So be careful not to jump to conclusions about coffee-producing countries. Let’s say you like big, fruity red wines and someone pours you a glass of exceedingly dry, crisp Chenin Blanc from France. And you declare, “I do not like French wine. It’s too dry; and besides, I like red wine and all French wine is white wine.” You are silly person if you say this. You may also be silly for other reasons, but that’s none of my business.
So, then, let’s say you like really rich, complex, low-toned coffee. You’ve been going to one particular coffee shop because they have a Brazil-Mexico blend there that really floats your li’l boat. If I poured you a cup of syrupy, sweet coffee from Sulawesi in Indonesia, you might taste it, make a face, and decide you don’t like Indonesian coffee.
Big mistake. You’d be cheating yourself out of Sumatran coffee, which, at its best, is some of the richest, most complex, low-toned coffee out there: all dark browns and navy blues and black with flashes of jungle green in your mouth. So many different factors go into making this unique flavor, to call it simply “Indonesian coffee,” while technically true, is almost a lie.
You have to give each unique coffee a chance. Tasting many different coffees is a way of tasting different countries and regions. In the case of a beautiful Sumatra, you’re tasting the plants they planted there, the particular wet climate, the volcanic mountains, and the strange way they process the coffee. You’re tasting Sumatra—in this case, almost literally. Since a lot of Sumatra coffee is dried directly on the earth, it picks up really rich, earthy flavors. So when I say you taste Sumatra, I mean you actually get down on your knees and lick Sumatra. But in a good way!
And if you had a nasty Kenyan coffee in the past, blame the owners of the store where you bought it. They’re buying low-grade beans, or they don’t know how to roast it, or it’s been sitting on that shelf for far too long. Don’t blame poor Kenya. Kenya is a goddess. Kenya is a force to be reckoned with. You must return to her.
