Review: Monarch Coffee Honduras Pablo Cruz (Kansas City, Missouri)

This is the second bag I picked up from Monarch Coffee in Kansas City. Their space inside their shop is gorgeous, and I was really impressed with the free drip coffee they gave me with my purchase of this bag (check out my review of Monarch’s Colombia Finca El Cajon for more on that). This bag from Honduras was the first I picked out though, and I couldn’t wait to dive in.

Whole bean: Smells very sweet, like nougat.

V60: I brewed this for 3:20. The resulting coffee was quite complex – juicy, fruity flavors in the mouth but with a dry and slightly sour finish. Tart. I remember thinking this might be especially refreshing served over ice.

AeroPress: Nice syrupy texture, but the flavor got a little intense… this tasted like lemon pith consumed straight out of the brewer. When I added a little water to dilute the concentrate, it tasted of tart strawberries. Better, but this method did not produce a sweet result.

Chemex: Now this is more like it! I ground these beans a little on the coarser side and the final brewing time was only 3:40, but the end result was lovely – Very fragrant like a nice fruit tea. This tasted of strawberries and hibiscus with a refreshing balance of sweet and tart.

French press: Sweet and creamy in the cup with a flavor of white sugar. This was by far the sweetest-tasting cup in the lineup, but it was also the most muted in fruit flavor. If you prefer more simple and straightforward sweetness in your coffee though, this will be right up your alley.

Summary: This was best showcased in the Chemex (for a sweet/tart refreshing fruit tea sort of profile) and the French press (for a sweeter, creamier, simpler profile).

From the roaster: Strawberry, honeydew, creamy

At the time I finished this review, this coffee was not available on Monarch’s website, but I’ve included a link to their online store below.

Monarch Coffee Online Shop

Review conducted 7 days post-roast.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.