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The Barn

The Barn - Cruz Gorda Espresso

Name: The Barn - Cruz Gorda Espresso
Brand: The Barn
SKU: COF-BN-0051
Price: 23.20 CAD
Availability: InStock

COF-BN-0051

$23.20 CAD

Tasting Notes: Chocolate Ganache, Cherry, Rich

From Mauricio Salaverria's Cruz Gorda estate, this Bourbon lot, grown in the Los Naranjos mountain region, showcases a superb natural process with deep flavours and cherry-like sweetness. The Cup of Excellence-winning coffee presents nice aromas of sweet fruit and dark chocolate, delivering smooth, boozy notes of cherry, blackberry, and ganache. Mauricio's commitment to innovation and sustainability is evident in his meticulous processing techniques, environmental practices, and the ideal terroir of clay and volcanic soils, creating a coffee with character and complexity. The extended, layered drying process at the micromill contributes to the development of rich flavours in this exceptional coffee.

Quantity: 250g

Format: Roasted Whole Bean

Origin: El Salvador

Origin Type: Single Origin

Region: Apaneca

Producer: Mauricio Salaverria

Variety: Bourbon

Altitude: 1500 meters

Process: Natural

Caffeine: Full Caffeine

Brew Method: Espresso

Roast Level: Medium

Quantity

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This is my first time trying out The Barn and I found it hard to dial in. When grinding, the hardness is similar to a light roast.

Ridiculously Hard Beans

According to thebarn.de website the beans are grown in a mountainous region of El Salvador at an altitude of ~1500 meters and processed naturally. The roasting, done in Berlin, is specified as "espresso" but looks on the lighter side. Sounds pretty interesting so far, right? But wait...
Our default grinder - a Varia VS3 (v2) - clearly struggled breaking down these beans, regardless of fine or coarse grind setting?! Never happened before with any other beans or roasts. Thinking that maybe the grinder was at fault somehow, I then tried mightily with a Timemore C3 that has been upgraded with the much better burr set suitable for espresso grinding. This little grinder has been great since forever, and also never felt underpowered...
So I'm a big athletic guy, but got the same result after an absolutely ridiculous amount of straining?!?
In fact, I was concerned enough afterwards that I disassembled the grinder afterwards for a look-see. And while no damage to the internals was visible, I will bet that neither grinder would stand up to these beans over any length of time. We threw out the rest of the beans. Not worth the risk to the equipment.
Was this just a bad batch? No idea of course, but we will absolutely never buy these beans again. Hard as rock.

PS: We tried the Christmas Blend from The Barn a few months ago, and that was perfectly fine.