Hey everybody, what are you drinking? I'm Roger In Coffee and welcome to Coffee Cup. Today I’d like to spill the beans on this week's coffee highlight, La Fincona.
La Fincona comes from Honduras, a Central American country that borders the Caribbean sea and Pacific Ocean. Honduras has a rich history of ancient Mayan civilisation but today we’ll be talking about its contemporary Arabica export. In the last five years Honduras has grown from a small fry to a big player in Central American coffee, has earned a name for high quality beans, and government backed initiatives have placed it firmly on the coffee map of the world.
This review is based on a 250g whole bean package from Pact Coffee, prepared as two-shot espresso and two shot americano using an Aeropress coffee maker.
Opening the bag reveals a fresh whole bean smell, dark but not overly earthy or bitter. The beans are high grade, and fairly even in size and colour with little variation. I’d say about one in ten beans is a shade darker and there were no beans outside of its colour range. This is important because it means it is a nice even roast.
The beans are pale, this is quite a light roast which is consistent with its aroma. A lighter roast can be tougher to grind. If you are grinding by hand you’ll notice a little more resistance than normal but with a little perseverance you’ll get exactly the results you are after.
Once ground, the beans start to release a rich black cherry aroma that stays as the drink is prepared and poured. As usual, I tasted two drinks for my first cupping. A two-shot espresso and a two-shot americano. The espresso was closer to a shot-and-a-half as from the grind and smell I felt it shouldn't be served too strong, but I think you won’t have any problems if you prefer something with more punch.
The Espresso was very smooth, and La Fincona dances with flavour. It’s a rich black forest mouth feel, slightly tart but its sweetness is still dominant. It tastes darker than you might expect, and a little earthy but not at all bitter. The high notes complement the mid cherry flavour from afar, providing a slightly sharp twist to the tail. Its finish is deceptively quick, and the drink fades without a long linger.
Served at americano strength the distinctive flavour is present and doesn’t give way very much. It is lighter and readily drinkable, but I found the reduction in intensity left it a little too pale. So against my initial judgement, I’d say this is best enjoyed slightly stronger than your regular brew whether you prefer espresso or americano.
With the tasting notes from the first cupping, I later tried a two shot ristretto. An Aeropress ristretto is really an under extracted espresso and comes will all of the disadvantages of that too. It can be a challenge to make well, and doesn't work with some beans.
This produces a short shot, an intense exaggeration of the espresso strength. The ristretto is more tart than the espresso, and it loses some of its fresh fruit feel. It was still one of the better ristrettos that I've made and I’d wager that a lot of the beans flavour comes from the hit you get out of the early extraction.
Lastly, a two shot long black was surprisingly good as well. The crema didn't white out entirely but was as pale as it gets, and all of the flavour was extracted. The drink didn't suffer from over extraction at all. All of that sweetness was retained with a long pull and the drink stayed surprisingly robust. The whole drink is lighter and the dark tones gives way to the sweet flavours, the finish lingers longer and it still carries a little earthy feel.
With its deep flavour and short finish, La Fincona isn't screaming out for any accompaniment or sweetening. Natural flavours like honey or maple will taste great but I’d advise to only use the smallest dash so you don’t compete on flavour. It really doesn't need sweetening though and I wouldn't recommend these.
Considering the sweetness, I did try carrot cake thinking the lighter flavours and walnuts may combine with the rich coffee but overall I was disappointed, and found myself unable to adjust to the juxtaposition without a palette cleanser. The sweet cake was too sweet and stole the show from the coffee, leaving it overly dark.
Shortbread, Lotus, or an almond pastry seem like good choices, but anything overly sweet seems to make the coffee feel too sour in comparison.
The long black is more versatile and a wider range of biscuits and flavours will compliment it, especially with its longer tail you can enjoy biscuits with more going on without overpowering the taste.
Overall La Fincona is going to come out well recommended, with an intense sweet feel that I wouldn't have expected from a Central American cup. Best enjoyed at a good strength, this is a juicy dark drinking coffee and really well suited to a morning pick-me-up or breakfast brew.
If you've enjoyed La Fincona or have a bean or blend recommendation, please leave a comment and tell me about it. Don’t forget to like, favorite, share and subscribe to be kept up to date with future news and reviews.
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La Fincona at Pact Coffee
https://www.pactcoffee.com/coffees/la-fincona
