Campos Coffee: Coffee Cupping Session of Best of Panama 2013 Ironman Geisha, Newtown (2 Nov 2013)

193 Missenden Road, Newtown NSW 2042

http://www.camposcoffee.com

Panama's best downunder

“There are only 300 jars available of this exclusive lot. Each jar is 150g. It is everything you can expect, and more, from Panama's winning Geisha for the year. We found this one works best as a filter roast to bring about the host of unique flavours.”

Thanks to Will Young for inviting me to the Campos Coffee Cupping Room in Newtown to try the award winning Ironman Geisha. Five coffees were blind tasted via a cupping session and it was interesting to taste the distinctive flavours of each and to work out which ones were most liked. Some of them more likeable than others with Ironman Geisha being one of my preferred ones in the tasting — to the relief of Will. I'm not a fanatical coffee drinker but the tea like qualities of the Ironman Geisha was one of the appealing factors for me along with its distinctive sweet and floral notes. Apparently this is the most prized and prestigious coffee ever brought into Australia and was titled ‘Best of Panama’ for 2013 so it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to try it.

At the end of the session I received a sample of the $100 jar which was recommended to be enjoyed in the following way:
• Use the ratio of 10g coffee for 180ml of water
• Use filtered water, and the water should be at 92 to 94 degrees
• Pour the water into the coffee (ground coarse for a plunger)
• Let the coffee sit for 5 minutes (anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes)
• Then, break the crust by stirring the top
• Peel off the top layer of “froth”
• Then plunge
• Drink when the coffee has reached appropriate tasting temperature. Will Young prefers the 11:30 minute mark

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Coffee fanatics will most likely appreciate and enjoy (already half the stock had been purchased at the time of the tasting)

CONS: It's not cheap, Very limited supply and won't last long

MUST TRY: If you love your coffee then I'd suggest a coffee cupping experience at Campos to learn more about coffee

VERDICT: Out of the 5 coffees tasted in the blind cupping session the Ironman was one of the most preferred in the small group. For me it had pleasant tea like qualities and distinctive sweet and floral notes making it appealing and enjoyable although being an amateur coffee drinker I personally wouldn't be able to justify spending that much money on coffee beans but there's lots who do see the value.

—

Ironman Geisha will set you back $100 for 150g

Blind tasting five coffees

First smell and appreciate the aroma of the beans

Add filtered hot water of 92 to 94 degrees

Let the coffee sit for 5 minutes

Break the crust and smell

Peel off the top layer of froth

Take a spoonful and slurp with a lot of noise :-)

Will Young and Dimity

Roberto Brenes doing an ironman challenge

Regular cappuccino downstairs in the coffee shop before the cupping session

Babyccino for the little one

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