“City to Full City: Classic Kenya: fruited acidity, citrus flavors, fruited, flame grape, blood orange, pineapple accent. Tannic Earl Grey finishing note.” -Sweet Marias
The first sip is citrus and acidity from the time it hits the tongue through the finish, lingering with a light tea note. The citrus notes do lean towards an orange like twist, but it is bright and does not seem to want to go away. The finish has the Earl Grey note, but quite a bit of the acidity lingers in the light viscosity mouthfeel that lingers on the tongue.
As it slowly cools, the blood orange is stronger along with a general bright citrus acidity, almost like a little rind zest. There is a little sweetness in the cup, but the citrus notes are bright and carry through the finish. The finish still has a viscous feel that coats your tongue, and has light flashes of sweetness within the lingering tartness. I do think that I got a taste of pineapple lingering in the finish, but it didn’t last long. The Earl Grey note is definitely more tannic than I would expect from the usual “Tea. Earl Gray. Hot.”
The bright flashes of citrus fruit and tart acidity in this roast make it a good first cup candidate to wake up the taste buds, and lift the fog of sleep. The bright citrus flavors run throughout the cup, from the first time it touches your tongue to the lingering finish. Definitely an eye opener. As for the roasting details, the roast was done in the Gene Cafe roaster, with a heat setting of 460 degrees, for 15 minutes. First crack started approximately around 13:00 minutes and continued for about 1.5 minutes. Cooling was done in the Gene, down to 215 degrees, and then removed and cooled in a colander until room temperature.