Review: Homestead Coffee Roaster’s Lionheart
(2022) National Coffee Day is today, one week into autumn. The changing of the seasons from cold brew hot days to dark roast slow and shadowy winter mornings has an equinox approach on tap. Recently we had the opportunity to try Homestead Coffee Roaster’s Lionheart, a medium roast.
Homestead Coffee is based near the tippy top of Bucks County, at a river town uniquely named Upper Black Eddy. Under the right conditions, coffee roasting aroma can lead one straight to the barn where the operations are conducted. Next door at Homestead General Store, one can pour a cup of whatever is brewed or on the nitro tap. It’s the perfect place to admire the leaves changing this time of year.
Their medium roast, Lionheart, is a blend of light and medium roasts from three countries: Honduras, Colombia, and Guatemala. Homestead recommends it from espresso to cold brew to French press. Having used both French press and pour over, the flavor profile that most excited us was milk chocolate. Homestead has been highly successful at featuring chocolate tasting notes. Lionheart did not disappoint as once again the slight tinge of chocolate bar came through. It’s these momentary profiles that keep us coming back for more sips.
In Bucks County, autumn has come on as fast as it tends to depart. The last day of summer was the tail end of a streak of high-80s temperatures. Suddenly overnight the temperature dropped precipitously and autumn arrived. Finally the leaves have started to turn. As it seems to happen every year, just as we are about to enjoy the colorful countryside, a tropical storm comes through and cleans house of all colors. In that short time, it is imperative we grab a cup of medium roast and admire the seasonal change. Lionheart is that perfect medium roast for sitting on a deck or patio and watching the sun’s rays inch down the trees, illuminating the colors, announcing the arrival of another fall morning.
For National Coffee Day, a medium roast hot coffee was just the thing to warm us up for the day. With lows in the high-forties at sunrise, Lionheart was best tapped into for its balance and vibrance, two ways to propel one out the door. Each sip of Lionheart is one sip closer to the darker coffees necessary to churn us through the dark of winter.
