Description
BCT’s coffee special includes three of our best dark roast coffees. Featuring our:
More Green Coffee Bean Information:
Guide to coffee processing methods
Guide to coffee varieties/cultivars
Indonesian Sumatra Org. – Koperasi Putra Tani – Wet-hulled
This lot comes from the Koperasi Produsen Putra Tani Berkarya, a relatively young cooperative founded in 2022 by the new generation of producers in the Bener Meriah and Aceh Tengah (Central Aceh) regions, at the northern tip of Sumatra. Its roughly 708 members live in or near nine villages in the area, farming plots that are traditionally passed down from generation to generation and that rarely exceed 1 to 3 hectares. Unlike many Sumatra lots, the cooperative runs its own processing unit with a drying area, huller, sorting room, and storage room, so it collects freshly picked red cherry from its members and processes it centrally to keep quality consistent across every export.
Bener Meriah is one of the regencies in Aceh province and part of the celebrated Gayo Highlands, one of the most recognized coffee growing areas in Indonesia. The region is famous for its Gayo coffee thanks to its cool climate, large hills, and volcanic soil, with an active volcano in the immediate area. Coffee grows here between 1200 and 1400 meters above sea level, on the volcanic slopes of the Barisan Mountains and amongst the rainforest. Aceh is also an origin with a strong female presence in production and a fabric made up almost entirely of smallholders, which gives these cooperative lots a very particular character. The varieties grown are the ones typical of the area: Ateng, Bor Bor, Catimor, and the Timor hybrids.
Processing is Wet-Hulled, known locally as Giling Basah, the method responsible for the unmistakable profile of Sumatran coffees. The cherry is depulped and washed, pre-dried until it reaches roughly 35% moisture, and only then hulled while still wet, leaving the greenish-blue bean exposed. It is then finished on patios down to the 10 to 13% moisture appropriate for export. This process was developed to speed up drying in a climate of constant rain and cloud cover, and it is exactly what gives Sumatra coffees the heavy body, low acidity, and earthy, spicy notes that set them apart from the rest of the world. The lot is Fair Trade Organic certified, with harvest running November to January and April to May.
Tasting Notes: A clean and traditional Sumatra cup, heavy bodied with low acidity best at fuller roast levels. Like almost all Indonesian coffees, light roasts are not recommended: the earthy and spicy notes stay undeveloped and the body feels flat. At a strong medium roast the earthy chocolate and incense like spice really starts to pop out, a subtle hint of crispness can be found and the cup remains smooth and a little sweeter; a good point for pour-over or drip. At a darker roast it turns much fuller bodied and stronger, smoky and bittersweet cocoa notes, spice lingering in the aftertaste, and almost no acidity; great for dark roast fans, espresso, or as a blend base.
Roasting Notes: The wet-hulled processing leaves little chaff, which makes it easier to roast than many other origins. Avoid very light roasts, they do not do this profile justice. For a medium roast, a slightly longer development rounds the edges and brings out the best of the balance between spice and chocolate; aim to finish just after first crack. For a dark roast, take it toward the start or into second crack to build up body, smokiness, and bittersweet cocoa while keeping acidity to a minimum. Overall, a medium to dark roast is what suits this Sumatra best.
A lovely Brazil arrival. Smooth, clean and rich, these beans make an awesome single origin cup, or blend base. This is a Fine Cup (FC) and Strictly Soft (SS), the highest cup category in the Brazilian coffee grading. 17/18 refers to the size of the beans, which is strictly large bean.
As the world’s largest coffee producer, Brazilian lots often come from larger estates that use highly mechanized processing strategies to manage larger volumes. The Mogiana region, split between the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, is the most renowned of three major Brazilian growing regions. This region has rolling hills and uneven terrain lending to farms that are small to medium in size.
This particular lot comes from Cooperativa Regional de Cafeicultores em Guaxupé (Cooxupé), which was established in 1937 and currently has 14,000 active members. Producers typically have farms that average 60 acres in size. Each producer cultivates and harvest their own cherries and places them on patios to dry to 15 percent moisture after which the coffee is moved to mechanical driers to precisely finish the drying to 11 percent moisture. Coffee is carefully stored until it is time for milling and export, which all takes place at the Cooxupé dry mill where traceability and quality control are carefully managed so each producer can be paid according to the quality of their coffee.
Tasting notes: Best from medium to dark roasts. Lighter roasts show a sweet edge with lemon, floral & soft fruit, contrasted by a nuttier (almond like) darker undertone. With a little setup, the tones will combine to provide hints of caramel, a very tasty cup especially for the price. Too close to first crack will throw some herbal tones, but not far after first crack it will taste clean and defined. Medium roasts are richer, more of a developed chocolaty tone and decently less nutty; mutes up the sour floral edge, retains a little hint of soft fruit as the cup cools. Fairly neutral tasting and very chuggable. Darker promotes a thicker body and introduces a slightly bitter contrast that works very well for espresso.
Roasting Notes: A nice large screen, fairly even roasting bean (will see a couple beans lighter than the others). Medium to high chaff. Avoid light roasts unless you like sharper cups, quite tasty but will have a little acidity which many Brazil fans will shy away from. Most will like it best at a medium roast, especially for single origin drinking, or into the darker roasts for blending.
Honduran SHG EP COMSA Washed Processed
Finca Humana (the Human Farm) is the first thing you will hear about Café Organico Marcala, S.A. (COMSA) if you make your way to visit this cooperative in Marcala, Honduras. The wellbeing of humans is foundational to the COMSA philosophy and educating more than 1,500 producer-members to successfully live in harmony with nature is everywhere at COMSA. It starts with the La Fortaleza, the COMSA biodynamic demonstration farm where the focus of transferring knowledge takes place through week- long seminars called Pata de Chucho (pawprints left by a stray dog), which aptly reveals COMSA’s dogged exploration for human productivity in harmony with nature.
The trailblazing ideas for using organic matter to productively cultivate high quality coffee is only a sliver of what COMSA teaches about the power of nature through the Finca Humana philosophy. COMSA dedicates significant funding from the proceeds of coffee sales to run a cutting-edge international school dedicated to filling children’s minds with possibility and training them to be the future leaders of Finca Humana.
What makes it so good? The fundamentals: traceability to the Marcala region, which is a protected designation of origin (DENOMINACION DE ORIGEN CAFE DE MARCALA); meticulous post-harvest hand sorting of cherry; cherry floating to remove less dense beans; proper fermentation; long drying times; and a healthy dose of the COMSA philosophy and training.
Tasting Notes: This cup is nice and chocolaty, lower acidity and medium bodied. A little sweeter edge to it except for super dark roasts. Besides a chocolaty factor one will get some herbaceous nutty/caramel/floral like tones at the medium to dark roast points, gives it some nice complimenting depth without being too exotic. We all thought it was at its best right around a full city – smooth without too much of a roasty note and great chocolaty tones.
Roasting Notes: Easy to roast but will roast two-toned. Medium to low chaff. This is an aggregate production coffee which includes multiple strains and pickings. Produces a long first crack and the finished product will have beans in the medium-dark roast range. This is what helps it achieve a full flavored and balanced cup, the slightly lighter beans push out a little floral sweetness, the dark beans provide the rich semi-sweet chocolate tones. An easy and tasty roast point is just touching 2nd crack.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.