Brikka Bliss

(Reposted from CoffeeGeek)

I love it when I get one of those. A cup which is just awe-friggerly-some! What's cooler is that I can be reasonably certain that the next one will be very similar to this one.

So, this is a blend of two beans, Burundi Mumigwa and Brazil Santos. Both roasted well into second crack. Did that two days ago, I think.

The first cups weren't so good. Kind of harsh. Maybe because my previous batches were with less-awesome beans.

And my two moka pot brews this morning tasted, to me, something like Charbucks drip. You get the roastiness and some kind of spicy/wild character but on a cup without any depth. These two batches were fairly weak (low grounds to water ratio) but, with lighter roasts, I get a more multi-dimensional cup.

But now, this Brikka version. Neat!

I still get roasty, with a bit of smoke and wood (the Charbucks profile). But with many other notes. And it really is multidimensional as I get harmony (several notes at the same time) and  melodic development (a sequence of notes, with some repetition, tonal centres, rhythm...). I got a short note of Japanese dry sake. I get nuts. I get dark, dry fruits. I get earthy, muddy, dark soil. Some faint tomato/brothy umami/savoury. And many other notes which are modulating to other tonalities but are still very consonant. As it's cooling down, those notes are muted but still sounding. The whole cup was an experience.

What's neat is that it wasn't as full-bodied as most cups I get. More nuanced. Like an ensemble mezzo-forte (as opposed to a solo fortissimo). Made it easier to perceive differences.

Oh, wait! The second piece is starting!

Starts with tomato, gets into curry very quickly. Now we get woodfire smoke. And that was just the first few bars. Let's take a sip... Velvetty, creamy. Another sip: crescendo to apricot nut. Back to the woody motif. Lingering notes of fire crackling. Smoke as a soft drone throughout this section. A sweet, short melody in the higher range. Warm, brassy notes. A few cherries, here and there. Did I hear pepper? Nah, just a faint spicy note, calling back the curry introduction. Surprise effect! Smoked ham, sforzando! Lingering finish. The whole concert hall is still resonating.