Mighty Oak is based in the NYC neighborhood of Astoria. They opened shop in May 2019 as New York’s only wood-fired roastery. Sean, Founder at Mighty Oak Coffee Roasters, accidentally discovered wood roasting while using a custom-built drum over a wood fire in his backyard.
Friends, neighbors, and local restaurants all took a strong interest in the wood-roasted coffees Sean crafted. So, Sean and his team jumped on the opportunity when a location in Astoria became available.
“We found the Pak Pak to be intensely spicy with tons of body, which could be said of many Sumatras, but also some great berry notes and plenty of sweetness. I was surprised by how clean it was, while still maintaining so much of the classic Sumatra profile.”
One of the most common requests we got early on was for a dark roast, and I decided I wanted to do a dark roast that wasn’t as dark as it seemed. The Pak Pak profile really ties this one together.
“If it weren’t such a definitive component of one of our blends, I would definitely think about offering it as a single origin. I’m also currently experimenting with it for another blend I’m working on during quarantine.”
“Sumatra’s hold up quite well in darker profiles, which is why I selected the Pak Pak for our Day for Night blend. In my experience the wet-hulled coffees tend to be a bit of a wild ride, crashing pretty hard after 1st crack, and then wanting to swing back up really quickly. Roasting with wood makes this a bit more of a challenge as well…”
“I’m personally not a huge believer in “proprietary” curves, but basically we take this one to 202c in 15:30 or so, with about 22% development. This roughly lines up with hitting 2nd crack in the cooling tray. Sumatra’s are often a polarizing flavor profile so I feel like it’s a bit neglected among specialty offerings, but the Pak Pak is a very clean, complex coffee that can definitely stand out.”
The new crop Pak Pak will be available around April 20th at the Annex Warehouse in Oakland. Please reach out to your trader for samples or visit MyTrabocca.