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Happy Halloween everybody! Ok, I am a day late, but I had stuff to do. Here is a pic of the pumpkins Lalaine (my girlfriend) and I carved to celebrate the occasion.  The one I did is on the left, I think it is a little scarier looking than her pumpkin, but her’s has much more detail. Ok, enough about our annual pumpkin carving competition and lets get down to what this blog is really all about….

I guess to get into the Halloween spirit, I should be drinking some pumpkin flavored latte or some other crappy flavored coffee concoction available at the gas station nearest you.  Instead I decided to roast up the El Salavador cup of Excellence Winner: The Finca Malacara.  Finca Malacara, hmmm, kind of sounds like a new Latin dance. Everybody get in line! Were doing the Finca Malacara! I decided to purchase the  coffee from Sweet Maria’s because I had not yet tried a green coffee from El Salvador and I was also intrigued by the whole “cup of excellence” title. At nearly ten bucks,  a pound of the Finca Malacara cost almost twice as much as the other three coffees I had selected for my latest procurement, but it also had the best review.

I roasted its excellency for a smidgen under 24 minutes in my  Nesco, engaging the cool cycle a little early, after hearing the second cracks start up. The resulting cup was a nice middle full city roast with a uniform darkish brown color throughout. Since I still had a bit of just roasted Tanzanian Blackburn estate laying around, I was going to let it rest for a second day, but my curiousity got the best of me and I brewed up a batch of it the next morning. After my first sip, I knew I should have waited. The taste was ok, but I could tell that it had not really fully developed yet.

The next morning (halloween) it tasted a bit better and I was beginning to see why this coffee took home the title, but I think I was too busy ogling my girlfriend in her princess Leia costume to really appreciate the cup’s subtle nuances.  I do not know what it is with those little hairbuns, but they drive me wild.

So today I just brewed up the last of it and I am doing my best to fully concentrate on the flavor and character that this winner of the El Salvadorian cup of excellence surely must have. I mean they don’t give those awards out to just anybody like door prizes at a Bingo game.

My first impression of this coffee is that it is very clean and bright. A very good wake up and face the day kind of coffee. I do not what happened to me in the past month, but for some reason, I now prefer these clean and bright coffee as opposed to the darker ones with more body. I even had trouble finishing up the Guatamalen Oriente whose extreme taste was exactly what I was looking for this past summer. Perhaps, it is a seasonal thing.

I taste a hint of berry and oat, no wait a minute, I think that is from the berry clusters cereal that I had just ate. This coffee has more of a elegant citrus hint to it, something a bit sweeter than an orange. Perhaps a clementine or a tangerine would best describe it.  It also has a particular smoothness that is akin to the Gesha, although not as chocolately. The taste that lingers in my mouth after I swallow is one of stawberries that are still a bit on the sour side.

After these ruminations, I must say that this Finca Malacara is an excellent cup indeed, and it was something that truly hit the right notes with me this morning. Perhaps it is because, I was  focused it on it for once instead thinking about pumpkins and sexy princess leia costumes. I will write more on this one later.

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