Costa Rican Bourbon

From a friend, I received some coffee beans to review. The first, or two, is called "Costa Rican Bourbon". As a recovering alcoholic, the name worried me. After doing further research, I discovered it has no alcohol content.

Not owning a grinder of my own, I had to find a way to have the beans ground for my 16+ year old Mr. Coffee. I bought my first grinder for the home. It is a burr grinder, and after experimenting with some 'store bought' beans, discovered that for a 10 cup pot, I need to grind for exactly 28 seconds. The recommended 30 seconds made too fine a grind, and I would need to double the filter to avoid contamination of grounds in my coffee.

As I have noted in previous postings, I started by thoroughly cleaning my machine, making sure that no residue of the last brewing remained. If you're going to review coffee, or anything for that matter, you do not want anything standing in your way of an unadulterated sampling.

I started with a 5 cup pot, to leave some left over for another day.

The aroma, during brewing, had a subtle hint of wood. Not sure if it would have been like an oak, or a cherry, but definitely lumber WAS involved.

As always, the first sips, of the first cupping, were "Black, no sugar". This is the ONLY way to discover the high notes, and more particularly the subtle ones. This coffee had overtones of caramel, with a subtle floral/fruity note to it. Almost an apricot, from a flowering, rather than outright fruity taste. Slightly acidic, which tells me this is an Arabica, rather than a Robusto, origin coffee.

The second cup, I added a little bit of non-dairy creamer and some clover honey, Oh, my!!! The apricot was enhanced to where you could tell the fruity note, and even the caramel was enticing, yet not overpowering.

By the time I finished this pot. I could tell the beans were roasted to a medium finish. The second pop was evident in the beans, but they were not scorched.

I would highly recommend this coffee, as a way to take the cold out of a winter's day, and warm the heart...... Well done, Sean Hand (the friend who asked me to review his micro-roasting efforts).

More in the next review...


Courtesy of your Coffee Reviewer. Have a nice day, and God Bless!