Cuberow is the way someone not from Ethiopia would pronounce the Amharic word ቀበሮ for fox.  But what does a fox know about coffee?  Apparently a lot, because this coffee is amazing.

I know I said Cuvee’s October special Reserva was great, and that September’s special Kumurembe was my favorite, but November’s Cuberow is, in fact, the best.  Like “holy moly wow that’s fantastic” great.

The official tasting profile says “sweet peach and grapefruit-like acidity lead into a dry resin-y finish, with notes of jasmine and rosemary”.  I taste none of that.  Actually, I almost didn’t buy the Cuberow because I was afraid it’d be too fruity and bright and acidic and, god help me, grapefruity.  Instead it’s balanced and interesting and rich and bright.  Maybe that’s what the official tasting notes are trying to say, considering each of their descriptors is different from one another.  But really what it means is you should grab a bag or twoelve the next time you see one (or online) before they’re gone!

If you’ll recall, I placed an online order from Cuvee to get two specific bags of coffee.  One was the Kumurembe, and the other was the Reserva.  Nevermind I recently saw the Reserva in my grocery store, I was thrilled to receive it in the mail.  As October’s special variety, my propensity for wanting needing new, limitedly-available things got the best of me again.

Slightly less acidic / vibrant, the Reserva has a smoother flavor than its Kenyan predecessor.  That said, it definitely lives up to its official taste profile: Crisp Clean Black Cherry Acidity with Dark Chocolate and Tangerine.  For me I don’t quite taste the tangerine aspect, but the cherry and dark chocolate are absolutely dominant.  I’d say Reserva would be more crowd-pleasing than other beans thanks to its relatively narrow range of balanced flavors.  Per usual, delicious stuff from Cuvee and another one I’d recommend.

Classic Spicewood 71 is Cuvee Coffee’s bread-and-butter.  It’s one of the few blends they produce, made up of specially selected beans from their other single-origin varieties.  It’s what they use in their world-renowned nitrogenated Black and Blue coldbrew coffee on tap.  And it’s what I’m drinking!

In a serendipitous sequence of events beginning with an atypical stop at Caffe Medici, I received a free 4 oz bag of Spicewood 71 in celebration of their 8th anniversary!  I knew then that it was destined for the Bruer, and so here we are.  The official description from Cuvee is “sweet melon fades into toffee and caramel with an orange citrus balancing a malt chocolate body”.  I get some of that, but overall it tasted a little… generic?  Like not good or bad or exciting or fruity or chocolatey.  It tasted fine.  But that makes sense for a blend meant to be the foundation to the rest of the lineup.  It can’t be too bold.  It has to be crowd-pleasing, and that’s exactly what it is.  So the next time you’re out and want some easy-drinking coffee, Spicewood 71 is for you.

Look for this:

I’m a sucker for “Limited Edition” and “Special Release” items.  I’ve had to make a conscious effort to stop seeking out rare / seasonal / one-time-only beer, for example.  But when Cuvee announced a seasonal peaberry variety, I couldn’t resist.  Peaberry, by the way, refers to a less common (about 5% of all coffee beans) where there is only one seed in the coffee fruit (instead of two), which is smaller and pea-shaped.  Enter: Cuvee Coffee Santa Rita.

The official tasting profile on the bag says grape-like acidity leads into strawberry sweetness and a dark chocolate finish.  I totally kind of sort of get that.  It certainly has some upfront acidity, but without being as harsh has the Huckleberry coffee from a few posts ago.  The beauty is that it balances itself with some more full-bodied chocolate-y flavor.  It took a few sips to decide if I liked it.  And then I decided that it’s great.  If you come across one of these fair ladies, grab it and thank me later.