I am unsure if everyone in the coffee industry, nay, the world knows when my birthday is. Let’s assume and pray they do based on the evidence that Dog & Hat very kindly sent me a box of coffee for the low low price of an honest review which arrived just the day before the anniversary of the greatest day on Earth.
But who are Dog&Hat? Why do they keep sending me unmarked packages? Why are they always standing outside my bedroom window in long coats? (I actually quite like this). Simply put, Dog&Hat is a subscription company operating out of York supplying freshly roasted, whole bean only, specialty coffee from roasters in the UK and Europe to lovers of the good stuff.
What I like about Dog&Hat is that there are multiple subscription plans based on how much coffee you drink which can be paused at any time. Currently, they offer 2/3/4 bags of 250g coffee per month at £17/£24/£31 respectfully.
The other thing I really like about the subscription box is that it comes with a curated newsletter with general industry coffee news, as well as in-depth information about the coffees you’ve received, all shipped in the original roaster’s recyclable packaging.
So, the first coffee I decided to try from the box was by Hot Roasted Love, a roaster from Bielefeld in Germany. This coffee is a single estate microlot from Nicaragua and the beans themselves are a fairly new varietal of arabica called Ethiosar F1 (it’s ethiooosar not ethiosaaar), but further information about that can be found in the guide.
The bag boasted tasting notes of ‘Floral-fruchtig mit noten von Lemon Tea, Jasmin, kaffeeblüte’. This translates to ‘Floral-fruit with notes of lemon tea, jasmine, coffee blossom’. And a very bonjour to you too.
I tried this coffee in both a V60 and an aeropress with similar results. There was definitely a sharp lemony acidity but I found the florals to be quite overwhelming and grassy. The aeropress brought more body to the cup as you would expect but, despite changing around the recipe slightly multiple times with both brewing methods, I had the same result. If you like that kind of thing, which I know some will, the coffee is definitely a consistent one.
The second coffee comes from the Blue Bean Coffee Co who are a Kent based roaster. This one is a blend called Fusion and is comprised of a naturally processed El Salvador, a washed Honduras, and a natural Ethiopia which, according to the bag is actually suited for both filter and espresso. I didn’t try it as an espresso but the tasting notes are milk chocolate and forest fruits and for filter they are floral and herbaceous.
This one came with a brewing guide. I don’t generally follow strict recipes when brewing filter coffee because, well, I’m better than you, but when given a new coffee I will happily follow that guide to the letter, and follow I did.
Brew guide: 15g dose, 3m 30sec brew time, 254g yield
My go to brewing method, same as the first coffee, was the V60 but, despite following the brew guide, I felt like it was quite a thin brew. I then tried it with the chemex, similar brewing but with a coarser grind and, as I expected, this introduced some of the nuttier notes but dulled the acidity so no florals there. Finally, I tried the Aeropress to try and bring out the body a little bit which worked a treat. This also brought the acidity and so this was the more complex cup of the three, and my preferred.
One thing I noticed straight away when opening the bag was the great aroma that flew out and only heightened when grinding and brewing which smelt just like hazelnuts and milk chocolate.
It seems like this particular coffee has a lot going for it and is very malleable and open to experimentation (quite unlike my ex) so you can switch up the brewing method depending on what you prefer.
All in all, if you are looking for a coffee subscription, the choices being added to a fairly new idea are only increasing and Dog&Hat are certainly worth taking a look at. If you browse their website (which can be found here) you can take a look at their previous roasters and see that there are some big names you’ve probably heard of, as well as some smaller names you can introduce yourself to.
There’s also a wealth of information over there including brew guides, more about their environmental policy, charity support, a general store, and some frequently asked questions.
As I mentioned before, I was sent this coffee for free in exchange for an honest review but Dog&Hat are a lovely bunch and are definitely worth your perusal.
Clark The Barista 