Rwanda Dry Process Nyamiyaga

The ground coffee had a nice fragrant berry smell at City roast, with some hefty notes of raw sugars, and rustic cocoa. The overall sweetness was a lot more dense in the wet aroma, fruits took the shape of natural dried stone fruits, berry jams, and the bittersweet roast tones really started to show in my darker Full City roast. A very fruited profile is found in Nyamiyaga, and the trick is nailing the roast. I pulled my first roast batch about 2:30 into 1st Crack, and found that it had already developed surprisingly hefty roast flavors. The cup is still delicious, but more of a berry/rustic dark chocolate profile. Pulling closer to 1:45-2:00 after the start of 1st Crack yields a nice City/City+ roast level, with fruits at the front of the cup. The flavor profiles have accents of rustic apricot jam, blueberry pastry filling, and hints of zesty orange peel. There was a nice almond aspect that shifted to rustic dark cocoa notes, and a pretty intense finish. The cup is bodied at all roast levels, and downright milky at Full City. At the risk of causing a bit of a fuss with the non-fruit crowd, I like Nyamiyaga as espresso (though I'm not giving the "official" recommendation). It's so rich with bittersweet chocolate, like high % cacao bar, but has this tart blueberry note that sort of splashes through midway through the sip. Full City is the minimum roast level for espresso, and I think it's best enjoyed solo, sans steamed milk. Those who are not fans of fruity espresso should look elsewhere!