Coffees Stars

Coffees Stars
From Hancock & Abberton

Dublin based Hancock & Abberton were celebrating on the double at the recent Great Taste Awards when two of their coffees won gold stars. Their Really Good Organic Coffee, two stars this time, had won before and great to see a repeat but the surprise was perhaps the performance of their Decaf Coffee that was awarded one star, “indistinguishable from regular coffees in the blind tasting”.

I got the opportunity to sample both winners recently and yes that Decaf, made from 100% Arabica beans, is a pleasant surprise, all the elements of a good coffee, particularly those delicate floral notes, without the caffeine. Here’s what the Great Tastes judges said: ”a deep satisfying flavour, with good length. Well balanced bitterness and acidity with a refreshing aftertaste. …, gentle on the palate but nevertheless has depth. An excellent coffee of its type”.

Guy Hancock and Anne Abberton, who co founded the firm in 2004 (initially known as Café de Cuba) were naturally delighted to announce their Two Gold Stars and One Gold Star at the Great Taste Awards, the world’s most coveted blind-tasted food awards , which celebrates the very best in food and drink . “This win for our decaf coffee is also an testament that great tasting coffee need not be compromised by decaffeination.”

Really Good Organic Coffee has previously won two Gold Stars in the Great Taste Awards 2012 and repeated that feat.  It has been described by the judges as a coffee with “a lovely roasted aroma, clean citrus taste and rewarding aftertaste and mouth feel, the whole experience is well balanced between bitterness and acidity and complexity”. It is indeed another excellent coffee made from dark beans with a distinctive shine; it is rich and strong, well balanced and satisfying, especially earlier in the day!

Judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers. So quite a pat on the back for Hancock and Abberton.

As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to a wonderful tasting product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind-tasting by hundreds of judges.

There were 10,000 Great Taste entries this year and the panel of judges included; TV chef and author, Valentine Warner, MasterChef judge and restaurant critic, Charles Campion, fifth generation baker, Tom Herbert from Hobbs House Bakery, and Great British Bake Off winner, Frances Quinn; food buyers from Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Waitrose and chefs including, James Golding, chef director of THE PIG Hotels, and Kevin Gratton, chef director of HIX Restaurants.

These two coffees now join the company’s other Great Taste Award winning brands including Café de Cuba Santiago (Great Taste Award Winner 2014 and Fixx Coffee (Great Taste Winner 2013 and 2009).

Hancock & Abberton supply to:­-
Trade customers such as cafes, hotels, restaurants, offices, showrooms and speciality retail outlets;
Coffee and Tea drinkers who frequent our trade customers’ outlets;
Coffee and Tea drinkers at home via the on line store
Stockists: http://www.hancockandabberton.com/blog/buy-really-good-organic-coffee-in-ireland.html

Single Origin Coffees. East Timor - Assui Craik and Mexico - Finca Muxbal

Single Origin Coffees

East Timor - Assui Craik

Mexico - Finca Muxbal

Coffee cherries on the tree.
Each cherry produces 1, 2, even 3 (rarely) beans.

I’ve been sipping some really great coffee the past few days, thanks to Hancock and Abberton    who recently introduced me to their Brands of Distinction line. The two above are each a limited Edition Coffee and also a Single Origin speciality. Many people now wonder if the coffee they drink is ethically traded and you may check the providence of these gems here. Briefly, the Mexican is produced by a son and mother team while the East Timor coffee comes via a 16 strong farmers group.

The coffee industry in East Timor was largely destroyed during the turn of the century invasion by Indonesian militias that many of you may remember. It is still though a “major export commodity and provides a substantial income for a quarter of the population”.

Mexico is the 5th largest coffee producer in the world. Chiapas is the largest coffee producing state and it is from here that these incredible Muxbal beans originate. The word means “surrounded by clouds”, rather appropriate considering the farm, managed by mother and son duo Maeggi Rodriguez and Jorge Gallardo, is at around 1600 metres above sea level, more or less the same height as its counterpart in East Timor.

East Timor is much further south than Mexico and this leads to a difference in the harvest season. The Mexicans harvest during December to March while the farmers in East Timor do so in July to September.

Coffee tasting specialists have rated both coffees very highly and rightly so. So, how would a non specialist amateur like myself find them? Can honestly say that I though both were excellent, though I did have the slightest of preferences for the Mexican cuppa.

This is a medium roast with a superb creamy feel on the palate and a clean almost dry finish. Traces too of sweetness, honey (they say) and indeed they also mention peaches with the creaminess. In any event, it all adds up to great few minutes in the morning.

And I was very pleased too with the Assui Craik (the coffee is named after the local village). This has a lighter roast with quite a complex fruity palate (stewed plums and blackberries are suggested) and then the finish is sweet, hints of chocolate present.  That bit different from the Mexican but another lovely cup of a morning (which is when I drink most of my coffee).

If you would like to try these, or other similar coffees yourself, Hancock & Abberton, based on the Naas Road in Dublin, have a subscription service. You can sign up for three months but the savings are more if you sign for twelve. Check out the various packages here. Remember that these batch runs are limited and will sell out. Each coffee will be accompanied by the provenance, tasting notes and blend profile.