Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Mugged: The Coffee Dispatch


Coffee Subscription Service: The Coffee Dispatch
Roasters / Coffees / Rating [see key]:
- Messenger Coffee Co: Papua New Guinea Waghi Valley 5+
- Thou Mayest: Ethiopia Kochere 5+
- Broadway Roasting Co: Ethiopia Sidamo 5+
- City Market Coffee Roasters: A Brewed Awakening 4+
- Parisi Coffee - omitted (see below)
- The Roasterie - omitted (see below)

Kansas City is the one Missourian city I have not had a chance to tour. Due to family and Missouri's central location, I've been to the other major metropolitan centers of the Show Me State, some of them multiple times. Yet even though I've flown into Kansas City, I still anticipate the day when I can roam her streets and sample her wares firsthand.

While I wait for my trip to KC, thankfully I can tide myself over with a taste of the city's coffees via The Coffee Dispatch. A coffee subscription service offering beans from solely Kansas City coffee roasters makes it possible to do a KC coffee crawl without the airline ticket. I received a box from them some weeks back with six different coffees from six different roasters. Four of the coffees were whole bean, each of which I took for as many infusions as the quantities allowed (some were only four ounces; some were more). Two of the coffees were included as pre-ground packets, a practice The Coffee Dispatch has dispatched of since. Given that they now only send whole bean coffee, I omitted my thoughts on the coffees from The Roasterie and Parisi Coffee.

The first coffee to the plate was Messenger Coffee Co's Papua New Guinea, a washed coffee from the Waghi Valley. The pourover dished out notes of chocolate, caramel, apple pie, slight cilantro, a little birch and elderberry, making for a light, rich coffee. The french press sang much brighter, with notes of blueberry pie, rhubarb, pound cake, fig, strong escarole and slight drinking chocolate with a cider mouth feel in a light to medium body. Both infusions were delicious.

Next up was the Ethiopia Kochere from Thou Mayest. The pourover purveyed frosted flakes, wonton soup, apple and nougat, with slight cumin and parsley on the back, all in a light to medium body, proving sweet and slightly vegetal with some great nuance. Similarly, the french press delivered nougat, corn flakes, chicken broth, apples, parsley and a lil elderberry in a lighter body. This coffee proved very flavorful, though not as bombastic as other Kocheres I have sipped. 

Number three to bat was the Broadway Ethiopia Sidamo, a natural coffee they champion for it's fruitiness. The pourover delivered, with definitive strawberry along with some corn chip, spinach, pineapple, nutmeg, nougat and toasted wheat cracker within a medium body, all together conveying a sweet yet varied coffee. The french press pushed out strawberry candy, nougat, mango, nutmeg, fresh bread and a little lettuce, proving bright and sweet.

The final coffee came from City Market Coffee Roasters, a blend called A Brewed Awakening. Given the smaller quantity sent, I only had this coffee via pourover. The brew presented chocolate, malt, apple, roasted almond, some tobacco, half and half and a little nutmeg, making for a coffee that was tasty and a little roasty. 

In summation, I found my Coffee Dispatch experience great, especially given the current stance on whole bean coffee only. If you seek a varied look at the best Kansas City has to offer, check out a box from The Coffee Dispatch.


Note: The coffee was provided free of charge, the above review is objective feedback.

1 comment:

Julia Jhonson said...

Everyone knows Cafe Americano.
But a few years ago, a South Korean coffee shop called "Alex The coffee" (my name is alex and I am not making this up, ha ha ha) had the genius idea (not very sure about this "genius" part.. anyway) of taking Americano one step further into the modern day.
Instead of pouring hot water on espresso, they used a chilled can of Coca Cola, pouring it all over ice for a sweet and sparkling shot of high fructose perfection.