The Natural – Barrington Coffee Roasting Company

I’d likely say that single-origin naturally processed coffees from Africa are my favorite “type” of coffee. The bright, fruit-forward and flavor-packed cup of coffee they can produce is truly unbeatable in my opinion. For that reason, I was really intrigued to try Barrington’s “The Natural,” which is a blend of naturally processed coffees from Africa and Asia.

As I opened the bag of coffee and ground the beans, I smelled floral notes, cinnamon and blueberry. As I began to drink the coffee, the fruit notes came to the surface in an incredibly sweet flavor of blueberry and dried apricot. There was a more gentle acidity (more mild than usual for naturally processed coffees from Africa), but it built through each sip like a crescendo, ending with a really bright, long finish that covered your mouth and was sweet, fruity and floral.

The coffee had a light and silky body and was well balanced despite its complexity. While pour over is always my go-to for coffee—especially for a coffee in this genre—I was incredibly impressed with how the coffee translated to espresso. It was incredibly creamy and the fruit, floral and spice notes captured in the pour over methods all came through in the espresso.

Initially I was a bit skeptical when I saw it was a medium roast because usually I’ve found the best attributes of naturally processed coffees come through with a light roast. The roast was a very light medium though and was actually perfect for this blend. The flavor, aroma, body and balance were all spot on while maintaining all of the complexity the coffee had to offer.

The Bottom Line

I had high hopes for this blend of naturally processed coffees and they were all fully met. This coffee stands up to some of the best single-origin natural coffees I’ve had and was able to deliver the fruit-forward attributes I love while maintaining an incredibly balanced and sweet profile essential for a great coffee.