Never Coffee Roasters (Portland, OR)

My girlfriend went to the coast of Oregon last month and she brought back two bags of beans for us to try out. Randomly, we chose to open the bag from Never Coffee (Portland) first... so let's dive in!

Bangarang is a blend of washed and naturally fermented beans.  The inspiration for the name comes from slang for the word for "chaos" in Jamaican and is also used in the movie "Hook" as a battle cry of the Neverland Lost Boys.

The beans in this blend are from Guatemala and Nicaragua - so I expected the flavor profile to be on the sweeter side. Central American coffees are not my default beans, but I'm also open to trying something new.  :)

Opening the bag for the first time, I pick up on strong scent of spices... like meaty spices such as black pepper and... cumin. 

I used a higher grind setting (more coarse) as my instinct told me this was going to be an acidic coffee.  For the curious, here's a link to coffee grinding.

Tasting notes on this coffee was a mixed bag for me and my girlfriend.  I noted darker fruits and spices while she noticed the coffee was more bitter than the usual coffee I make.  I noted a hint of sweetness after the first few sips, but found this coffee was more robust than sweet.  I'm thinking hazelnut mixed with dark semi-sweet chocolate would be the best way to describe what I'm tasting.  I also picked up on the bitter notes that my girlfriend noted (hence the semi-sweet chocolate description) and we both thought that a dash of oatmilk would complement this coffee!