George Howell Coffee
For my latest coffee review, I decided to try the Dota Vienna roast from renowned roaster George Howell Coffee in Boston. This bean is from the Dota canton of Costa Rica and is roasted in the Viennese style.
Right out of the bag, I could smell the rich dark chocolate aroma. The tasting notes promised a “dark chocolate-cherry core” and a “smooth acidity” reminiscent of orange – intriguing flavors from the lush Dota canton in Costa Rica’s Central Valley region. As I sipped my cup, I found the chocolate notes to be prominent, with just a hint of cherry rounding out the flavors. However, I struggled to detect much citrus-acidity at all, let alone the orange notes described. Instead, the mouthfeel leaned more toward a velvety, rounded body without any particularly bright or zippy qualities. For me, it tasted like a nice cozy brew that would be perfect for weekend morning soccer watching.
The Dota canton (like a state in the US) is located in the Central Valley, one of Costa Rica’s prime coffee-growing regions known for producing excellent arabica beans. The valley’s high elevation, fertile volcanic soil, and cool temperatures create ideal conditions for cultivating flavorful coffees. By adding some geographical context around where these beans were grown, it helps explain the coffee’s flavor origins.
The Viennese roasting style used for these beans may explain the more subdued acidity levels compared to a lighter roast. Viennese or “Vienna” roasts are designed to strike a middle ground between light and dark roasts. The beans are roasted longer and to a deeper color than a standard City roast, but not quite as dark as a French or Italian roast. This longer roasting time allows the sugars to caramelize more, contributing to a richer, sweeter flavor profile with lower acidity. The Vienna style provides a nice balance between bright and deep notes.
So if you’re a fan of smooth, chocolatey coffees without too much acidic bite, definitely give the Dota Vienna from George Howell a try. George Howell in general is a great place for you to expand your coffee palette. At the bottom of this post I will include a link to the ‘all coffees’ section of their website. From there, you can use the country filter to explore the globe-spanning regions that George Howell Coffee sources from.
For those learning about coffee, it serves as a great example of how roast levels can drastically impact a bean’s flavor profile. With this Vienna roast, the end result emphasized the smooth and sweet side of the coffee from the chocolate and cherry.
https://georgehowellcoffee.com/collections/all-coffee
