Our latest coffee release, Colombia Nestor Lasso, is our next Fresh Crop coffee feature. Tom shares his recipes for both filter and espresso below for this fortnight's Fresh Crop Exclusive!
Melbourne winters are a slog – an awful cliché, I know, but nonetheless true.
As the days shorten and the temperature plummets, I’ve been craving a different type of coffee: something gentle and kind, to pull me out of bed and into these dreary mornings.
It’s serendipitous, then, that the Colombia Nestor Lasso should fall into my lap like this.
(Above) Nestor Lasso at his farm in Huila, Colombia.
Nestor Lasso – the farmer after whom this timely offering is named – lives with his family in San Agustin, Huila, a town nestled within the ragged foothills of the Central Andes.
Of the twenty coffee-producing departments in Colombia, Huila is especially celebrated. The region’s high altitudes produce coffees prized for their complex acidity and bold florality.
(Above) A coffee farm in Colombia's lush Huila region
Nestor goes to painstaking lengths to ensure only his best coffee reaches the market. Each cherry is handpicked and floated (a process by which underripe cherries are discarded) before being de-pulped, dry-fermented in tanks, then washed and left to dry on raised beds.
It’s only thanks to the meticulous standards set by Nestor and his staff that we’re able to enjoy this delicious cup, here on the other side of the world. Cheers, legends!
The first sip of this coffee exemplifies everything I love about a washed Colombian. It’s sweet and silky, warm and smooth – all chocolate and caramel and honey.
On second sip, the Nestor Lasso begins to reveal its subtle character: a cherry-like tartness balanced with a delicate pomegranate acidity, topped with the soft smokiness of black tea.
There’s a familiar remedial quality here that reminds me of the herbal teas my mum made whenever I stayed home sick from school. This is the coffee equivalent of comfort food.
So, over these next few months of hibernation, I’ll be reaching for a bag of Colombian Nestor Lasso to brighten up these gloomy and oppressive winter mornings.
It might sound cliché, but it really does taste like a long, warm hug.
V60 Recipe:
You’ll need:
Preparation:
Preheat your kettle to 96 degrees with filtered water. Weigh and grind your beans while you wait for the water to boil.
Fold your V60 filter paper and place inside your dripper. Put on top of vessel of choice. Rinse the paper filter, travelling in a circular motion until most of the filter paper is wet. This will ensure that your vessel is pre-heated as well as remove any undesired flavours from the paper filter. Discard any water left in the vessel.
Add your ground coffee to the dripper, giving it a light shake to ensure a flat bed.
Tare off your scales and let the brew begin.
Method:
00:00
Start the timer as you begin to pour 35ml of boiled water over the ground coffee. Move the kettle in a slow circular motion, working your way from middle to the outside, ensuring that the coffee is fully saturated.
The beginning of this brew process is known as the “bloom”. This allows for any gases to escape and contributes to a fine and even extraction that enhances all the beautiful flavours this coffee has to offer. Let it settle until the timer hits 35 seconds.
00:35
Begin to pour the boiled water in a clockwise direction, travelling in a circular motion around the edges of the soaked coffee.
Pour slowly until you reach a yield of 150 grams. Aim to finish this pour before you hit the 1:20 mark.
1:20
Resume pouring using the same technique, moving in a circular motion and letting any raised coffee grinds fall back into an even bed. Pour until you see 220 grams on your scale.
Here, I like to stagger the pours to magnify all the floral, fruity and sweet touches the coffee holds.
2:00
Start your third and final pour, again using the same technique as the last. When you reach 270 grams, slowly travel towards the middle and pour in the centre until you reach 300 grams.
Let the water run through the coffee and filter paper until drained.
2:40
It’s coffee time! Enjoy and appreciate all the goodness the cup has to offer!
Espresso Recipe:
Dose: 22g ground at a fine setting
Yield: 34g extracted
Time: 31 seconds
Note: This espresso recipe is developed on a Slayer EP. Please use this as a guide to aid in achieving your desired flavour preference. If you are unable to reproduce the exact result on your home machine, don’t panic, an alternative is to simply adjust your recipe using the ratio, so it works best for your set up.
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