{"id":1717,"date":"2015-12-11T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2015-12-11T15:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=1717"},"modified":"2016-02-05T16:08:57","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T22:08:57","slug":"review-supersonic-colombia-alto-de-topa-berkeley-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=1717","title":{"rendered":"Review: Supersonic Colombia Alto de Topa (Berkeley, California)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supersonic Coffee, based in northern California, currently does not have a storefront (they are working on opening their own coffee bar) but their beans are available wholesale, online, and at a number of coffee shops around the country.\u00a0I’ve been wanting to pick up a bag of their\u00a0coffee for some time now, since I saw Houndstooth Coffee in Dallas starting to carry their beans, and I finally got an opportunity this week. Bonus, the bag came with a free Britpop earworm!<\/a><\/p>\n

The About<\/a>\u00a0page on Supersonic’s website is worth a read; it gets me pretty fired up to drink their coffee.<\/p>\n

Whole bean: Wow, what a complex aroma! I noted tea leaves, marshmallows, rainier cherries, and lemon. This varietal smells quite sweet.<\/p>\n

V60: I made this twice because the first batch I made (at a 3:08 extraction time) came out slightly bitter. I was oddly reminded of peanut skins (the papery stuff that surrounds peanuts in their shells). Once\u00a0I adjusted\u00a0my grinder setting a couple of notches coarser, I ended up with a 2:45 extraction time and this cup was much better; dark chocolate aroma and flavor with a hint of floral character on the finish. Gorgeous cup.<\/p>\n

AeroPress: The concentrate made a lemony, floral, bright brew with a thick body. Once I added just a touch of water, the coffee smoothed out to reveal a milk chocolate + marshmallow flavor. Very sweet.<\/p>\n

Chemex: Amazingly complex in the cup. This tastes like a symphony. All the flavors (minus the peanut skins) that I noted previously were in here, and they blended into a beautiful harmonious brew. The aftertaste spun and lingered for a long time on the palate (I didn’t time it but it was definitely over 30 seconds).<\/p>\n

French press: Chocolate, marshmallow, and a hint of lemon. Rich and satisfying.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong>: A deliciously complex and satisfying coffee that had a great result in all brew methods I tried, but my personal vote would be in the Chemex for the amazing depth of flavor. It was also particularly lovely in the V60 (just be sure not to over-extract the coffee).<\/p>\n

From the roaster: Green apple, rose hip, elegant<\/p>\n

Supersonic Coffee Colombia Alto de Topa<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Supersonic Coffee, based in northern California, currently does not have a storefront (they are working on opening their own coffee bar) but their beans are available wholesale, online, and at a number of coffee shops around the country.\u00a0I’ve been wanting to pick up a bag of their\u00a0coffee for some time now, since I saw Houndstooth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"\"Supersonic is for the brave. Those who know that nothing is ever as good as it could be. That\u2019s what we are made of.\" \r\n\r\nI just finished a 12 oz cup of this stuff and I certainly feel ready to break the sound barrier!","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[156,155,3,154,10],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/tn_IMG_2368.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":607,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=607","url_meta":{"origin":1717,"position":0},"title":"Review: Stumptown Ecuador Cariamanga Organic (Portland, Oregon)","date":"June 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This bag of Stumptown beans was an impulse buy; it ended up being the final bag of coffee beans I purchased while in Seattle. I had never tried beans from Ecuador before but the description on the bag sounded good, and the beans were extremely fresh. Incidentally, almost all of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AeroPress"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tn_IMG_1092.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6710,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=6710","url_meta":{"origin":1717,"position":1},"title":"Review: Cat & Cloud Coffee Best Friends Blend (Santa Cruz, California)","date":"May 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I picked up this bag from Cat & Cloud at the Wayward Coffee location in Dallas's Design District. The Best Friends blend is intended for espresso, but as I don't have an espresso machine anymore, I will be solely be evaluating these beans brewed as coffee. Hario V60: This had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2788-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2852,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2852","url_meta":{"origin":1717,"position":2},"title":"Review: Weekend Coffee Roasters Mexico Organic Altura Finca San Carlos (San Jose, California)","date":"November 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I was recently contacted by the nice people at Weekend Coffee Company, based out of Northern California. I like that they're a family-owned company, and they received the \"Editors Choice\" award in the 2017 Metro \"Best of Silicon Valley\" issue. 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Definite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Africa"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_9621-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5582,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=5582","url_meta":{"origin":1717,"position":4},"title":"Review: Prosum Roasters Colombia Paraiso Jose Ignacio Gomez (Albuquerque, New Mexico)","date":"February 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the second coffee I got over the holidays from Prosum Roasters; you can read more about their company mission and my visit to their roastery here. Whole bean: There was just the barest sheen of oil on these beans. Very evenly roasted. Once the hot water hit the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AeroPress"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG-5803-e1548594584208.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2632,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2632","url_meta":{"origin":1717,"position":5},"title":"Review: Eiland Coffee Costa Rica Hacienda Sonora (Richardson, Texas)","date":"June 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Eiland Coffee has become a somewhat go-to coffee company for me when I'm looking to keep things local (Dallas). 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