Latitude Tan Roast by Carta Coffee Merchants, an outstanding offering of Kona.
Latitude Tan Roast by Carta Coffee Merchants, Kona at its best, so good in fact that we here at CoffeeKen ended up sampling it twice. This coffee is so good that we forgot to fully put it through the sampling form that we use here. So…we just had to set up another sampling to get all of our bases covered in order to provide a proper review.
Scott, of Carta Coffee Merchants, once again has come up with a coffee offering that gets our attention. This time he did a lighter roast to his Kona, a tan roast that brought out all the nuances and complexity of Kona. After drinking this coffee you will fully understand why Kona has such a loyal following. It is a breath of fresh air that is greatly appealing, this is 100 percent Kona, not the usual mixed version you find in the grocery store.
What we did here at CoffeeKen is that we brewed up the Latitude Tan Roast two ways, French Press and the Chemex. Both are popular by the coffee drinking crowd here at CoffeeKen.
Here is what we found.
Aroma:
The aroma is big, full of fruitiness, lots of complex aromas entertaining the senses. While brewing the French Press was big, fruity with some fiery earthiness. The Chemex was lighter, more seductive and alluring, no earthiness at all.
Flavor:
This is were the charm of the Latitude Tan really shows up. There is an array of complex flavors competing to get your attention. The French Press brought forth the fiery earthiness, followed up by some dry coco, and as the cup cooled down a fruity wine like flavor took center stage. The Chemex was lighter, refined and complex. As the cup cooled down, citrus flavor of oranges became more evident.
Next we added dairy to it and the two brewing methods were miles apart. The French Press method became like a hot coco with lots of spice and fruit in it, as it mellowed a rich red wine flavor became more evident. The Chemex was not so agreeable, it became less complex with the dairy and lost it’s richness.
Body:
The body of the Tan is full, the French Press makes weighty and complex, there is a pleasant mouth feel that I personally like in Asian Pacific coffee. The Chemex makes a lighter and cleaner cup that is juicer.
Acid:
The acidity is on the low side, mellow. The French Press offers a wine like finish, and the Chemex gives you a clean tart apple finish.
Overall:
Overall this coffee is a great coffee to have for the holidays. A perfect balance of richness and lightness that is brought forward by the lighter roast. I personally preferred the French Press method of serving this coffee, The Chemex, in my opinion took too much away. If we did not do the side by side, then the Chemex would have been a perfect method.
Carta Coffee Merchants keeps coming out with spectacular coffee, and I would be hard pressed to pick my favorite right now, because they are so good.
