By Kim Westerman, STiR’s resident Q-grader
As a licensed Q-grader, I cup coffees produced all over the world by all manner of processing methods — washed, natural, wet-hulled, the full range of honeys, and lately, many different kinds of processing experiments, including anaerobic fermentation and processing with wine yeasts. But I’d never tasted a non-coffee coffee (a coffee-like “beverage”) before getting my hands on a couple cans of Atomo.
I approached it in exactly the same way I evaluate any cold-brewed coffee, by tasting it at refrigerator temperature and assessing its body (mouthfeel), flavor, and finish (aftertaste). Then, I add a splash of milk and evaluate it in that format.
The classic version presented vaguely like coffee in aroma, a roasty-sweet profile with distinct savory undertones, the most prominent of which resembled teriyaki sauce, which carried into the flavor. Other tasting notes include carob, lily, dried apple, and a prominent throughline of scorched mesquite. The body is fairly thin (not viscous), but quite smooth, and the finish is rather bitter with prominent teriyaki notes. With milk, perhaps its most appealing presentation, smoky chocolate notes surface and the bitterness subsides.
The nitro version, which I would expect to be brighter and richer, is actually a bit flat and sour, wood-prominent, though not as savory. Milk does not improve it.
Who would enjoy this coffee? Someone who likes a low-acid, roast-prominent coffee, first and foremost — and cold-brew, of course. And someone who isn’t particularly concerned with what is actually in this coffee-like beverage that contains no coffee. Atomo does taste somewhat like coffee, just not particularly high-quality coffee.