Review: Prosum Roasters Nicaragua Jorge Laos (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

My family spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve in New Mexico, and though we did take a day to visit Santa Fe (which is where I picked up the coffee I reviewed from Iconik Coffee Roasters), the bulk of our time was spent in Albuquerque. A quick Yelp search and about 10 minutes in our rental car brought us to Prosum Roasters one morning. If you’re a coffee drinker that’s accustomed to swanky, modern cafes with Wi-Fi and plush, inviting seating, you’ll probably feel a little out of place visiting a roastery, as these places tend to not be a place for folks to linger. But, I really enjoy visiting roasteries – assuming they’re not busy, it’s usually a chance to get to talk with people who are intimately involved with the coffee they sell, from the sourcing to the roasting and everything in between. Prosum is largely a wholesaler, and the space reflected that: giant roasting machine in the back, burlap sacks, lots of what I think of as pleasingly “organized clutter” – piles of paper, stacks of bags and ceramic cups, everything in its place yet conveying the sense that there is a lot going on. I felt right at home.

I had a nice chat with the person on duty (I believe his name was Jacob), and he mentioned that while he is heavily involved with the company operations, the company was started by and belongs to his girlfriend. Love that this is a female-owned business!! Prosum gives 10% of their company profits directly back to the communities from where their coffee comes from, and this helps to fund initiatives to improve specific things that are needed in each region. Jacob told me about the village of Kellensoo, Ethiopia, and how there is a project there to keep girls in school by teaching them how to make reusable feminine hygiene products, which will allow them to not miss school for a week every month and reduces the likelihood of them dropping out. So far, over 700 girls have been able to stay in school. You can read more about this here at the Prosum blog.

This Nicaraguan coffee was the last of its kind on the shelf on my visit. Jacob mentioned that the next time they’d be getting beans from this farm would be in May, so if it interests you, check back with them in late spring!

Whole bean: This had a beautifully even roast level – so consistent. The beans smelled of milk chocolate and a hint of lime zest.

V60: This was by far my favorite preparation for these particular beans. At the grind size I chose, It took about 2:55 to brew this, and lovely subtle notes of black tea, cream, cashew, and milk chocolate wafted out of the cup. Very tasty and satisfying!

Chemex: I brewed this twice but had a harder time dialing in the grind than with the V60. The first time, the coffee brewed for 2:45 and it came out bland. I just wrote “Try again” in my notes. The second time, the coffee brewed for 3:40 (still a little short of my usual 4 minutes) and I wrote “not bad, but has a slightly pithy flavor on the finish. V60 was better.”

French press: This tasted a bit of almonds and the papery skins around peanuts.

AeroPress: As a concentrate, it was drinkable but pretty strong with more notes of peanut skin. With a little extra water added, the coffee was quite smooth but nondescript to my palate – I wouldn’t have been able to tell where this coffee was from just from taste.

Summary: I love that this coffee helps make the world a better place with every bag sold, and this particular Nicaraguan coffee was especially good brewed in a Hario V60. Hands down my favorite brewing method for these beans.

From the roaster: No tasting notes provided

At the moment, Prosum doesn’t appear to sell their beans via their website but they may in the future as they do have a link to an online store on their page. In the meantime, visit their roastery on Los Arboles Ave NE in Albuquerque in the morning hours, Mon-Fri if you want to pick up a bag for home.

Prosum Roasters

Review conducted 7 days post-roast.

One Reply to “Review: Prosum Roasters Nicaragua Jorge Laos (Albuquerque, New Mexico)”

  1. Katherine Williams says: Reply

    The lovely lady who owns this roaster is Cindy Moffit, and she’s amazing. Far as I know, she’s been dating a guy named Matt for several years. Wish you had the chance to meet Cindy! She loves walking everyone through the place and talking about what they do. Not sure if it’s still up, but they use to have a board of pictures from Cindy’s travels to the farms.

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