Posted on March 31, 2005 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Fair Trade Organic Nicaraguan Matagalpa

• Rating: Rating:

I’ve been tremendously impressed by coffees from Nicaragua these past many months. They are proving yin to the yang of the light, bright fruity notes of what’s become the archetype of Central and South American beans. Nicaragua offers a balancing opposite rooted in darker, earthier and more rustic notes.

Kaffe Magnum Opus complements these natural origin characteristics with a roast that’s a lovely chestnut color; well caramelized, with no surface oils. Ground, its fragrance is subtle spice, a little clove and cedar. Just-brewed its aroma takes on darker fruit notes, and something like toasted cocoa nibs… a little bit chocolatey, and a little bit woody. Again, this is not a bell-ringing, bright cup. Instead its acidity manifests itself softly… it’s gently sweet.

In the cup I find milk chocolate flavors that stretch and fade to bittersweet cocoa as the cup cools. There’s that earthy, rustic aspect… made more notable with this coffee’s velvet-soft, weighty and textured body. In the finish, those same woody tones that appeared in its opening act reappear.

Recommended.

Other notes: the packaging of this coffee gave me a moment of pause… 12 ounces of coffee rattling around in a big one-pound bag leaves quite a lot of room for problems: like broken beans, or coffee staled much too soon by too much contact with oxygen. Fortunately, the packaging itself proved plenty capable… heavy, multilayer construction and a one-way valve to keep the good stuff in and the bad stuff out. The package offers no roast date.

Kaffe Magnum Opus can be found on the web at www.1cafe.com.