Good morning and welcome to today’s review! I’m back with Tobra Coffee’s Northwest Blend. This is a different ratio and roast of the same coffees that were found in their Breakfast Blend, which I enjoyed very much, so I’m excited to get slurping!
Purchase Northwest Blend directly for $11/12oz
Other reviews in this series: Breakfast Blend
TOBRA COFFEE ROASTERS NORTHWEST BLEND
Tobra Coffee was started in 2013 by Shane and Jessica Monroy, lifelong residents of Tekoa Washington. Tekoa is a little town of about 770-ish people (2010 census data) in the southeast corner of Washington state. The couple doesn’t say what got them into the coffee business, but that they roast all Fair Trade certified coffee and are committed to providing premium coffee to the people of the Pacific Northwest. They roast on a Diedrich infrared roaster after having trained with the man himself. I really enjoyed Tobra’s Breakfast Blend, which I reviewed a couple weeks ago, and this is the same beans roasted differently and in a different proportion.
After my Breakfast Blend review, I heard from Shane and Jessica and they let me know that the Breakfast Blend was 1/3 of a Brazilian coffee and 2/3 Colombian Supremo. Northwest Blend is a 50/50 mix of the same coffes, and it is taken to a “medium-dark” roast level while the Breakfast Blend was considered to be a “light” roast. Tobra describes this blend as, “Clean, sweet and balanced with a hint of chocolate and caramel.”
The aroma from the cup is pleasant and it’s one of those “coffees that smells like coffee” LOL! I know that’s a cop-out… there’s a hint of roastiness here, it’s sweet, a bit of cocoa. The body of this coffee is coming in between a medium+ and a heavy- for me. It has a nice presence on my palate. Taking a sip a lot of chocolate/cocoa notes come out in the flavors. I’m getting a milk chocolatey sweetness to the low notes in this cup. There is Dutch cocoa by the spoonful, playing nicely with the roasty notes coming through from the roast level. This coffee has some nutty notes to it, too. I’m having trouble nailing it down to a specific nut, but there is a nuttiness, more like a nut butter, but not peanut butter or almond butter, although, not unlike those either. “Nuttiness” will have to suffice! I’m looking for those cherry or orange juicey notes I was getting in the Breakfast Blend and not quite finding either one. The acidity in this cup is definitely more apple-like and it’s subtle, providing balance for the sweetness but not really making a big statement in and of itself. I’m getting a hint of tobacco in this finish, which is sweet, and the aftertaste has a lingering cocoa note on it but is really quite mild.
I’m enjoying this coffee, it’d be perfect for anyone looking for a daily drinker that is chocolate forward and I suspect it’d be a fantastic sugar and cream vehicle, neither of which I partake of. This coffee is inviting and delicious black, too, though, so a good all-rounder. Very chocolatey and not a whole lot of roastiness or smokiness to contend with. If I wait a minute or two between sips I’ll get that pencil lead/slightly metallic twang I get with higher roast level coffees, but it’s totally manageable and just a hint in this coffee. Between the two blends, I prefer the Breakfat Blend because I found it more interesting and more complex and I loved the cherry pie filling and other notes I got with the lighter roast, but I wouldn’t turn a cup of Northwest Blend away by any stretch of the imagination! A solid performer!