Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/931664
FOURTH PLACE Ben Put, Monogram Coffee Barista Champion of Canada What was the inspiration for your signature drink? I cupped many different Gesha lots processed different ways at Nine- ty Plus Gesha Estates and found that they all expressed varietal charac- teristics (fl orals and citrus), even though they were processed in extremely different ways. I had never been able to identify variety across processing methods, and this taste experience inspired my signature drink, which was designed to let the judges taste and compare how processing affects and expresses the fl avors of variety. What coffee did you use? I used a washed Gesha, Lot 209, and an experimental Naturally pro- cessed Gesha, #236. Both coffees were from Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Volcan, Panama. Ninety Plus's farm manager, José Alfredo, created the processing method this year, and it was truly incredible. What was the exact recipe? The fi rst part of the drink: • Two shots of the experimental Natural • 5g of a grapefruit tonic that I made with grapefruit juice, grapefruit pith, cinchona, citric acid, and sugar • 30g of a single-estate heirloom variety, white rose water, diluted 300:1 Once these were mixed and portioned into glasses, I froze the drink with liquid nitrogen. The next part of the drink: • Two shots of the Washed Gesha mixed with the exact same ingredi- ents, which the judges poured over the frozen Natural Were there special drinking instructions for the judges? The judges took one sip of the Washed part of the drink fi rst. This sip showed the classic fl avors of Gesha (white fl owers, citrus, and stone fruit). The judges then took the glass in their hands and used the heat of their hands to unlock the fl avors of the experimental natural (this was symbolic of how Jose Alfredo unlocked new fl avors through his process). The exper- imental natural fl avors were new citrus and fl oral fl avors (grapefruit candy and rose). Anything else to add about the drink? Part of the reason this drink worked well is because citrus and rose aromas share some similar chemical compounds. (Lemon Skittles taste a bit like rose!) I found the experience of the fl avors intersecting really inter- esting, and I wish I had built more drinks that had ingredients that did this. 67 www.baristamagazine.com