Black Apron Exclusive: Colombia Nariño El Tambo
I recently swung by my local Starbucks and picked up this Black Apron Exclusive because we plan to start regularly reviewing the best they have to offer. I have to preface my thoughts with the fact that I am not a huge fan of South American coffees. They are good, but in my opinion, mostly forgettable. The most noteworthy aspect of Starbucks’ Columbia Nariño El Tambo, is that it is not charred to a crisp like most of their daily fare. This holds true for most Black Apron Exclusives. However, after reading the description from Starbucks’ website,
Colombia Nariño El Tambo is juicy, with intriguing floral notes and a citrus complexity. It also has a remarkable chocolaty sweetness rarely found in Nariño region coffees, which are typically known for their signature nutty flavor.
I believe they roasted the delicate floral notes out of the lots they sold to the public. There is a delicate citrus note in the aroma and the flavor as it hits your tongue, but the sweetness is more aptly describes as a molasses, or light brown sugar sweetness. Overall, very smooth with a dense mouthfeel and a subtle sweet finish. It is not that unlike my latest favorite from Sweet Maria’s, the India Mallali Estate “Tree-Dried Natural.”
The Colombia Nariño El Tambo is a decent offering and a nice change of pace from what Starbucks typically has to offer. However, for only a few dollars more than the price of the 8oz. Black Apron Exclusive you could pick up a pound of green India Mallali Estate “Tree-Dried Natural” and a popcorn popper and have a better cup of coffee.
Coffee Prices Soar Due to Shortage
Auction prices on the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) rose, on average, $9/50kg as buyers rallied on quality lots after a glut of sub-par coffee resulting from cold spells and isolated bouts of Coffee Berry Disease (CBD). Prices peaked at $136.91/50kg on Tuesday. Overall, crop estimates are down from 58,658 tons to 53,693. The 10% decrease in crop yields coupled with growing global demand is expected to maintain the higher prices in the near to mid-term. According to Daniel Mbithi, an official on hand at the auction on Tuesday:
“The markets are intertwined and the latest developments on both sides are quite impressive. The overriding factor is demand and we expect this to stay on a little,”
So with increasing global demand out pacing production the shortage in Kenya this year only exacerbates the bigger issue.
Read the full article at All Africa Here.
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