Coava (pronounced KOH-vuh) has made quite a reputation for itself in the Portland coffee scene. The word “coava” refers to green (unroasted) coffee beans. This company offers only single-origin coffees; no blends. I had the pleasure of visiting one of their cafes while in Portland and had a memorable cup of Guatemalan coffee while sitting at a gleaming wooden table enjoying a bit of afternoon sunshine. Bliss!
This limited edition La Esperanza is one of the bags I picked up at Barista at the same time I picked up the Roseline Catapult Espresso Blend. Bless the employee that didn’t make fun for me for asking for more details about “koh-AH-vuh,” but instead very gently corrected me by saying how much he liked KOH-vuh. Compassion and coffee!
Whole bean: Light, bright aromas of white wine and green grapes. Ground, it brought out a chocolate bar scent.
V60: This tasted pretty much like the beans smelled – like a cup of cocoa with the tartness of green grapes. This might sound like a weird combination, but it was actually quite interesting to my palate! I like it.
AeroPress: Tart and bright as a concentrate. Adding a bit of water made it smoother and easier to drink but the brew kept some complex dimension to it. This had a pretty dry finish.
Chemex: This method brought out a better balance between the cocoa + green grape flavors – less interesting perhaps but more accessible. Sweeter overall with a finishing note of golden raisins.
French press: This had the most notes of all of the methods – it had a wider range of the depth (cocoa) and the top notes (fruit). In musical terms, the V60 might be a piccolo + tuba; AeroPress – saxophone duet; Chemex – string quartet, French press – full orchestra. The flavor spun in my mouth like the last chord of a symphony.
Summary: This limited edition coffee from Coava was a nice place to start as my introduction to this roaster. I look forward to trying some of their other offerings soon! My personal favorite this day was the French press because I enjoyed the epic character of the flavor.
This coffee is not currently sold online.