Review: JJ Bean Coffee Roasters Kenya Othaya (Vancouver/Toronto, Canada)

This coffee was an impulse buy – I had taken a trip to visit Lemonade Gluten-Free Bakery on Cambie St. (and enjoyed every bite of the roughly $30 worth of baked goods I purchased over the next two days!), and JJ Bean was just a short walk from the bakery (literally about one minute – JJ Bean was on the corner and Lemonade was two doors down). Something about the cafe made me think it was likely to be a second-wave sort of cafe in the style of Peet’s (perhaps it was the company font? The rather large size of the coffee shop? I’m not sure why I jumped to conclusions), but I popped in anyway just to investigate and the coffee beans they had for sale ticked all my boxes: freshly roasted with the date clearly labeled. I decided to pick up this Kenya Othaya because I hadn’t gotten anything else like it yet on this trip.

Whole bean: Fruity with a scent of black pepper. Interesting! The black pepper scent didn’t carry over into the brewed coffee, though.

V60: Well balanced in flavor. There was nothing that stood out in particular, but it was overall just a nice craft cup.

AeroPress: A syrupy sweet cup that smelled and tasted of lilac.

Chemex: Fruity and complex with juicy, tart flavor.

French press: This was the most complex of the coffees with a good balance of sweet and tart flavor, nice acidity, and a lush mouthfeel.

Summary: Sometimes, unplanned excursions can lead to some delicious results! This coffee from JJ Bean had a lot of character and I enjoyed it in all four brewing methods.

From the roaster: Juicy, citrus, red berries, lively

At the time that I wrote this, this Kenya Othaya was not available on the website, but here’s a link to their online store:

JJ Bean Coffee Roasters Shop

Review conducted 12 days post-roast.

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