In a shocking development, I have actually had enough free time to do some experimentation AND be able to write it all up for you, the adoring public. This is what playing at a remote radio telescope observatory without other distractions will do for you.
For experimentation, I decided to move a bit further down the African Rift Valley and sample the delights of Tanzania. In certain geology nerd respects, this is something akin to drinking coffee while time travelling. That is to say, the further south you go in the Rift Valley, the younger the volcanism is. As volcanic area gets older, the chemistry of it’s mantle source changes, particularly with decompression melting (AKA: spreading centers, like mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys). So, theoretically, drinking Tanzanian coffee is like drinking Ethiopian from 30 million years ago, ignoring climate differences of course.
So, what does the past taste like? The consensus is that it similarly fudgy to the Kenya, but it’s like a fudge made with nibby dark chocolate that’s low on butter. There appears to be a north-south “greasy”-to-chocolate spectrum for the Rift Valley. With vodka addition, the Tanzania became *dramatically* sweeter thought the flavor overall stayed the same. The next step, obviously, would be to experiment with some Malawi and Mozambique.
In my most recent acquisition of the Guatemalan Mundo Nuvo from Caffe Vita, I asked if them if they had anything else they were particularly proud of as they certainly impressed me the last time I did that. I was sent their Nicuraguan la Aserradero as they are well aware of my soft spot for light roasts from the Americas. The odd thing here is that tasters have been all over the map with previous Nicruaguans but there was a pretty solid consensus here: nuts.
Not talking peanuts here, which is something that has come up in other tastings, but the leading contenders were walnuts and pecans. The smell had a delightful coffee ice cream aroma to it, sweet and decidedly cream, which is what threw us for a loop when tasting and we got a strong nut flavor. Oh, there were bright citrus notes but nut was the primary, though James Brokentongue (his new D&D dwarf character name I think) declared tomato soup + smoked cheese.
With vodka addition, the fruity flavors went away and the nutty flavor moved closer to being like nocino. This makes sense as nocino is a walnut liqueur, although I doubt the la Aserradero will stain skin and clothes in a furniture polish manner like nocino does.
So, further experimentation is in order on both counts.
In other news, either today or tomorrow, Keith the BBotE Pimp of Austin, TX will receive his first case for local distribution. You may contact Keith by email, [email protected]. Save him from himself before he drinks it all.
Completely unrelated, but for those of you that are recovering Vampire: The Masquerade players, every time I declare a new BBotE Pimp/Pimpstress I feel like a justicar proclaiming a new prince. With that in mind, please, no one is allowed to claim praxis to become the Pimp of an existing domain. Alright, that’s enough nerd for the moment.