Sunday, April 10, 2016

Mugged: White Tale Coffee


Subject: White Tale Coffee
Coffees Mugged and Rating [see key]:
- La Mirella Costa Rica 5+
- Orestes Kenya 6+

Years ago, coffee was only fleetingly associated with the regions it was grown. Sure the geography was identified with such stamps as "100% Colombian" or "The Taste of Hawaii" but rarely were the farmers given more recognition than the small wage they received for their beans. Today, coffee roasters have strived to not only give the coffee farmers their fair recognition, but also the best wage through the establishment of (more) direct relationships. One such roaster out of Colorado that prides itself on telling the whole story is White Tale Coffee.

With the majority of their team comprised of native Colombians, White Tale aims to tell as much of the tale of their coffee offerings as possible. New to their establishment, I was able to try out two of their coffees in the realm of my home lab: their La Mirella, a light roast coffee from an organic micro-mil in central Costa Rica; and Orestes, a medium roasted Kenya from a fourth-generation coffee farmer of the Thika Plateau. I sampled both coffees by pourover, french press and siphon.

Going by geographical proximity, the La Mirella went first. The pourover produced a cup full of almond milk, vanilla, apple spongecake, cola, a little rosemary, light chocolate and prune, proving hearty and sweet with a deep body. The french press resonated a slightly lighter bodied brew of vanilla, nougat, apple pie, almonds, cream, cake, rosemary and raisin. The siphon made for a smooth and sumptuous infusion of almond milk, pear, caramel, rosemary and raisin in a deep body. All together, a sweet and deep coffee with some nice facets. 

The Kenyan came next, with the pourover making a syrupy, fruity brew of strawberry, caramel, grape tomato, apricot tort, black cherry and roasted spinach in a light/medium body. The french press delivered similar bright fireworks of strawberry, nougat, grape tomato, asiago biscuits, powdered sugar and sesame seeds in a light body. The siphon completed the trifecta, with a rapturous brew of raspberry, tomato, sugar cookie, asiago cheese, and shredded wheat in a light body. 

All in all, I was impressed with the flavor and quality of these two coffees from White Tale. Whether you seek to try a new coffee or a coffee subscription of their beans, you can be assured to get a full back story on the coffee when you order from White Tale. Give them a go. 


note: coffee was provided free of charge and the above review is objective feedback.

2 comments:

Anna said...

I love your hugely in-depth description of the coffees here, I can almost taste them myself! You're right, it's only relatively recently that coffee roasters have wanted to treat and pay coffee farmers fairly through direct relationships, as well as give them their due recognition. It's all part of the current third wave coffee movement that wants to go beyond 'fair trade'. This 'above and beyond' treatment and established relationship is beneficial to everyone involved and really does make a massive difference to the end product. Also, it's great to know the full back story of where the coffee you're drinking comes from.

Bisuzs Coffee said...

Such a detailed explanation of the coffees, thank you for sharing this with us who hadn't try it out yet :)