander until room temperature.
Update: I used this same roast for a Moka Pot version of espresso, and I can definitely say it is a delicious cup of espresso! Let’s not argue about it not being a true espresso pull. Given the history of the Moka pot, it has a proven track record, and it costs so much less, haha.
At first, the floral accents really shine through, but it is still very hot, so the deeper flavors have not developed, yet. As it cooled, the darker flavors emerged first, raisin and panella sweetness. There is a slight hint of lighter fruit flavors, but nothing specific at the moment. The spice and floral notes are upfront, but the finish is clean with a light sweetness.
As it cooled, there were hints of pineapple tartness and berry notes as well. The darker notes might have been overwhelming the lighter fruit notes of mango, but I definitely got a nice tropical fruit note as it cooled. The sweetness is the same, but the darker sugars are starting to linger in the finish. This did make a nice espresso, keeping the fruit notes despite having a dark sugar finish.