Surf City Coffee
Ethiopian
Roaster Location: | Soquel, CA |
Coffee Origin: | Yirgacheffe growing region, Sidamo Province, southern Ethiopia |
Roast Level: | Medium |
Agtron: | 50/67 |
Review Date: | October 2004 |
Aroma: | 9 |
Acidity: | 8 |
Body: | 8 |
Flavor: | 8 |
Blind Assessment: For both Ken (90) and co-cupper Christy Thorns (91), extraordinary aroma: For Christy "freshly grown ginger, orange peel, apricot, mint and lemon." Ken stressed the "caramelly fruit that transforms completely into chocolate." In the cup, smooth, creamy mouthfeel and, for Ken, a character "sweetly and deeply tart - dark chocolate and lemon."
Notes: Its tendency to high-toned, floral and citrus sweetness has made Yirgacheffe, from a lushly beautiful range of hills in southern Ethiopia, one of the world's most distinctive coffees. Surf City is an employee-owned, small-batch, mainly wholesale specialty roaster located close to the California coast near the city of Santa Cruz. Its motto is "Made by Surfers, for Surfers." Visit
Who Should Drink It: Who shouldn't? A sound, complete coffee with great aromatic excitement but without the perhaps perfumed overstatement of some Yirgacheffes.
This review originally appeared in the October, 2004 tasting report: Ethiopia and Kenya: The World's Most Distinctive Coffees