Munsinger – Kinder Coffee Lab

Kinder Coffee Lab is based in St. Cloud, Minnesota and started by three friends that share a love for coffee. Their collection currently consists of five coffees—a seasonal single origin, a decaf option and light, medium and dark roast rotating single origins. Each roast level has a name—Munsinger, Wobegon and St. Germain, respectively—that remains consistent as the coffee within it rotates seasonally. I had a chance to try their light roast, Munsinger, which at the time of my review was a natural Ethiopian from the Sidama region.

The coffee began with a sweet, chocolate and almond-filled fragrance, which was quite unexpected for this style of coffee. The flavor was rich and sweet with notes that reminded me of chocolate, blackberry, deep fruit and cashews. It was rich and sweet with a syrupy body—much more full than I initially expected it would be. The acidity was citrus-toned, but with some other attributes I had a hard time identifying. The sweetness was consistent throughout and reminded me of caramel and brown sugar. As the coffee cooled notes of baking spice (cinnamon) emerged in a wonderful surprise. The finish reminded me of chocolate covered strawberries.

The Bottom Line

This naturally processed Ethiopian variation of Munsinger was incredibly fun to explore. It had a wonderful mixture and depth of flavors that broke the standard expectations for a coffee in this genre.