Same Coffee - 3 Ways: Stone Creek Coffee Box Set

What does the processing of the coffee mean to the taste and experience of the coffee? Most of you haven't thought of that. To be honest, I haven't given it much thought either. The good folks at Stone

Creek Coffee Roasters have, and in a brilliant move have created a special box set - Guatemala San Sebastian Box Set. The coffee is a Guatemala Yellow Caturra.This set is a unique opportunity to experience the same coffee, processed three different ways: Washed, Natural and Semi-Washed.

First a bit of a primer/refresher in the ways coffee is processed. Washed is when the skin from the cherry is removed, but a good deal of the pulp(or mucilage) is still on the bean. The beans are then soaked in tanks, anywhere from 12-24 hours. According to Stone Creek, this "encourages controlled fermentation, developing flavor and removing excess mucilage."

The Natural process is kind of as it indicates - natural. The cherry is whole and dries into the coffee bean. This is usually done on drying beds or patios. This process takes approximately 18 days. The beans absorb the sugars and acids from the fruit.

Semi-Washed is a combination of the previous processes. The skin is removed, with part of the mucilage on the bean, which dries onto the parchment, there is a soaking so extra sugars are in the bean. Then the beans are dried in direct sunlight for approximately 12 days.

The result of this means the coffee will taste different with each process. So what did we experience with the Stone Creek Set? In each case, I grounded the same amount of each coffee, and brewed each one in the French Press. I wanted the coffees to be on equal footing.  With the set comes an information sheet, and a postcard we can send back to Stone Creek and the farmers to give our impressions.

First up was the Natural. What stood out almost immediately was the nutty nature of the coffee. This is a smooth cup of coffee. The chocolate and almond flavors are very prevalent. The fruity nature of the coffee, the cherry essence doesn't really come through until the aftertaste. Mark wasn't fond of this coffee. I liked it, as I tried to imagine food pairings with it. This is a nice brunch coffee. Very mellow, not overpowering.

Washed was our next coffee. This was a brighter cup of coffee. More of the fruit like the cherry and apple nature of the coffee came through. It also tasted a bit stronger than the Natural. The coffee has a sweeter taste. We liked this coffee better than the first one.

Semi-Washed was our favorite. The taste jumped out immediately and we both went "Mmmmm". This is like a chocolate covered cherry. Very tasty, again very bright. This has a bit of punch to it. We had it with our blueberry pancakes this morning. Excellent pairing.

I've written about Stone Creek quite a bit this year. I know you think there is a bromance going on. It's simple, these people are producing some outstanding quality. Now they are adding an educational component to the enjoyment. The box set is $25, and is limited. Only 250 are being sold. I would grab one before they are gone.

www.stonecreekcoffee.com

Charlie