Halfwit sent me a couple of nice coffees to try this month. I looked at their Rwanda Kanzu last week and found it to be beautifully bright and delicious so I was anxious to try out their Nicaragua Don Sabino, which I present to you today! This is a coffee from Don Sabino’s La Fuente farm in the Jinotega area of Nicaragua. This is a small scale operation, with Sabino still plowing his fields with oxen! It was imported to the United States by Gold Mountain Coffee Growers, whose own Finca Idealista I loved during the 2015 holiday season.
This coffee is a fully washed selection consisting of Red Catuai and Caturra varietals and Halfwit gives us tasting suggestions of, “honey, red apple, maple syrup” for this one. You can purchase this coffee directly from Halfwit Coffee Roasters for $18/12oz bag. And, something I greatly appreciate from Halfwit, like they do for all their coffees, they put together this awesome info sheet with notes about the coffee, how to best brew it and also specific recipes for Fetco, V60, Chemex and Aeropress.
You know me, I stuck with my usual 1:15 ratio on the Gino pourover with Kalita 185 white filters and a total brew time of a bit under 4:00. I was thinking about firing up my Aeropress on this one, though, so I’ll bet it would be good that way, too.
The red apple note listed on the bag comes through HUGE in this coffee! It’s sweet and crisp and really actually reminds me of the honeycrisp apples I fell in love with when I lived in Michigan. This is a bright and clean coffee with a bit of floral notes, but that apple flavor is just impossible to miss. It’s bright, clean, refreshing and yet sweet at the same time. There is a bit of a savory tone in the finish of this coffee and it has a slight nutty flavor in the aftertaste along with subtle hints of baking spices, but once my brain hooked onto the apple that was it for me! As the coffee approached room temp it picked up some light lemon acidity, which was also nice in this cup.
I don’t have a lot to say about this coffee but don’t mistake that for not liking it. This is a gorgeous coffee, especially for people looking for balance and a clean cup. It’s downright refreshing and thirst-quenching to drink and this coffee, along with Halfwit’s Kanzu, has made me a fan!