Arizona presented a slightly wider range of options than did Alaska, though to some extent that makes this more difficult. I looked at a few - there was an interesting roastery that was tied to a specific coffee estate in Brazil and only had coffee from that farm - before ultimately settling on Press Coffee Roasters out of Phoenix, in part because I'm still trying to collect as many distinct locations as possible and they had the first Balinese coffee I've seen since starting this project.
State #3: Arizona
Press Coffee Roasters
Phoenix, AZ
I guess the label maker broke down before they were able to get this one printed. Online the tasting notes were listed as "grape candy, banana, clove." I definitely got the banana notes and the hint of a spiciness that I suppose I could identify with clove. This was a full natural process so something along the lines of grape or berry is what you would typically expect, but I actually thought that this was pretty subtle for a natural. That's not a bad thing, mind you. I've commented before (possibly not on this blog, but it will probably not surprise you to know that I discuss coffee elsewhere as well) that while I tend to like natural process coffees, at times it feels like they all taste largely the same. That cherry-like flavor can be pretty dominant. However, I didn't think it was really the case here. Of course, banana is also a fruit note, but it's distinct enough from the usual cherry/berry taste that I would just as soon assign it to the terroir as to the processing. I also thought the mouthfeel on this coffee was nice, and very drinkable. My only complaint - and this is hardly unique to Press - is a lack of roasting level information. I would have called it light, perhaps medium-light, but I don't consider myself an expert so that's a guess.
A lot of the same comments apply to the other coffee I ordered from Press, a Brazilian natural process from the state of Minas Gerais in the southeast of the country. Unusually for a natural, the tasting notes did not mention fruit at all - if you can't see them on the bag there, it says "chocolate, hazelnut, big body." I did find it to have a chocolatey body, though I also identified a mild fruit flavor as you would expect. I will say that I don't know that either of these had some of the complexity of flavor that I've found in some other coffees I've had in the past, but both were perfectly satisfying. And again, I appreciated finding that natural coffees did not have to be just overwhelmingly fruity. As the coffee industry changes in response to cost and climate issues, it may well become less and less sustainable for many producers to churn out fully washed coffees, which require large amounts of water during processing. If that's the case, we may see a lot more naturals come to market, and if so it's nice to know that every coffee won't just end up hugely fruit-forward with a lot of them tasting very similar.
Three states down... 47 to go! (Plus DC, at least. I'd also love to get some actual Puerto Rican coffee in there if I can source it appropriately.) Still a long way, but it's not like I don't drink coffee every day or anything. I've already got the next state in house - from Airship in Bentonville, Arkansas - so be on the lookout for that in the next week or so.
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