Colombia El Zafiro – Wush Wush – Proud Mary Coffee

Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to try a variety of Proud Mary’s coffees (Portland location, not Australia). I was blown away by their quality and already shared my thoughts on one of them. Proud Mary breaks up their coffee offerings into four categories: Mild, Curious, Wild & Deluxe. All of the coffees I tried were from the Curious or Wild categories except for this Colombia El Zafiro Wush Wush, which was distinctly in the Deluxe category. Wush Wush coffees are one of the most sought after coffees available. They can be incredibly wild and the best of them have an intensity unlike almost anything else in coffee; this was one of those Wush Wush’s.

The coffee began with an intense and complex fragrance featuring prominent notes of tropical fruit. During brewing their were subtle notes of banana and evolving tropical fruit. The flavor was explosive with more complex and intense tropical fruit notes (mango, papaya, pineapple) and other berries (strawberry). It had a fermented, overripe quality to it likely due to the intensity of the sweetness. The coffee had a balanced acidity and lush & rich mouthfeel. The best coffees evolve as they cool and that was absolutely the case with this one. I found it most expressive about 15-20 minutes post brewing when it started to approach room temperature, but was still warm. As it cooled completely, I found it got almost too funky for even me (which is saying something).

The Bottom Line

Wush Wush coffees are expensive and hard to find. They are incredibly special though and if you enjoy unique, complex and intensely fruit-forward and sweet coffees, they are a special treat from time to time.