Last week, my partner and I entered Loutsa Torréfacteur, a coffee roaster and café on rue de Bazeilles, to purchase an espresso coffee. I was curious to see if I could identify the aromas associated with one of the café’s specialty roasts.
A coffee roaster sits to the right of the entrance. Next to it, a shelf displays 250g airtight bags of the café’s recently roasted limited edition specialty coffees. The multi-hued colors of a package of Santa Rosa roast from the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica caught my eye. The package label indicated that this roast is characterized by aromas and flavors of clementine, honey, almond, chocolate, and caramel. Could I, I wondered, identify any of these intriguing elements while sipping a freshly-pulled espresso made from this bean? I decided to order one to test my ability to distinguish them.
I ordered the coffee at the counter, found a table at which to sit, and waited while it was being prepared.
After the barista placed the espresso on the table, I took small sips, trying to determine which flavors I could recognize. Alas, the only thing that I could identify was the very strong flavor of…coffee. Try as I might, I could not distinguish any of the characteristics that were indicated on the package. The only thing I could say was that the brew tasted slightly bitter and sour. I was not greatly disappointed, though, because I do enjoy the flavor of coffee. I persuaded my partner, who does not like coffee, to take a sip, but she could go no further in the taste test than I had gone in my experience.
Not ready to abandon my quest, I purchased a 250g bag of Santa Rosa coffee and took it home to try my hand at making espresso with a 9Barista stove-top coffee maker that I had recently purchased. Would I be able to capture those illusive aromas and flavors at home with my new espresso machine?
Santa Rosa Pure Origin Limited Coffee – 16.20€/250g – Loutsa Torréfacteur – 1 rue de Bazeilles – 75005 Paris
