Review #14: Zion Coffee Co.

Name of Roaster: Zion Coffee Co. Location of Roaster (City, State, Country): Peoria, IL Name of Roast: San Miguel Escobar Natural Microlot Type of Roast (Light, Medium, Dark): Medium Origin of Beans: De la Gente, San Miguel Escobar, Antigua, Guatemala Price: $7 (4 oz.) Brewing Method (Drip, Chemex, AeroPress, etc.): Chemex Time Between Purchase and Brewing (Ballpark is fine): Six Days Aroma: Opening the bag, we noted cocoa powder and a hint of raspberry jam. The grind revealed a more developed mixed berry palate, including blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry, along with light spice notes. The pour offered a bright syrup with dark brown sugar dominating.

Flavor Profile: This coffee had a high entry that focused on front of the tongue and roof of the mouth. Delicate berry notes were perceived both high and low on the tongue, with a sharp dark chocolate flowing between the berry notes at mid-palate. The flavor was consistent from the front to the back of the mouth, with mixed berry and vanilla aromatics persisting high on the roof, and the dark chocolate fading. The sides of the mouth revealed more pleasant, rounded fruit notes, including raspberry, blueberry, and a hint of baked apple. As the coffee cooled, the coffee became more viscous, but the flavor profile remained light. A slight acidity developed, with the sharp chocolate becoming more pronounced on the back end while berry remained on the tip of the tongue. Further sips evinced notes of cedar and bourbon on the finish as the coffee settled.

Overall Impression (What did you think of it? Anything else we should know?): This was an interesting coffee, as the development of the berry, along with the late arrival of the bourbon, caught us by surprise. The coffee was pleasant but powerful, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We absolutely recommend purchasing this coffee if it’s available. Note: Upon realizing we were going to be passing through Peoria, we reached out to Zion to see if they would be interested in our reviewing one of their coffees. They were nice enough to agree and provide a sample of this fine coffee. We thank Zion for allowing us the opportunity to showcase a great coffee from a quality small batch roaster, as one of the purposes of our reviews is to spread awareness of top notch roasters and coffees in various locales. Our contact with Zion did not influence our review, as our reviews will always remain impartial and focused solely on providing honest thoughts on coffees from quality craft roasters. Final Score (1-10, with 10 being the best cup of coffee in your life): 7.8. Where to Buy: Zion Coffee Co. Looking to do a review of your own? Hop over to the Community and get to it!