Maybe it’s the fault of my small-town redneck-hick upbringing, but I have a hard time taking any sort of connoisseurship seriously. I have always laughed at fancy descriptions of wines, and it seems even sillier for coffee. Coffee’s coffee, isn’t it? What kind of dope pays more than 75 cents for a cup of joe?
My parents fancied themselves gourmets, but when it came to coffee we were still a Maxwell House family. Freeze dried! I had never even heard of espresso until I met an Italian kid in the dorm with his own stove-top macchinetta. It was a revelation. In the 20-plus years that followed, high-end coffee connoisseurship took off in this country, and I have been its willing victim. Here’s my latest effort to figure out if this expensive habit is worthwhile or frivolous.
Name: Heartbreaker
Description: “A Café Grumpy Espresso Integration. Rich fruit, chocolate, very balanced with an Amaretto finish.” Roasted by Novo.
Source: Café Grumpy, 224 W. 20th St., between 7th and 8th Avenues.
Country of Origin: Not listed, but apparently a blend of Colombian varieties.
Packaging: Sealed in foil bag.
Date Roasted: Oct. 27, 2008
Date Purchased: Nov. 5, 2008.
The Pour: Single shot of espresso, ground and made fresh. Let’s stipulate that I probably don’t have the nose for this sort of thing. Deep, rich flavor, but I’m not getting the chocolate, or the Amaretto aftertaste. The aftertaste is pleasant enough, not annoying. That said, this alternative description of Heartbreaker (“a smooth, fruity shot with a great creamy finish and silky mouthfeel” etc.) seems more on point. The flavor is not nearly as bitter as the canned Danesi from Zibetto I bought last week, which wore on me after a few days. It might be a freshness issue. My hands-down all-time favorite remains Honey Bean, which Grumpy did not have in stock. I may have to buy a truckload of it the next time they have some. (Many of these links are to the store’s old blog; the new one is here.)
Effects: I am now on my third shot of Heartbreaker. It’s sublime. This has been a long and tiring week at work, and I still have a sleep deficit. But for now I am focused and clearheaded, and feel as though I can conquer the weekend and go join some friends, who are brewing beer today. But I better stop with the coffee before I get jittery and punch a hole in my Mac keyboard.
November 22, 2008 at 11:14 am
[...] A Shot of ‘Heartbreaker’ Coffee [...]
November 27, 2008 at 11:34 am
[...] A Shot of ‘Heartbreaker’ Coffee [...]
December 20, 2008 at 12:26 pm
[...] of Hartmann Honey Selection 5 December 20, 2008 In this quest for the perfect shot, I have written before about my fond memories from of drinking coffee last December made from honey beans of Panama, so I was delighted to spy [...]
January 17, 2009 at 1:09 pm
[...] Several Shots of Finca Santa Isabel’s Best January 17, 2009 This felt like a long week. A lot of meetings. My daughter had her first round of standardized testing at school. Two reporters I rely on the most at work took some days off. Then a plane ditched in the Hudson. We blogged, twittered, stayed up late. It was the rare big story with a happy ending. Way back on Sunday I had bought this bag of beans and, even before the crash landing, I was making myself three fast espresso shots with the Jura to jolt myself awake each morning before rushing out the door. That did not allow much time for contemplation of how these beans compared to the others I’ve sampled and written about. Name: Finca Santa Isabel (Rainforest Alliance). Origin: Mountaintop plantation by the above name in Santa Rosa, Guatemala. Roasted: Jan. 6 by Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, Calif. Purchased: Jan. 10 at Café Grumpy, 224 W. 20th St., Manhattan, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Description: None on the plain brown bag. But this Cup of Excellence entry described a related batch as solid, well-balanced, with good acidity, clean and sweet. The Pour: This morning, with a small amount of the bag left, I took the time to savor a shot for the first time this week. A nice layer of crema on top. My impressions from the week are confirmed: a full-bodied, tasty shot. No fruity flavors. Not overpowering. No bite or unpleasant aftertaste. Pleasant. Probably what most people would think of when you say coffee. It reminds me of the Poker Face Espresso, a blend that also had some Guatemalan beans, as well as the serviceable Heartbreaker. [...]
February 28, 2009 at 12:17 pm
[...] I could have bought more of the oddly tea-flavored selection from Guatemala, or even the standard Heartbreaker espresso I started all this with, but I’m not ready to repeat myself yet. Onward to the new, this time a direct-trade bean [...]