Disclosure: Pull & Pour received coffee samples for this post, however, as always, all opinions are 100% my own.
A few months back I had the opportunity to try Whiskey Morning Coffee’s Barrel-Aged coffee, so I was excited to hear of a new technique they were trying—smoked coffee. The Texian Army Brew is a cowboy coffee, which means it is roasted over an open flame. They use pecan wood while roasting and then one day after roasting they do a slow, cold smoke with cherry wood.
Upon opening the coffee, I was immediately surprised by how dark the roast was. “Dark” roast can have a pretty wide range, but this was easily an Italian roast with the coffee already extracting oils a few days after roasting. The aroma of the coffee is medium strong with a smoky, slightly burnt smell. The smoky undertone comes through in the flavor, but I also tasted pecans and chocolate. The flavor is big and bold with a thick, smoky body. It is incredibly smooth and really well balanced. The flavors, smokiness and overall coffee all worked together very well. Given the roast level and the aroma, I expected the coffee to taste burnt, but it did not.
That said, the coffee did have some shortcomings, I thought. It had a very subtle brightness in the aftertaste, but otherwise lacked the brightness expected in a coffee. It also had very little sweetness.
The Bottom Line
I was pleasantly surprised with the balanced, smoky flavor of the Texian Army Brew. In general the coffee was roasted much too dark for not only my personal preference, but also for what would have accentuated the personalities and complexities of the coffee.
