Roast Review: Loam Coffee Roasters
Some things just make sense together – peanut butter and jelly, sun and sand, books and cozy blankets, and (my favorite) coffee and the outdoors. That’s why I love that Wacaco has products to enjoy high quality espresso and coffee, no matter where you go. We’re always searching for coffee roasting companies to pair with our coffee makers, and it’s always a pleasure to find ones that align with our love for the outdoors. Loam Coffee Roasters is one of those companies!
“Coffee was meant to be enjoyed outside,” is printed across their homepage, which was my first impression of Loam Coffee Roasters. Upon further inspection across their website, I was wowed by their complete transparency, impressed by their ambassador program, and absolutely loved learning about their rentable coffee van. And these are just a few of the highlights - visit the website for yourself to learn more!
Now it’s time to get to the experience of actually tasting Loam’s coffee. We tried two roasts by Loam, one from Costa Rica and another from Guatemala. Read on to hear how it went!
Costa Rica Santa Cruz
First impression
I took a moment to appreciate the bag of coffee beans. I liked the minimalist design and handwritten coffee origin and roasting date. Printed on each bag is the following:
“Throughout the year, we source a variety of single-origin coffees from around the world. We constantly rotate through new crops to bring you the best cup of coffee.”
I could already tell that this company had a knack for personal touches and was the real-deal when it came to quality sourcing and variety, and I became ever-more curious how it would taste!
I opened the bag of beans and inhaled the aroma. It smelled so delicious, fresh, and bright. I wondered if there might be notes of apple, peach, or lemon. As well, there was a certain hint of chocolate that I guessed we may experience upon the taste test.
“I sense butter, blueberries, and cherry!” pronounced James once he took his turn smelling the beans.
When I took the bag back, I could strongly sense the smell of blueberries, as James had shared. It’s so funny how the mind works.
I was eager to try this single origin as an espresso, and we opted to use the Minipresso GR2. James boiled the water and I used the Exagrind to grind the beans. We prepared two, beautiful crema-topped espressos and took them outside to our porch to enjoy.
Tasting notes
“This is so tasty,” said James. “It’s sweet and syrupy immediately and the satisfying crema runs all the way through.” He added that there was a melody of fruity flavors balanced with rounding notes of chocolate and earthiness.
I noticed bright notes of punchy fruit and honey, and enjoyed the light mouthfeel that was balanced by cacao.
We settled on guessing that this coffee had notes of brown sugar, blueberry, cacao, and perhaps grapefruit. The last one was my guess, James wasn’t totally sold on it.
The reveal
Loam says that this coffee has flavor notes of blueberry and red raspberry, along with some rustic bittersweet cocoa. We highly recommend sipping this on your porch or enjoying it after a trail run.
Guatemala FTO Dry Process Chuacús
First impression
We were blown away by the first taste from Loam and we were excited to dive right into the next roast. James opened the coffee bag, shook it around, and smelled the beans.
“Mmmm,” said James as he considered, “I smell fruit like cherry!”
“I definitely can sense a red punchy fruit,” I said. “There’s something that seems sweet and syrupy about it too.”
“Yea! Maybe caramel or milk chocolate,” responded James
We decided to pair Guatemala Chuacús using our Cuppamoka. This time, I also pulled out our new Examgram Pro, which I had been keen to experience. Since it was my first time using it, I watched this video that walked me through the process step-by-step. It was incredibly helpful!I switched the setting to “P” for pour over mode, set up the Cuppamoka, poured in the grounds, and followed the instructions to brew a perfect cup.
Tasting notes
I was immediately taken by how smooth and satisfying my initial impression of the coffee was. It was less fruity than I had anticipated, and had a round mouthfeel. With each sip, I noticed more notes of milk chocolate, caramel, and a hint of a darker berry as well.
James agreed on the delightful smooth impression and notes of chocolate. He added that he was still getting cherry and something else he couldn’t quite name.
The reveal
In Loam’s words: “Thick cocoa-toned mouthfeel with the bittersweetness of fresh-roasted cocoa nibs is the standout feature, with accents of ripe dark fruits. Chocolate sauce, mango, blackberry wine.” Delicious! It was already an amazing coffee and I imagined how amazing it would taste as an espresso as well. Next time!