Fresh Roast: Flor Azul (Intelligentsia)
Intelligentsia’s Nicaraguan Flor Azul might just be my favorite coffee ever. Every cup I’ve made from these beans has been delicious, with a gorgeously rich and subtle sweetness. I make one cup, and with the first sip, I’m ready to brew another. Intelligentsia calls out fruit flavors ranging from apple to pear and sugar cane. But, I get more than that from this cup. I get vanilla and creme caramel. I find hints of dark chocolate molten lava cake.
Beyond the fantastic quality of these beans, there is a great story behind Nicaraguan coffees. Large coffee estates suffered in the 80’s due to political issues and civil unrest. However, the large estates were divided and the resulting small farms have created a co-op culture, and have increased the overall quality of the beans as well as improving prosperity of the area. Flor Azul comes from the La Brumas co-op. Intelligentsia has developed a close relationship with the co-op, and generally pays the farmers more than other coffee distributors, with the belief that this will continue to increase the consistency and quality of their supplies. There’s a great article in the Chicago Tribune on Intelligentsia’s interaction with the Nicaraguan farmers.
The beans are particularly tolerant, and I got great results with both a City and Full City+ roast, and a fine grind. Roasting yielded little smoke, and a moderate amount of chaff and made my house smell amazing. Hmm. It sounds so good just writing about it, I think I might have to go pull myself another cup.
