What on earth does this taste of???

Episode 37

Coffee: Indonesian Sidkaland
Special Notes: Cupping Notes to be decided by InMyMug Subscribers
Cup Profile:

This is the first one of these I have written up while drinking the coffee for the first time in a while, something I have been meaning to get back into the habit of doing.  I am also watching the InMyMug episode live too, and it is a good one to have chosen to do this.  Steve has set a challenge to viewers to taste this coffee and then send him our feedback to create the tasting notes.  So here goes

The first thing you notice on opening the bag is a great waft of sickly sweet fruit.  Being nice I would describe it as strawberry yoghurt or banana chips.  Rancid fruit also springs to mind though.  Interestingly this aroma is much stronger at a distance with a close-up sniff producing a more normal smell. 

Drinking the coffee produces more unusual sensations.  An almost tea-like texture, very thin and lacking in creaminess (sorry, I don’t know a word for lack of creaminess.  perhaps low viscosity?).  In terms of taste the words are not easy to find.  I did some slurping and actually said out loud “what was that?”, and I have no idea. 

OK, I have cracked out the espresso now, and it is bright and acidic, and the banana is back again although less severe.  There is also something unusual in the background which I also picked up in the aroma.  If I hadn’t got it in the aroma I would have assumed it was a problem with the extraction, and perhaps it still was, but there is a burnt note there, perhaps like the burnt crust on toast, or even a bit like burnt crackling.  That is definitely the dominant aftertaste for me now too, almost as though by putting a name to it I am noticing it more.

Definitely an interesting combination of flavours going on there, although probably more for the experience than for he actual taste.  I didn’t think it was going to work at all in espresso when I tasted the brewed, so I really surprised myself.  I can’t imagine it working in a milk based drink though, although I am sure I will give it a go at some point.