Hello! Welcome back to the Brew In Your Bubble Coffee Blog and what a coffee I have for you this time from the guys at Blue Hour Coffee! Has your brain gone "hmmm... why do I know that name?". Well it's probably because these guys have been all over social media with different coffee nerds brewing up a cup of their delicious beans. Blue Hour Coffee are a fairly new roaster based in the delightful port city of Southampton (Go Saints!) and my home city for all my years.
I had the pleasure of meeting Liam (One of the owners) whilst he worked for Fran at Moon Roast Coffee where I'm sure he learnt many tricks of the trade before moving on... He teamed up with Nick (The other owner) to create Blue Hour Coffee Roastery and I have to hand it to these guys, they've made a cracking start for themself with which I can only presume has been a lot of hard work mixed with a tremendous dose of passion to get so popular so quickly! You can even find their beans on our retail shelf in Pallets, although this Ethiopia has been so popular I have had to squirrel this last bag away just so I could try some!
Tonight, I had to brew this little number to get me through a long night of paperwork ahead so... back to the Pallets yard I go to enjoy a gorgeous sunset over Beaulieu Mill Pond whilst having Killswitch Engaged pumping through my headphones (The Howard years of course). Yes I'm a lover of Rock & Metal, even to the point my son is named Angus after Angus Young from ACDC! The more you know eh?
So how did it go? I followed their recommended filter brew method given on the information card provided and once again brewed up through my V60. Don't you just love a good coffee info card? Loving the artwork for these too!
The information provided has taken all the hard work away from me having to get the right brew recipe myself which means I can enjoy this coffee straight away. Once again, the transparency behind the coffee is what I like to see. Honestly, give me as much information as you can when it comes to the life of the coffee I'm about the drink. It really is the most important part I believe as it's very easy to forget how far these beans have come. From being grown, picked (Hand picked I may add), washed, graded, shipped, roasted, bagged up again, sent to multiple different coffee shops, ground & brewed...
V60 Brew Recipe
Coffee - 15g
Water - 250g
Full brew time - 2:30mins
Bloom - 50g water for 30 secs
Advice: After the bloom add 50g of water every 30 seconds until the water weight reaches 250g
The Bloom
I've just realised that some of you may not know what a bloom is. I had no idea what it was until one day I noticed this word being thrown around in different brew methods so I had to do a bit of research. Here's my understanding of what a bloom is...
The bloom is vital the help accelerate the release of Carbon Dioxide, or CO2. This is important, as letting the CO2 escape from the coffee grounds before hand will improve the flavour of your coffee. How, I hear you say? Well! (this is where I get my lab coat and science goggles) CO2 has a rather sour taste which left unbloomed will leave a sour flavour to your coffee (obviously). Also something I found very interesting is that CO2 actually repels water! Who knew?! So if you do not bloom your coffee, the water struggles to extract the aromatics and oils in the coffee. These are the parts you want to extract to get the best flavours possible. so remember... No Bloom, Instant Coffee DOOM!
First taste is so floral and pleasant. Now, I have to admit I love a fruity coffee so floral tones for me is something I need to work on more but you can only do that by trying as much coffee as possible right? This coffee is particularly bright and beautiful with hits of pineapple notes gleaming through. But as I always say, the magic really happens when it starts to cool.
Slurping the floral beauty over my tongue, the sweet and fruity flavours really start to resinate and my senses are in pure relax mode. What a truly beautifully balanced and refreshing coffee this is. Well done chaps, you've made my evening top notch.
So there we have it! Another incredible coffee to add to the collection. I hope you enjoyed this entry on Blue Hours Ethiopia. As always, I encourage you to click the link bellow and check out what Blue Hour Coffee is all about and what they are up to. Whilst you are there, why not get yourself a bag of this delicious coffee and Brew In Your Bubble too! Alternatively, you can pop into Pallets and enjoy a V60 of Blue Hour for yourself.
I'm off to do some small business boss stuff now but I'll see you for the next entry soon!
Dom. Out! (Mic Drop, Big Boom, Lights out) Goodnight!
