In observance of Independence Day, both Wilson's Coffee & Tea locations were closed today. Since we started opening on Sundays again, there have not been many days that we were closed. I decided to take advantage of this time that was relatively free of distraction to work on possibly improving our new Ethiopian Harrar and tweaking our espresso blend.
Not long ago, we recieved some new crop Kenya AA. This is a bright, wild coffee with fantastic acidity balanced against medium-full body. If you've been sticking with all-around medium coffees like our Mexican or dark roasts and you want to try something different and wake up your coffee, give this a try. If you aren't put off by bright, sweet coffees, the new Kenya AA will, from the first sip, demand your attention and make you say, "Wow! This is coffee."
I tried a simple, three part blend using Kenya, French Roast, and Guatemala Antigua Dark Roast and found a very nice blend that, unfortunately, I cannot use. If anybody is looking for a light espresso blend, try picking up a bag of each of these coffees and blending it together like this:
- 60% French Roast
- 30% Guatemala Dark Roast
- 10% Kenya AA
The blend (percentages are by weight) is bright and sweet with a nice tanginess that is delightful as straight espresso. It would likely taste good as espresso con panna (espresso with whipped cream on top), espresso macchiato (espresso with a dollop of milk foam on top), and possibly as a cappuccino, but I doubt it would hold up very well in milkier drinks such as a caffé latte or caffé mocha. Anybody trying this who reflexively adds sugar to straight espresso should first try a sip without.