Watch the overview video here!
The Abaca series of filters are focused on forest sustainability and the Abaca+ takes this a step further, offering a product with an FSC Mixed certification which indicates responsible forestry.
In regards to flavor, the Standard Abaca highlight acidity and sweetness, bringing the best out of vibrant, light roast coffees at consistently fast and stable drain rates. This helps with cup uniformity if you’re typically grinding on the finer side. This is great for people who want to get the most vibrancy out of their coffees.
The Plus in Abaca+ is not meant to connote “more” or “additional” in regards to brew results, it offers a different style of output altogether.
The Abaca+ don’t seem to have a bias towards acidity or sweetness, but outputs a neutral presentation. Acidity, Sweetness, and Tactile are all evenly represented. When comparing cups, the neutral presentation of the Abaca+ may offer perceived increase in Tactile Weight though I don’t feel it should be utilized to increase this aspect.
In terms of output, the Abaca+ on average extracts ~.7% higher than the Abaca and is more sensitive to finer grinds, where on average the brew times can be up to a minute longer. This longer brew time does not seem to increase aspects of the flavor profile, and for both grind styles retains it’s neutral flavor profile.
I would recommend this filter for those who are more sensitive to acidity and prefer a “balanced” flavor profile or for those who don’t use buffered water and want to control some acidity. Also, the drain rate characteristic could be beneficial for those who typically grind on the standard “Medium” filter settings and want a longer brewtime without grinding finer.
All coffees were brewed to 19:1 Ratio using standard calculations. UF is UltraFine Grind setting [Point before diminishing returns]. F is Fine Grind setting. All ground on Titus Nautilus Cast Burrs.
Pair Ethio. Abaca UF
25.40% 1.52% 15.20g 4:24
Pair Ethio. Abaca+ UF
26.29% 1.59% 15.00g 5:14
Pair Ethio. Abaca F
23.01% 1.41% 15.10g 2:57
Pair Ethio. Abaca+ F
23.64% 1.45% 15.10g 4:44
SEY Burundi Abaca UF
26.24% 1.55% 15.30g 3:45
SEY Burundi Abaca+ UF
26.86% 1.59% 15.30g 5:09
SEY Burundi Abaca F
23.48% 1.41% 15.10g 3:15
SEY Burundi Abaca+ F
24.47% 1.47% 15.10g 3:58
SEY Col. Abaca UF
23.87% 1.42% 15.20g 3:58
SEY Col. Abaca+ UF
24.17% 1.45% 15.20g 4:44
SEY Col Abaca F
22.51% 1.35% 15.10g 3:23
SEY Col. Abaca+ F
22.57% 1.35% 15.10g 4:35
