Project Barista: Press To Zest

An adventure in acidity, with coffee, lemon and souring with lactobacillus helveticus all competing for attention. Lemon is no stranger to espresso, with drinks like Mazagran and Iced Coffee Lemonade providing some early inspiration, along with its resurgence in recent times as a popular feel-good combination. We chose the coffee for its orange and bergamot notes, which came through really nicely in the whirlpool. Upon tasting, we decided some further additions would be required to pick up fuller, more robust and chocolatey coffee notes, which a warm steep in the spinbot and an overnight spin helped to layer up. Press to Zest is made with sea salt, which is often used to soften bitterness in coffee. We like how it gives us perceived sweetness, nice body and some roundness in a beer which inherently lends itself to sharpness. The result is a clean, balanced and refreshing drink with plenty of nuance to keep you guessing. Malts: Extra Pale Ale, Wheat, Malted Oats Hops: Simcoe Adjuncts: Coffee, Lemon Concentrate, Lemon Zest Coffee: Climpson & Sons (Hackney, London) Variety: The Estate Origin: Sidamo, Ethiopia