My coffee journey began 20 years ago, my family always drank coffee together; often as coffee break. We drank Café con Leche, which is made by boiling cinnamon sticks in water with sugar concentrate with coffee and condensed milk. In my late teens, early 20’s I had many late-night Denny’s visits. I was drinking coffee with too much sugar, and I'm talking 6 packets to where nowadays I am enjoying a fresh black brew.
A changing palette
As I visited small café shops my palette changed. I began to notice the variances in espresso and began to enjoy lattes without sugar. I visited café shops in Orange County and Los Angeles primarily, but ventured even further north to Seattle and south to San Diego drinking and buying coffee from different Micro Roasters. 15 years ago, my sister invited me to Klatch Coffee in Rancho, she knew I loved small shops with great coffee. We have been hooked since.
Now I work at Klatch and I have my go-to coffees: our Las Mercedes: Pacamara, Pepinal 1 and Maracaturra. I always try our new arrivals, including cupping when we are picking flavor notes and new coffees. Well you may be wondering how you can develop your palette? What's more, how can find coffees that you will love? I've got some suggestions.
First, I would suggest starting by trying blends
These Medium roasts are a good start because they have a wide range of flavor notes. Coffee blends are a combination of the multiple coffees, bringing out the very best attributes of different coffees.
- Onyx Blend (mandarin orange - apricot - cedar)
- Breakfast Blend (floral - apple - pear)
- Mocha Java Blend (chocolate - almond - blueberry)
If you're up for it, I would suggest moving on to Espresso
Just starting out? Start off with our House Espresso, which is a Medium-Dark Roast with notes of orange zest, cinnamon stick, and semi-sweet chocolate. Then try:
- WBC Espresso (sweet dark chocolate - orange citrus – berry)
- Belle Espresso (blackberry - chocolate - brandy)
When you are ready to move forward on your coffee journey, try single origin
There are 3 main types of processes: washed, natural, and honey. The way a coffee is processed can have a huge impact on flavor. Single origin coffees can have a more complex and specific flavor profile compared to blends, because they are sourced from a lone region, (or sometimes even an individual farm) with every bean is grown in the same soil and climate.
- Colombia, Guatemala, Ethiopia Naturals are fruity with notes of chocolate
- Kenya Washed are tomato, herbal and citrus
Experiment, and consider keeping a log
Don't be afraid to try new varietals and brew methods. Keeping a log or diary is a great way to learn more about your preferences and tastes! When you find a favorite, you'll know exactly how it was prepared so you can duplicate the results.
