Posted on May 8, 2006 - by deCadmus
Tasting: Counter Culture Coffee’s Rwanda Karaba
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100 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri, along the route of Highway 24, you’ll find a pecan the size of a UPS delivery truck. Here, at the confluence of the Grand and Missouri rivers, the fertile bottomlands produce not only roadside attractions worthy of Neil Gaiman’s attention (look for it in his latest work, Yet More American Gods) but also prodigious numbers of black-trunked pecan trees standing in sentinel rows as far as the eye can see. And each tree, in turn, produces prodigious pecans… Oh, they’re not the biggest in the land (that title probably goes to Georgia, despite the many-tonned concrete pecan’s hyperbole) but bite for bite, they’re the tastiest you’ll find anywhere. Nutty, sure… but also buttery, warm and sweet. By flavor alone you might mistake them for cashews… but they’re not one bit tropical, but instead Missouri’s favorite native… er, nut.
The Coffee
In a nutshell, friends and neighbors, this is the surprising flavor of Counter Culture’s Rwandan coffee offering — it’s a nutty, nutty bean. Sourced from the Koakaka coop, and processed at the very same Karaba washing station as Green Mountain’s very spiffy (and long gone) Rwandan Special Reserve offering, Counter Culture’s Rwandan is an exemplary coffee in every way: meticulous preparation, and expert and attentive roasting.
Just ground, the coffee offers the intriguing fragrance of coffee blossom and ripe, sweet pears. Brewing, its aroma tantalizes with notes of maple syrup and caramelized sugar. The cup’s brightness is well-controlled in the roast — some acidity has been traded for complexity and warmth — which I think is a good choice. Its flavor… nutty. Rich, toasty, buttery pecans… caramelized and sweet. Its roundish body carries the cup’s sweetness through the finish, leaving a departing kiss of honey and vanilla even as the cup cools.
If I sound a bit like I’m gushing… well, I am. This is a brilliant cup… the result of exceptional work at every step from tree to cup.
Highly Recommended. Now go buy some, already.
P.S. My thanks to Mark Overbay at Counter Culture for the sample… and to Peter G. for his excellent source work in Rwanda. Peter, Rwanda’s specialty coffee trade is much better off for your efforts… and so are we all.
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Bloggle is the online playground of Doug Cadmus, a usability guy, writer, photographer and sometime dramatist who moved to Vermont for the coffee. When not writing, reading or walking his old, blind golden retriever, he roasts coffee in his garage and is the Web Guy for Green Mountain Coffee in Waterbury, VT.Flickr Photos
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May 14, 2006
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Hey Doug!
Thanks for the shout out. Glad you liked the coffee. You should know that this lot is the very same as GM’s Special Reserve lot. Only difference is in the roasting. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t defer to Lindsey on the Rwanda thing. She discovered Karaba and kindly allowed me and some other roasters to share the coffee with GM. I’m also working hard with some other co-ops, but Karaba is my favorite so far, and I’m grateful to Lindsey for that.
Peter
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May 14, 2006
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Hey, Peter! Thanks for stopping by.
While I rarely miss an opportunity to brag on Lindsey, I really wanted to call out what *you’d* done on this lot and didn’t wish to fuzz the message. ;)
Keep up the great stuff you and your gang are doing… and feel free to drop by any time.
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July 4, 2006
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Here at the fish creek house bed and breakfast in montana, we are constantly experimenting with coffee recipes for our guests Here are ith 6 recipes to enjoy your coffee a different way. We hope you enjoy it.
Irish Coffee
1 teapsoon of suger * 1 jigger of Bushmills Irish Whiskey * 2/3 cup of coffee or flavored Irish Creme coffee * 1/4 cup of heavy cream, lightly whipped
Prehead the glass with hot water. Dump the water out and add the hot coffee with the teaspoon of suger and stir. Add the jigger of whiskey, and top with the whipping cream. Dark coffee’s are best for this recipe.
Spiced Orange Coffee
1 teaspoon fresh, grated orange peel * 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon * 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg * 5 whole cloves * Regular amount of your usual coffee or try Swiss Chocolate Orange flavored coffee
Add the above ingredients together and brew as normal. Place a slice of orange at the bottom or your cup. Pour in coffee and add suger and cream to taste. Top with whipping cream and sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon if so desired.
Mint Cocoa Coffee
1 ounce of chocolate mint liquear * Dash of shaved chocolate * Whipping cream (optional) * Regular coffee or try Dutch Chocolate Decaf flavored coffee :
Brew your regular coffee, add the 1 ounce of liquear into your cup. Add some whipping cream if desired and sprinkle with shaved chocolate.
Coffee Milkshakes
1 pint of coffee ice cream * 2 teaspoons finely ground coffee * 1/2 cup light rum (optional) * 4 to 6 scoops vanilla ice cream * Instant coffee powder
Spoon coffee ice cream into blender. Add rum and finely ground coffee. Blend on high until creamy smooth. Pour into tall glasses, adding a scoop of the vanilla ice cream to each glass. Sprinkle lightly with instant coffee powder.
Frosty Mochas
1 cup of freshly brewed coffee * 1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softenend * 6 tablespoons of chocolate syrup * 1 cup prepared cold coffee
Blend hot coffee and chocolate syrup in blender. Blend until smooth. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl. Add the softened ice cream and cold coffee. With a rotary beater, beat until smooth. Spoon into tall glasses and serve immediately.
Nogged Coffee
1 cup of coffee or try Pumpkin Spice flavored coffee * 1 egg yoke * 1/2 cup of cream * Dash of nutmeg
Beat the suger and egg yoke together. Place cream in a saucepan and heat over low setting, do not burn. Wisk the egg mixture into the warmed cream, heat until hot. Add coffee to mugs and top with the cream mixture. Garnish the coffee with nutmeg.