In my first visit to Filtered Coffee in McKinney, Texas, I was very excited to spy boxes of coffee from DAK Coffee Roasters on the shelves. I had heard great things about this coffee roaster based out of Amsterdam, but I never imagined I’d be able to find freshly roasted beans for sale within the US. Big thanks to Filtered to curating such an incredible selection of roasters at their shop!
Whole bean: This coffee is labeled as an anaerobic natural, and as might be expected, the beans smell fermented, with a strong, sweet, slightly funky aroma of red fruit that’s gone slightly off. This isn’t a sign that the coffee has gone bad – far from it, this is on purpose! – but it’s a bit of a polarizing trend in coffee today.
Hario V60: This tasted of orange pith and white wine, with a grassy finish. It smooths out as it cools, but it’s definitely an assertive coffee.
Chemex: This was perhaps my favorite cup from this tasting. It had much less pith flavor than the Hario V60 cup, and it shimmered with a tangerine-forward juiciness. Considering the coffee is named Strawberry Jelly, I was surprised not to really get any strawberry notes in the brewed coffee (though I definitely smelled strawberry in the whole bean form).
Clever Dripper: The Melitta #4 filters are sucking all the flavor out of these coffees, I’m convinced of it. The cup came out bland and tasting like white refined sugar. This is not the method for you if you like complexity!
French press: I liked this cup a lot. It had less flavor overall than the Chemex cup, but a really pleasant smoothness and buttery finish that reminded me of golden delicious apple with some mandarin zest on the finish.
Summary: I’m really glad I had a chance to try this coffee. I have liked some fermented coffee on my journey, but overall I’d say it’s not really my thing if done past a certain point, and this coffee from DAK might be JUST past my limit in its whole bean form. However, brewed in the Chemex and French press, it was very pleasant to drink. Worth trying if you can get your hands on some, but it’s not for everyone!
From the roaster: strawberry jam, mandarine, sweet cherries
This coffee is not available on DAK’s website, but here are their current offerings:
DAK Coffee Roasters Online Store
Review conducted 20 days post-roast.