This week, I selected the signature blend from Lorgues Coffee Roasters for you. It is a very balanced mixture of two complementary origins, from the countries of Brazil and Ethiopia.

Victor Delpierre aka Home Barista

Brazil Mogiana

50% is “Anhumas” natural coffee from the Mogiana region in Brazil. It brings gourmet and comforting notes, with flavors of nuts, chocolate and cocoa to the blend.

In Brazil, the state of Sao Paulo is made up of two zones of coffee production: Center West and Mogiana. The Mogiana area is located at an altitude of between 800 and 1100 meters, where the temperature is almost a constant 20°C all year round!

It is a large terroir, with hilly lands, which produces a good quality coffee, with a regular cup profile, well balanced and smooth. On this terroir, we find a varietal mixture composed of catuai, obata, mundo-novo and icatu. Coffee is produced by 14 small family farms located near the town of Mococa, along the Anhumas Valley, hence the name of this Brazilian coffee. These farms are part of a common sustainable approach, do not use herbicides, and utilise water treatment practices to preserve their shared environment.

Ethiopia Guji

The 50% natural coffee from Ethiopia Guji, gives a blend of gourmet caramel, and fruity flavors of bright red and yellow fruits. It is an Heirloom variety coffee, dried on African beds in a natural process at “BUKU ABEL”. Perched at an altitude of more than 2000m, this drying station is located in the heart of dense vegetation which ensures the right level of soil humidity essential for coffee trees.

This station, managed by the company “DW”, brings its know-how to select the best cherries and ensure optimal drying to reveal the specificities of this Guji. To support its small producers, DW provides them with technical assistance, and financial support by paying, in particular, for cherries at a higher price than the market, in order to guarantee the optimal maintenance of the quality of the collected grains.

These two origins are roasted separately by Hamish, our roaster from Lorgues, of Australian origin, who tells us about his mixture, and his arrival in the charming village of Lorgues.

Hello Victor, thank you for having selected the signature blend from our coffee-shop “La Granges” in Lorgues. We have mixed an Ethiopia Guji which gives a fruity, spicy cup; with a Brazilian coffee “Anhumas” which gives notes of nuts and chocolate. I roast the two origins separately and then I mix them together. I recommend extracting 17g IN for 38g OUT in 25 seconds of extraction to obtain the best cup. I hope you like.

You asked me how I got into the world of “specialty coffee”… my wife and I decided to come to France after having travelled here several times for our vacation. We fell in love with the village of Lorgues. We started to roast the coffee and sell it in local markets. After 3-4 years we moved into this coffee-shop. As you can see this is the result of our hard work and we are very happy about it.

The reason I arrived in the world of coffee was that I understood that there was a need for the “specialty coffee” as I did not find it here easily during our vacation. So we roast BELCO specialty coffee and if you come by here, I show you: we roast 6 origins: Guatemala / Ethiopia/ Tenzanie / Brazil / Panama and Honduras. We make a mix per month and we are happy to show you our concept store. Thanks Victor !

Thank you Hamish for this presentation! I am happy that the Australian culture “specialty coffee” can be found here, thanks to you, a few steps from our offices! See you soon on the bike for our next coffee-ride around Lorgues!

“In a Monk’s Robe”

The coffee is a medium roast with a light brown color (aka Monk’s Robe). The nose is complex with fruity notes, floral and spicy. Let’s get to the tasting …

The settings recommended by the Hamish 17g IN for 38g OUT in 25 seconds.

A nicely scented nose that is both delicious and fruity. On the palate, … this coffee offers a profile typical of a Brazilian cup, with its gourmet notes that remind me of gianduja, this paste of chocolate and finely crushed hazelnuts. These gourmet notes are enhanced with tropical scents. We have a well-balanced espresso, with a generous, complete and varied aromatic register.

I have indulgence in a cup, a suave texture that caresses the taste buds thanks to the Brazil coffee, all raised by a touch of liveliness, which gives peps, brought by the Guji. The hedonism of this coffee evolves towards a nice freshness brought by notes of lively yellow fruits, such as passion and pineapple.

The finish is persistent, pleasant, balanced, and I like the feeling that this espresso leaves in your mouth. A fresh, clean, vegetal sensation with a nice milky sweetness.

Now let’s see the tastes that we can extract with an espresso grinder…

As you now know for those who follow this journey, the taste of the coffee will also depend on the settings on your machine, by playing with the 4 parameters which are:

• the weight of coffee
• the grain size of the grind
• the volume in cups
• the temperature of the water in the machine

Let’s see together 2 recipes that will give you 2 different aromatic profiles:

Recipe 1 (5-3-30ml – temperature MAXIMALE) gives you a balanced espresso:

• The attack is suave, delicate and soft. The silky body is elegant
• The finish is balanced and persistent on yellow fruits
• We have a complex, complete mouth and well balanced
• The mouthfeel is not only based on a specific aromatic register, but it is much more varied and diversified in aromas

Recipe 2 (5-2-50-MAXIMUM temperature)

• I recommend a long espresso – the attack is smooth and soft
• The body is always silky
• The finish is much more gourmet with notes of oleaginous fruits and dark chocolate
• The rather lively fruity sensation of the previous recipe gives way to sweetness
• Reminds me of a soft caramel that would tenderly coat the taste buds

Now for the fans of slow coffee, because many of you ask me for recipes with these methods, today I am offering you the MOKA method. I tested for you the VARIA KIT from Toby Smith which consists of 3 methods in one:

• French press
• V60
• And the Moka Coffee Maker that I used for this recipe:

12gr of coffee, fairly coarse grind. 250g water that I heated to 94°C to accelerate
the MOKA process, which brews your coffee faster and delivers a fruitier cup. The time for the water to rise and brew the coffee is then about 2 minutes 20.

With this well-balanced coffee, you can play with MOKA without fear. I say that because MOKA is a method that I don’t always like, because it often gives intense coffees, spicy enough to feel astringent, dry, and it takes really great coffees to get a really good cup with this method. The blend that Hamish created lends itself perfectly to this method.

I wish you excellent coffee moments, and I’ll see you soon to find out my seasonal version of Latte Machiato, this sweet drink with such an attractive visual !

Victor Delpierre