How’s it going? Hope the coffee is flowing! Today I am going to share the second of four vendor reviews for vendors I met during during the Pennsylvania Chocolate and Coffee Festival (read my review of the event here). Check out my first vendor review for White Horse Coffee here. Otherwise we will keep things rolling with today’s review of Semilla Coffee Roasters.
Semilla Coffee Roasters was one of the vendors I specifically targeted to visit during the event. Their founder, Yil, has a really interesting back story and her mission is to help support small family coffee farmers through Semilla. You can read more about her story here, but she grew up spending time on her grandparents coffee farm, and so it is clear why this mission is so close to her heart. Her passion and dedication to this mission shows in the quality of her coffee, and in each conversation that I was able to have with her. I was able to sample four of her coffees, and so this will be another four for one review for you. The final blend I sampled was the highlight of the coffee festival for me, so stick with me to the end, you won’t be disappointed.
The first coffee I sampled at the Semilla table was their dark roast espresso Doña Carmen blend.
Semilla Coffee Roasters Doña Carmen Blend Review:
Doña Carmen was actually the first coffee I sampled at the festival too, as I wanted to start my day at Semilla and they were conveniently in the first row.
The Doña Carmen blend has a medium body, but was still a pretty bold coffee. The front was slightly nutty, with nice hazelnut notes. These gave way to a lemon-like citrusy middle that had a slight tartness. The finish had mildly sweet dark chocolate notes. Not quite sweet enough to be regular chocolate, but not as dark and bitter as a typical dark chocolate.
Overall this was a nice cup of coffee. It was easy to drink, but still had a mild bitterness from the tart citrus. I really enjoyed the shift in the middle to the citrus notes as they complemented the front and finish of the coffee well.
It is safe to say I was off to a great start at the festival and really looked forward to continuing to sample Sevilla’s offerings. Next up was medium roast El Cauca Colombian coffee.
Semilla Coffee Roasters El Cauca review:
El Cauca was very smooth with a medium-light body. The front was nutty and slightly savory with almond-like notes. This nuttiness gave way to a mildly sweet caramel middle. The coffee finished with slight citrusy tartness that balanced the sweetness out well.
Overall I really liked this coffee, it was not quite as complex as the Doña Carmen, but would be a great go to option for an everyday drinker.
The final coffee Semilla was sampling for the festival was their dark roast Brazilian coffee. Now I know what you’re thinking, didn’t I say I was going to talk about 4 coffees? Don’t worry! I didn’t get lazy part way through writing this, there’s a story for the last one.
Semilla Coffee Roasters Brazilian coffee review:
Semilla’s Brazilian roast had a medium-light body, similar to the El Cauca. The front was sweet and roasty with nice toffee notes. The roastyness fades in the middle and gives way to a bold sweet chocolatey taste. The sweetness fades slightly into a darker chocolatey finish.
Overall this was another really good coffee. Semilla’s quality was consistently excellent and this was no different. The Brazilian roast had surprisingly noticeable tasting notes for a dark roast while having that great dark roast smoothness.
Once I had finished sampling the three offerings that Semilla had prepared for the festival I was able to spend some time talking to Yil. After briefly chatting about her background and our passion for coffee Yil asked me if I have ever had a pink bourbon coffee (read about this rare and fascinating coffee here). I told her I have not, and she quickly disappeared behind her booth. She then came back with another cup of coffee, which is the fourth Semilla coffee I was able to sample, their light roast Jose Giraldo pink bourbon coffee.
Semilla Coffee Roasters Jose Giraldo review:
Semilla’s Jose Giraldo had a medium body, it was smooth and easy to drink. You can tell from the first sip that this coffee is special, it was truly like no other coffee I have had. It starts with bright tart and citrusy cherry-like notes. This tart front is balanced with a subtle hint of sweetness. The tartness fades in the middle and a terrific chamomile-like sweetness comes forward. This gives the coffee a slightly floral but fruity sweetness. This sweetness stays through the finish, but shifts to a sweet melon and berry like finish. It is definitely on the sweeter berry side, like a strawberry.
To be honest, this is the best coffee that I have ever had. I’ve sampled a lot of really good coffee and reviewed quite a few of those here, but Semilla’s Jose Giraldo is just different. It is definitely on the expensive side, at $24 for 100 grams, but the experience is like no other. I go back and forth regularly on ordering myself some, because I really wish I could have this again. If you’re lucky enough to be in a situation financially to purchase it, you absolutely should.
Semilla Coffee Roasters is a must try coffee roaster with a lineup of high quality, unique, and downright delicious coffee. You can check out their full line up of coffee on their website. I’ve reviewed all but three of their current offerings here, but I can confidently say that there will not be anything but outstanding coffee on their website.
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