Day 4: Ilse - Ethiopia Bookkisa

The Story

I discovered Ilse this year because my local rotating coffee shop Simple Merchant Coffee had them on the rotating menu earlier this year. Turns out they are from pretty close to home in CT. Their naturals, especially have really struck a chord for me. They tend to be super sweet and fruity. Just where I like it. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

About The Beans

This coffee was a limited release and is already off the site. You can find other coffees from Ilse here.

Sadly I have very little other than the chart above on this coffee. Sorry.

Feedback:

From Seth:

Ok, delayed Day 4 just hit drinking temp. Very first impression was that it was bright. Second and third sips brought in more of an underlying deepness. Likely the dissolved solids settling on my taste buds.

The high notes bring the promised berry (I get more of a cherry than blackberry) and the deeper notes are cocoa, closer to a hot chocolate with a hint of that fruit sweetness than raw cacao.

I also had a bowl of cereal this morning, a rare thing, and the milk played with the flavors in a delightful way. The low notes mixed in with the milk fat and accentuated the fruity highs more, also cutting some of the sweetness to bring an almost tangy quality.

Despite the thicker cocoa notes, it still drinks incredibly smooth

From Zack:

First sip, lots of what I call: tang. Dial-in was from yesterday, so the shot poured quicker, a little under 30 seconds, and a light and fruity flavor came out. I’m not sure I know what a Blackberry exactly tastes like, so I’m not sure if this is it. With milk, I feel like I’m losing most of the fun. The milk is overpowering the fruit. Maybe I have too much milk? As the espresso cools down, I’m stuck with a lot of bitterness. Think this one is better on it’s own and closer to extraction time. Heat helps the flavor.

Yesterday’s Coffee