A Gift of Bacha Coffee

Someone got me this premium Bacha coffee knowing that I'm a coffee drinker.  Yes, coffee is my go-to drink for sure, hot or cold.  From my favourite kopi-o from traditional coffee shops to lattes and cappuccinos from cafes to instant white coffee (from a satchet) at home, I enjoy what I call simple coffees.

Although I'm an avid coffee drinker, I'm no coffee connoisseur nor an expert in judging the taste of coffee to differentiate good coffees from the bad not-so-good ones.  I just know the coffees that I enjoy and like from the ones I don't like.

So, upon receiving this gift of premium coffee, I had to google the brand to learn more about it.  I learned that Bacha coffee has its origins in Marrakech, Morocco since 1910.  They specialise in 100% pure Arabica coffees with international touch points in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai, Taipei and New York to provide customers with choices from over 30 of the most reputable coffee producing countries.

Their popularity in Singapore (where this gift was bought from incidentally) is evidenced by the reported queues daily at their luxuriously designed cafe  in a posh setting (at ION Orchard)...an affluent environment to match your opulent coffee is a must-lah...lol.  Looking at the photos reminded me of a similar ambience (but not as grand lah) I had with my tea experience at TWG in Pavilion some years back.

This luxurious feel starts with the packaging itself.  Even the paper bag that carries the coffee box is equally fancy...made of supremely thick quality paper and finished prettily with a little blue ribbon.  The inside of the paper bag is lined with a gold foil finish for extra ritz.

What says lavish more than gold, right?  It's like an edible gold leaf on a dessert....which signifies a touch of decadence! ;)  The coffee satchets come in a matching, thick quality, gold-coloured box that screams swanky.

Opening the glamorous-looking box, which also had a gold paper lining on the inside, it was filled with 12 (again) gold foil-wrapped coffee bags, a mini booklet that spells out the various coffee bag collection choices and an instruction card on how to brew the coffee.

The instruction card is printed on exquisite fine quality paper...and, of course, there must be glittering gold print on the card as well.  Would you have expected anything less?  Lol.  Gold obviously seems to be the key theme here which is nothing short of grandeur in all facets of its packaging.

From what I see printed on the box, the flavour was Grand Moka Matari from Yemen which had a coffee strength of 2.5 out of 5 (1 being a mild coffee while 5 is strong).

The (very specific) instruction says to pour 180ml of hot water that's at a (precise) temperature of 95°C over 12g of coffee grounds in each bag.  I measured out 180ml quantity of water but have to agak-agak lah the 95°C temperature (since water boils at 100°C)...lol.  Once the satchet is opened, you just need to hook the paper clasps to the side of your mug.  The first time I made a cup, I used a large mug to let the water drip away on its own.

 

When I tasted the coffee, I thought it was very light with a subtle fruity sweet note.  I appreciated that it wasn't bitter or acidic at all in taste.  I wasn't liking it as much coz I felt it was too light for me.  I was doubting myself if I had made it the right way.

The instructions didn't mention to steep the ground coffee but I used a smaller cup the second time hoping that leaving it to steep for a few minutes would bring more flavour.  Using a smaller cup to allow the coffee beans to sit in the hot water means you have to life it up manually to let the water drain away.

I felt the second cup was much better (or was it just in my mind...lol).  The leftover coffee grains (at least) resembled sticky mud to me like they were well used unlike the first time when hot water was just poured over the beans and the water drained away instantly.

I poured the coffee into a glass cup so that you can clearly see the colour of the coffee.  The colour of this coffee is like a light transparent-black, nothing like the darker black I'm used to drinking.

This coffee is described (in the booklet) as a rare harvest (of Yemeni coffee) that features a bright acidity, a full body, and a sweet flavour that carries notes of apricot, dark chocolate and dates with hints of caramel and spice.  So, did I taste all that in the coffee?  To be honest, not really...but that's because I'm no coffee sommelier (like a wine sommelier lah) as I don't have such a refined palate to distinguish the subtle differences in flavour.

The first time I had this coffee (and served it to my guests too) was during Chinese New Year's reunion dinner as an after-meal drink along with some sweet pastries.  Oh, by the way, I do love these melt-in-the-mouth kuih bangkit (tapioca cookies).

Of course, many of us would enjoy having a cup of black coffee with a western-style breakfast in the mornings.

It also has a place during tea time with something sweet like cookies, pastries or cakes...not kuih muih though.....that I need my local kopi-o....hah...hah.  Good with some butter cookies which came at the opportune time (a gift from my neighbour when she returned from visiting her daughter in Australia).

Have you seen such a big tin of cookies before?  I've put it against my old empty tin of Danisa Butter Cookies (454g) to show you the distinct difference in size (yes, the tins are reused for storage purposes).  This tin of Jacobsen's is almost 4 times the size of Danisa's!! O_o

This Jacobsen's Butter Cookies came in a 1600g tin (yes, 1.6kg!!).  The tin measures 26cm (diameter) x 11.5cm (height) weighing 1600g.....now that's a mighty big tin, if I have to say so myself.  I've never seen such a big tin of cookies in my life! :D

Like any other Danish cookies, Jacobsen's cookies look similar to Danisa's in types and design.  But that's where the similarity stops...it looks like Danisa's but doesn't taste nearly as good.  Far from it, in fact.  The cookies look a paler yellow and the taste differs in the butter itself with Jacobsen's butter tasting no where near as fragrant.  Only positive is they're less sweet than Danisa's.  Nevertheless, butter cookies make a nice accompaniment when I need to have my cup of black coffee.

This premium coffee retails for around RM150 (I checked, after conversion from SGD) for just 12 satchets...which makes each coffee bag cost RM12.50.  If that's the price of one cup of coffee you make yourself at home, imagine what it would cost if that was served to you at the cafe (inclusive of decor and ambience)...double the price? :D

When it comes to coffee other than our local kopi-o, I'd usually go for those with milk like lattes, cappuccinos and flat whites and wouldn't choose espresso or Americano (basically black coffees lah) as I've had quite a few that tasted too bitter or acidic, two notes I don't care for.  The first time I drank this coffee, it didn't resonate with me.....but I've to say the flavour did grow on me as I drank a few more cups.  At least this one wasn't bitter nor acidic.

That said, it still won't be my favourite cup of coffee anytime soon.  Perhaps, my taste buds are not made for this atas punya coffee or I just don't have the palate to appreciate and enjoy the finer points of premium coffee....hee..hee!

You can give it a try if you're game to experience something different.  They have a collection of coffees from around the world like Ethiopa, Kenya, Yemen, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba and India (to name a few) for your drinking pleasure. ^_~