Coffee is a low-hanging fruit (ie a perfect gift). But how to choose?
The answer is: choose a blend.
Blends are allowed to be fun; you’re allowed to combine them with milk and they’re usually built to be crowd pleasers.
This wraps them in a spongey layer of forgiveness.
Singles tend to be more serious. The really good ones are best enjoyed sans cow juice and they are not built to please a crowd.
Singles are grown or cultivated to have certain characteristics (note I’m talking about single-origin-single-varieties here). These coffees were set in motion by human hands but ultimately the effects of Gaia and the country are what made it beautiful.
Beauty – so the saying goes – is in the cup of the beholder – ie discerning coffee snobs with preferences.
And preference is a decidedly more papery wrapping than forgiveness.
But wait – I’m not suggesting that all blends are fair game as gifts.
For a gift, I’d look into limited release blends; seasonal/festive blends and blends that are remarkable classics.
I’m talking creative mixes – origin/processing/variety combinations that you aren’t likely to find from another roaster. Gives them that special something-something that makes them a gift ya know?
I chose three coffees to gift recently (they all went to the same person – lucky as). Stitch’s Rose of Shahrazad, Sleepy Bloc’s Rum Baba and Sunny Coffee’s Finca La Palma (which is not a blend, I know, but I’ll explain).
Why Rose of Shahrazad? I think this was a no-brainer. It’s seasonal, surprising, delicious and a rose co-fermented coffee is relatively uncommon. I liked it last year as a coconut milky. I basically never make milkies but this one was an exception. It’s better as a milky. It’s also the kind of coffee you would write home about – so why not send a bag if you could?
Why Sleepy Bloc’s Rum Baba? Rose of Shahrazad is quite bombastic and I felt that if I was to get another coffee, it needed to hold its own. Rum Baba is a rum barrel aged coffee. If you’ve never had a coffee like this, then you need to prepare yourself for the booziness. It’s a heavy weight like the Rose for sure but it doesn’t try to squeeze into the same space – instead it raises a flag at the opposite pole.
What’s with the single from Sunny? Tis ironic I added a single to the mix. And the reason was to provide some respite from the blends. I chose very loud blends. A clean fruity single should balance out the perfumed notes of the Rose and the rummy notes of the Rum Baba. I could have chosen a lighter blend it’s true but a nice single from a niche roaster is a worthy substitute. I certainly wouldn’t be peeved if someone gave this to me!
brewmanshu 