Cream

I enjoy just a bit of half and half in my single origin coffee. As a committed coffee third wave-er, it’s a tough thing for me to say publicly, but it’s the truth. When I was roasting with Flying Five Coffee, I never added anything to the single origins we offered. I mean, it’s common third wave knowledge that you just don’t add anything to your single origins. After all, you’re after tasting the bean and the terroir of that origin, right?

As my other posts in this blog might indicate, I’m a huge fan of Cortados for espresso. For me, it’s the perfect balance of espresso and microfoam milk goodness. I feel that the sweetness in the milk always brings out interesting tastes in the espresso. Much more milk than a Cortado and the espresso’s character typically gets lost, drowned out in the milk.

For me, it’s the same with single origins. Actually, truth be told, I like tasting single origins both ways: on their own, and with a little half and half. It’s interesting to taste the differences between the two, and I find that the slight sweetness of the half and half often brings out some interesting tastes in the single origin coffee that I’m drinking.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about dumping a ton of cream into the single origin. I’m talking about just a teaspoon to a tablespoon of half-and-half in an 8 oz cup. Pouring a ton of cream into a coffee is the same thing for me as a latte: all you really taste is milk, and the origin character of the coffee is lost.

So, I say challenge the common third wave wisdom, and do the unthinkable: put just a bit of half and half in your favorite single origin coffee and see how it turns out.