I spent all of last week traveling in the Northeast and one of my must hit stops was George Howell Coffee in Boston. George Howell is an original player in coffee since the second wave; his first chain of 24 stores was bought by Starbucks in 1994! He now focuses on high quality coffee that showcases each varietal's terrior. This washed and dry sorted Bourbon varietal from the Antigua region of Guatemala is said to have tasting notes of plum, cherry, and raspberry, and it is good!
A great coffee with rich history from a great roaster with rich history.
Because I used this whole bag while travelling, this will be short and sweet. I was only able to brew this coffee in the Aerobie Aeropress and on a generic auto drip, both ground with a Hario Mini Mill hand grinder. I love that I can throw the Aeropress and a hand grinder in my carry on and have good coffee anywhere I can find hot water.
In the Aeropress, I eyeballed about 17 - 18 grams of coffee on a medium to medium-fine grind and brewed a classic inverted recipe of:
- 17 grams of coffee, in the inverted Aeropress
- Fill with water about 30 seconds off boil
- Stir
- Top off with water
- Add cap with pre-rinsed paper filter
- Flip the Aeropress onto a mug while rolling or rotating the barrel
- Pull up on the plunger slightly if needed to keep it from dripping out
- Begin the slow, steady, body weight kind of lean on the top plunge at 1 minute in
- Finish the press and brewing at 1:30 and let cool to enjoy
Great resealable bags from George Howell.
This coffee was delicious like this, sweet, clean, and increasingly juicy as it cooled, with a nice raspberry acidity and full red fruit mouthfeel.
Later in the week, when catching up with friends, I switched to the rental house's auto drip brewer targeting about 7 grams per cup of water or thereabouts. I adjusted the grind fineness so an 8 cup pot was finishing around 4 or 5 minutes through the (pre-rinsed) basket filter. And although I have no idea what my actual brew ratio or temperature was, the coffee was very tasty. Drinkable, smooth, full bodied, sweet, with acidity and juiciness coming forward again as it cooled.
I really enjoyed this coffee quite a bit, and might have to order another bag for pourover or espresso use. I believe this one was around $17 for a 12 ounce bag, and is still available in limited quantities here. George Howell has a huge offering of coffees from all over the world roasted to different levels, including single origin espressos.