Pour-over coffee with Starbucks Reserve
Print Edition
WATCHING Starbucks coffee ambassador David He make a cup of reserve coffee by pour over is an appealing experience, and not just to the eyes and nose.
He places a paper filter in a cone and then adds two tablespoons of freshly ground Hawaii Ka’u coffee beans. He then slowly adds water in a circular motion to let it seep through the powder and filter.
“Here comes the most interesting part. I call it ‘bulu bulu’,” he said with a mischievous smile. “Look, the coffee is breathing.”
As he speaks, bubbles come up in the cone as carbon dioxide is released. The steam from the hot water brings out the aroma of Ka’u and almost instantly fills the corner of the coffee shop while the essence of the coffee remains at the bottom of the cone.
Now he pours hot water in quickly, which drips directly into a mug.
“How do you like it?” he asks, handing me a cup of coffee and beckoning me to smell.
I take a deep breath and blurt out: “Can’t wait to try.” The aromatic fluid with a slight hint of sweet caramel completely cheers me up on this rainy and chilly day.
Cultivated near the Mauna Loa volcano and nurtured in a rich soil, these limited Ka’u coffee beans are handpicked and processed at small family farms every year. The beans are known for a brisk acidity with a coconut flavour and hints of citrus and nuts.
Ka’u is one of the four beans that is sold as Starbucks Reserve, recently launched by the US-based coffee retailer in China. Every year Starbucks sources coffee with unique flavors from the top 3 percent of high-quality Coffee Arabica beans around the world. Evaluated by harvest time, output, rarity and flavors, four coffees have been introduced this year. Among them is a peaberry coffee from Sable Farm in Malawi, East Africa.
The coffee comes from peaberries hand-selected from three small farms owned by Sable, which accounts for some 10 percent of global output.
Unlike normal coffee berries that usually have two beans in one berry, there is only one round bean per peaberry.
The beans are fully heated when roasted, adding to the deep, concentrated flavors.
When He opens a can of Malawi Peaberry coffee beans, everyone in the cafe seems surprised and impressed by the strong aroma. The coffee has a crisp acidity with vibrant spicy and citrus flavors.
Peru Chonti comes from a collaboration of two Peruvian coffee farmers, Aladino Delgado and Wilder Garcia. Cultivated in a valley of Cajamarca, southern Peru, the light-bodied coffee has multi-layered flavors of herbs, lemon, hazelnut and roasted chocolate.
The Los Cantares Estate of Panama is one of the earliest farms in the world to grow coffee trees, as well as produce and export coffee beans. Adequate precipitation, rich volcanic soil and the high altitude spawns some of the best coffee beans in the world.
The farm is owned by Marie Jackie Mercer Vallarino.
The coffee from her farm has a higher acidity, floral aromas with toffee and sweet orange flavors.
Starbucks Reserve is available in only seven stores across China. Two are in Shanghai — the Wukang Road and Shanghai World Financial Center branches. Baristas are in both stores to talk with customers about these special reserve coffees.
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