The lockdown had limited the coffee options I had to explore this summer. But Corridor Seven Coffee Roasters, a specialty roaster based in Nagpur, hooked me up with a much-anticipated batch of Gowri Estate.
First look:
This is a filter profile coffee meaning that it is a light to medium-light roast. The notes are on the fruitier side and the pack mentions "Raisins, Nuts and Sugar Browning" as the tasting notes. The processing method is black honey processing, which is much slower compared to red and yellow honey processing with a higher % of the husk present on the cherry while drying. This makes the coffee worth exploring because there are very few estates in India who can do this correctly. Lastly, the roast date is 20th March which is a little disappointing for I received this shipment on 11th April, making it 3 weeks old. Since the peak is over, the coffee may yield weaker flavours even though the earthiness may be preserved.
First brew:
I brewed this coffee using the pourover method.
Equipment used = V60
Coffee = 30 gms of coffee
Grind = 7/10 (1=very fine, 10=very coarse)
Water = 500 ml of water
Water type: Mineral
Water temp = 88° C
Total brewing time = 150s
Brewing Style = (Pre-wet | 30s | 90 ml), (Second Pour | 30s | 180 ml), (Third Pour | 40s | 230 ml)
Review: I allowed the coffee to sit for another 60 seconds or so. As soon as I took the first sip, I was transported to a time when I had first tasted Square Mile Coffee Roasters's Vitaliano Merino. This coffee is exquisite and Gowri Estate scores pretty much in the same area at first glance. The first thought that came to my mind was that I missed the peak of this coffee. The second thought that came to my mind was to brew an iced pourover with this coffee.
Second brew:
I brewed this coffee using the same method as above with a minor tweak to the parameters to account for the ice.
Equipment used = V60
Coffee = 30 gms of coffee
Grind = 7/10 (1=very fine, 10=very coarse)
Water = 300 ml of water
Water type: Mineral
Water temp = 88° C
Total brewing time = 130s
Brewing Style = (Pre-wet | 30s | 90 ml), (Second Pour | 35s | 210 ml)
After brewing, I poured the hot brew over 200 gms of ice (40%) to get it to roughly 5-8° Celsius.
Review: The fruiter notes were much more enhanced. The bitters were completely neutralized by the temperature and I could taste the a fruity grape like note much more closer to that of a raisin. The nuttiness was minimal but the sugar browning was apparent. It even had hints of a buttermilk like finish.
10 days later:
I brewed this coffee a couple of times in the week that followed. But something interesting happened after a week of receiving the shipment. When I opened the bag on 21st April, I was met with a whiff of caramelised nuts. Time to brew.
Equipment used = V60
Coffee = 30 gms of coffee
Grind = 7/10 (1=very fine, 10=very coarse)
Water = 500 ml of water
Water type: Mineral
Water temp = 88° C
Total brewing time = 135s
Brewing Style = (Pre-wet | 30s | 90 ml), (Second Pour | 30s | 180 ml), (Third Pour | 40s | 230 ml)
Review: I noticed a reduction in the brew time, consistent with the aging of coffee. Tasting the coffee, the nuttiness was much stronger than a week ago. The fruitiness was still intact. It felt like the coffee had become better with time.
I need to get a fresher batch of this coffee the next time to be able to explore the peak. I still believe that there is more to this coffee than what I've observed for now.
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