Klatch Roasting Upland, California Antioquia, La Sierra Colombia Fragrance: mincemeat pie, copper = 2 Aroma: charred butter crust, pumpkin pie = 2 Flavor: intensely focused, thimbleberry, cocoa nibs = 7 Acidity: red juicy berry = 9 Body: firm, assertive, square structure, wrapped in silk and velvet = 8 Balance: intensity radiates from tip of tongue, smooths and fills palate = 7 Aftertaste: clean, refreshing = 6 Cupper Points: 2 Final Score: 93 points Super stoked to finally get my hands on some Klatch. Motorcyle madman Mike Perry turned a small mom and pop into an internationally recongnized leader in the quality coffee movement when his daughter, Heather won the United States Barista Championship in 2003 and 2007 as well as numerous regional championships. Since she retired from competing she has been one of coffees most gracious and confident spokespersons, MC'ing barista competitions and helping to grow Klatch from a small town roaster to multi-store tour de-force. Anyone in coffee holds great admiration for this family. They have managed to stand for service, comfort and many of the values associated with the 2nd wave while pioneering the latest trends in sourcing, roasting and preparing great coffee. This coffee started out a little roasty with faint hints of charred butter crust. My concern was shattered the moment this coffee touched my tongue. Roasted expertly by pushing the heat as far as possible without scorching or tipping, pushing out a super bold, intense coffee flavor that was wrapped in sweet pumpkin and mincemeat pie spice notes with a beaming pillar of bright, juicy red berry acidity. Colombian coffees are 2nd in world only to Kenyan. And this lot from Jose Rueda proves that stupendously perfect coffee is no accident. Climate, altitude, shade, moisture, humidity, perfect agronomy, harvesting, sorting, processing, drying, storage, handling and finally roasting all must align like the planets to push out near perfection in the cup. There were some faint vegetal notes--pea soup, peanut--that added to the body and complexity but that were the only aspects preventing this coffee from scoring 100. It was THAT good. Hats off the the Perrys. Great work. You are an inspiration and your success keeps me going on dark days.
