This fortnight's exclusive Fresh Crop content is created by Sarah Morris! She shares two recipes for brewing with our new Colombia Carlos Estrella La Ilusion coffee - one recipe for filter, and one for espresso.
Colombian coffees are always crowd-favourites, renowned for their mouth-watering chocolate notes and creamy body. They’re always delicious when combined with milk or when served as an espresso.
Our Colombia Estrella was grown at the “La Ilusion” farm, its name hinting that this is no ordinary Colombian coffee!
(Above) Nariño's unique climate conditions contribute to the special, sparkling quality of the coffees there.
Yes, it has all the characteristics that we have come to know and love in our Colombian coffees, but it also has a juicy, balanced acidity and delicate floral notes as a result of the coffee plant being grown at high altitudes.
This coffee comes from a landscape of dramatic slopes and valleys. During the day, hot, humid air accumulates in the lowlands. At night this air rises and creeps up the side of the mountains, allowing the coffee plants to thrive at higher altitudes than they ordinarily would in other parts of the country.
The tantalising tasting notes I get from this brew are floral, milk chocolate, pink grapefruit, and yellow peach. Not to mention, a lingering, sparkling orange acidity.
I have created recipes for both the filter and espresso brewing methods for this coffee.
First up is my filter roast recipe, for which I used a Chemex. I have one of these at home that I use on a regular basis. Not only is it a beautiful statement piece for your kitchen, but it is also simple to use. Its specially designed filter papers always result in a particularly clean-tasting cup.
I used the 6 cup Chemex for this recipe because this is definitely a brew you are going to want to share around!
FILTER EQUIPMENT
6 Cup Chemex
Chemex filter papers
Comandante grinder
Goose-neck kettle
Scale with a timer function
Filtered water
Stirrer
FILTER RECIPE
Dose: 45g
Yield: 600g
Time: 5 minutes, 30 seconds
Temp: 95 degrees
Grind size: Coarse, Comandante clicks: 35
Ratio: 1:13.3
Preparation
Preheat your kettle to 95 degrees. For optimal flavour, use filtered water in your kettle.
Open up your paper filter and place it in the Chemex so that three layers are against the spout. This is going to help the paper maintain its shape throughout the brewing process.
Next, wet the filter with the water from your kettle. This is going to serve two purposes, getting rid of the papery flavour of your filter paper and also pre-heating your Chemex.
Dispose of this water by pouring it out of the Chemex on the side opposite its spout. Again, this is to help maintain the structure of your filter paper and prevent it from collapsing into the spout while you brew.
You can get rid of this water down the sink or, what I sometimes like to do is, pour the hot water into the mug I want to drink out of so that it preheats while I’m brewing.
Add your ground coffee into the centre of the filter paper and give it a gentle shake to level out the coffee bed. I like to lift the filter paper up at this point and place it back in to the Chemex to prevent it from creating a tight seal which can stop your brew.
Place your Chemex on the scale and tare to 0g. Now we’re ready to brew!
Method
00:00
Start the timer and saturate the coffee grounds with water until the scale reads 90g. Use your stirrer to make sure that all the coffee is wet.
This step is called the “bloom”. We do this to help release any gas trapped in the coffee bed so that our coffee extracts more evenly.
00:50
Start to pour slowly in the centre of the coffee bed, working your way out in a circular motion. When you get near the edges of the filter paper, continue pouring in the same direction but start to head back towards the centre again.
This is how we will pour for the remainder of the brew.
Stop once your scale reads 200g and carefully lift and swirl your Chemex to agitate the coffee grounds. Wait until there is enough room in the filter to add more water and slowly pour in this same motion until the scale reads 400g.
Repeat this process one more time until the scale reads 600g. 
05:30
Once all the water has filtered through your filter paper, your brew is finished! Dispose of your filter paper.
If you had water pre-heating your mug, tip it out now and replace it with your freshly brewed coffee.
Enjoy!
ESPRESSO RECIPE
Dose: 18.5g
Yield: 30g
Time: 30 seconds
Grind size: Fine, Breville Smart Grinder Pro: 11
Grind time: 17 seconds
Ratio: 1:1.62
ESPRESSO EQUIPMENT
Breville Bambino Plus
Breville Smart Pro Grinder
Scales
I created this recipe using the Breville Bambino Plus coffee machine and the Breville Smart Grinder Pro.
I love using this machine and grinder combination because, even if you are completely new to brewing coffee, they make it easy to replicate the specialty coffee experience at home.
If you have different equipment, just make sure to use the above ratio when measuring your dose and yield. Happy brewing!
Missed the last Fresh Crop exclusive? You can view Steve's Timor-Leste Daurfusu recipes here.
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