Dark Woods Coffee Roasters | La Huella | Panama

Batch Coffee Review UK | Dark Woods coffee Roastery, west Yorkshire Pennines | Panama, Natural | Best coffee beans UK | Speciality coffee roasters UK | Best coffee subscription UK

Dark woods is unlike many of the roasteries that you come across in the UK. It is located in the stunning West Yorkshire Pennines on the edge of a small village called Marsden. The 1950’s Probat that they use to roast all of their delicious coffee is set in a refurbished Victorian textile mill beside a canal. They attribute the inspiration behind the mood and flavours of their coffee to the dramatic windswept valley.

Opening its doors in 2013, the three founding partners came together with a wealth of experience in the industry. Their collective knowledge and expertise allowed them to rapidly establish themselves amongst others in the space and quickly grow a loyal customer base. Their unique location is reflected in their eye-catching branding which jumps off the shelf. The range of coffees and care that is taken with each roast is testament to the expertise behind Dark Woods.

The La Huella From Dark woods was a coffee I couldn’t wait to try. Having spent a few months in Panama I do have a little bit of a soft spot for Panamanian coffee. Not only because of a personal connection, but the coffees from this area of the world do tend to be well produced and sometimes can knock your socks off. A coffee-growing country that has the infrastructure and economy of a coffee consuming county, it is no wonder Panama produces some of the best coffee in the world when you see how advanced coffee farming is here. La Huella did Panama justice.

The coffee begins by rushing straight over your palette to the back of your mouth and reminded me of the sensation that you get when eating a fresh grapefruit, which is quite unusual for a natural. It is enjoyably acidic but layered with enough sweetness to remove the sharpness that is sometimes present with overly acidic coffees. As the coffee cools the sweetness becomes more pronounced but the grapefruit acidity lingers in the aftertaste. As the coffee cools close to room temperature, it takes another twist and loses the grapefruit acidity in place of grapes and sweeter tasting berries. The body remains throughout the brew which had a fairly cloudy appearance, Its bright vibrant flavours a pleasant surprise.

The coffee is a wonderful example of how complex Panamanian coffee can be. Its complexities are a testament to the care that has been taken from the fincas of Boquete in Panama to the Dark Woods roastery in the West Yorkshire Pennines.

A coffee to be enjoyed and savoured right to the last drop. Brewed best as a pour over. Give it a couple of days to express itself.

Coffee ReviewsTom6 April 2020Dark Woods Coffee RoastersNatural Process, Panamanian coffee, bourbonComment

How We Review Coffee?

We receive coffees from roasters throughout the UK to taste and review. All of our coffee reviews are our own words and thoughts, we don’t receive any form of payment for any of our reviews.

Our coffee reviews always start with an introduction to each independent coffee roaster.

At Batch, we are all about celebrating the incredibly talented roasters that we have in the UK and telling their stories. Each one roasting the coffee slightly different.

We then explore the origin of the coffee and take a look at where the coffee has been grown and the process that it has gone through once it has been picked.

Every coffee growing origin has a different set of characteristics when it comes to the final cup, whether it’s fruity and floral or chocolatey and full the origin of speciality coffee is always celebrated.

The last part of our coffee review is what we tasted in the coffee. Speciality coffee has some incredible flavour notes (more than wine), some dark and rich while others on the opposite end of the flavour spectrum are light and fruity, we try and explain what we taste in the coffee however like with many complex tasting foods or drinks it is also down to perception and personal opinion.

So if we have tasted orange zest and you get watermelon then that is brilliant and what we think speciality coffee is all about (as long as you like the coffee).

We then score the coffee on attributes like body, aroma, sweetness and flavour. Some of the coffees you may then find in our coffee club voted the best coffee subscription in the UK by the Independent.

How To Make The Best Coffee At Home?

There are many ways to extract the best flavour out of coffee. Take a look at our coffee guides for some tips on how to make your coffee the best it can be.

Where’s The Best Coffee Grown?

Coffee is grown all over the World however, speciality coffee is only within 20 degrees of the equator. It makes specialist coffee rarer than commodity-grade coffee with the added fact that it gets better the higher it is grown.

There are many great coffee growing regions in the world, in Asia, there is Indonesia and India that produce lots of great coffee.

Africa, the birthplace of coffee has numerous coffee-growing countries, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda are known for excellent coffee.

South America has quality as well as quantity produced, some amazing coffees come out of Brazil, Colombia and Peru. Central America also has some world-class coffee growing regions, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua grace many cupping tables.

There are also many other countries that produce excellent coffee.

COFFEE REVIEWS

Dark Woods Coffee Roasters | La Huella | Panama

How We Review Coffee?

How To Make The Best Coffee At Home?

Where’s The Best Coffee Grown?