Intelligentsia Itzamna, Guatemala
Similarly to the Los Inmortales that we enjoyed a great deal last week, this coffee from Intelligentsia is a blend of coffees from a few different farms in an effort to create a coffee that ideally represents the possibilities inherent in Guatemalan beans. In this case it is a blend of beans from the following three farms:
- La Soledad (Acatenango)
- La Maravilla (HueHue)
- El Tambor (Palencia)
In their notes about the coffee they go so far as to cite the characteristics that each coffee brings to the blend:
- La Soledad: rich milk chocolate and butterscotch sweetness
- La Maravilla: energetic ripe fruit acidity
- El Tambor: seductive cocoa flavor
I yet again find myself thinking of the apt comparison of the winemaker blending lots of grapes, or the cognac blender blending the contents of different barrels to achieve their goals: a harmonious blend of – wine, cognac, coffee, whisk(e)y, etc. – that best represents the unique characteristics that each lot brings to the mix. The character that one lot brings must be balanced with another in such a way as to still allow the uniqueness of each to come through. All the while retaining a sense of balance and harmony.
Contrast this (although not in the negative) with the blender bringing together a number of different lots to produce a blend that says what he/she is trying to say (e.g. a roaster’s House or French Roast blend). In this case the blender is trying to achieve a specific flavor profile in the finished product, and the lots that go into it are chosen in order to achieve that. In this case, the uniqueness of a lot is not necessarily a good thing – if it is too unique, too divorced from the flavor profile being sought by the blender, it either won’t go into the blend at all, or only in very small amounts. Being unique is not so much a virtue in this case.
But the Itzamna is a coffee where Intelligentsia is aiming to allow each farm to stand out and bring its own strengths to the finished product. So how does it pan out in the cup?
This coffee is very tea-like. In the nose I get lemons, wool, and a hint of spices. The palate is lightly sweet, with some tart acidity, apples, lemon, and real sense of bergamot, like a hint of Earl Grey just hanging around the edges. And the finish is very mellow, slightly sweet and a lingering hint of fruit.
Thus far, this is not my favorite coffee from Intelligentsia. But that’s not saying much, since all three of the coffees I have had from them have been great. I like this, but it is very subtle, and let’s face it, I don’t think my subtle is very cued into subtlety. I still think I have the kind of palate that needs to be hit over the head in order to pick up flavors.
This coffee reminds me of those that I’ve had from Terroir Coffee, in that it is a light-to-medium roast that really let’s the coffee bean come through, and aims for a super subtle cup, as opposed to the dark roasts that I’ve normally drunk. So I’m still learning how to drink this kind of roast. I like this, but I’m definitely having to become more familiar with the tastes that it offers.
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