Review: Goodboybob Guatemala Buena Vista Rosendo Domingo
(2021) This past Memorial Day weekend I was standing in the infield of Lime Rock Park amidst rain and cold temperatures. My mask had ceased serving as a barrier for Covid protection. Instead it was one of the few insulators on my body. The raincoat had saturated and was leaking at the seams. All that cold and wet was about to be reversed when one of the greatest beacons ever seen came off the back of a Porsche 911 raceteam’s hauler. It was a small coffee roaster named Goodboybob and they were slinging some wonderful coffee.
Goodboybob Coffee Roasters mobile coffee shop opened their doors in the cold rain and could not have timed it better.
Shortly after returning home, we sorted through an order of Goodboybob Buena Vista Rosendo Domingo coffee and had their house blend sent. Goodboybob is a Los Angeles-based roaster with an actual shop. Seeing we aren’t out there, we settled for a 12-ounce bag of roasted beans, complete with the roast date. Oh, and Goodboybob is named after the founder’s dog, Bob. I’m sure he knows he’s a good boy. Straight after receiving the box, the beans went into the grinder and prepped for brew.
House blends are wonderful brews. They are the leggy beans that are versatile and dependable. This single origin, ground on the 18 setting of our burr grinder, came out a beautiful reddish brown. The beans’ aroma wafted with enticement. It wasn’t overpowering; it was balanced as a house blend typically is. Goodboybob relies on this roast to serve their espressos. This intensified the excitement.
Brewed, this coffee matches the brown/ red color of the beans. Though Goodboybob suggests this with milk, the flavors come through without additives. Here are the profiles of cherry and other stone fruits. The sweetness checked the welcoming acidity, which was as balanced as it should be. The warmth and flavor were as we remembered it when we eagerly snatched up the paper cup on the race hauler in forty-degree rain, desperate for warmth. This roast delivers and is certainly an all-day bit of kit. Instead of being outside in cold rain, this cup is perfect for sitting indoors and reading.
We here at creakybottombracket.com love stiff coffee, to the point of nearly-crippling paranoia with certain strengths. Happily Goodboybob’s Guatemala Buena Vista Rosendo Domingo does not produce the racing heartbeat, the coffee anxiety, or the acidic aftertaste. That’s what keeps bringing us back. It’s also what kept bringing us back to the Porsche race hauler at Lime Rock all those weekends ago. Just like the mask that had acquired a second purpose, Goodboybob’s warmth became secondary while the flavor and goodness became enjoyable. Coffee that brings a smile to a drenched and shivering fan is one thing, having a brew that keeps us coming back is the equivalent of saying, ‘Who’s a good boy?’ Bob is.
