Customer Reviews
The flavor profile is beautiful here. On the nose we’re greeted with banana skin. Sipping away, the notable bittersweet dark chocolate rides under a jackfruit brightness, and is vignetted by a smoky afterglow. Truly a pleasure to extract and drink.
This roast inspired me to do a bit of research into Philippine culture. First I wanted to become familiar as to the traditional Philippine brew of the Liberica bean and Barako coffee, and in brewing this coffee and returning to pour-over again and again, I realized something not exclusive to my senses.
While reading, I learned of a Tagalog term “Alay” which (to the best of my knowledge, and used here with utmost respect intended) means “an offering, made with care”. Though I’m not Filipino, and am not invoking it here as a cultural inheritance, I’ve been lead to become aware of the term through this wonderful coffee, because I had to find a name for what I feel when I drink it.
I digress, this Barako is certainly that: An offering from farm to roaster to brewer as an expression of great care. Let these beans be your window of alay, like they've been mine.
Love that earthy taste! Reminds me of my country of birth.