Scarlett Coffee Roasters
Scarlett Coffee Roasters are a speciality coffee roaster located on the boundary between Angel and Islington in the heart of London.
The name is derived from the colour that the coffee cherry reaches when it is full ripe and ready to pick. Their distinct branding depicts the scarlet Ibis which can be seen in various forms on all of their coffees.
As bird lovers, they wanted to use one of their favourite feathered friends. The Scarlett Ibis not to be confused for another flamboyant pink bird has beautiful colouring and originates in some of their favourite coffee growing regions of South America. As Scarlett put it themselves, “It makes it a natural fit as our spirit animal. After all, it spends almost as much time around coffee as we do!”
All of the coffees that Scarlett Coffee Roasters showcase are single-origin coffees and sourced from some of the finest growers across the globe.
They strive to highlight and emphasize the complexities and unique character that every coffee has to offer, showcasing the farmers’ hard work in all its delicious glory. They carefully roast every coffee in small batches on their Probat coffee roaster to best nurture and highlight these qualities.
Their line-up is always be evolving and changing with the ever-changing seasons of speciality coffee. When a familiar name returns in next year’s harvest, it could taste completely different as conditions at origin change. This is part of the joy of coffee, a constant sense of discovery.
With a background in wine and spirits, these guys are serious flavour chasers. Their love and knowledge of all that complexity of flavour, both big and bold, subtle and nuanced, carry straight over to their appreciation of coffee.
The Coffee
The Ibis Coffee from Scarlett Coffee Roasters originates from the Cerrado Mineiro in Brazil. This region has an interesting past and sort of defines the Brazilian coffee-growing industry today.
Coffee was first cultivated in Cerrado Mineiro in the 1970s by farmers from Paraná and São Paulo. They used certain techniques that balanced the acidity of the soil and made the region fertile enough to cultivate coffee. This was no small operation and like with Brazilian coffee farming, in general, the area was huge at a whopping 210,000 hectares.
The Cerrado Mineiro presents a dry climate during the harvest period, which causes the coffee to suffer less from humidity after harvesting, allowing for a consistent drying process.
The region is at the forefront of the speciality coffee industries focus on traceability. Many small areas of coffee farming pride themselves on been able to trace the coffee all the way back to the farm and even particular lot on a farm. For a region the size of the Cerrado Mineiro it becomes a much larger task.
With modern technology however and the use of QR Codes many of the green coffee sacks that leave this area are tagged with useful information for the exporter. Importer or roaster to scan and learn about the farm, their story and the particular coffee.
The Review
All of the coffees that we tasted from Scarlett were amazing, the beans inside the bag did the branding on the outside of the bag justice. Each one different, highlighting the coffees unique flavour notes.
The ground coffee had notes of caramel and suggested it would have some body. The aroma of the brewing coffee, however, was quite interesting and was almost woody reminding me of a walk in the woods.
The first thing about the coffee that I noticed once brewed was how bright the coffee appeared for a natural. The taste is first and foremost was delicious, the coffee is well balanced and has sweet fruity notes of peach that layer together with subtle notes of caramel.
The coffee certainly has some wonderful complexities that meander through your palate. The sweet fruity front end notes slowly evolve into caramel and then a longlasting raisin aftertaste that sticks around until the next sip layering back into the peach.
The coffee was incredibly drinkable, a little too drinkable at times as you end up drinking the coffee too quickly. Although it showcased its complexities it didn’t have any overly acidic notes that tend to scare people off.
One for the masses; from the seasoned speciality coffee sipper through to the occasional large latte from Costa coffee, a coffee for the anyone to enjoy.
Particularly enjoyed in an Aeropress, the bright fruity front of mouth notes were able to really express themselves with the caramels slightly muted. ⭐⭐⭐