Coffee tasting is very subjective - the descriptions we have provided are an attempt to rate the three basic attributes - body (or mouthfeel), acidity and balance (harmony of flavours). Some typical characteristics are also provided and suggestions for the level of roast the beans are suited to.
We "cup" our coffees and so may revise the descriptions if significant differences are found in each batch (please contact info@greenbeanhouse.co.nz for full current cupping descriptions).
Often a single origin bean does not provide the desired range of flavours and characteristics and so blends are developed to achieve this.
We have done the hard work (involving roasting and making lots of coffee, tasting and drinking some of it) and developed some house blends that are available already mixed - all you have to do is roast them.
Also included is a swiss water process decaf commercial blend if you don't want the caffeine. Watch out when roasting decaf as the temperature can increase a lot faster than when roasting normal beans.
Recommendations
If you're new to this, we recommend trying our blends, they're a bit more expensive because there's more involved in preparing them - and obviously in developing them to start with.
For short black drinkers try GB-A2 which is a nice well rounded coffee (also suitable for plungers). For those with the fortitude, try GB-A1 which is best tried in milk based coffees.
If you'd like to stick with single origins, try Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopian Harrar and Guatemala for espressos. Mexican, PNG and Sumatra Mandehling are also suitable for plungers.
We will continue to expand our range of blends and single origin beans - so please give us your feedback at info@greenbeanhouse.co.nz.
We'd love to know what you like and what you would like to try.