What is Three Sisters?
The medium roast in the range, and the one that tastes least like a supermarket coffee.
Kicking Horse publishes tasting notes of stone fruit and cocoa described as well-rounded and complex, an aroma of sweet dried fruit, toasted coconut and chocolate malt, a medium roast described as cheeky, bright and precocious, Certified Organic, Fairtrade and Kosher status, and green coffee as the only ingredient. The bag is 10oz.
Stone fruit is the note that matters here
It is a fruit acidity descriptor, and finding one on a certified blend at this price is unusual.
Stone fruit means apricot, peach or plum: a soft, sweet acidity rather than the sharp citrus of a light Ethiopian. It survives only if the roast stops early enough to leave the acids intact, which is exactly what a medium roast is for and what Kick Ass deliberately roasts past.
Most coffee at this price is roasted dark, because a darker roast hides inconsistency in the green coffee and appeals to a broader palate. Publishing a fruit note on a supermarket-priced blend is a claim the roaster has to keep, and it says something about the beans going in.
Where a medium roast rewards you and where it punishes
More flavour available, less margin for error.
Lighter roasted beans are denser and harder, so they grind less evenly on a cheap burr grinder and extract more slowly. Under-extract a medium roast and the acidity reads as sour rather than fruity, which is the usual reason somebody decides they dislike lighter coffee.
Practically: grind a little finer than you would for Kick Ass, use water just off the boil, and give it slightly longer. In a French press that means four minutes rather than three. The stone fruit shows up when the extraction is right and disappears when it is not.
Three Sisters vs Happy Camper
The two mediums, and they diverge on acidity against sweetness.
Happy Camper is published on caramelised sugar, roasted nut and chocolate, with a toasted marshmallow aroma. It is the sweeter, rounder, more comforting of the two.
Three Sisters is the brighter and more complex one, and the better choice if you want to taste something other than roast. If you drink coffee with milk, Happy Camper's sweetness carries better; black, Three Sisters is the more interesting cup.
Is Three Sisters worth it?
Worth it, and it is the one to buy from this range if you drink filter coffee black.
A certified organic and fairtrade medium roast with a real fruit note, at supermarket money, is a genuinely unusual combination. It is the closest thing to specialty coffee on this site at this price.
Kicking Horse publishes no origin country, no farm, no altitude, no varietal, no processing method and no roast date, which is the ceiling on what it can score for transparency here. A 10oz bag is small, which favours freshness.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it for pour over, filter or press, drunk black.
It suits somebody moving off dark supermarket roasts, anybody who wants certification without specialty prices, and a pour over or drip machine.
Do not buy it if you like coffee dark and smoky, where Kick Ass is the right bag. Do not buy it if your grinder is poor, because a medium roast is less forgiving. And do not expect a named farm, because none is published.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Three Sisters taste like?
Stone fruit and cocoa, well-rounded and complex, per the maker, with an aroma of dried fruit, toasted coconut and chocolate malt.
Is it lighter than Kick Ass?
Yes. Three Sisters is a medium roast and Kick Ass is dark.
Is it organic and fairtrade?
Yes, Certified Organic, Fairtrade and Kosher.
What brewer suits it best?
Kicking Horse does not specify. A medium roast with fruit notes generally shows best in pour over or a press rather than espresso.
Where do the beans come from?
Not published. It is a blend and no origin country is stated.
