Name: Tanzania Dark Blend
Type: Whole Bean Coffee
Origin: Tanzania, Central America
Roast Flavor: Medium Plus
Price: $34.95 per five pound bag from Java Bean Plus
I thought for this week I would do something a little bit different. Since the virus quarantine, we’ve all had various household items that we rely on. While toilet paper is on the mind of many in the country, in my house, we go through coffee, coffee creamer, and wine more than anything else (the latter two much more for my wife). And while I have a number of favorite coffee brands out there, some of them have gotten far too expensive for regular purchase. Getting tired of buying overpriced “quality” coffee at our local big-chain stores, I started searching online and eventually stumbled upon Java Bean Plus. I wanted to order a couple kinds of coffee; one in the vein of something that we normally drink and have familiarity with and something different. Today’s review is the one that would be something different than what we would normally drink.
With a mixture of beans from Central America and Tanzania (eastern side of Africa), I figured the taste of the coffee would certainly be different than the blends I was used to (Columbian, Hawaiian for instance). The beans out of the package, both pre-grind and post-grind, had aromas of faint dark chocolate and something fruity, although much less than the chocolate. I’m a huge proponent of a French Press for making coffee. Quality takes time and taking a few extra minutes for good coffee is worth it in my opinion. After a few minutes of letting the water rest within the carafe, I pressed the coffee and gave it a pour in my mug. I tried the coffee two ways: Straight up (black) and with a modest addition of sweetened creamer. Taking it straight up, I found a medium-full or medium plus bodied strength, smooth on the palette but a sharp start with some acidity. You definitely get those dark chocolate and faint fruity notes, making a nice balance of strength and flavor. With the coffee dressed up with creamer, I found that that sharpness on the palette get toned down some while keeping some of those noted flavors.
The coffee arrived today (Thursday), so I have yet to pair this with a cigar. Given the flavor profile, I would be inclined to pair this with something more on the medium or slightly less than medium to give a complement to the sharp, moderate acidity of the coffee. While it won’t take too long to test out, I do have five pounds of coffee to get through so I probably have a few weeks at least to test further. Overall, I like the flavors and strength of the coffee quite a bit; however, I’m not one for acidity in my coffee so that’s definitely a minus from me. One thing I will be doing in the next few days (besides finding a cigar pairing) is to make a batch of cold brew of this. I would bet some of that bite and acidity could mellow a bit from that process. More on that when it happens. I’ll have another coffee review in a month or so with a completely different type of coffee.
Final Score: 8.75/10
Thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.
