Roaster:
Try Hard Coffee Roasters
Roast:
Medium
Origin:
Single (Cauca, Colombia)
Decaffeination Method:
Ethyl-Acetate
Taste:
Raisin, Cherry, smoke
The Roaster
Try Hard Coffee Roasters is an Austin based roaster and cafe. In addition to coffee, they also make limited edition vinyl for local artists, and their cafe is soundtracked by vinyl DJs. I was recently in Austin for a wedding, and my wife and I stopped in. They were close to closing, so we grabbed a bag of coffee to take home with us. We’re always on the hunt for new decaf after all!
When we went through TSA at the airport the next day, our bag got flagged because of the coffee. We had to sprint to catch our flight. Now, the question is “is Try Hard’s decaf good enough to make up for almost missing our flight?”
I’m kidding! I wouldn’t put any of the roasters I review under such unfair scrutiny. That said, spoiler alert, I’d still say the coffee was worth it.
The Roast
I sampled Try Hard’s Easy Rider Decaf. The coffee is single origin, and it hails from Cauca, Colombia. It’s roasted to a medium-roast, and it’s decaffeinated via the ethyl acetate process. Last of all, the beans I had were roasted within a month of when I bought them.
Moving on, this coffee had a straight up fantastic aroma. It brought brown sugar, orange peel, and cinnamon all to the forefront. The warm spice notes reminded me of a great chai tea. This had me fully excited to prepare a cup of coffee.
Tasting Notes
I prepared the coffee as I usually do, grinding the beans to medium-fine and then brewing them in a pourover at 201°. The Easy Rider Decaf had a full bodied, silky mouthfeel, which I immediately liked. It was full without being too heavy, round while still having the requisite sharpness to wake up my palette.
The coffee didn’t taste quite as spicy or warm as its aroma suggested, but it did offer up lovely notes of raisin and cherry. These were present with an almost oaky, lightly smokey flavor.
Everything was balanced out by a strong presence of sweetness, with enough acid to keep everything in line. I felt like it presented as a fairly dark roast, despite being a medium. Still, it packed enough brightness to keep things on the pleasant side of smokey throughout. I splashed some milk in my cup midway through, and coffee’s strong flavors paired beautifully with the cream. Those who take their coffee with cream will find a ton to love here.
Final Thoughts
Try Hard Coffee Roasters was a great surprise for me. I loved what I saw of their cafe, but I still wasn’t prepared for just how great their decaf is. I’d recommend the Easy Rider Decaf to just about anyone. It’s a mellow, highly drinkable, yet still complex. All in all? It was definitely worth getting my bag searched in order to bring these beans with me.
