Tasting Notes ‹ New Year 2008
Each month Tony and David Higgins will be giving give their personal recommendations, including comments on the coffees and teas they have found particularly pleasing. Here are their selections.
PERSONAL TASTING NOTES FROM TONY AND DAVID HIGGINS
Notes from Tony Higgins
I am recommending Tanzania Double A Chagga medium roasted as a very pleasing breakfast coffee. I have been enjoying it for breakfast, and during the day when I want a medium strong general purpose coffee. It has a fullness with a subtle very pleasing acidity. It is not sharp, the acidity is so well balanced that, for my taste, it just adds a very pleasing dimension to the character of this variety.
As a stronger after dinner coffee I recommend our Vienna Blend. I formulated this blend with my father H.R. Higgins in the early 1950s as a tribute to the famous coffee-houses of Vienna’s past. Of course no one single blend can do justice to them but we sought to offer our many Viennese customers a high quality coffee they could identify with. It is a blend of medium and dark roasted coffees which harmonise to produce a full bodied flavour with a rich finish. I am enjoying it after most foods, sometimes taking it black and sometimes with cream. It prepares well in all coffee makers.
Tony Higgins
Notes from David Higgins
I have recently enjoyed drinking the Ceylon Dimbula which is a very good all day tea to have with milk. It is characterized by a bright, pleasing flavour but without a bitter aftertaste and not as strong as the more powerful teas. When I have black tea I seem to always go back to the Higgins Country House Blend. This Darjeeling based blend is fragrant, full flavoured and very satisfying on its own or especially with a nice cake in the afternoon.
After Christmas I will no doubt start drinking more green tea again as the New Year always inspires me to pursue a healthy lifestyle. I enjoy the Chun Mee with its fruity, delicate flavour, and the Lung Ching Dragon’s Well with its creamy, velvety texture. Both may be enjoyed after a meal or on their own during the day. Brew for two to three minutes and they are mild. The leaves can withstand another infusion. If brewed longer the tea becomes stronger but can be too bitter for some.
David Higgins