Bali Natural Monsooned: The Best Accident Ever


  • Sweet Maria's


    I can’t imagine how stressful it can be when you have large amounts of green beans being shipped to you. The worries that come about, all the things that can go wrong. I know I’d be a nervous wreck just praying that the green beans arrive safety and without a hitch.

    I wonder what Sweet Maria’s was doing when a crop of Bali didn’t ship on time?

    Not only did the Bali crop ship late, but when it arrived Sweet Maria’s found that the crop had been exposed to high humid conditions. Basically, these coffee beans took on moisture slowly in a humid environment resulting in enlarged white beans. The same thing happens to Indian Monsooned Malabar, but there’s a difference here; the Bali crop was an accident, the Indian Monsooned Malabar wasn’t. (Well, at one point it was, but that’s another story.)

    Bali Natural Monsooned wasn’t supposed to be exposed to these conditions, but Sweet Maria’s roasted these beans up anyways to see what kind of Frankenstein they had on their hands. What they found was that they had a “happy accident” on their hands.

    Here’s what they had to say on the Bali Natural Monsooned

    The dry fragrance actually has some fruited sweetness, something I don’t detect in the India monsooned. The wet aromatics are more dark chocolaty, peppery spice, fruit, and wet earth. The cup has a very thick and intense chocolate roast taste, accented by pungent spice.

    When the beans arrived at my door I immediately roasted a batch up to taste this “happy accident” for myself.


    This a very "foamy" coffee.



    Information:
    Roaster: Behmor 1600
    Profile: P1
    Roast Level: Full City/Full City +

    Aroma:
    The aroma carries a seriously pungent chocolate note that infuses into your nose. Underneath the pungent chocolate note I found hints of earth, spice, and fruit.

    Taste:
    A pungent chocolate note flows from the cup hitting your tongue with a sharpness that lingers like bourbon. Each sip finishes with an earthy spice note. I could detect hints of citrus as the coffee cooled which seemed out of place. I guess I wasn’t expecting to find any citrus/fruity play in this coffee, but no complaints here.

    I also tried this coffee as a cold brew and it was delicious. The pungent chocolate note mellowed out just enough to keep that richness that this coffee has. There is some smokiness in the background, but the chocolate note has the last say and comes back lingering well into the aftertaste.

    Thoughts:
    This is a punch in the face kind of coffee. The chocolate note is intense, and sharp, but overall so delicious. The hints of spice, earthiness, and citrus as the coffee cools makes this Bali Natural Monsooned a winner in my book.

    I’d love to see this Bali Natural Monsooned stick around on a permanent note. Who says that Indian Monsooned Malabar has to be the only coffee exposed to these careful weathered conditions?

    Before it sells out, this is a coffee I recommend all you home roasters out there try. It’s a wonderful eye opener that weather conditions don’t always ruin everything. Instead, you might be surprised to find that weather can actually play a wonderful part when it comes to coffee.

    Rating:
    Overall, I’d give this a 85/100 pts.



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    July 9th, 2011 | Jamie | No Comments | Tags: , , , ,

About The Author

Jamie Ferguson

From sunny Sarasota Florida, Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since a very young age. Jamie is just your average jane who has a serious addiction to coffee, but more so has a bigger love for the heart, and the dedication that is put into growing, processing and roasting coffee. Come and join the adventures...