A review project by "Takeru", a user who has been using CROWD ROASTER since its launch and who has been working in the coffee industry for a long time.
This time, this is a user review of the newly launched [ CROWD ROASTER EX]!

 

Hello everyone.
I'm Takeru, a CROWD ROASTER user.
This time, I tried using the newly launched [ CROWD ROASTER EX] right away, so I wrote a review of the experience.

First of all, what is [ CROWD ROASTER EX]?
To put it simply, it is a service that allows you to order already roasted coffee beans in 100g units and have them delivered right to your home.

CROWD ROASTER 's basic service is to provide raw beans, the raw material for the coffee you want to drink, a roaster who roasts them, and if you wish, a roaster who will directly tell you your desired degree of roasting by leaving a comment. It's a service where you can ask for an original roast.
Although it is an interesting service that has never been seen before, from a user's perspective, there are some difficulties in using it as described below.

1. It takes time from the start of the roast event (participation) until the coffee beans actually arrive.
2. I have a high hurdle because I don't know if the taste of raw beans I've never tasted matches my tastes.
3. If you want to start your own event, you have to purchase 250g of green beans, which is a high hurdle.

In particular, many people may be able to feel "1" and "2".

I often launch or participate in roast events, and by the time the coffee beans actually arrive at my house, I have forgotten that I had ordered them lol.

When I started my own event, it took 3-4 weeks for the event to take place, and then it took about 1-2 weeks for roasting and delivery, so the feeling of wanting to drink it faded. I was a little disappointed that it arrived just when I was expecting it.

Also, if you don't know the taste of green beans, you won't know which roaster to ask for, or what degree of roasting is best, which makes ordering difficult. .

Going back to the topic, I think the newly launched [ CROWD ROASTER EX] will solve these problems.

As mentioned above, once you place an order, already roasted coffee beans will be delivered to your home immediately, and of course, those coffee beans are roasted using a combination of green beans available at CROWD ROASTER and a roaster. .

You can check the combination, roast level, flavor, etc. before ordering from the app, so if you have the coffee beans of your choice, it's great that you can experience CROWD ROASTER 's service easily. .
 

So, I would like to place an order right away.
When you open the app and tap the coffee bean package icon at the top, a list of coffee beans that are currently available for order will be displayed.

This time, I would like to order coffee roasted by `` LEAVES COFFEE ROASTERS Ishii Yasuo '', which is ``[ BPC ] El Salvador España Farm Anaerobic Natural'', which I had never tried before and was curious about.

The order date was April 27th.
Well, I would like to wait for a while until it arrives.

I was informed that it would be shipped on April 28th, and it arrived on April 29th.
...It's early lol

If you participate in a regular roast event, you'd have to wait about a week and a half at the earliest, or more than a month at the latest, so it's really quick compared to that.

Since it has already been roasted, I looked at the roasting date and found it was "2023/04/20".
It's been over a week since I roasted it, but I don't have any problems at all since I let it rest for about 2 to 5 weeks after roasting. (In fact, it's helpful because it reduces the amount of time you have to wait for the right time to drink.)
If you want to drink freshly roasted food, it might be a good idea to check the roasting date in the product details.

Now, I would like to take the time to write a review after brewing and drinking it.

I would like to drink coffee brewed with paper drip.
Use the Mellita dripper to brew 140ml of coffee for 14g of coarsely ground coffee beans.

Before the tasting review, I would like to introduce the brands that I will try again this time.

This time we will have a ``light roast'' coffee roasted by `` LEAVES COFFEE ROASTERS Ishii Yasuo '' from ``[ BPC ] El Salvador España Farm Anaerobic Natural.''

This España farm is located in the Apaneca district of Ahuachapan department.
It is in the same Ahuachapan department as the previously introduced "[GSA] El Carmen Farm Geisha Anaerobic Natural", but this Espana Farm is located in the "Apaneca district".

The Apaneca area is famous as a region in El Salvador that is suitable for coffee cultivation, producing high quality coffee, but it is also known as an area where strong winds blow.
Therefore, windbreaks are often planted in these areas to prevent damage to the coffee tree leaves and cherries.

 

*From Google Earth

The image above is an aerial view of the mountains in Apaneca district, Ahuachapan department.
You can probably see a mesh-like structure surrounded by many squares, and most of these will serve as windbreaks.
(I'm not sure if all of it is used for coffee production, but...)
I thought it would be interesting to be able to understand the characteristics of a production area from a map, so I would like to introduce it to you.

Going back to the topic, there are three cultivars used in this brand: " Bourbon ", "Parcus", and " Castillo ".
The production process is anaerobic natural, so if it's not a single variety, the taste will likely vary, but how is it finished?
I'm hoping that it will work in a positive way and add complexity.

The introduction has become longer.
Now let's taste it.

 

The tasting method is served in a wine glass.

A sweet aroma reminiscent of boiled apples like tarte tatin.
In addition, you can feel the flavor of mulled wine with a little cinnamon and the sourness reminiscent of cherries.

During extraction, I could feel the strong aroma of fermentation, but when I drank it, the taste was gentler than I expected. (This may be due to the coarse grinding.)

Also, although this is said to be a light roast, it doesn't seem that shallow.
(Even during extraction, it swelled well considering it was a light roast and coarsely ground.)
I get the impression that it is easy to drink and has a well-balanced finish while still allowing you to feel the flavor derived from the ingredients.

The scent has a fermentation impression that comes from anaerobics, but the acidity has a sweet and sour freshness similar to cherry, which is a good impression.

It's calmer overall than I expected.
Of course, the aroma was flashy, but the taste was simple, and although there were some changes as it cooled down, such as a slight hay-like aroma and a stronger impression of mulled wine grapes, there was no major change, and the taste was consistent. My impression is that it's coffee that gives you the impression of wine.

However, if you age it a little more, the flavor will open up and your impression may change.
I would like to enjoy the rest while relaxing.

This time, I wrote a review of my experience with [ CROWD ROASTER EX].

After tasting [ BPC ] once, I thought, ``Next time I want to try this roast level,'' and I liked Mr. Yasuo 's roasting, which has a good balance and brings out the flavor of the ingredients, so I thought, ``I want to try this green coffee next time.'' I wanted Yasuo to roast it for me.''

It's great for people who are using CROWD ROASTER for the first time, or who want to try coffee from green beans or roasters that they haven't tried yet. Personally, I thought it was a great service.

If you are interested in coffee made with "raw beans and roasters", why not try [ CROWD ROASTER EX]?

If you can find raw beans and a roaster that match your preferences, I think you will enjoy CROWD ROASTER 's services even more.

That's all for today.
I hope you have good coffee in your daily life.

 

2023.05.05
Takeru

 

View the product lineup of [ CROWD ROASTER EX]