What We Are Brewing: Metric Coffee
We have spent this year exploring coffee roasters from all over the country. From the hills of central Texas, to the bustling streets of Brooklyn, we’ve tested, tasted, and appreciated the time and effort these men and women have put into producing some of the finest roasts in the country.
Whether it’s a lovely light roasted Ethiopian — our favorite, or a delicious medium roasted Columbian, we find no greater joy than brewing these coffees on new gear that makes its way into the Prima office. We work diligently to ensure we get the most out of every brew. We weigh, grind, measure extraction, and tweak it until we are left with a cup of coffee brewed to perfection.
So as always, we are back again with a new What We Are Brewing featuring a new coffee, new roaster and new recipe that produced amazing results! So let’s get brewing!
This month's roaster resides in the windy city, Chicago, Illinois. Metric Coffee sits in the heart of the action in West Fulton Market, an area bustling with art galleries, breweries, distilleries, and coffee. They are 100% self funded and stand firm to their values and culture which are built around the ideas of quality coffee and people before profit. This is seen through their diligence ensuring people across the chain of supply make a sustainable income.
Our featured coffee of the month is a beautiful washed single-origin Peruvian coffee, Jose Rivera El Rejo. The coffee was grown at 1,750 meters above sea level by Jose Rivera, a third generation coffee producer and friend of Metric. Jose Rivera is also the co-founder of Origin Coffee Labs, an exporter that aims to positively impact the lives of small shareholders by helping them improve farming practices, produce quality coffee, and make a fair wage. Metric works exclusively with Origin Coffee Lab to get only the finest coffee out of Peru.
The coffee possesses beautifully balanced flavor notes of lemon custard, bittersweet chocolate and graham crackers. The lemon flavor is apparent immediately, presenting itself as a pleasantly tart acidity; however, the sweetness becomes apparent at the tail end, leaving a harmonious and pleasing balance.
| Roaster: | Metric Coffee |
|---|---|
| Coffee: | Jose Rivera El Rejo |
| Process: | Washed |
| Brewing Device: | Tricolate |
| Grind: | Medium/Medium-fine |
| Dose: | 22 grams |
| Water: | 330 grams at 210°F |
| Time: | 6:30 |
Before you begin brewing, make sure you’ve done all the tedious work like heating the water, grinding the coffee, pre-wetting the filter, and making sure your scale is charged.
- Pour 22 grams of coffee into the Tricolate and level the grounds. Place the dispersion screen on top.
- Pour a 100 gram bloom and wait about 45 seconds.
- For your second pour, pour 230 grams.
- Once all the water is poured you can expect your brew time to take between 6 and 7 minutes
Now time for the taste test! Do you pick up on some of the flavor notes we did? You will notice that you get a full bodied cup of coffee due to the immersion method, but it remains clean of silt thanks to the paper filter at the bottom. We suggest making your first pour without the dispersion screen to experiment with higher extractions, but do be aware that the brew time can take upwards of 10 minutes. If the coffee is not quite to your liking, try, try again. Afterall, it really is a matter of preference! Keep testing, keep tasting, and keep brewing!
