Tumba Natural Dial

July 08, 2024

Dose: 21g

Ratio: 1:16.2

Grind: Finer than Neutral

Brew Time: 3:00

TDS: 1.43%

Extraction: 20%

Sensory Description:

One of the defining characteristics of a well-dialed cup of Tumba Natural is its velvety vanilla-syrup-like texture and body. To accentuate this attribute, I’m recommending a slight up-dose to 21g. At this dose and hitting extraction around 20%, the result is a juicy and sweet cup that reminds me of vanilla, strawberries, apricots, and wild honey. It has a pleasant and mellow berry-like acidity, adding some liveliness to this naturally processed coffee. The overall impression from this coffee, however, is one of fresh fruit and syrupy sweetness.

Dial Notes:

When dialing, I found that a slight up-dose helped accentuate this coffee’s body. At our typical 1:17 ratio, I was able to get pretty clear tasting notes, just without the velvety quality that came through on the cupping table.

Under-extraction came across as thin and tea-like in body, with a lack of sweetness that reminded me of watermelon rind. If you’re not getting the syrup and honey-like sweetness and texture, you likely need a finer grind or a small up-dose.

Over-extraction muted some of the strawberry-like acidity that this coffee is capable of. While maintaining a decent amount of sweetness, it fell a little flat compared to cups at lower extraction percentages. While sweetness and body are what stand out in this coffee, it does have a pleasant acidity that should be easily detectable. If not, you likely need to grind a little coarser.