Mugged: Kenya Kagumoini [Klatch]

Subject: Klatch Coffee
Mugged: Kenya Kagumoini Mugaga Cooperative
Rating [see key]: 5+


As an ardent fan of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, I found it most excellent (years ago) to find out that San Dimas, CA was home to a highly reputed coffeehouse and roaster named Klatch Coffee. Over the years, while I could never seem to secure an actual visit to the city, I have had interactions with their coffee in other spots (such as Las Vegas, Seattle's 2012 Coffee Fest and at home), all of them quite scrumptious.

Of course, until I can get to the home of the Wyld Stallyns, I shall continue to check out Klatch's coffee from time to time from far away. Most recently, they were generous enough to send out two coffees for review, the first being their Kenya Kagumoini. A coffee coming from the Mugaga Cooperative, grown around 5,249 ft up, I tend to be a lover of East Africa coffees and took this coffee to town via my pourover, french press and siphon.

The pourover produced a cup brimming with rich cocoa, blackberry, wheat, some grapefruit and a little vanilla wafer. A vibrant and bright coffee with a beautiful complexity.

The french press took the brightness up a notch, with heavy smatterings of pineapple balanced with caramel cookie, nutmeg and chocolate milk, overall making it deeper and brighter.

The siphon was more akin to the drip, with notes of cocoa, blackberry, peach, vanilla wafer, Sprite and a little molasses. While the end note was a bit deeper, twas overall a bright and sweet coffee.

Needless to say, this Kenyan coffee was most triumphant in all it touched and would be a great coffee for any breakfast or late night study session at the Circle K. Give Klatch's Kenya Kagumoini a try if you seek a bright, sweet and fruity coffee.

note: coffee was provided free of charge and the above review is objective feedback. note also that I do not apologize for the gratuitous Bill and Ted references, though I am sure such references cause Klatch occasionally to regret their location.

Mugged: El Salvador Las Mercedes [Klatch Coffee]

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What does "Mugged" mean?

Subject: Klatch Coffee
Coffees Mugged: El Salvador Las Mercedes
Rating: 5+ [see key]



When I was in LA some months ago, there was a coffee operation in San Dimas called Klatch Coffee (or Coffee Klatch; your call as the website states both) that I had really wanted to stop at but given distance and lack of time, I unfortunately missed out (most heinous).

Yet the opportunity to sample their wares ended up landing on my doorstep with a partially comped order from quality coffee purveyor GoCoffeeGo. To put in my two cents about GoCoffeeGo, they definitely have a great selection, great service and good delivery as the coffee arrived quickly and also directly from the roaster (in this case, Klatch Coffee). Thus, all was swell and the only thing that tore my opinion was that it came straight from the roaster; a great thing for freshness, but a bad thing for shipping/carbon foot print when you order three coffees from different roasters like I ended up doing (usually, the allure of such companies is the one bulk price for all one locale).

Anyway, I ended up picking Klatch's El Salvador Las Mercedes Pepinal 1 Micro Lot, a nice direct trade, lightly roasted coffee that has been Cup of Excellence worthy in past years.

I brewed the coffee in the typical gamut of methods: french press, drip and siphon. The french press produced a sweet coffee with the flavors of wheat grass, sweet nougat, a little tinge of pomegranate and a bit of lager. The drip provided an also sweet cup with a little more earthiness and more of a wheat taste as well as more of a sweet cherry sauce and a bit more of an oolong-like body. The vacuum press, brewed a little later in the time of my possession (like 4 days out), made a much more of a nougat-ey coffee with only subtle hints of wheat grass and the pomegranate, plus a tinge of sweet wine and noticeable spice cake; a pleasant development.

To encapsulate, the coffee was a grand addition to my daily ingestion and I feel slightly less sad about not getting to visit the cafe of Klatch Coffee when I was in LA (especially since they apparently have the World's Best Espresso Blend).

If you're looking for a grand El Salvador coffee, take the Las Mercedes of Klatch Coffee for a spin.