My friend Nathan introduced me to Black & White Coffee Roasters, and he kindly let me add in this bag of their Champagne New Year blend to his order. I ended up writing this review about a month after receiving it, and I’m just finally catching up on publishing these reviews. Of all the coffees I sampled this winter and early spring, this one stood out to me as especially enjoyable!
Whole bean: STRONG scent of candy, particularly peach and lilikoi (passionfruit) Hi-Chew.
French press: This was a really lively, sweet coffee. I tasted white sugar, Hi-Chew candy, peaches in light syrup, and a slight floral note throughout with a tart finish. Mouth-watering. This was so good that after this tasting was done, I exclusively brewed this in a French press daily until the bag was gone.
Chemex: Pretty good, with much of the same flavors as before, just a bit more muted. I missed the depth of complexity in the French press cup.
Clever Dripper: Disappointingly bland in comparison to all the other methods, as I’m finding typical with this brewing method.
Hario V60: Similar to the Chemex. Not bad at all, just not my favorite method.
Summary: The description on the bag describes it as “vibrant, bright, and hopeful, this blend encapsulates the spirit of a champagne toast on New Year’s Eve.” Given that one of the tasting notes was sauvignon blanc, I was a little apprehensive that this coffee would taste boozy/fermented, but it did not have any alcoholic tasting notes, to my relief.
From the roaster: complex citrus, white flowers, sauvignon blanc, peach rings
This coffee is no longer available from Black and White, but here is a link to their online shop:
Black and White Coffee Roasters Online Store
Review conducted 27 days post-roast.