The Coffee
Stringbean is another local St. Louis area coffee roaster I’ve had on my radar for a bit. Based in an office park in the shadow of the Thunderdome Brentwood Promenade, Stringbean coffee was founded in 2011 by Peter “Stringbean Pete” Cohen to combine his love for coffee and music. First off, the packaging design is just fun to look at and read, adorned with guitars, pictures of Pete, coffee beans, burlap patterns, and copious notes on preparation, biography, and origin information. The tagline in Stringbean Pete’s succinct biography sells itself; “Once a bean counter, now a bean cooker.”
Taste
- Name of Roast: Ethiopian True Blue
- Roaster: Stringbean Coffee Company
- Bean Origin: Ethiopia – Kaffa
- Bean Type: Arabica
- Drank at: Home
- Price Range: $ (1/4)
- Roast Color: 2/6
- Brewing method: Press and Pour Over
- Grounds/Water ratio: 18:1
- Grind: 9/15 – Medium Coarse
- Aroma Notes: Fruit forward, citrus, orange, raw sugar
- Flavor Notes: Chocolate, sugar, some fruit, blueberry
- Tasting notes from the bag: Ethiopian True Blue is a light roasted, natural processed coffee with a blueberry aroma, fruity tasting notes and a bright acidity level.
I picked up a bag of the Ethiopian True Blue at a Schnucks for about $12. Let me tell you, the aroma as you open the bag is just lovely. It is reminiscent of the warm blast of fresh roasted beans that hits you after entering your favorite coffeehouse on a cold winter day. I first tried it in the French press where it bloomed quite nicely from the initial pour. While the aroma is fruit forward and fairly sweet, the flavor is much more subdued and mellowed by the chocolate notes. It is a light and refreshing brew with some sunny fruit and berry notes without an overpowering acidity.
After my initial brew with the French press, I followed the suggestion on the bag and prepared it as a pour over as well. I usually prefer to make coffee at home in a French press due to the ease of use and clean up, so my pour over skills were admittedly rusty. That said, the pour over opened up some different notes. It made for a lighter cup with the same initial chocolate notes but less sugar and more bitterness. The fruit and berry notes are also there but more subdued. Overall, the two preparations bring out some wonderful tasting notes in the brew but my preference is still the French press.
Rating: 8/10
Coffee By The Mile 