Sometimes, life drops something into your
lap for free. Free of charge, free of effort. My most recent slice of fortune
came in the form of a black and yellow pouch of coffee. Breadstickler received
a sample of Kopi coffee, a new monthly coffee subscription service, and had the
good grace to share it with me (read: gave it to me as she doesn't actually
like coffee…)
For £8.95 a month (or £8.45/£7.95/£6.95 if
you pay in advance for a 3/6/12 month package), Kopi will deliver a 250g pouch
of high-end coffee to your door. They claim to hand pick a different single
source (and ethical) coffee each month. This particular sample was “Java Jampet
Estate UTZ Certified Arabica”.
The coffee was impressively fresh for
pre-ground beans, thanks to a vacuum packed sachet. As I tore open the rather
pleasing black packet, I was hit with a powerful aroma that suggested hints of
orange and dark chocolate (like a grown up Terry’s chocolate orange… a winning
smell on a Sunday morning!)
Kopi provide you with an information card
which I read as the kettle boiled. The card was very interesting. It included everything
from tasting notes to a history of Java coffee, experts’ reviews to a recipe
for black coffee ice cream (which will be my next project - maybe Breadstickler
will be good enough to review it for you…)
Once the water was added the aroma shifted,
losing its more floral notes and becoming decidedly richer and earthier. To
idle away the time it took to brew, I sliced into a big
chunk of chocolate brownie we’d picked up at the Headingley farmers’ market.
Mouth well and truly salivating, I took the plunge (pun intended) and poured
out two mugs of the coffee.
Disappointingly, the Terry’s chocolate
orange smell did not translate to the taste. Breadstickler and I both used the
term ‘biscuity’ to describe the flavour. My (admittedly uneducated) palette
could not detect the subtler flavours the tasting notes suggested – lavender
and pine. I made this first batch following the suggested ratio of coffee
grounds to water, and the taste was slightly underwhelming. A few days later I
had another go, using the tried and tested “one heaped spoonful per mug, and
one for good luck” method. This brought better results, with the coffee
possessing enough natural sweetness to drink without sugar. Kopi claimed it
would be “a heavy hit of dark chocolate”. I didn't find the chocolate flavour,
but it was a smooth and tasty cup all the same.
Subscription services (wine, vegetable
boxes, meat etc.) can be a bit hit and miss, with the quality often
deteriorating after the first few months. Kopi certainly seem passionate about
their coffee and they’re well worth a one-off trial run. I imagine that serious
coffee connoisseurs will already be enjoying coffee of an even higher quality
than the sample reviewed here. For everyone else, Kopi might just be the
gateway to better brews.
1 comment:
i love coffee and cake x
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