“City to FC+: Typical honey processed body, developed sweetness, toasted barley notes, lemon-like acidity, burned sugar, raw nibs, aromatic woods.” -Sweet Marias
The first sip is slightly sweet, with the burned sugar notes right up front. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the aromatic woods description, but I do get a woodsy note on the back end, which is very interesting. There is almost no acidity at the moment, and the toasted barley notes do come through slightly, The sweetness is smooth, but somewhat overpowered by the burned sugar notes.
Still at a medium temperature, the sweetness has increased a little, and the raw nibs have surfaced, but it is more like a dark chocolate note. It’s not too sweet, as the burned sugar and wood notes give balance against the sweetness of the cup. The body is juicy, and there is a hint of acidity now, like a quick flash of lemon zest. As it continued to cool, the lemon acidity notes increased, even lingering a little in the smooth finish.
I liked the aromatic woods notes on this batch. It was apparent from the start, and carried through all the way to the finish. It also paired well with the burned sugar notes, balancing against the sweetness of the cup. The acidity was light, more like a dash of lemon zest, and the body was juicy from start to finish. This roast was targeted at Full City, and I think it was right in the sweet spot, as it retained a light tartness, but had a darker finish with the raw nibs lending a hand with a more dark chocolate note. 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 12:30 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: Prepared this in the moka pot, and it has a nice smooth honey sweetness with just a hint of the acidity and the raw nibs come through more on the finish. The body is a little bigger with the barley notes, and the burned sugar notes are creeping into the finish.