Ghana Kome -Three Mountains Organic - 2023

Origin: Ghana

Crop Year: 2023

Certifications: Organic

Genetics:  Criollo, Forasterio, Trinitatio and more pending identification

Region: Ghana / Asante Akim

Flavor Notes:

The aroma is bold chocolate, brown fruits and vanilla.

The flavor starts off with dried red and brown fruits and of course chocolate.  It wends its way to showing off moderate acidity and low bitterness. 

Walnut skin like tannins with a moderate but not excessive astringency that plays well off the sweetness come on next and round out the profile.  Low toned notes of loam and leather round out the experience.  The aforementioned loam is a clean earthiness that also contains hints of leather and prune supporting the previous structure and body.

Compared to the conventional Ghana that we have offered for year (and is now gone), the edges here are not as round due to the higher astringency but also is more complex with the dried fruit notes and bolder earthiness.

This is a very forgiving origin and a good one to start with and will go well in light milk chocolate all the way to brooding dark chocolates.

Three mountains that are part of UNESCO's reforestation and conservation program for tropical rain forests, the Three Mountains estate is set on historical family land that over 2,0000 farmers and 15 communities now call home to support their partner farmer communities directly, where regenerative farm management and organic practices are improving the health of communities. The co-operative also provides financial resources along with community and individualized support in the conversion to organic and Fairtrade certification.

Hand Sort: Yes

Size:   Medium, Uniform Size

Fermentation:  Heap with banana/plantain leaves as base and cover

Drying:  Raised platform made from bamboo/wood, raffia palm drying mat, direct sun drying

Drum Roasting

The drum roasting profile I used for the evaluation sample was 15:55/18:30/22:45 @ 260 F.  After that, you can treat this bean pretty strongly as there is plenty of chocolate and fruit.   You absolutely want to pay attention to the aroma and reduce your power/ramps if you smell it trying to be acrid but that is going to be pretty difficult with this bean.  You will notice the Development time is a little over 2 minutes and barrels on strongly to the lower 260s.

Behmor Roaster

Roast 2 lb and use P1 on the one pound setting, for 16 minutes or until you hear a pop or two.  Then take it longer.  2-3 minutes.  It is virtually impossible to over roast in the Behmor with 2 lb in there.  If you are using the current model with Manual control, turning down the power to P4 (75% power) when it starts to become aromatic (or smells sharp) is a nice way to keep the EOR tempering in check.

Oven Roasting

Pre-heat your oven to 325 F. Put 1-2 lb of beans onto a tray single layer deep.  Check the temperature every 5 minutes, stirring at that time.  When the beans are in the 205-215 range, reduce the oven temperature to about 10-15 F above your target EOR, so if you are going for 265 F, set it to 280 F.   When the beans reach your desired temperature and/or are smelling sharp, another 15-30 minutes, remove them and let them cool. This should give you a nice fully developed roasted bean that is in little danger of being over roasted.

The flavors as a brewed cocoa are more bold than some of the other varieties I carry. The dry aroma is unmistakably chocolate and this of course carries through with the wet aroma. There are flavors of nut and tobacco and a substantial mouth feel. There is a good, balanced, pleasant bitterness and lingering deep (for a brewed cocoa) chocolate. It also has a good smoothness to it. Overall, I am left with the impression that I have just eaten a nice handful of luscious roasted cocoa beans.