I started seeing Pair Cupworks pop up all over my Instagram feed earlier this summer. Their fun, playful branding immediately caught my eye, but the high marks their coffee consistently received from others I follow encouraged me to purchase a few bags of their coffee. (P.S. – I’ve gotten to know Kimhak and Eugenia (the owners of Pair Cupworks) via Instagram a bit more since purchasing and they are the real deal.)
This coffee is a pink bourbon varietal from Colombia. With flavor notes of “brownie” and “red wine,” it immediately piqued my interest. The coffee begins with a fairly complex, fruit-forward fragrance that is sweet, slightly funky and reminded me of blackberries & milk chocolate. The flavor was incredibly complex and carried through many of the same themes from the fragrance. I tasted notes of berry, chocolate and deep, rich fruit notes that reminded me of the red wine they listed in the flavor notes. It is quite bright with a sweet-tart acidity that reminded me of the brightness commonly found in naturally processed coffees. The body was light & silky and the sweetness was fairly strong and fruit-forward at the front with smooth chocolate tones in the lingering finish. I tried Lift Your Spirits in a wide range of brew methods and it performed well in all of them. I think you get the full exposure in pour over, but it does create a nice, funky espresso I enjoyed sipping on as well.
The Bottom Line
Lift Your Spirits is a bright, sweet, funky and complex coffee that was incredibly fun to explore. With so much complexity and flavors to unpack, my only compliant is that I only had 8oz of it with which to experiment.
