Java Sunda Wet Hulled Rancabali

While most of our wet hulled coffee comes from Sumatra, we also look to neighboring island of Java for excellent examples of this rustic process method. Rancabali expresses so much of what we love in a quality wet hulled coffee. Deep-toned bass notes carry the cup, with herbaceous aromatics, and rustic sweetness that doesn't come off old, or woody. The middle roasts had a layer of cacao-like bittering and a sweetness of black strap molasses in the smells that helped keep some of the interesting outliers like amber oil, and green herbal notes grounded. In the brewed coffee, sweetness pointed to brown rice syrup and palm sugar, with contrasting green herbal notes like dried tarragon, marjoram, and pine resin. Syrupy-textured body pulled out foresty flavors, a hint of cooked pear, with a bittering backdrop that lead to a long lasting finish of cacao nibs and baking chocolate. It made excellent espresso, and presents a great wet-hulled component for blending, particularly as one part of a Moka Java blend. I had success blending 1-2 parts Rancabali with 2 parts Ethiopian Dry Process Bensa Kokose. Ristretto shots (18g in, 25g out) culminated in thick, syrupy shots packed with opaque, bass toned cocoa, dried red berries, and a bit of perilla leaf and whole spice in the aroma.