Since I’ve arrived in Amsterdam, I have been sampling coffees with more conscious attention than I had ever done before. I started grinding my own beans, and researching differences between coffee processing techniques. I’ve been visiting several different roasteries in Amsterdam, to talk with them and taste their coffees.
In this document I kept track of the coffee beans I have tasted and what my thoughts are about each and every one of them.
TLDR
There is an extensive survey of all beans below, but to cut to the chase, here are the coffee beans I enjoyed most.
- El Paraìso, Diego Bermudez, Colombia
- Juicy Las Nubes, M&M micro mill, Costa Rica
- Gedeb Gotiti, Gotiti Kebele, Ethiopia
A survey of coffee beans
This is a comprehensive survey of coffees I bought and prepared over the period running from September 2021 to May 2022. I decided to stop updating this for every single bag of beans I bought, but I might come back to write about some special or noteworthy new coffees I taste in the future.
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Paraiso Red Plum (Rum Baba) [September 2021, April 2022]
- Anaerobic, Red Plum
- Villa Esperanza, Diego Bermudez; El Tambo, Cauca; Columbia
- Lemonade, sweet peach, juicy, complex
Bought this again, but now from Badeta. I paid nearly thirty euro for 250 grams of beans, because the farmers had a bad harvest. This coffee bean is exceptionally good though. Very pleasant and complex taste. Noemi explicitly liked this one above others.
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M&M Juicy Las Nubes (Rum Baba) [September 2021]
- Juicy natural, anaerobic
- Robert Mata & son Michael; M&M Micro Mill, Dora area Terrazzo; Costa Rica
- Sweet, tropical punch, party
One of the first bags I bought since starting my small exploratory journey and they blew me away. Amazingly complex taste the likes of which my ignorant palette had never tasted before.
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Gusto (Bocca) [October 2021]
- Natural
- Ethiopia & Peru
- Milk chocolate, honey, berry
Really enjoy this one as an easy drink. It is relatively subtle, but with adventurous undertones that give you just enough kick for a casual drink.
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Bombe Sidama (Cafecito) [October 2021]
- Natural
- Ethiopia
- Strawberry, tropical fruit, lime, honey, carambola, chocolate
I like the more interesting notes that invite me to consciously sample all the coffee’s complexities. The roaster promised me that this coffee was in the pipeline and that it would be really good, when I was there to drink a cup of of their Costa Rica Red Honey earlier.
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MAM Huehuetenango SHB (Rum Baba) [October 2021]
- Fully washed
- Various smallholders working with Unex S.A. Guatemala
- Dark chocolate, red apple, maple syrup
My “first” washed coffee that I consciously buy and drink. There are clearly less sparkling / bold / fruity notes in its profile as a result of the processing. However, it has a really pleasant and steady taste that is easy to drink.
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Kainamui AB (Rum Baba) [November 2021]
- Washed
- Kainamui Fact. New Ngariama Co-op; Kenya
- Sweet, floral, rhubarb
A really “clean” coffee; fruity notes, acidity, not as much body. The guy from the roastery told me he likes making this with a tad finer grind to extract a bit more punch.
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Bunto Ledo (LOT61) [November 2021]
- Honey
- Bantu Ledo, Toraja, Indonesia
- Red currant, green apple, syrupy
Very clean too. Not much to note about it; nothing that immediately springs out as a unique property of the coffee. I do enjoy drinking it. After a sip the coffee seems to linger around my tongue a bit longer, which reminds me of syrupy qualities. I'm not sure where the currants and apples are, but I am not tasting them.
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Jesus Pablo (Stooker) [November 2021]
- Washed anaerobic
- Beans: Caturra, Bourbon, Typica
- Huehuetenango; Guatemala
- Apple cider, acacia honey, nectarine
Pleasantly sophisticated, not as acidic, but has a certain sweetness to it. Not too crazy.
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Hacienda La Florida (Rum Baba) [November 2021]
- Washed with Carbonic Maceration
- Beans: Catucai
- Hacienda La Florida, Coronel Family; Sozoranga, Loja, Ecuador
- Umami, oregano, white tea
Woah it feels weird to write, but there is definitely a strong tea taste to this coffee; something herbacious if we're speaking more generally. I also experience a chocolate after-taste around my tongue. In conclusion, I think this coffee makes me realize that I prefer something more fruity and sparkling, with a heftier punch of acidity.
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Frinsa Estate, Lot Edun (Rum Baba) [December 2021]
- Anaerobic natural
- Beans: Sigararutang, Andungsari, Timtim
- Frinsa Estate, Sindangkerta, Java, Indonesia
- Funky, intense, rhubarb syrup, lemon curd
The beans have a great aroma; really putting themselves out there. Not any of that muted business I had with the hacienda la florida. The taste is indeed very intense, but in a pleasant way. It wakes you up and dumps a motivation to be inspired on you. There is some sweetness too; not as much acidity. Easy drink, while it feels like there are layers and layers underneath.
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Roy Hernandez (Rum Baba) [January 2022]
- Natural
- Beans: Arabica Parainema
- Finca El Mandarino, Dept. de Ocotepeque, Honduras
- Orange, toffee, milk chocolat
Mellow acidity, but a really comfortable drink.
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Borazon (Rum Baba) [January 2022]
- Anaerobic
- Beans: Arabica, Caturra
- Luis Eduardo Campos, Tarrazu, Costa Rica
- Sweet and fresh, cinnamon, spices, stewed apple
Good taste and pleasing aroma, but I cannot distinguish the taste notes very distinctly.
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Yirgacheffe (Rum Baba) [January 2022]
- Anaerobic natural
- Yirgacheffe, Guji region, Uraga, Ethiopia
- Delicate, clean, stonefruit, bright red fruits
Very enjoyable and clean taste. I cannot help but think that my grind and preparation might me muddling the coffee though. It should have a much clearer profile.
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Gedeb Gotiti (Stooker) [February 2022]
- Natural
- Gotiti Kebele, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
- Dried strawberries, whipped cream, blackcurrant
What I want out of a natural coffee. Good amount of funkiness and acidity, though I still suspect my equipment is suboptimally extracting the boldest flavors. At least it gives me that desired experience of "I didn't know coffee could taste like this".
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Kaffa (Kaffa) [February 2022]
- Natural
- Kefa, Ethiopia
- no taste notes were provided
Half as expensive as most other coffee beans from roasteries around town, this one reminds me the most of Douwe Egberts generics. It tastes of roast, but not much more that I can discern.
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Ismael Navarro (Rum Baba) [February 2022]
- Anaerobic
- Beans: Catuai Amarillo
- Ismale Navarro, Luis Campos Mill, Costa Rica
- Cookie dough, marsipan, spice
These beans are really good. A touch of sweetness, not too much acidity, but still enjoyably complex.
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Sidney Portilho Double Fermentation (Rum Baba) [March 2022]
- 12h aerobic + 10h anaerobic
- Beans: Yellow Catuai
- Sidney Portilho, Matas de Minas, Brazil
- Tropical fruits, pistachio, clean
I let the people at Rum Baba grind fifty grams for me, so that I can compare it to my own grinds. It tastes very clean, nothing funky, little acidity (that sensation curling around the tongue).
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Colombian Emerald (Simon Lévelt) [March 2022]
- no processing information provided
- Beans: Arabica
- Colombia
- Mandarine, caramel, pineapple
Listed as specialty coffee (bought it from Albert Heijn), but it is similar in experience to the Douwe Egberts coffee beans that I tried. The aroma is actually quite pleasant; that is why I opted for a light roast in the first place. However, after brewing a cup with my V60 pour-over, the first sips tasted of cardboard. I had this same association with DE. Both remain a relatively one-dimensional cup of coffee with the unpleasant hints of heavy artificial paper-based products.
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El Salvador Carlos Pola Black Honey (Rum Baba) [March 2022]
- Black honey anaerobic
- Beans: Arabica; Bourbon variety
- Apaneca Illametepec mountain range, El Salvador
- Dark chocolate, black berry, umami
Very pleasant and really clear chocolate notes. The aroma breathes chocolate the most.
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Peru Lupuna (Badeta) [April 2022]
- Washed
- Beans: Caturra, Costarica95
- Tsachopen Oxapampa, Peru
- Smaakwiel: body, kruidig, zoet, notig
A step up from the "clean drinks" by providing a bit more herbal or spicy tastes. Good drink, but not as funky as the Paraiso.
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Nicaragua Un Regalo de Dios (Rum Baba) [April 2022]
- Natural
- Beans: Pacamara
- Luis Alberto Balladarez Moncada, Finca Un Regalo de Dios, Mozonte, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua
- Hug in a mug, sweet and smooth, dried prunes
Comfortably smooth, can't discern specific notes, besides its sweetness.
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Brazil Pedra Preta II (Badeta) [May 2022]
- Natural
- Beans: Catuai, Mundo Novo
- Pedro Preta, Mantiqueira, Brazil
- Smaakwiel: body, zoet, notig, aroma, floraal
I am sniffling pretty badly, so can't actually taste much other than that it is a nice and balanced coffee, something I really needed after sipping supermarket beans for a few day.
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Colombia Robinson Rozo Gesha (Rum Baba) [May 2022]
- Natural
- Beans: Gesha
- Finca El Vergel, Robinson Rozo, Algeciras, Huila, Colombia
- Jasmine, ripe tropical fruit, delicate
This coffee is indeed pretty delicate. One of the people at Rum Baba told me that it is often difficult to extract the characteristic notes from truly exclusive specialty coffees, thus often not warranting the high price. This coffee is apparently a bit easier to extract. There are very strong jasmine tea tastes. It reminds me of the Hacienda La Florida that I bought last november. I resolve that these delicate tea tastes are not my preferred coffee varieties.