Here's how we brewed this exclusive and limited coffee by Verve, straight from our booth at Specialty Coffee Expo!
Verve’s Head of Coffee hand-selected this coffee for us to brew at the Fellow booth at Chicago’s Specialty Coffee Expo and it’s a true crowd-pleaser. Verve has a long relationship with Juan Benitez and the Pacas from his small family farm exemplifies the unique cultivar in all its tropical complexity. We tasted lemon, milk chocolate, plum, dried apricot, and purple fruit.
🌎 Origin: Santa Barbara, Honduras
💦 Process: Washed
🔬 Variety: Pacas
⛰️ Elevation: 1,650 MASL
🔥 Roast: Light
Brew Recipe for Verve Honduras Juan Benitez
Using Stagg X Dripper
Ingredients:
23g of Honduras Juan Benitez
250g of water
205°F
Steps
1. Measure and grind coffee at a medium-coarse setting
Measure out 23g of coffee beans and grind them on a medium setting. We used setting 5 on Ode with SSP Burr / 4 on Ode with Gen 2 Burrs, which is about 3 on Ode with Gen 1 Burrs. Suggested setting on Opus is between 4 and 5- and note that the inner ring was set to +0 at 4 for us!
2. Heat water and rinse the filter
Heat water to 205°F and rinse your filter before putting your coffee grounds in.
3. Pour 50g water for the bloom
Fully saturate your coffee grounds with 50g of water, and allow 37 seconds for the bloom.
4. Continue pouring in three stages
After the bloom, pour to 150g; then when the water is approximately 0.5 in above the bed of grounds, agitate with 5 gentle swirls, then pour to 250g; once water drains to about 0.5 in above the bed of grounds, pour up to 350g. The total brew time varies, but we’re aiming for between 3:40 - 4:00 minutes.
5. Decant into your favorite mug and enjoy!
Look out for the incredible flavors of lemon, milk chocolate, plum, and dried apricot.
Espresso
Ingredients:
20g of the same coffee
59g of water at 201°F
1:2.95 ratio
30-33 second pull time
Steps
1. Measure and grind coffee
Measure out 20g of coffee beans.
2. Make sure your espresso machine is at temp.
Water should ideally be at 201°F.
4. Grind your coffee
We suggest a brew time of 30-33 seconds. Our Opus was set to 1.1 with the inner ring at +2 for this pull, but your grind setting will vary based on many factors, including elevation, atmosphere, and local water quality!
4. Pull shot at 9 bars!
Preinfuse for 3 seconds, then pull your shot at 9 bars with around a 30-33 second total pull time (including preinfusion).
5. Decant into your favorite demitasse cup and enjoy!
Let us know what flavors pop out in your espresso. We suggest stirring with a small spoon before tasting to integrate all layers of the ‘spro!