All things bright and beautiful

Sorry to bang on, but as new season coffees work their way over to us, I thought it appropriate to enjoy some of the lighter coffees and appreciate the brightness and acidity, or freshness of flavours that are around currently. Mostly at the moment I have been drinking some Chiapas from Mexico, primarily because I talked about it last week and I haven't had any recently. Interestingly I found the roast to be a lot stronger than I remembered it, which perhaps reflects how my taste buds have altered from the American west coast style of roasting that I spent years doing, though serves to remind that nothing is static, and all coffees are worth revisiting again and again to appreciate how they are differing in not only crop but roasters personality. The other reason is that Mexican is an origin with a soft mouthfeel and great completeness in flavour that pairs excellently with milk chocolate, and there's been a fair amount of that over the last week or so!

Following on from that I have just cranked open some Dominican Republic, just to get a little bit of that red berry fruitiness to clean my palette and freshen my mouth from the cloying chocolate. I love this coffee as a daytime starter, but it has a good appreciation value as an afternoon coffee, with a definite delicate side to it but an underlying softness that is not overpowered by the acidity as can sometimes happen. This may cross over and go with the Brazilian Lambari as a great afternoon coffee, though even as a fine finishing touch to a meal I think this would work perfectly.

I have a stack of African coffees coming in too for the weekend if you can make it to the market (they may not all make it online) as well as a little more of the Biloya which is one of those coffees that if you haven't tried it you really should. No, really, hang the cost.

Africans normally exhibit the wild citrus flavours (orange, lemon, grapefruit) and floral aromas which make them my favourite coffees on the tasting table, though not necessarily all day drinkers. Like everything good in life they are not appreciated by all people. Having those fresh crop flavours just that little bit bolder in the cup is really worth delving into and trying if you haven't already. I would be happy to give a little tasting plan or recommendation if you had a few friends looking to try a few, as ever the key to tasting is to try more than one together, with each showing differences in themselves and others and making it so much easier to remember which you liked and why. Again, catch me in the market and let me know your ideas and how I can help

It's worth mentioning that some coffees benefit from a little bit of age, some coffees taste way to 'green' and raw at the beginning of the season, so don't think that this time of year is the only time of year to get quality coffee; view it as the exciting time when we get to welcome old friends, make new ones, and sometimes lose a couple on the way.