Description
Every family has a wild child who won’t conform or take the traditional path, if coffee were people, this would definitely be the wild child. If you have the courage to get to know one of the wild ones, they’re usually a lot of fun.
Been a long time since we found some awesome Chinese coffees. Here in the USA, its easy to think of tea from China but few have had their coffee. On the rare side even though they have been growing it for 100+ years! Mostly purchased by domestic and closer markets, with only a recent emphasis on specialty offerings. An origin you should not overlook on your drinking journey around the globe & through your roaster.
We recently befriended Torch Coffee Labs, who is about as connected to Chinese coffee as you can get. They run education and coffee certification labs throughout Asia and have recently begun putting together specialty regional chops in China which we are proud to slap on our list.
Tasting Notes: This is one exotic coffee even for natural fans. A wonderful example of strong anaerobic fermentation, but keep in mind, strong fermentation is not for everyone. A high rated, super complex cup: fruit, booze, spice, oak, nut, cocoa. Best served at the light to medium roast level. Sweet edged, fuller bodied with a creamier mouthfeel and unlike most naturals, it’s fairly low acidity. Nothing can quite prepare the tongue for the tastes on strong natural processed coffees, but if your a fan, do not miss this one. Very complex cup and not as overly fruity/winy as the open air natural. The lighter you roast, the more wild this cup gets. If you want to lean the cup towards the fruity and sweet tones, keep it on the lighter side. For very complex darker tones, boozy rum like spice with oaky complexities, a strong medium to borderline dark roast is the way to go.
Roasting Notes: Beautiful prep for a ferment natural and fairly even roasting, does have very high chaff levels. Usually with naturals this fruity/wild they roast super uneven, making roasting a bit difficult, but not the case here, only a couple beans will appear lighter than the rest. One can tell the care that went into this lot just by their excellent screening process. A longer setup will smooth out the cup increase the depth of flavor, but mute up some of the fruity factor. A fun one to start drinking 12 hours after roasting, but save some for 7 days to see the difference.
Torch Black Sheep is an experimental coffee that features a 30-day anaerobic fermentation, an initial drying period to 35% moisture, an additional sealed 20-day fermentation and a final drying to 10-12% moisture. Complex and extreme, you’ll find a new horizon of flavor possibilities if you follow this Black Sheep.
BoB Glassy (verified owner) –
I really liked this coffee. Yes – quite different but in a good way. Roasted to a medium roast just beyond 2nd crack on my Skywalker V1 roaster. I like the winey, fermenty aroma and taste. I roasted for a lady at work, she took it home and told me her whole family was fighting over this coffee. Maybe not an everyday coffee, but a couple times a week it’s great. Please get more in stock. I can’t wait.
BoB Glassy (verified owner) –
To revise my review.. I meant to say I roasted just beyond FIRST crack, not second crack.
Rick (verified owner) –
Wow! This is like the Stilton of coffee. I’ve had this flavor before, but never quite this intense. Almost like a hoppy beer. I think it’s great, but definitely not for everyone.
sh –
Darkest unroasted coffee I’ve every seen. Tastes very much like the date paste sold in vac sealed bricks in the middle east. A bit like Chinese plum sauce. Not half bad but pretty weird for sure. The other Chinese coffee I bought in the same order (Lao Xu Zhai catimor natural) has a similar taste but a bit more complex and less heavy-handed