Review #8: 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters

Name of Roaster: 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters Location of Roaster (City, State, Country): Vancouver, BC, CAN Name of Roast: Kenya Gikanda Type of Roast (Light, Medium, Dark): Light Origin of Beans: Nyeri, Kenya Price: $21 CAD ($16.76 USD) (16 oz) Brewing Method (Drip, Chemex, AeroPress, etc.): Chemex Time Between Purchase and Brewing (Ballpark is fine): Fifteen Days Aroma: Opening the bag, we were hit by strawberry and blackberry jam, then a bit of toffee. We found more jam on the nose upon the grind, this time adding a hint of apple to the strawberry and blackberry, with a touch of baking spices and hazelnut lingering. The pour was different, with a rich caramel scent. Flavor Profile: At first taste, we were hit with strawberry jam, along with the flavor of fig. The coffee was lush, with a mid-mouth feel that washes slowly and pleasantly to the back. The aromatics were berry-focused. Accompanying the aromatics, at the finish we were left with a lingering taste of spiced chocolate cake and berry jam. Overall Impression (What did you think of it? Anything else we should know?): This was cup was somehow slightly more balanced than the Cut Coffee we had last week, which was superb in its own right. The 49th Parallel cup was not as complex than the Cut Coffee offering we had, offering less varied notes, but that is not a downside in and of itself, as the notes we discovered upon tasting were confident, fully developed, and pure. This was an exceptional coffee that we will come back to again in the future, especially when we seek a berry-forward single origin.

As an aside, special thanks go to a barista at De Mello Palheta’s Richmond location for pointing us to 49th Parallel and Early Bird Coffee & Kitchen, which carries 49th Parallel’s beans for retail sale (links below). Seeking some DMP beans during our visit to Toronto, we found the DMP Richmond shop sold out, and they kindly recommended 49th Parallel as a roaster to try instead. We love the collegiality and support found in the craft coffee roaster community, and we will aim to do a DMP review in the future as a thank you for their fantastic recommendation! Final Score (1-10, with 10 being the best cup of coffee in your life): 8.3. Where to Buy: 49th Parallel and Early Bird Coffee & Kitchen. Looking to do a review of your own? Hop over to the Community and get to it!