On a recent visit to Method Coffee in Dallas, they had fresh bags of this in stock, so I decided to check them out. I had not previously heard of Corvus, but the independent DFW area coffee shops that I frequent have not steered me wrong yet!
Poking around their Mission page, I learned that Corvus prefers to work directly with private farms instead of relying on certifications like fair trade, organic, etc. They roast in the Nordic style, which to me basically means they roast only as much as needed to bring out the natural flavors of the coffee, as opposed to roasting until the coffee tastes like the roasting process. Heart would be another roaster I’d put in this category.
Whole bean: Creamy scent with notes of berries.
Espresso: This espresso had a lot of bright berry acidity. It reminded me a lot of the Commonwealth Ontology Espresso in flavor – chocolate and blueberry/raspberry notes. It was very nice pulled as a straight shot if you like a bright, sweet espresso that packs a punch.
Favorite parameters: 18 g in, 35 g out, 202 degrees F, 23 second extraction
With milk: This blend seemed a little less special once milk was added since it muted the berry notes, but it made a decent latte.
Other preparations: I had a hunch that I would like this blend prepared as coffee instead of espresso, and I was right! This was excellent brewed in a Chemex: chocolaty and lively due to the blueberry flavor. Lovely depth and sweetness. It was also very good in a french press.
Summary: A tasty espresso consumed straight if you like berry notes; good with milk. Particularly good brewed as coffee!
From the roaster: Dried berry, Cacao sweetness, supple. Currently made up of coffees from Peru and Ethiopia.
I saw this on my friends house too. I usually go with fair trade coffee but this looks promising, Will give this a try, hope it works good with latte.