October 20, 2008

Nespresso Jinogalpa Special Edition Review

If you haven't already it's time to order the next Special Edition from Nespresso, Jinogalpa. Nespresso puts out special editions every year, and Jinogalpa is a good one that is worth putting on the shopping list.

Jinogalpa comes from Nicaragua's best arabica coffee and is split roasted to reach different roast colors then blended after roasting. Nespresso describes it as having "full body, and a smooth crema that reveals soft tones of sandalwood as well as subtle and refreshing herbal accents." Jinogalpa is to be made at a 40ml brew setting into an espresso shot, the Intensity "6" shot.

I got mine along with the special edition Jinogalpa Espresso Cups, which carry the hummingbird logo for the design. I like the cup shape, and they fit well in the Nespresso C185T Le Cube maker that I have in for review right now.

Brewing the Jinogalpa in any Nespresso maker is pretty easy and I like my own Essenza for it's easy and simple operation. Flip up the lever, drop in the capsule and you are ready to go. The Nespresso brewers have an integrated reservoir and a system that holds spent capsules. When you lift the lever for the next brew the spent capsule will drop into the chamber for dumping later. The chamber in the Le Cube holds upwards to a dozen spent capsules in my usage.

With the capsule loaded, and the maker up to temperature, you just need to punch the single cup button and out comes the espresso and crema. The Jinogalpa does have the pronounced acidity of an arabica only blend. It's very up front but not so acidic that it is outright sour. The thing is that the Jinogalpa is also a good blend with a lot of complexity that I would attribute to the complexity of the blend and the split roasting. A lot of 100% arabica espresso blends that I see and taste are sharp and acidic, but have nearly not aftertaste and little body if not formulated to have one. I like the Jinogalpa for its complexity and its full body flavor. The blend is definitely dark roasted and carries with it some complex dark flavors that are earthy, woody, spicy and pungent without tasting burnt. As always the espresso can come out shot after shot with excellent crema looking awesome and tasting good. This one one be around for long and it's always great to get a little variety in the mix.

Check out Jinogalpa at Nespresso