Often the most sought after and hyped coffees have unique, acidic, or adventurous tasting notes. But this week, the coffee I’ve been enjoying is much more humble. And that’s why I love it.
the best “coffee” coffee
Frequent enjoyers of Tim Wendelboe will quickly recognize the name “Finca Tamana”. It’s a farm in Colombia, run by Elias Roa and Bellanid Sanchez, that Tim features many times each year. The variety we’ll be discussing today is the variedad Colombia.
Tim describes this coffee as: Sweet chocolate, caramel & red fruits. And those are probably the most spot on flavor descriptors I have ever read.
From cupping to brewing, this coffee is sweet and clean. Chocolate is sometimes used to describe coffees that are roasted darker, but in this case, it’s just a really accurate way to describe the sweetness. It also has a delightful, fruity acidity that pops up throughout the cup.1
what is coffee flavor anyway?
What’s funny is that describing a coffee as “chocolate” and “fruit”, or said differently, that is has sweetness and acidity, is basically like saying it tastes like coffee.
And to a vocal minority of home brewers, that is something to be avoided. It’s not nearly as adventurous as the Sidras, Pink Bourbons, Geshas, or any other hyped varieties that get discussed online.
But I think that it’s viewed as a negative only because there is so much bad coffee that falls into the category. When you have a coffee, like Finca Tamana, that does those classic flavors to the highest standard, the resulting cup is incredible.
It’s something you can happily drink every morning and share with someone who knows nothing about specialty coffee, but it’s also a coffee that is so delicious it brings a smile to even the snobbiest of light roast drinkers.
I can say that because that’s me now. And yet, I’m still enjoying this coffee as much as I did when I was a lot less deep down the rabbit hole.
reflecting on my coffee journey
The first time I had this coffee I was at a very different place in my coffee journey then I am today. Back then, I was starting to get into higher quality light roast coffees, but I still had the occasional blend in rotation. And my overall knowledge of the hobby was less.
I remember buying Finca Tamana from Fellow because I had heard a lot about Tim Wendelboe but hadn’t tried it. I’m pretty sure when the coffee arrived it was already like 30 days old, which was probably the first time I had ever rested coffee, albeit by accident.
The coffee, Tim, and the farm are lodged so clearly in my memory because basically every cup was incredible.
At the time, this was easily one of the best coffees I had ever had. Between the sweetness and the cleanliness, it opened my eyes to a new standard of coffee.
Many many brews and expensive coffees later, it’s easy to get extremely nit picky about each cup. Which is a by-product of learning more about how to brew great coffee but it’s also, at times, a total bummer.
Once you start brewing exceptional cups, you want it to always be like that. So it’s frustrating when the reality hits; consistently exceptional is hard to achieve.
Revisiting this coffee, I’m trying to take it as a reminder of the joys of coffee, and why I spend so much time on this hobby; brewing delicious coffee that makes me smile and starts my day off with the best vibes.
brewing advice
Note: I don’t plan on giving specific recipes in these posts. Instead, I’ll provide guidance or variations in approach based on the coffee’s characteristics.
- Rest this coffee at least 10 days to get the best out of it. The shelf life of Tim Wendelboe coffee is quite long and I’ve still enjoyed this coffee over 40 days off roast.
- I’ve noticed it getting fruitier as it ages as well as when the cups cool down
- Play around with higher/lower temperatures or coarser/finer grind size to find the balance of acidity & sweetness that tastes best to you
- This year in particular, I think the coffee is tasting brighter. ↩︎