Isale Congo – Palma Coffee

I always love getting to meet the people behind the coffee I enjoy. Usually, that isn’t possible since the roasters are spread out around the world. A few weeks back though I got to meet Carl, the roaster for Palma Coffee. Carl is based in the St. Louis area and was able to come over to chat about coffee. During our visit, he graciously shared a few samples of their current offerings for me to try out. Coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo isn’t incredibly common, so it was exciting to get to enjoy some from the central African country.

The coffee began with a sweet-toned aroma that was full of malty chocolate notes with a subtle earthiness to it. The flavor was a continuation of the aroma with more of the chocolate & malt notes, but also baking spices and more subtle stone fruit notes. The acidity was fairly muted and citrus-toned. The body was robust and creamy with a clean and balanced profile. The sweetness was chocolate-toned with grain undertones that reminded me a bit of cereal. The finish was heavy on the tongue with lingering acidity. The coffee had a nice layering of flavors, but not as much complexity as many coffees I’ve tried from Congo’s East African neighbors.

The Bottom Line

This Isale was a very approachable coffee with a rich chocolate and baking spice profile that was a lot of fun to explore. I’m already looking forward to my next meetup with the Palma Coffee team and to try what future coffees they release.