Review: 2% Jazz Coffee Sam’s Guatemala Haja Blanco (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)

This is the second bag I received from 2% Jazz Coffee, and it happens to be one of their rotating single origins. When roasters offer to send me coffee for test, I don’t dictate what they’re allowed to send (other than insisting it needs to be fresh), but luckily for me I tend to really like coffee from Guatemala, so I was excited to do this tasting.

One thing that I find admirable about 2% Jazz Coffee’s business practice is their commitment to the environment. On their website, they have a section where they talk about their endeavor to bring compostable takeout cups to their Victoria-area coffee shops. Not only are the cups a greener alternative to the standard paper cup, but they’re custom (printed with 2% Jazz’s logo) and affordable too, thanks to a partnership with BC-based company Green Century.

Whole bean: Super sweet with aromas of stone fruit.

V60: I brewed this for 3:05, and the coffee came out with a nice medium sweetness and a clean marshmallow and graham cracker flavor. Now that I wrote that, that sounds very sweet indeed! But the coffee was balanced and really pleasant to drink without being cloying.

AeroPress: Similar to the V60 cup but a bit more intense in flavor, with a richer texture.

Chemex: Slightly smoother texture and flavor but overall really similar to the first two cups. This is a pretty consistently good coffee across multiple methods. Sometimes you get a coffee that tastes wildly different as a pourover vs. in an immersion method, but these beans are reliably good across various brew methods.

French press: This was my favorite of the bunch. It had the best taste and richest mouthfeel, with notes of vanilla, graham cracker, and just generally lovely layers of sweet flavor.

Summary: I think it’s pretty much impossible to make a bad cup with these beans. All four of the cups I had were delicious, but my favorite was the French press for its rich, luxurious sweetness.

From the roaster: No tasting notes provided

2% Jazz Coffee Sam’s Guatemala Haja Blanco

Review conducted 13-14 days post-roast.

Disclaimer: I received this product gratis in exchange for a fair and honest review. Even though I received this for free, I treat and test it the same way as if I had paid for it out of my own pocket.

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