One more Sumatra limited coffee from Starbucks. Actually i was pretty surprised that they offered this as hot drip coffee of the day, since this Sumatra line seems to be cut already. (At least the Siborong-borong i bought today was the very last package left at the local shop, i’ll write about it sometime i can sit down and enjoy it not just gulp it down during a class.) I can’t even find any official description of what it’s supposed to be like, so what i write is no way influenced. It was drip coffee, and drip coffee for me is much thinner in body and taste than that i make myself, but i tried to consider this.

Sumatra Lake Toba coffee has a really nice smell, reminding me of lying in the grass on a still flowery field in early autumn, warm and sweet, and there is the distant smell of fallen leaves i love so much. It doesn’t have that strong body i expected (the only info i could get about it was it being “extra bold”), which may be because it was drip coffee. Even though, the roasting gives it a really nice darker taste, like a shade of an old tree on the earlier field.

Its taste has a touch of acid, but that sour feeling fits quite well with the almost salty overall impression. Reminded me of some old, quality red wine, some that you would drink from those elegant glasses even if with friends. (Fits in the early autumn scenery quite well, doesn’t it.) As for the aftertaste, probably because its acidity, it left a feel like mint, refreshing my throat.

Too bad it’s over.

After using the last bits of my Sumatra coffee, i rushed off to buy one of the limited ones: first Sumatra Mandheling. It’s really nice. Soft. Kind of reminds me of the spirit made out of paprika that a classmate of mine brought along to one of the highschool class trips. It was damn hot, i could still recall the feeling. Now, in case of the Mandheling, it’s only the flavor. Although the coffee is being sold as extra-bold, it’s nowhere as bold as the “normal” Sumatra coffee or an Italian blend. It’s surely not light, but it’s very soft, and warm. It feels serious, something that you would imagine for a meeting of governments discussing a war situation. It tastes red and hot, but without actually being that spicy hot. Also, it smells very nice, foreshadowing its taste.

I really will be interested to try out the other three new Sumatra coffees as well.

Today i ran out of Gold Coast, so i went and bought a new pack. Of a new type, Ethiopia Sidamo. As the name suggests, it’s an arabica coffee from the horn of Africa, exactly from that one province of Ethiopia.

It’s strong. It has a very characteristic coffee-bitter taste, a good smokiness, and i hope a lot of caffeine, because i have to “wake up”. Its steam smells exactly how i’d imagine the smell of roasted flowers. It doesn’t have a thick body, but because of the strength mentioned earlier, i don’t miss it either. The ground coffee has a very, really very strong fresh smell. Actually, its smell carries the message “i’ll kick you high”, and it seems to be true. The whole coffee is fresh, strong and springy, and i like that.

I get the feeling that i’ll really like this one, maybe as much as my grand favourite Italian roast.

Yesterday while waiting on the (wrong) station, i sat in for a coffee, because why not, and i could sit down to read for a while comfortably. So at Starbucks 大船 (Oofuna), i got myself a mug of hot drip coffee (though i usually only drink espresso), made out of Sumatra blend. (Later the day i had another, that time from House blend, but i can’t write about that.) Actually i forgot what was its name so i had to look up the store and call them asking, which i could do, so i’m proud of myself right now. I don’t know what my next pack will be after Gold Coast, but i’m considering Sumatra as well. I must’ve looked strange, a big foreigner guy with dreadlocks, reading Twilight in japanese and taking notes about the coffee on the back of the receipt.

Sumatra was a really nice coffee to drink. It’s well roasted, as expected from an extra bold coffee. First, it has a taste like popcorns. I guess that’s the “buttery” they’re always talking about. Also a lemon-like sour taste, which makes a really nice contrast. It might’ve been just because of the drip, but felt really soft, and a bit of unexpected acidity. Every mouthful tasted somewhat different–i don’t know how that’s possible, but it really did, almost felt like some spell on it. It had the same or at least very similar aftertaste as the coffee my parents are drinking all the time. It had a very thick body, leaving a mark lasting for a surprisingly long time, but not unpleasant at all. Even though, again probably because of the drip, it felt somewhat thin. Nice choice it was for a day’s hot coffee for sure.

Again a Starbucks coffee, and probably not the last. Note that i can hardly feel any smell because my nose is as dry as the nose of a dying cat, because the air in my room, although i’m humidifying it with boiling water, is as dry as i haven’t felt even in desert (been to one). I chose Gold Coast as “next one” when i bought Kenya.

Gold Coast’s steam has just the same smell as it’s main taste, strong and somewhat bitter. The dark roasting is very clear. If someone had to find something bad in it, that would be an interesting bit in the smell, which one could say is the same as the idea of children’s hated medicine.

Upon tasting it, it’s just as coffee-bitter as expected from the smell, and although its body leaves a nice feel, it’s not as thick as i would’ve thought. It doesn’t have any extreme flavours, it’s a really nice mix of coffees from all around the world, and tastes just like a coffee should. The taste itself is cold, and because of the dark roast somewhat burnt, which along with the official description mentioning Chicago, brings out the image of a burning oil barrel under a bridge. Although this sounds quite negative, the warmth of coffee and the thought that it’s all from around the equator makes it a coffee i’ll like to drink for the coming few weeks until it runs out.

Not a month has passed since i bought myself the Italian blend, and i already finished it. Guess it’s the exams’ fault. Anyway, this time i wanted to try something different, and ended up with Kenya. It’s nowhere as good for me, as the Italian blend, but i’ll cope with it until it’s over. It’s obviously much less roasted than Italian blend, and its flavours are totally different. The ground beans smell clean, fresh and somewhat acidy, but not so “dark” (you could say burnt, but that’s a bit different). If you smell its steam after making it, the view changes a bit. It’s smell is quite strong, but at the same time warm and somehow friendly. There’s a slight fruity feel to it, and it doesn’t have the good old burnt acridity in it. The taste of the coffee itself is totally different once again. It has all the basic tastes a coffee should have, it has the stinginess i like and a very warm feel to it, on the other hand it hardly has any aftertaste, which is a big bad point in my eyes. At least it has the body that coats the tongue for a few seconds, but that’s gone all too early too. I’ll see if i get used to it, or what. The sure thing is, my next one will be Gold Coast. ‘Nuff said.

Yesterday in Shibuya i wanted to buy (beside a hat) a coffee, a good one, which meant i checked the Starbucks there. Before that, really good review of the Arabian Mocha Sanani, but that costed roughly twice as much as the others, and as explained by the shopkeeper girl, it has all kinds of stuff like cocoa in it–which is probably pleasant when needed, but it sound more like some kind of dessert for me.) The Italian blend surprised me with a really smoky smell when i opened the package, which kind of reminded me of the bad experience with the japanese “black coffee” (not the (really and confirmed by many) potato-tasting one from the vending machine, but a ground one sold in bigger stores), but my worries were wiped (www) as soon as i tasted the brew after breakfast. It’s soft and has a somewhat sweetish after-taste, while keeping that promised smoky flavour as well. It was a really good experience after my ham-and-eggs brunch (breakfast-lunch). I think this coffee will serve well until it runs out in about a month–when i’ll give a try to something completely different.