I’m finishing up the last of the Honey Badger Seasonal Espresso Blend from Intelligentsia and I’ve found that I actually like that coffee more when brewed in the V60. As the name implies, Honey Badger is intended to be a bright, bold, and fierce espresso. Intelligentsia recommended some unusual shot parameters to tame the acidity, recommending pulls at 18 grams in to 54 grams out in 42 seconds. These parameters did do just that, but I actually found the coffee to be blander with such a high yield and found what improved flavor the most was A LOT of rest. Pulling this coffee 14+ days post roast is preferred. My favorite shots were pulled at 18 in > 36 g out in 35 seconds, including 3-5 seconds of preinfusion at 203*F.
Brewed on the V60, the coffee was light, sweet, and had mild and pleasant acidity. I used a pretty standard recipe of 1:16 ratio with 203*F water and a 2:45 – 3:00 brew time for a 23.4g > 375g brew. The coffee was a bit more tea like, but in a very good way, and I found it to be very clean and great on the palette. It also looks like their new seasonal espresso, Sugar Glider is now on sale.
I’m also starting to crack into Agua Preta Brazil Single Origin Espresso from Intelligentsia, and if the description is any indication, this shouldn’t be your average comfort like Brazilian. Follow along on Instagram for the dialing in on this one.
Last but not least, I wanted to try and give a heads up to what I have on order and in the pipeline if anyone wants to order along and share their recipes and findings. This month, I’m really excited that I ordered from Black and White Coffee Roasters. Founded by the 2016 and 2017 United States Barista Champions, Lem Butler and Kyle Ramage, Black and White brings quite a pedigree of knowledge and skill to this new business. Both guys are very original players in the specialty coffee scene, and I get the sense that they are both super passionate and in tune with making exceptional coffees. I have coming:
I’m super excited to see what these coffees bring, and can’t wait to dig into them. Once these are gone, I’m not quite sure where I’ll order from next, so if you have any suggestions of what you’d like to see, let me know in the comments below.