“City+ to Vienna: Pecan ice cream, dark caramel, bittersweet cocoa, hazelnut, leathery top note in the finish. Good for espresso.” -Sweet Marias
The initial sip has pecan and hazelnut notes right up front, and there is a defined bittersweet note as well. There is little to no acidity, but there is a nice complexity to the body. There is a light caramel sweetness, but it loses to the bittersweet note that dominates the palate. The finish does have a lingering leathery note, which was suprising, since I didn’t think I would recognize it as such. My dietary tastes don’t include leather, but that is the best description for it.
As it cools, the sweetness is lighter, but so are the bittersweet notes. The cocoa notes have integrated into the cup, but the bitters are still detectable in the finish. The leathery finish seems to have dissipated, but it does seem to have a slightly oily mouthfeel that lingers. The body is lighter as well, where the complexity has dropped as it cooled. Maybe the ice cream melted and has brought the flavors together.
This is definitely a nutty cup of coffee up front. The pecan and hazelnut start off strong, as does the bittersweet cocoa, but as the cup cooled, the cocoa and caramel integrated and the sharp nut notes were toned down. 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 2.0 minutes. Cooling was done in the Gene, down to 215 degrees, and then removed and cooled in a colander until room temperature. I am looking forward to seeing how the stronger notes come across in an espresso pull.