Kohana Coffee returns to the Table, this time with their Kohana Coffee Cold Brew Concentrate—a single origin Honduran cold brew concentrate that is blended with milk and canned.
Las Capucas Honduras
COCAFCAL (Cooperativa Capucas Limitada) is located in western Honduras, in the buffer zone of the Celaque National Park. This amazing nature reserve is a cloud forest containing the country’s highest mountain.
The cooperative represents many coffee farming communities from the municipalities of San Pedro and Corquin, in Copan. Together, they work to promote the sustainable development of their local economy with coffee funds in order to receive financial, technical, productive and marketing services for members and families. Reducing poverty and increasing standards of life for their community are their main objectives.
Their development programs have benefited approximately 5,000 people in Las Capucas and surrounding regions. Members are dedicated to growing sustainable conventional, organic and Fair Trade coffees.*
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Kohana Coffee Cold Brew Concentrate, from Kohana Coffee in Austin, Texas. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THEDETAILS:
region: Las Capucas, Honduras
farm: N/A
producer: smallholder farmers
association: Cooperativa Capucas Limitada
elevation: 1100 – 1300 meters above sea level
cultivars: Caturra, Catuai, Borbon, Pacas
process: fully washed, patio dried
certifications: Organic, Fair Trade
CUPPINGNOTES:
The aroma of Kohana Coffee’s cold brew concentrate is super intense. I’m not sure how to describe it other than to say it smells of sour cherries, roast, chocolate, and motor oil. Sour and bitter. Sour and bitter, and so potent that—I have to admit—it actually made me gag a little.
Taking my first few sips of the coffee isn’t a much better experience. The coffee has both the flavor and consistency of chocolate milk and I can taste the subtle sweetness of red fruits in the background; which is nice. But I’m also tasting some pretty foul notes of oils, carbon, and chalk. Mixed with the fruit flavors, the chalkiness at least tastes like Tums; still, though—that’s not what you want from a cold brew.
Medium body; creamy mouthfeel; malic acidity; clean finish.
FINALTHOUGHTS:
You know, this was a tough review for me to write because I just don’t particularly like cold brew coffees, anyway. At least, I’ve never had one that particularly wowed me. Unfortunately, the streak continues. Kohana Coffee’s Cold Brew concentrate was just not very good.
It wasn’t the light and refreshing respite from the hot Summer days that it should have been. It was chalky, it wasn’t sweet, it was roasty, it was too full-bodied, and it had a long lingering aftertaste that was so bitter I could’t help but grimace.
Cutting it with almond milk made it slightly more tolerable, but… Woof.
*content provided by InterAmerican Coffee
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.