Fazenda Rainha (Monmouth Coffee Company) – Americano

Fazenda Rainha is a Brazilian yellow bourbon, described by Monmouth as “Sweet chocolate with full body and cherry acidity”. In addition to being sold as a single origin bean, Monmouth are also presently using it as the base for their house Espresso Blend.

After yesterday’s disappointment with the Fazenda Rainha brewed with a cafetiere, it was a relief to try it as an Americano; all of the “yeuch” tones from the cafitiere disappeared, to be replaced by a pleasantly rich and clean flavour. Whilst it didn’t have a particular “wow factor”, this was a very nice easy-drinking cup.

Details:
Bean: Fazenda Rainha, Monmouth Coffee Company
Grind: Course-ground with conical burr grinder
Brew Method: Espresso machine
Brew Detail: Double shot (circa 14g) in 250ml water with a slug of milk
Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Fazenda Rainha (Monmouth Coffee Company) – Cafetiere

Fazenda Rainha is a Brazilian yellow bourbon, described by Monmouth as “Sweet chocolate with full body and cherry acidity”. In addition to being sold as a single origin bean, Monmouth are also presently using it as the base for their house Espresso Blend.

[As I type this, Stoke have scored against Arsenal to go 2-1 up in their FA Cup 4th round match - being a Spurs fan this makes me rather happy. But I digress ...]

Today my in-laws visited, to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday (I shan’t embarass him by saying which one). When offered a coffee he normally would request an espresso, but today was in the mood for a longer drink and chose a cafetiere brew rather than an Americano. Having picked up some of the Fazenda Rainha yesterday, and been impressed by it in a latte, I was keen to see how it fared …

Unforunately, in short, the answer is “not so well”.

[Stoke have just scored again to make the scoreline 3-1 with 85 minutes on the clock ... nearly makes up for Spurs' last-gasp draw with Leeds yesterday ... but I digress again ...]

Firstly I have to admit to blowing hot and cold with cafetiere-brewed coffees as a whole, generally preferring something espresso-based and presently favouring “strong” (double- or triple-shot) lattes. My issue with cafetieres (and even more so with drip machines) is that there is a pervasive flavour – which I struggle to describe – that you simply don’t get with espresso.

This was particularly evident with the Fazenda Rainha; the resulting brew had a strong (though not unpleasant) odour, and a stronger and slightly bitter taste. Add to this a hint of the ‘cafetiere’ flavour, and the overall effect is underwhelming. Drinkable yes, and still significantly better than an instant coffee, but nothing to shout about.

Looking forward to trying this bean in an Americano to see how it compares …

Details:
Bean: Fazenda Rainha, Monmouth Coffee Company
Grind: Course-ground with conical burr grinder
Brew Method: Cafetiere
Brew Detail: 4 heaped desert spoons in an 8-cup cafetiere, 4 minutes brew time

Overall: 2.5 out of 5

Fazenda Rainha (Monmouth Coffee Company) – Latte

Fazenda Rainha is a Brazilian yellow bourbon, described by Monmouth as “Sweet chocolate with full body and cherry acidity”. In addition to being sold as a single origin bean, Monmouth are also presently using it as the base for their house Espresso Blend.

Took Joshua into London this afternoon, mainly because I haven’t been home all week and wanted to spend some time with him, but also to take a trip to Borough Market. On the shopping list? Coffee and cake.

The cake in question was for tomorrow, when my in-laws are visiting to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday. We ended up getting a wonderful-looking creation from Konditor & Cook, which is next door to Monmouths.

For coffee, of course, we went to Monmouth. I’ve pretty much run out of the Peet’s House Blend that I was so fortunate to receive for Christmas, and to be honest the little that’s left has gotten pretty stale and lost some of it’s flavour. If I hadn’t been working all hours and staying in town I’d have finished it off a couple of weeks ago!

Due to the price of Peet’s – mainly in shipping from the US to the UK – I was hoping to find an appropriate replacement so that I won’t need to bankrupt myself in order to get the same kick, and can instead order a couple of bags when I’m feeling flush. My mission therefore was to find a bean that works well in latte.

Once again I took advice from the Monmouths staff, and ended up with two small (250g – roughly half pound) bags. One is their current house Espresso Blend, the other a Brazilian (or Brasilian if you prefer) bean called Fazenda Rainha. This forms the base of the Espresso, and (as the tasting notes replicated at the top of this post) I was told that it has a chocolate note that should work well in a latte. To be fair I was offered at least two other options, but this was the one that I plumped for.

Having previously tried out their Espresso – albeit a different blend – and having had a latte in the shop that used the new blend, I decided to put it in the freezer and try out the Fazenda Rainha.

On opening the bag there was a slight disappointment regarding the look of the beans – I’ve been spoilt for the last few weeks with the glistening Peet’s beans, whereas these had a lacklustre look to them. However the smell was something else – strong and sweet. The end product was a strong and full-bodied latte with plenty of bite and a slight chocolate note.

Overall I didn’t think that the Fazenda Rainha was quite up there with the Peet’s House Blend – it’s possibly a little too in-your-face, lacking the subtlety of the American. However it did make for a very palatable drink, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it fares in an Americano.

Details:
Bean: Fazenda Rainha, Monmouth Coffee Company
Grind: Fine-ground with conical burr grinder
Brew Method: Espresso machine
Brew Detail: Double shot – circa 14g – in 250ml textured milk

Overall: 4.0 out of 5