Based on another thread, I was asked to repost an interesting croudsource of information on the coffee we buy:
Make your replies fit the following format;
- Location: at least your country, not the beans.
- Retailer: Were did you buy your beans?online, brick and mortar. Be specific.
- Beans: If a blend, name the brand and type. If single origin, give the detes, i.e. country of origin, region, farm, processing method, elevation
- Roast: Light, medium, dark, french …
- Advertized tasting notes: e.g. stone fruit, sweet, balanced acidity.
- Your tasting notes: Do you agree with the advertized cupping notes? Why?
- Price per unit: e.g. $/lb or £/kg etc…
With any luck we might discover hidden gems, or discover a new favourite or maybe a bargain.
- Location: USA
- Retailer: Local PERC location
- Beans: PERC Colombia Young Producers - Single Origin: Antioquia, Colombia; natural process + red fruit flavor co-ferment; elevation: 1900 MASL; variety: Castillo, Caturra
- Roast: 74.2 agtron (medium-light)
- Advertised tasting notes: Pink Starburst & frosting
- Brew method: V60 pour-over
- My tasting notes: Intensely fruity. Less of a pink starburst flavor and more of a cherry or raspberry flavor, but that direct flavoring step really comes through.
- Price per unit: $29/13oz
(I added brew method since different brew methods can accentuate different tasting notes)
What is a pink starburst and frosting? Is this a flavoured coffee?
What is a natural process + red fruit flavour co-ferment?
Wild indeed. And that price!
Yeah it’s certainly wild. It was a bit pricey but with a description like that, I had to check it out.
I hadn’t heard of co-fermenting before this either, but apparently they added dried strawberries and specific yeast strains to the fermentation tanks during the natural processing to influence the flavor. There are more details on the website.
I’ve never had a coffee’s tasting notes come through as prominently as this one does, absolutely crazy.
I’m shocked and curious. I have nothing against flavoured coffee, but that is a slippery slope.
They could go even further and label this flavored coffee. Coferments like this are flavored coffee, it’s straight up an infusion.
Unfortunately, with the connotations of flavored coffee, it would be murder on the high end business that’s producing some of the coffee that’s pushing the envelope. Excessive labeling could also be extremely misleading; often the flavors of the fruit used in the coferment don’t come out in the coffee. I had a coffee a few years ago that tasted just like grape soda as a byproduct of being cofermeneted with lychee. If it had been labeled lychee flavored, I’d have been convinced I got the wrong coffee. And also probably pretty mad. It was labeled as tasting like grape soda and I got what I paid for.
That said, Perc’s current labeling is actually pulling back from the slippery slope. I’ve had coferments that were badly labeled. Perc is very explicit and open. And I do think some minor onus is on the consumer informing themselves on what they’re buying; I think @echo@lemmy.ml was correctly informed.
This coffee? It’s cofermented. This coffee? Pure coffee, anaerobically fermented, then dried natural. This coffee? Washed process, standard fermentation practices.
I will say, this is nothing like a Dunkin’ Donuts flavored coffee or anything like that. You can still distinguish the flavor profile of the bean’s origin and such, just with a little bit of added complexity.
PERC is a local roaster for me and they’ve earned my trust with some exceptional traditional roasts over the years.
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Retailer: Viet Beans Coffee - also in Hanoi https://www.facebook.com/vietbeanscoffee
Beans: THA1 - Tu Mơ Rông, Kon Tum, Việt Nam (central highlands somewhat near Da Nang), Viet Beans Coffee roaster, Sept. 10, 2026, natural process, 1800m, fruity, intense sweet, long finish.
Roast: Light
Advertized tasting notes: fruity, intense sweet, long finish.
Your tasting notes: as advertised.
Price per unit: 380k VND/500g ~ $15 USD**
Robusta?
Absolutely not.
The following link is from a different roaster but provides a very good description of this hybrid bean:
https://3croastery.com/en/product/tha1-coffee-200g/
What’s New with THA1 Coffee?
With the goal of enhancing quality, improving market pricing, and deepening processing in Vietnam’s coffee industry, THA1 is a new variety that can meet these demands. Origin
THA1 belongs to the Arabica coffee line and is a selected F5 hybrid variety, a cross between TN1 (which has origins from Ethiopian coffee beans) and Catimor coffee. The THA1 coffee variety has a high level of purity and is propagated through seeds. Characteristics
The THA1 coffee variety has the following features:
Appearance: Compact tree canopy with many branches, suitable for dense planting. Growth potential: The THA1 coffee can grow well in specific regions such as the Central Highlands, North Central, and Northwest, with the potential to improve average coffee yield up to 3 – 5 tons per hectare (a 10-15% increase per unit area compared to previous coffee varieties). Ripe fruit has a bright red color, elongated shape, large size, and dense clusters. The seed size is significantly larger than that of Catimor, with a fresh/bean ratio of 5.6; an average weight of 100 seeds reaching 17.3g; and a grade 1 seed achieving 84.9%.Well now I want one. Exciting. I feel the tasting notes need a little more detail, especially under different roasts.
I believe it is possible to buy green beans of this variety online.
Doesn’t have to be green. I’m just happy to try something new and see if it bring me caffeinated joy or not. I have varied enough tastes to enjoy wildly different profiles and pre-roasted is fine, but I’ll only buy enough that I can drink it all before it goes stale and loses some of its shine.
It may be difficult to find some THA1 outside of Vietnam since it’s less than 10 years I think since it was developed and it was developed for growing here. Most of it probably gets consumed here, which is true for most of the specialty coffee grown here. The pour over/specialty scene here has grown a lot in the last decade. When I first came here 20 years ago, your choice were the robusta/arabica blends used in traditional Vietnamese phin brewed coffee or the small amount of moka/highland arabica beans used for drink coffee. Now there are coffee events all over the country throughout the year.
Good luck in building an export market. I hope to sample some someday soon.
Location: Canada.
Retailer: Pilot Roasters. Bought in person from one of their outlet locations.
Beans: Ana Sora, Ethiopia. Landrace varietal grown in the Guji Zone at 1,900-2,350 masl. Roasted Sept 30.
Roast: Light.
Advertised tasting notes: Strawberry, yuzu, juicy.
My tasting notes: Strawberry. I don’t taste much else.
Price per unit: $29 CAD / 300g.I’m pretty sure I got the last bag of the season. The day after I bought it I checked their website and it said sold out. It was the last bag on the shelf too. It’s my second time getting these this year, and I’m excited for them to bring it back next year. I’ll absolutely be getting them again when they’re available.
- Location: California, USA
- Retailer: Driftaway Coffee subscription
- Beans: Kinini Abateranankunga - Single Origin, Kinini Village Cooperative, Rulindo region, Rwanda. Bourbon varietal, Washed, 1800-2200 masl elevation. Roasted 12 October 2026.
- Roast: Medium-dark
- Advertised tasting notes: Smoked Caramel, Baking Spice, Chocolate
- My tasting notes: I don’t get the chocolate notes too much, but smoked caramel and baking spice come through with a mild yet noticeable citrus note. These are some of my favorite beans. They have a complex and sophisticated flavor profile, while being incredibly easy to drink. I’ve been having really great luck with Rwandan and Ugandan beans lately.
- Price per unit: $16/lb
+1 on the great lake countries’ beans. In addition to your list, I get consistently superior beans from Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi. Collectively they are my usual 2nd fav and if $$$ no object only get bumped to 3rd by Jamaican Blue Mountain.
I totally forgot about Burundi! Definitely one of my favorite single origins.
Location: Canada
Retailer: BeansUnited (web)
Beans: Yirgacheffe Aricha, Ethiopia, Green Beans, Naturally Processed, Gr.1
Roast: home roasted to very light (mid first crack)
Retailer Tasting notes: blueberry, stone fruits, jasmine florals, smooth body with brown sugar finish.
My tasting notes: stonefruits yes, I want to say peach, jasmine yes too. Blueberry, sadly barely a hint. I won’t call it a lie, but putting it first is overselling it. Should be last on the list, in a smaller font. Brown sugar finish, even with a light roast to bring fruit forwward and less sweetness, I’ll still say yes. Cost: $198.50 CAD for 15lbs= $13.23/lbs
7.5/10. A realiably good cup of coffee, but not the greatness I seek.
15 pounds?
Yes. The bag is like holding a big baby. Depending on how much I drink, it lasts 3-6 months. Hence the green beans. I roast as needed and the best prices are usually for bigger orders. I keep a few bags of other things if I want to mix it up, but I’m pretty good at dialing my purchases to my tastes. I know what I do and don’t like, so the big bags make sense for me personally.
What sort of home roasting equipment do you use?
Hot air. FreshRoast SR540.
