Cafe De Zaruma (Ecuador)

Jan 18, 2008
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Just received a kilogram of Ecuadorian coffee from my ex wife.
It's finely ground, almost turkish ground and came triple bagged.
The outer bag reads:
"El Cafetal" Cafe de Zaruma (Coffee of Zaruma, Ecuador)
El Mejor De Mundo (The best of the world)

This is not a review. It's a plea for someone to tell me what the heck this stuff is! The grounds are a nice brown in color and smell quite mild, almost chocolaty fresh. But from the pot it's like nothing I've tried before. It's incredibly strong & harsh. Like a burned licorice taste that lingers well after drinking. It could be the roast itself or it could be the beans, I don't know. First impression is awful, but maybe it will grow on me in time.

What is this stuff??? :?
 

PinkRose

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Feb 28, 2008
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Hey Mr. Biscotto,

It was very nice of your "ex" wife to send you the coffee from Ecuador. It must have been a welcome surprise. I'm glad you tried it as soon as you received it.

The coffee experts on this forum will probably give you some ideas about the coffee and what you should expect from the flavor profile, etc.

I've read that in the U.S. we don't see much coffee from Ecuador because it is mainly robusta, which is a harsher coffee, and that the big coffee manufacturers use it as a main component in instant coffee. I seriously doubt that she sent you a whole bag of instant coffee.

Here's an idea....since sometimes robustas are used in espresso blends, maybe you could try mixing some of it with some of your other single origin coffees and create your own espresso blend. :)

Don't forget to thank your "ex" wife for the gift. I'm sure you'll find the right words to nicely describe the coffee's unique flavor.

Rose
 
Jan 18, 2008
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Ms. PinkRose, you know I think you're right. Robusta! It is so strong, I had to wash it down with half a dozen full sized biscotti, LOL. It reminds me why I used to put cream in my instant coffee. That's it. The after taste, or whatever the proper term is, is just like instant coffee without cream or sugar.

Don't worry, I will be polite and thank her for the coffee.... How do you say "icky" in Spanish? Ha! Gee, too bad, because it has such a pleasant aroma in the bag.
 

PinkRose

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Hello again, Eddie

Is the pleasant aroma when you opened the bag similar to what you used to smell when you opened a can of coffee (before your started grinding your own beans)? If only the coffee tasted as good as it smells!

It's a shame the coffee tastes so yucky. I have a feeling your "ex" spent a lot of money on shipping.

Now it's your turn to send something to her....

Rose
 
Jan 18, 2008
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Maybe its just my mind playing tricks, but I think my brewer at work is tainted now. My Ethiopian at home was delish this morning, however my Sumatran at work has a slight freaky tang to it now. Hmmm...

Yeah, too bad that some coffees don't live up to their fresh aroma in flavor.

Not sure how to break it to her except to mention that now I know why she dumps cream & sugar into her coffee. I even tried that and it just got worse. Wow, no wonder people think coffee is bad.

I want to start serving real coffees to my customers here, in airpots. A Sumatran, a Kenyan and a Colombian, all pure origins, no mixed breeds because I'm terrible at blending. Coffee from the dark side only, no cream & sugar available. $3 per cup, includes un biscotto of your choice.
 

shadow745

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I don't know about other extraction methods, but supposedly the true test for espresso is that it should taste as good as the beans smell when just ground. That's a pretty tall feat in itself. I've had some shots that are like that, but not too often. Later!
 

PinkRose

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What? You're planning to serve coffee and not offer any cream and sugar? That's not fair to those folks who "prefer the light side" .... even if you offer a free biscotti to go with it.

Keep in mind that some people, especially those who have hypoglycemia, have to have some cream in their coffee because the coffee itself spikes their blood sugar levels, and they need a little bit of protein from the milk (or half and half) to help balance things out.


Rose
 

shadow745

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caffe biscotto said:
PinkRose wants lattes :p

Shadow745 is too cool for drip coffee 8)

Omegapd wants donuts :wink:

Can't please everyone... :cry:

Funny! Seriously years ago I never cared for coffee at all, but wanted natural energy for bodybuilding/powerlifting. My wife suggested coffee and I told her I didn't think so. Well it was cheap and plentiful so I started with instant. That didn't last long. Then went to drip with preground. Then to drip with me grinding my own beans. Then to Gevalia which is pretty good stuff. Then to steam espresso. Then to my first pump machine being used with preground Gevalia. To my current setup which is a modded KA Pro Line pump machine and matching grinder. I've earned my right to sip the spro. LOL..... If you know anything about bodybuilding/powerlifting you know nothing is never strong or good enough, so straight shots were a natural for me. Later!
 
Jan 18, 2008
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Shadow745, thanks for opening up, good story and I agree coffee does provide a natural energy boost and is probably better for you than the sugary carbohydrate "energy drinks" they try to sell bodybuilders. But that's another story.

Anyway, this topic is still open to anyone who has any info related to "El Cafetal" Cafe de Zaruma Ecuadorian coffee. It smells so good, yet packs somewhat of a nasty bitter tangy punch. I want to describe the flavor as funky too, but that could be translated to mean so many different things. The grinds smell wonderfully fresh, but brewed, tastes old and has a stinky aftertaste, like chewing on an old dirty sock, ha, sorry but that's what I get from it. :(
 
Ecuadorian Coffee

Ah Biscotto,

I may have told you about my experience in Ecuador, by way of my daughter's exchange program there. We visited her for a couple of weeks and were able to "live" the coffee culture there.

For those in Ecuador who drink coffee, this is their technique:

*Source Parmalat Shelf Stable milk (all they have there, save raw milk from the farm)
*Heat Parmalat on stove to boiling
*Add Nescafe Instant Coffee
*Add copious quantities of sugar

Enjoy ... if possible

I was given by one of our generous hosts a bag of coffee grown, roasted and ground in Ecuador. It appeared to be a "gift" item, in that it was over packed in a little burlap bag with a hemp string tie, with retail printing on the outside. Inside was a "brick" of very finely ground coffee. To me it was designed for espresso. I used my machine to try it out. It was very potent, but drinkable. Freshness was a factor which tainted the judgment on flavor. But it was interesting. The gesture was very much appreciated.

Other than my Nescafe/Ecuador experience and the burlap bag, I've only enjoyed coffee from Ecuador at my local Whole Foods. It was enjoyable. Dark and spicy ... unusual.

Mako
 
Jan 18, 2008
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Re: Ecuadorian Coffee

MakoShark said:
...Other than my Nescafe/Ecuador experience and the burlap bag, I've only enjoyed coffee from Ecuador at my local Whole Foods. It was enjoyable. Dark and spicy ... unusual.

Mako

You know, sometimes I use my posts and the resulting replies for future reference. Other posts simply serve as bait for playing with my analytics tools. I should have known that this post on Ecuadorian coffee, would ensnare a mighty shark.

How good of you to swim through the shallow waters of the coffee forums MakoShark and thank you for the relevant info pertaining to my coffee dilemma.

Now, of course this isn’t Nescafe in my office, but some kind of funky stuff (funky in a bad way), that even copious amounts of milk and sugar could not tame. It’s neither dark nor spicy. It was a nasty sourness that I endured. I’m sure now that it must be pure robusta. I’m also pretty sure it’s why all of my friends from Ecuador dump heaps of sugar into their mugs. They must be accustomed to drinking horrible tasting coffee.

On the bright side, just this morning I gave Byron a fresh mug of pure Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and he didn’t even ask for sugar or cream. I explained to him the differences, as I understand them, between coffees from African countries and other regions. As I handed him his second full mug, I continued to explain why we don’t need to cover the flavors of real coffee with other ingredients. I’m trying to “educate by the cup”, you see...

So anyway, as the melancholic months of winter approach, I hope you can come out of hibernation now and again to stop in and stir up a little fun for us coffee forum addicts.

BTW - Our friend, the clever Ccafe, has been promoted to forum admin.! Good for him, he's well deserving of it as you are aware. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t lose his great tolerance for those of us who enjoy spinning a little coffee yarn once in awhile. That is of course, as long as we can keep it coffee industry related.... :D
 
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