Review: Downshift Coffee Peru Dark Roast

Our second review of Downshift Coffee has us focusing on their dark roast simply labeled, Peru. Available at their shop in Belfast, Maine, online to order, or pickup in person, Downshift Coffee was brought to us by a Maine correspondent. In the creakybottombracket.com office, we served up Downshift Coffee’s Peru dark roast in both Chemex and drip. 

If we ever found ourselves in Maine with our bikes, Downshift Coffee could provide caffeination while the attached bike shop could look over the rigs. Situated within a bike shop in Belfast Harbor, Maine, Downshit Coffee features a roastery as well as seating that overlooks the water. Imagine a location in every home town that offers premium coffee as well as blingy bikes. Saving for a future trip to Belfast to see this business model in person, one of our correspondents returned with a - compostable - bag of their Peru Dark Roast. 

August started steamy, but toward the end, a sudden comfortable snap of enjoyable weather parked itself over the area. Comfortable days and crisp nights fell into September. In those cooler days, Downshift Coffee’s Peru dark roast was on regular rotation at the office. Due to the unique one-pound bags used by Downshift Coffee, the rotation has happily continued longer than other roasters.

Due to the cooler days, Peru was not cold brewed; it was drip brewed as well as Chemex-brewed. Drip brew is always easy. Grind the beans, load the water, press a few buttons, and the process is trusted. Chemex is reserved for weekends when time is more prevalent. Peru is a single origin bean from, well you guessed it, Peru. Its tasting notes are toasty and chocolatey. That second tasting note is what gets us giddy to pour mug after mug. Downshift Coffee’s Peru delivered with the chocolatey notes. 

Don’t expect a bombardment of tasting notes. This single origin is balanced and enjoyable. The method the chocolate tasting notes came through most was Chemex, the preferred brewing method for Peru. Using a 1:7 ratio, the flavors came through best. Letting Peru bloom seemed to be the best way to enjoy it, as long as time was not an issue. As quickly as the Chemex was brewed, we were off to make more due to the popularity of dark roast. 

We have thoroughly enjoyed Downshift Coffee’s Peru dark roast and are thankful for the one pound bag that has kept us going this whole time. It was perfect timing with the crisp weather that we could enjoy cups on cool mornings going over article ideas. Surrounded by bikes and bike talk, cooler weather, and freshly brewed Downshift Coffee steaming, it’s almost like we were in Belfast, Maine, if we just imagined hard enough.