We've been sampling a lot of beans...
A while ago I let you know that I'd been roasting a load of experimental beans. The point of difference being some different ways that the cherries were being processed. You'll remember that coffee beans are the seeds at the centre of the coffee cherry and it's not a straightforward process freeing the seeds from the flesh of the fruit that surrounds them.
There's a raft of different processes which are now being used to process coffee cherry... and they're being used not only to get the pesky flesh off the seeds, they're also being used to enhance the flavour of the resultant coffee beans. Carbonic maceration, supernatural, anaerobic fermentation... all of these processes tend to enhance the fruit character of the coffee bean as well as accentuate the ferment character of the process. They supercharge the flavour profile of the bean.
We've tried roasting seven different samples of beans processed using these methods and, to be frank, the results have been mixed. Some beans have demonstrated flavour characteristics which are almost a caricature of what coffee traditionally tastes like.
I've only really been very happy with two specific beans: Kenya Maguta Estate Ruiri Supernatural and El Salvador Finca Himalaya Supersonic Supernatural. They're both wonderfully full flavoured with excellent balance and the Kenya Maguta Estate is currently available in the website store.
I'll keep sampling these types of beans but will spend less time doing so as the return on investment thus far has been less than hoped for!