Coffees of the Year

On the last day of 2013, I wanted to share the coffees I thought were outstanding this last year.  I had a lot of coffee this year. Some was great, some was pretty bad. Still each cup I sipped was an adventure in coffee tasting.

One of the highlights of the year was encountering JJ Coffee Roasters at CoffeeCon -

http://javarunnerscoffeejourney.blogspot.com/2013/05/home-roasting-with-jj-coffee-roasters.html

Jim and Jon gave me a Colombian which at the time I said, "I smelled a nice smokey aroma. I felt, and Mark agreed, that there was a mocha flavor to it." It had a dark cherry taste, which Colombian coffee should have.

Dark Matter Coffee - Earlybird is a coffee we got from Dark Matter Coffee. For me Dark Matter Coffee emerged as the coffee find of the year.

The Earlybird is a combination of Sulawesi and El Salvadorian coffees, with a velvety smoothness to it. Since this coffee, I have had their Unicorn Blood, and their November Rain coffees. These roasters have it dialed in, and are making great coffee.

I Have A Bean- I Have A Bean could easily be the charity coffee of the year, but it is so much more than that. Pete Leonard founded the company to do two things: 1) Roast amazing coffee, 2) give convicted felons a second chance. He has done this in spades.

Pete sent me an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Adato FTO which was terrific. This coffee has a very good tea-like flavor to it, and has nut, malt and honey notes in it. Loved this coffee.

Honorable Mention

Bee Coffee Roasters - the Indianapolis roaster is doing something special in the Circle City. They are creating not only excellent coffee, but are turning a Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts town, into specialty roaster city. This year they opened a downtown Indianapolis location, and are poised to elevate the coffee quality in this city. BJ and Andy are 110% dedicated to roasting amazing coffee, and in time, they will catch on, and be THE coffee for Indianapolis.

Their Central American coffees have been particularly note worthy. They are giving them a really nice medium roast, and have yet to have a bad cup of coffee.

2013 comes to an end, and so does the first year of my coffee journey. 2014 looks to be more another great coffee year. I hope you will continue to follow my journey.

Charlie