Need Help Please: Identifying A Peculiar Flavor

[JayChay]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here but stumbled upon this forum while trying to figure out how to identify what it is about a small subset of coffees that I just love. A couple of years ago while in a restaurant I had a cup of coffee that tasted unlike any coffee I had experienced before. The only real way I know to describe it is that it was pungent and made me think it was fermented or something; there was something else entirely on top of the normal bitterness of coffee.

Skip to a few weeks ago, I had some coffee at a local coffee shop that had that exact same flavor, but not as strong. Luckily, this place labels their coffees, and the beans for this brew were Birembo from Olympia Coffee Roasting Co in Washington. Looking up the info on that coffee, I discovered that it is a Bourbon varietal from Birembo, Rwanda. I thought maybe the Bourbon varietal part was what conveyed that particular flavor I liked so much, so I then tried another Bourbon varietal from South America, but this one lacked that flavor completely.

So, my question is: Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? What do you call that flavor, and what sorts of coffees have it? Does it have something to do with where the beans are from, or how they are processed, or something else? And most importantly, where can I find coffees that have that flavor? I'm planning to buy some Birembo online (I live in Tennessee, and that coffee is roasted in Washington State), but I would really love to find another coffee bean that has even more of that pungent flavor.

Thanks for reading!

 

[racer7]

Your question probably won't get a solid answer here unless we've got a qualified taster who knows what you're drinking.
Why not call the roaster you purchase from and ask them?
It could be in the bean, a result of processing (eg natural or washed, etc), or the level of roast or some combo.
Even when you know, chasing it might or might not be elusive.

 

[aroaster83]

Coffee flavors come from a wide variety of conditions but the biggest influences are:

Terroir (Growing Conditions) - High grown, pH in soil, rainfall, shade, etc.
Varietal/Cultivar - Type of plant. Bourbon, SL 28, Typica, etc.
Processing - Washed, Natural, Semi-Washed, Pulped, etc.
Roasting - The recipe, if you will.
Brewing - Water temp, ratios, grind size, etc.

Your Birembo from Olympia Coffee Roasters won't be the same as a Birembo from someone else due to roasting, even though it may be the same exact coffee. If you find a coffee you love, stick with it. Olympia is a great roaster.

 

[JayChay]

Coffee flavors come from a wide variety of conditions but the biggest influences are:

Terroir (Growing Conditions) - High grown, pH in soil, rainfall, shade, etc.
Varietal/Cultivar - Type of plant. Bourbon, SL 28, Typica, etc.
Processing - Washed, Natural, Semi-Washed, Pulped, etc.
Roasting - The recipe, if you will.
Brewing - Water temp, ratios, grind size, etc.

Your Birembo from Olympia Coffee Roasters won't be the same as a Birembo from someone else due to roasting, even though it may be the same exact coffee. If you find a coffee you love, stick with it. Olympia is a great roaster.

Thanks! I bought some online from Olympia and had it shipped to me, but my first attempts at brewing it, it lacked the specific taste I was looking for (although I can still smell that particular aroma). Hopefully I'll be able to replicate it eventually...