Thailand Doichang Highland Coffee
Red Whale Coffee out of San Rafael CA sent me some extraordinary coffee. I love trying new coffee from around the world, but when I see a flavor profile list peach, watermelon, and strawberry with a chocolate texture, I am a little dubious. I have, on many occasions, sat down to try those coffees with all those promises of flavors, only to taste nothing more than perhaps one of the promised flavors.
Red Whale Coffee Doichang on the other hand, delivered on its promises. I actually tasted all those flavors, much to my amazement and delight, and find myself thrilled with the end result, a wonderful coffee, worthy of bragging about to all my friends, and family.
Doichang coffee is from the highlands of Thailand, at an altitude of 4500 to 5000 ft above sea level, making it a difficult coffee to get your hands on. Six family farms have formed a co-op together, in order to plant and harvest this coffee in the Diochang valley. The harvest time is October through March, at which time they wash it and send it to market for roasters like Red Whale Coffee, to buy and show case this fine coffee.
The aroma is big, as in filling up the whole kitchen and dinning room with its rich, fruity, and chocolate fragrance, and I picked up some spice, and a strong watermelon when I poured a cup. The flavor was just as impressive, as the peach flavor was present at the very first sip, then the watermelon, and the strawberry showed up after the coffee cooled down a bit. The chocolate texture and flavor tied it all up together.
I added cream to my second cup, the peach profile was there again at the start, but when the coffee cooled down, it was the watermelon and strawberry that became the dominate flavors, and then add to that wonderful undertones of dark chocolate!
The body was creamy, without any added cream, it was also full, well rounded, and I found it to be very impressive. The acidity was dead center, balanced, smooth, naturally sweet and very fruity, making this coffee finish a clean, full, long lasting cup of coffee to be enjoyed all day. I was warned this could be a new favorite and I know they are right.
