Overview
We're honored to work with our close friends at Creature Comforts once again (for the 11th year!) to develop a custom blend for their seasonal Koko Buni milk porter. Koko Buni combines toasted coconut, vanilla bean, cacao nibs, and 1000 Faces’ coffee, for a ridiculously delicious winter seasonal beer.
Just like previous years, all winter long we’ll be offering the very same coffee used in the beer for you to enjoy at home! Because of our shared passion for and dedication to quality, the coffee selection and brewing process is continually improving. We’ve settled on a blend that not only perfectly enhances the beer, but also shines as an incredible cup of coffee.
The vision for this coffee is all about big flavor and big fun. It’s wildly sweet, complex, and fruit-driven. The name is derived from the Amharic word for coffee that’s widely used in Ethiopia, which can be pronounced Bun or Buna. Keeping with this theme, our established rubric is an all Ethiopia blend of multiple processes. The 2023/24 Koko Buni Blend is currently composed of some of our absolute favorite coffees each year - 50% Bookkisa and 50% Suke Quto.
The natural processed coffee takes center stage as usual, giving Koko Buni Blend a dense sweetness, full body, and berry-driven flavor profile. The washed process component adds both silky florals and a soft citrus acidity that makes this offerings a complex exploration of flavor. As Koko Buni cools and flavors continue to develop, you’ll enjoy a dynamic sweetness that touches on everything from milk chocolate to sugar cookies to wildflower honey. We’re tasting: cherry, blueberry, raspberry, orange marmalade, vanilla, honey, brown sugar, sweet tea, milk chocolate.
Brewing
To explore all of the complexity that this blend has to offer, we recommend using a relatively open brew ratio, such as 1:17 (coffee to water). This should produce the most transparent and fruit-forward brew. You’ll prominently find juicy fruit flavors like cherry, raspberry, and peach. These will be tethered by a gentle sweetness - think cotton candy, honey, nougat, milk chocolate. It’s worth noting that Koko Buni performs well at tighter brew ratios like a 1:15 or 1:16 as well! With more coffee, you’ll notice the flavors shift into a more dense, jammy, and chocolate heavy flavor profile.
If your coffee tastes grassy, thin, and slightly sour - like lemongrass or under ripe berries - try grinding finer!
If your coffee tastes muddy and drying - like burnt sugar or oversteeped black tea - try grinding coarser.
