Peruvian ‘Picorana’ – Noble Coffee Roasting

Noble Coffee Roasting has been a long favorite of mine with home run after home run with every coffee I try from them. Most of the coffee I’ve tried from them has been African, so I was excited to try something from South America. This Peruvian coffee was a Cup of Excellence winner in 2019 (placing 17th out of 455 coffees submitted). When it got added to Crema.co, it immediately moved to the top of my playlist.

The coffee hits you right away with a strong fragrance that is sweet and filled with notes of lemon, citrus and floral. The flavor was incredible and I tasted notes of tangerine, citrus, and gala apple. It was sweet and tangy with a bright, bubbly acidity that sparkled almost like champagne. The body was fairly light and yet was still silky and smooth—a balance I am always impressed with. The sparkling acidity carried through the entire sip and lingered into the long finish.

With top-tier coffees like this, while each individual attribute is strong, the attribute that helps them separate from the rest of the pack the most if their complexity. This coffee was so multi-faceted and had so much evolution not just within each sip, but with each brew method. Every time I came back to the coffee I noticed something new or appreciated a different attribute. That is a sign of a truly exceptional coffee.

The Bottom Line

I can confidently say this is the Peruvian coffee I have ever had and one I will cherish with every brew. It is complex, sweet, tangy while still being approachable and balanced. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a coffee drinker who did not enjoy this coffee.