Tanzanian – 2009 – Trinatario

I like to be up front about what I sell. I am going to highlight that I really like the flavor of this bean. Nutty, balanced, chocolate (odd, but it IS chocolatey), very little fruit. What I don’t really care for is that the prep is not as good as I would like. There are quite the number of oddly shaped beans.

OK, with that out of the way, I will also mention another oddity of these beans. The husk has a little more moisture than I have seen. The beans are not wet, but they also don’t crack very well in the raw state. The husk wants to stay in one piece, so it is large and heavy and won’t winnow out. For that reason, I won’t be offering these as raw nibs. I just can’t. Actually I could, but the waste is around 50% so it effectively doubles the price, and that’s just silly.

On with the taste portion of the review. As I said, there is nut (almonds), a light pleasant earthiness, but not powerhouse like a Ghana. There is no noticeably astringency and just enough bitterness (in a good way) to balance an unique maltiness. It was a solid, long lasting chocolate flavor. Rather understated, but persistent. Due to the higher moisture content, it takes well to a good roasting. These are good before they start popping, but equally good once they start popping. The flavor does not go away or become bitter. A nice bean to learn on since it handles many roasts well, and due to the extra moisture, plumps and separates from the husk nicely making roasted cracking and winnowing pretty easy.

So, this bean won’t blow you away with super deep, complex flavors, but I don’t expect it to disappoint either. It’s a good solid bean and has the potential to make some very nice chocolate.

I am (mostly) keeping the flat rate pricing, with the exception of a 10% discount for 25 lbs. And per the suggestions from the Poll I have also reduced the mark up I usually put on the beans, so these are indeed a little discounted.

I hope you enjoy them.