Barrington Coffee Roasting Co. Aged El Salvador Finca Cerro Las Ranas 2006
The first roaster I saw offering aged coffee was George Howell’s Terroir Coffee, who offered an aged Indonesian that sounded quite exciting. At the time I had never heard of such a thing…aged coffee? Since then I’ve seen aged coffees offered by a couple of roasters, but it’s a pretty rare offering overall, and I can only think of a couple of roasters I’ve seen them from.
This coffee is unique in that not only is it aged, but it was produced using the “pulped natural” process, where the cherry is stripped off, but the mucilage is left on the bean. During the sun drying process the mucilage ferments, endowing the bean with a unique set of flavors that typical production methods do not allow for. I’ve had one other coffee produced this way, the Panama Hartmann Honey from Gimme Coffee, and I remember being struck by how apt the inclusion of the word “honey” in the name was. The coffee was rich, succulent, smooth, and very enjoyable.
And so I was excited to try this aged coffee from Barrington, whose coffees I have been enjoying a great deal lately. It was produced in the Apaneca Mountains of El Salvador, at an elevation of 5100 feet. The coffees from Finca Cerro Las Ranas, owned by the Salaverria family, are certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and this batch is made up entirely of the Bourbon-Paca varietal.
Barrington initially received this shipment in 2007 and stored the coffee for two years in a controlled environment to allow it to mature. Once they felt it had reached its optimal development, they transferred it to hermetically bags to halt any further aging. The result?
The nose is rich with heavy flavors of walnuts and molasses underscored by a trace of subtle smoke. The palate has a luscious, sweet, creamy body, and very subdued acidity. Flavors of caramel, vanilla, toast, cherry skins, and a slight woodiness, rest atop this velvet foundation. The acidity really comes into play in the finish, with the flavor of tart citrus rind quickly giving way to sweet peaches, brown sugar, and milk chocolate.
All in all, an interesting coffee. Rich, but in a subdued way. The nose was not very forthcoming, but the palate and finish brought an interesting collection of flavors that really complemented one another quite well. I can see this being a great deeps-of-winter coffee, when you want a cup that just feels like wrapping yourself up in a blanket to warm up.
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Hey Nathan (assuming that’s your NAME bro)…just got turned on here by Barth anderson, one of my best buds and coffee heros. I’m a one-man roaster and foodie in Portland n.ow (for 4 years)and reading your entries was a bit like looking in the (fresh-hopped)Mirror (Pond). We’ve too many tastes in common to enumerate here, but promise me you’ll contact me next time you’re here in PDX. I’ve got lots of excursions you’d enjoy, counting as buds a buncha great winemakers and chefs. Hints: yesterday on my doorstep a case of just-bottled wines from Eyrie which were the quid pro quo for the coffee I sent them to get the team through harvest etc. I live down the road from John’s Market in Multnomah Village/Portland, the real mecca for sudsophiles, where I’m on a mission to try all the beer they sell. Crude calculation tells me that means about 3 years of trying a new one every day…yeah, that kinda scope. So many revelations…Struise Mikkeler, Mikkeler Single Hop, all the Dogfishes, North Coast Rasputin RIS 12th Anniversary (a real rarity). Will save a bottle for you if you come out…as well as ’07 Abyss. We can eat of handmade salumi from Nick’s Italian Cafe and Tina’s in Dundee, Ken’s Artisan Blonde bread, Rogue Bleu. Persian stripe garlic from my backyard. Finish with Amaro Gayo from my roaster (I’m assured of getting it next year as well…trust me, Gimme!’s air roaster isn’t close to defining this awesome joe)You can bring the whisky, altho of course Caol Ila and Ardbeg reside here. I’m planning on making an espresso stout with artesan brewer Rick Allen of Heater-Allen next year if the cards align right. Come around this time of the year so we can Deschutes-crawl in the Pearl District for the fresh-hopped goodies. So much time!
justin kagan
Thanks for the comment! I met Barth this summer, great guy, and I keep meaning to get up to Barrington Coffee to check out their operation in person. Portland really is my home away from home, and I’ve totally been pining to be there while reading about this week’s Abyss release! I’ll be sure to drop a line next time I’m out there.
Looking forward to ordering some of your coffee (I’m running low, as we speak), the offerings look good. It’ll be great to try the Amaro Gayo from another roaster!