On Saturday 3 October, three sacks went through Golden one after another at Marché de l'Abattoir: Brazil, Colombia and Ethiopia. Each lot's product page records the same air: 15°C (59°F), 80% humidity, 1031 hPa, overcast. The same hands were on the fire, on the same day. If you are choosing between Brazil, Colombia or Ethiopia coffee, start here: the difference between Brazil, Colombia and Ethiopia coffee comes from the bean, and your brewing method at home decides which of the three will work best for you.
Where the character of Brazil, Colombia or Ethiopia coffee comes from
Laurent read the same morning for all three and took each lot to its own target. Ethiopia stopped at medium-light, meant for filter. Brazil and Colombia went on to medium. The rest comes from the bean, long before it reaches Anderlecht.
Brazil comes from the Cerrado, grown at 800 to 1200 m, natural process: the coffee cherry dries whole, with the bean inside. On the label: chocolate, nuts, blond caramel.
Colombia comes from the Andes, at 1400 to 1800 m, washed. On the label: caramel, soft cocoa, ripe fruit, with acidity and body in the middle of the scale.
Ethiopia grows at 1800 to 2200 m and is washed too. On the label: white flowers, citrus, honey. Where the fruit in an Ethiopian cup comes from is covered in our article on fruity Ethiopian coffee.
Same air and same day for all three, so whatever tastes different in your cup comes from the origin and from the target Laurent chose. Below, for each one: the method where it shows best, a starting recipe, and what to do when it comes out wrong.
Brazil, Colombia or Ethiopia coffee with milk: Brazil is the forgiving one
Full body, low acidity, and the chocolate still holds once milk goes in. This is coffee for a moka pot, espresso and French press. If you want coffee for cappuccino, or for a flat white on a slow Sunday, take this one.
Moka pot recipe: fill the basket level, without pressing. Water up to just below the valve, medium heat. Off the heat at the first hiss.
Espresso recipe: 18 g in the basket, 36 g in the cup, in 25 to 30 seconds.
Bitter and burnt from the moka pot? Lower heat, and take it off sooner. Flat as filter? One step finer on the grinder, or move it to the French press. Watch the plunger there, as explained in our article on bitter French press coffee.
Brazil, Colombia or Ethiopia coffee for setting your grinder: Colombia
Balanced, and at home in almost any method. That is exactly why it makes a good calibration coffee. New grinder, or moving to filter? Start with Colombian coffee in a V60. When a balanced coffee comes out wrong, the cause is usually in the brewing, so you know where to look.
V60 recipe: 15 g coffee to 250 g water at 93°C (199°F), all the water through by about 3 minutes.
Flat and tasteless? One step finer. Caramel turning bitter at the finish? One step coarser.
Write the setting you find on Colombia on a note by the grinder. It is your starting point for the other two as well: Brazil usually takes the same setting, Ethiopia often wants one step finer.
Brazil, Colombia or Ethiopia coffee as black filter: Ethiopia asks for attention
Ethiopia has bright acidity, with notes of flowers and citrus. Ethiopian coffee for pour-over shows everything it has: V60, Chemex, AeroPress. Roasted lighter, the bean is denser and wants hotter water: 94°C (201°F), or water left for one minute after the boil. The reason is in yesterday's article on boiling water.
Filter recipe: 15 g to 250 g water at 94°C (201°F).
Sour, mouth puckering? One step finer. If that does not fix it, run the test from our article on sour vs acidic coffee. With milk, the flowers disappear. Drink it black and give it 5 minutes to cool: the citrus comes through more clearly.
The milk test: Brazil, Colombia or Ethiopia coffee for your cup
Not sure where to start? Run the milk test with the coffee you already have at home. Brew it as usual, pour half into a second cup and add 30 ml (1 oz) of warm milk. Taste them one after the other.
- You prefer the cup with milk and can still taste the coffee in it: go for Brazil.
- You like both equally and want one bag for every method: go for Colombia.
- The milk wiped everything out and the black cup is clearly better: go for Ethiopia, as filter.
Your brewing method confirms the choice: for a moka pot or milk, take Brazil; for a single method or a brand-new grinder, take Colombia; for black filter with no sugar, take Ethiopia.
All three are coffee roasted outdoors, lot by lot, with the date and that day's air on the product page. On Saturday or Sunday at Marché de l'Abattoir, by the Manufakture car park exit in Anderlecht, tell Laurent your test result and how you brew at home. You will leave knowing which coffee roasted at Marché de l'Abattoir to start with. To read the product pages first: Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia.
Brut. Sauvage. Imprévisible.
