DESCRIPTION
Strength: 6
Smooth Espresso
Flavour Notes: Honey, Berry, Caramel
Unspoiled and forgotten are the shores of Lake Toba. Delicious semi-washed beans derived from Sumatra.
Blend that with amazing Ethiopian, the mecca of coffee. An instant classic is created.This tongue twisting
classic has plenty of viscosity.An enticing Jezebel.
Family Farm | Forest Coffee | Hand Picked | Uncertified Organic
A Memorable Journey: Loxoboxo Espresso It was a journey that would change my life - a trip to Sumatra, the land of exotic flavors and aromatic wonders. As an accountant seeking a new path, I embarked on an adventure to source and ship Sumatran coffee beans directly to my hometown of Townsville.
With a contact in Parapat, a vibrant trading hub on the shores of Lake Toba, I set off on a four-day journey during the Easter Break. The route was long but full of anticipation. From Townsville to Brisbane, then a fortunate 17-hour flight to Jakarta, followed by a bus ride of six hours through the scenic landscapes, I was determined to make my dream a reality.
However, fate had other plans for me. Midway through the bus journey, exhaustion and a sudden flu struck, leaving me weak and ill. Desperately needing respite, I disembarked the bus and collapsed into a roadside ditch, hidden from view. Hours passed, and as I regained consciousness, I realized I had deviated from my intended path. Surrounded by modest shacks with corrugated roofs and wooden walls, a lively atmosphere of laughter and conversations filled the air.
Curiosity overtook me, and I began wandering through the welcoming community. Smiling faces greeted me, offering comfort and hospitality. It was then that I encountered Loxoboxo, a kind-hearted local who extended a helping hand. With a banana and a cup of water, Loxoboxo guided me to a humble abode for the night, complete with a mud floor, plastic furniture, and a pristine plastic bed adorned with freshly ironed linen.
After a refreshing sleep, I awoke to Loxoboxo's familiar smile and another banana and cup of water. Following their guidance, I found myself in a simple bathroom with a hole in the ground and strips of timber covering parts of the muddy floor. In the corner stood a sturdy breeze block structure, serving as a bathtub filled with water. Using a saucepan as a ladle, I immersed myself in the refreshing bath, unaware of the surprise awaiting me.
As the water embraced me, I felt a sharp and slimy touch against my back. Startled, I turned around to find a mysterious presence on the water's surface. Reacting swiftly, I reached for the nearby saucepan and gave it a firm whack. To my astonishment, a sizeable fish emerged, revealing itself as an unexpected bath companion. Dressed and ready to continue my journey, I bid farewell to Loxoboxo, who had kindly arranged my bus ride, and expressed my gratitude, albeit omitting the peculiar encounter.
With newfound stories and memories, I left behind the smiling faces and embarked on the next leg of my adventure. Although my original plan had gone awry, the unplanned detour had gifted me a glimpse into the warmth and generosity of the Sumatran people. Now, as a coffee roaster, I bring the spirit of Sumatra to your cup. Each batch of our Sumatran espresso coffee embodies the essence of my remarkable journey - the rich flavors, earthy undertones, and warm hospitality that define Sumatran coffee.
Espresso blends are specially crafted and optimized for brewing espresso. They are a combination of different coffee beans carefully selected and roasted to create a range of unique flavour profiles.
The goal of any espresso blend is to achieve a harmonious balance of flavours, acidity, body, and crema—the rich, golden layer that tops a well-made espresso shot. And it is the blending allows coffee roasters to combine beans with distinct characteristics to create a more complex and well-rounded flavour in the final cup.Espresso blends typically consist of a variety of coffee beans sourced from different regions or countries. Each component brings its own set of attributes to the blend, such as flavour notes like chocolate and nuttiness. It is with the careful selecting and combination of beans that a roaster can create a blend that showcases the best qualities of each component.
Roasting plays a crucial role in the development of an espresso blend. The beans are typically roasted to a medium to dark roast level to enhance body, sweetness, and caramelization while maintaining enough acidity to provide a balanced taste. The roast profile is carefully calibrated to ensure that the beans extract optimally during the short brewing time of an espresso shot.The resulting espresso blend is characterized by a full-bodied, intense flavour with a well-rounded acidity and a thick, velvety crema. It is specifically designed to be brewed using an espresso machine, which applies pressure to force hot water through finely ground coffee at a controlled rate, resulting in a concentrated and aromatic beverage.Our espresso blends are carefully crafted combination of coffee beans that aims to create a flavourful and balanced espresso experience, showcasing our expertise and the unique qualities of the beans used in the blend.Like most subjective aspects of coffee, strength is subjective. It’s even hard to define. Evidently, everyone wants, like in love, something different in their relationship with coffee whether it can be in mouthfeel, viscosity or flavour.
The Strong Espresso Collection offers a range of dark roast profiles and blends that are progressively roasted darker. Each blend takes a particular green bean origin and processing method to create a key attribute of the blend. Then further body and flavour complexity is derived by blending an additional componentry of beans in density, size and origin.The Table below is a guide to each of the blend attributes and mirrors the targets of the roaster, Joe, to measure the outcomes of the particular roast profile.
Strength
With the flavour of dark notes, their intensity increases as greater heat and advancing time increasingly influences the roast outcome. The Strength figure reflects this progressive change in cup profile.Acidity There is also an inevitable change in the mouthfeel of the blend as it advances along the roast profile timeline, this is in the form of a naturally declining acidity in the cup as the related compounds, principally mild quinnic, malic and acetic acids are destroyed by the advancing heat and time. We simply express a starting point for Acidity measurement as an indicative % and this reduces to effectively zilch and a very smooth and flat cup profile is produced.
Development Time Ratio [DTR%]
Progressive time in the roaster is measured from first crack by the roaster and is calculated as time from First Crack to the end of the roast, as a percentage of total roast time. Roasters enjoy nothing more than discussing DTR%, so we included it here for you to be part of the conversation.
First Crack and Second Crack
In the roasting process the coffee beans has two stages when they make a distinctive cracking sound. At first crack the last of the water vapour in the bean is driven out through the porous ends of the beans and they are cinnamon in colour. It is only at this point that you can make anything in the name of coffee.
Around an equal amount of time that the beans took to get to first crack there is a second crack sound in the roast caused by the release of carbon dioxide through the beans. At this stage the beans are going to be notably darker in colour. You can roast through and after second crack but it will not be far thereafter that the beans will simply combust and glow like burning embers.
There is no definite rule as to determine the starting point of a dark roast in description of colour or otherwise. A roaster would certainly say that a starting point for general discussion about this starting point might be “Towards second crack.”
A definition of a coffee snob might be a person who refuses to drink a dark roast on the premise of lack of complexity in the cup. The argument is that a dark roast destroys the inherent flavour complexity of a bean, as flavour are burnt up and out of the chimney to the delight of passersby’s and replaced with a singular smooth cup.
A beans density has a lot to do with the outcome of any dark roast. A seed that is denser in its organic structure then another, for example an almond nut is denser than a cashew nut. Therefore it will take a lot more heat than the cashew before incinerating. That is, its centre will still taste nutty when the cashew nut is charring at centre. A denser or harder green coffee bean carries more flavour because it has taken a longer time to mature, it is slower growing and has gained a more fibrous structure. It will also take the heat. A darker roast requires a blend of differing density beans in order that there is a range of dark roast flavours. We tend towards a particular bean density and origin in any blend.
Blend Components
A strong coffee might be simply described as a coffee blend containing 100% Robusta beans as in instant coffee. This bean varietal is say half the price of arabica beans and it can have a very rough and ready taste reminiscent of motor oil and burnt rubber. It generates more coffee oils, and has double the caffeine.
There are an increasing amount of specialty robusta beans coming to market, Estate Robustas, sun dried and wet processed and we use this new sourcing within the blends.
1. Remove handle (portafilter) from machine.
2. Fill the portafilter with 20g of coffee ground (Adjust the measurements and times proportionally if your quantity is more or less).
3. Distribute the coffee evenly around the basket, goaling an equal bed depth when tamped.
4. Press coffee tamper firmly and evenly down on the coffee.
5. Lock the handle back into your espresso machine and start a shot.
6. This pour should take between 35 seconds (plus or minus 5 seconds) and produce 45ml of espresso including crema.
7. The espresso shot will change from a dark brown colour to a pale blonde colour before finishing.
Espresso should pour slowly starting as a drip and turning into a fine pour.
8. Change to a finer grind setting if the shot runs too quickly.
9. Change to a coarser grind setting if the shot runs too slowly.
10. Always use heated cups to preserve the crema.
Grinding your coffee immediately before use.
Using fresh coffee. Coffee over 3 months old is inevitably stale.
Monitoring grind size, goal a 4 minute extraction to commence with.
Water quality makes a difference, tap water is treated for health outcomes not quality. Use the best water quality you can obtain for the best result.
See our Table for indicative weights and measures for brewing.