Review: Heart Coffee Roasters Stereo Blend (Portland, Oregon)

I will be taking a hiatus from tasting coffees for the next couple of weeks, so I wanted my last coffee (for now) to be a great one. Luckily for me, I was able to snag this bag of Heart Coffee from Oak Lawn Coffee in Dallas. Pro tip: They receive shipments from Heart on Fridays, so if you want a bag, you had best pick one up on the weekend. When I stopped in early Sunday afternoon, I got the penultimate bag in the store.

First impressions: The whole beans smelled creamy, with strawberry and milk chocolate notes. Once I ground them, the chocolate became fudgy, with a pinenut and red berry aroma.

V60: Bright, delicate, with white tea and raspberry flavors. This was a sweet cup with a light flavor. It spoke in a whisper, not a shout. If this coffee was a person, it would probably be a young woman wearing polka dots and holding a bunch of daisies. Sunny and optimistic, but not cloying.

AeroPress: Whoa. This cup shouted. There was more raspberry flavor and a more assertive personality overall. Thick and punchy, not too sweet. A bit of lime crept in and it reminded me most of a raspberry-lime gin rickey, oddly. Refreshing in its way, because it had a lot of tart/sweet on the finish.

Chemex: Compared to the V60, it was fruitier and more acidic. Brighter and drier – more treble notes. If the V60 was a moderately sweet Riesling, this was a dry Pinot Gris.

French Press: This brought out more bass notes – bittersweet cocoa dominated with a tartness throughout.

Summary: The V60 cup was really striking. It was demure and didn’t try too hard to capture your attention – you just wanted to be around its energy because it makes you feel good. Lovely balance of flavors! I didn’t taste caramel while drinking the coffee but once the coffee cooled, I definitely smelled caramel. I can’t wait to try some of Heart’s single-origin coffee if the blend is this interesting.

From the roaster: Raspberry, caramel, cocoa

Heart Stereo Blend

I will resume posting on June 11!