Artisan Series is

Carta Coffee Merchants newest offering.

Artisan Series is Carta Coffee Merchants newest offering of some superb 100% Kona coffee that you will not find anywhere else! Only at Carta Coffee Merchants! This year, Scott Burr has carefully selected some excellent pea berry Kona coffee from his farm, some 100% organic Kona from another Kona farm, and blended the two beans to make this excellent blend.

Artisan Series Label

It is called the Artist Series for one reason, if you look closely at the label of the bag, you will notice it is not your average label, but a miniature work of art that is going into my scrapbook for safe keeping. The artist who is responsible for this fine art is Norman Kekki, a California-based artist who has a BFA in illustration, with a particular emphasis in wildlife. When he is not doing amazing illustrations, he spends his off time being an avid coinsurer of fine coffee, music and sunsets in Hawaii. So quite naturally Norman and Scott met, and the result is on this unique bag of Kona Coffee.

Here is what I found.

Aroma:

The aroma is big! I mean it made its announcement upstairs in my household, where the family thought I was cooking with dark chocolate. The other aromas were a deep, dark, rich, smoky earthiness, with subtle hints of spice.

Flavor:

Big bold flavors of volcanic earthiness, with some chocolate. There are some fruity notes that when combined, give this blend a natural sweetness that is totally smooth and seductive.

Artisan Series being served

When milk is added:

The earthiness mellows out quite a bit and bakers chocolate becomes the overall flavor. A nice balance there. With the milk added to it, this coffee becomes a dessert or breaktime coffee. The natural sweetness comes through as well, I had to check to make sure I was using plain milk instead of sweetened condensed milk.

Acidity:

Smooth, and the slightly fruity note gives this coffee a crisp finish. Naturally sweet and soft, there is no harshness to it, nor a sharp bitterness.

Body:

Very full, almost heavy, but very impressive. The fruity finish gives it a juicy feel to it. Overall it is thick with earthiness that is full, but not overpowering.

Finish:

Earthy, chocolate, fruity, long and well rounded. I like the freshness of it, not fast fading or bright, but a full body cup of coffee.

Overall:

This is really Artisan Series is an outstanding cup of coffee, a nice variation of Kona coffee, Blended coffee does work when it is done well, and Scott has managed to do that. A nice note of fruitiness that is slightly on the citrus side, gives this blend a nice bright tone to it. I still am a fan of the earthiness of Kona and the subtle spices that are there, but when I added milk, this coffee wonderfully transformed into a chocolate lovers dessert coffee. Very nice indeed. Scott delivers again with an outstanding blend of Kona coffee. Making Carta Coffee Merchants truly a merchant of fine Kona coffee.

Carta Coffee’s Farm