A half pound of the latest Starbucks Reserve offering.
Starbucks Reserve El Salvador Montecarlos Estate. Wow, that’s a big name for a coffee so let’s break it down. This coffee is one of four coffees to be released this October as part of Starbucks’ Reserve line. It’s from the country of El Salvador, grown on the Montecarlos Estate farm. Grown in mineral rich soil at very high elevation, this coffee is out to make a name for itself. All of the beans in this lot are of the Pacamara varietal.
What the heck is a Pacamara varietal and what is it doing in my coffee?
Coffee plants come in several different varieties. Think of dog species; cocker spaniel, golden retriever, etc… They are all dogs (or coffee) but there are different types. Pacamara is one of these “species”. It is actually a combination of two other species that has been cultivated over the years. Enough of this coffee geek stuff.
This Montecarlos Estate coffee is grown at 6,000 ft. above sea level on the top of a dormant volcano. Starbucks says the coffee has herbal chocolate notes with a medium body and some acidity.
Beans: Fresh, and slightly nutty smelling compared to most coffees. It’s roasted on the darker side, with spotted oils showing on the outside of the beans. You can tell it’s quite fresh, and I’m sure the one way valve on the bag helps this.
A close look at these Pacamara beans from El Salvador
Nose: The herbal and chocolate notes are present. I’m not saying this just because it’s on the label; there are definite cinnamon and milk chocolate characteristics to smell here. There is also a bit of a buttery nuance. On the whole it smells like a warm and buttery chocolate filled croissant with cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Mouth: Wow. Wow. Wow. Right when I sipped the coffee all I could think of was a liquefied Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar with Almonds. It tastes just like it. Very smooth through the entire palette, with a slight spicy herb character in the background. Starbucks says there is a “delightfully assertive brightness” but I disagree. I would say there is an orange acidity character with a moderate case of stage fright. It’s not very prominent, but that’s alright because this coffee is delightfully smooth. It has a medium body (bordering on heavy) that wraps up in a rather clean finish.
Pairing: Edy’s Grand Rocky Road Ice Cream –> My favorite ice cream with creamy milk chocolate, bits of almond, and fluffy marshmallows. What a perfect pairing! The coffee mellows out when paired with the ice cream, which oddly enough makes the acidity easier to find.
The Big Picture: Another great offering from Starbucks Reserve line of coffees. Starbucks’ description of the acidity is a little misleading, so don’t think you are getting a big bright coffee. Smooth balance is what is going here (similar to their Galapagos Coffee). I’m now curious to see if Starbucks will differentiate with brighter or bolder coffees in this new Reserve categories later on.
If you like smooth, medium bodied coffees from Middle and South America, then you will definitely like El Salvador Montecarlos Estate Pacamara. Be sure to look for the buttery note in this coffee, it’s great!
How Long by Charles Bradley Feat. Menahan Street Band
Mike,
Stop reviewing Starbucks coffees…You are making me think they are actually doing good with their Reserve Line. LOL
Great review. It sounds like they’ve hit the jackpot with their reserve line. Maybe they figured out fresh coffee is they key? I might actually have to grab this coffee.
I really want to move onto something else, but Starbucks seems to have me in their clutches… I have one more in the pipeline, then its on to some different brands!
They really have been doing good things with their reserve line, but a high quality specialty coffee from a micro-roaster will still beat this stuff any day of the week.
I am going to shoot for ordering this next week if I can. Already have 3 coffees on the way.
There’s no doubt that a micro-roaster will beat Starbucks any day of the week, but it’s still interesting nonetheless to try it.
I’d love to shoot your some of my home roasted coffee sometime. Let me know.
That would be great Jamie I’d love to try some!
I’ve seen from your tweets that you are getting a new roaster? I think I’m going to be getting a behmor 1600 soon as well…. Tasting coffee is one thing, but roasting a great cup of coffee is another, really exciting experience.
Yep. I just got a 5lb. JavaPro CRC. It’s like the Behmor only bigger, and it also is built to run like any other commercial roaster. It’s got a lot of power. Hoping to get it powered up tomorrow and get some roasts done in it.
The Behmor is a great little roaster to get started on. Grab it from SweetMaria’s. You will get like 8 pounds of green beans for free.
That’s awesome! I just ordered my Behmor, from Sweet Marias too. VERY Excited.
So awesome Mike! I can’t wait to hear your roasting adventures.
Hey Mike, I agree with Jamie that your review is making me interested in trying the Starbucks. Last week at dinner I met two Starbucks baristas who were telling me about the Anniversary Blend. I introduced them to Newhall Coffee and the Chemex coffee maker and they liked it.
But even more your conversation with Jamie about roasting is interesting. I have a friend that roasts and has been trying to get me interested in it. Actually my wife (Kim) is interested in trying to roast coffee beans. Where would you suggest starting?
I am not familiar with the Friday Night album you mentioned. Here’s another old school favorite; Miles Davis – Kind of Blue. The next time I buy some music I will have to look for some newer stuff. Communicating with you made me realize I have a lot of old music. I will have to try some new stuff. Thanks.
Thanks Bill. I’ve always wanted to try the chemex brew method, but I just got a technivorm moccamaster, so for the time being it will keep me occupied
I’ve found that experimenting with home roasting is a great way to step up my involvement with coffee and it gives some insight into how coffee is roasted when we buy it from the pros. It’s also a great way to always have super fresh coffee on hand.
I was inspired by this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGCIG1Z_O7M
If you have a walgreens near your house, they sell just the right type of popcorn popper for this project for $10 (it’s the same one in the video). As for green beans, I would ask a friendly local roaster if you could purchase a small amount of green beans to experiment with. If you decide you like it, sweetmarias.com has a great selection of roasting supplies and green unroasted beans.
I can’t believe we didn’t talk about Kind of Blue when we were discussing music before!! It’s one of my favorite albums, in my top 5 of all time! Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley….what a horn line! Not to mention Bill Evans on the piano… Flamenco Sketches is probably my favorite song on the album but I listen to the entire thing regularly. Great stuff!
Coffee lovers are in for the treat of their coffe-sipping lives with the way this new introduction from Starbuck’s is described. Admittedly though, the post made me want to go and grab a mug of this coffee, steaming and fragrant.