Onyx Coffee

Description

Aromas of oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, grape, and pink grapefruit precede this rich and well-balanced cup. We found notes of black cherry, chocolate, raw hazelnut, and, of course, oak and bourbon. The structure is provided by a golden raisin sweetness and the bright-toned grapefruit acidity. The finish is pleasantly sweet, hinting at grape candy and brown sugar.

This coffee roasts and ships on Mondays and Thursdays only. Available Whole Bean only. All items in your order will be held to ship with this coffee unless you request otherwise in the "Special Instructions" section of your shopping cart.

Coffee Details

Producer: Onyx Coffee
Farm: Smallholders
Region: Huehuetenango and Neuvo Oriente
Altitude: 1,500-1,800 masl
Varietal: Bourbon, Caturra
Process: Washed, Aged in a select Bourbon Barrel
Roast: Light
Notes: Oak, Oatmeal Chocolate Cookie, Pink Grapefruit

The Story

The fine folks at Topeka Whiskey Society brought us a new select bourbon barrel to use for aging green coffee. This is our fourth collaboration with TWS, and we think it's the best one yet. The oak and whiskey notes pair well with the round-bodied Guatemala Alma, creating a balanced, sweet, and chocolatey brew.

The Process

Our roasters Mike and Matt developed a meticulous barrel-aging process to ensure the best results:

Green coffee is added to the empty bourbon barrel and sealed. This is done in batches of 35lbs at 11.6% moisture content.

The barrel is agitated at least once per day for a week, aging in a 75º warehouse at 52% humidity.

After seven days in the barrel, the coffee is removed weighing 37 pounds at 14.1% moisture content.

The coffee is sealed in a bag and rested to homogenize to 13.7% moisture content.

Next, the coffee is dried prior to roasting. It spends 2 hours in the roaster at 95º-105º with full airflow, bringing the moisture content down to 12.2%. This "low and slow" approach avoids losing organic matter in the coffee and stripping out volatile compounds from the bourbon itself.

Finally... into the roaster! At a light roast, the barrel-aged coffee is smooth and sweet with notes of dark chocolate, cherry, marzipan, and bourbon. Enjoy!

Learn more on our blog.

Text from PT's Coffee's listing.