Managed to get into the Geisha earlier today - very different in some aspects from the Muscat, but some similarities between the two which might be down to the roast rather than the beans themselves.
As with the Muscat, I wasn't getting any strong aromas from the bag pre-grinding, but there was definitely a floral element there which reminded me of tea. Base notes were dark chocolate and caramel, which I think comes from some of the beans being a lot darker than the others. You can see that from the two beans next to each other in the upper left area - one very dark, one very light.
After grinding the aromas got stronger, would say the most obvious smell was of a strong, stewed tea along with a faint sour note.
Bloom phase was very interesting, with a lot of bubbles coming out of the coffee bed and a lot of activity for the first 10-seconds before it settled down.
Totally forgot to change the grind size from the Muscat and managed to get close to the 3m30s mark, but will go down a touch for the final batch of beans to see if that makes much difference in the cup.
Tasting the Geisha, it was immediately sweet and bright with that floral, almost steeped tea-like flavour I got from the ground beans. I can't quite pin down what the other flavour I'm getting is, but I want to say it reminds me of endive - it's a little bit citrus, a little bit tart with a bitter finish. It's very faint, but present and adding milk to the cup did mellow that out and balance the sweetness with the tartness pretty well.
Very enjoyable to drink, but lacks the refinement I would expect to see from a commercial roast of Geisha. Definitely some bitter notes present and I think it is the variance in colour of the beans.
After grinding the aromas got stronger, would say the most obvious smell was of a strong, stewed tea along with a faint sour note.
Bloom phase was very interesting, with a lot of bubbles coming out of the coffee bed and a lot of activity for the first 10-seconds before it settled down.
Totally forgot to change the grind size from the Muscat and managed to get close to the 3m30s mark, but will go down a touch for the final batch of beans to see if that makes much difference in the cup.
Tasting the Geisha, it was immediately sweet and bright with that floral, almost steeped tea-like flavour I got from the ground beans. I can't quite pin down what the other flavour I'm getting is, but I want to say it reminds me of endive - it's a little bit citrus, a little bit tart with a bitter finish. It's very faint, but present and adding milk to the cup did mellow that out and balance the sweetness with the tartness pretty well.
Very enjoyable to drink, but lacks the refinement I would expect to see from a commercial roast of Geisha. Definitely some bitter notes present and I think it is the variance in colour of the beans.
