3 lb Bundle: Dark

Description

BCT’s coffee special includes three of our best dark roast coffees. Featuring our:

Indonesian Sumatra Gr. 1 – Mandheling

A wonderful super fresh Sumatra arrival!

“Mandheling” is one of the broadest coffee trading terms for a regional blend in Indonesia, applying to almost any blend of wet-hulled coffees from across the northern half of the island of Sumatra that suit a generic cup profile that is heavy on the palate, earthy in balance, and complex. Regional coffee blend distinctions in the northern provinces of Sumatra were originally based on human ethnicity, rather than geography: Mandheling is a widespread cultural group found across Sumatra and Malaysia; “Batak”, to use another example, is a Mandheling sub-ethnicity based around Lake Toba and considered a smaller regional coffee pedigree unto itself, and often marketed as such. 

The large majority of coffee blends labeled “Mandheling” tend to be drawn from across a variety of local parchment collectors across two main coffee producing provinces, both of which are fortified with volcanic soils: Aceh and North Sumatra. Aceh province (pronounced AH-CHEY) is the northernmost province of Sumatra and its highland territory, surrounding Lake Tawar and the central city of Takengon, is considered to be the epicenter of one of the world’s most unique coffee terroirs. North Sumatra province, just below Aceh, is a varied territory with high elevation grasslands, mountain ranges, and the massive Lake Toba, another of the island’s most famous coffee producing areas. 

Tasting Notes: A very clean traditional Sumatra cup. Best from medium to dark roasts. Fuller bodied with some nice exotic incense spice notes intermingled with a bakers chocolate and smoky cup profile. Light roast are not recommended (for almost all Indo coffees). Medium roasts were nice and balanced, a little lemony acidity upfront mixing with a bunch of spice and hints of an earthy slightly peaty chocolaty factor; a decent roast point for pour-overs or drip. Darker roasts were fuller bodied and very smoky with the spice lingering in the aftertaste, very low acidity; good for dark roast fans, espresso or blend bases.

Roasting Notes: A nice screen for a Sumatra makes it a bit easier to roast then many Sumatra beans. Low in chaff due to the processing (wet-hulled). A longer setup is nice for this cup, gives much more rounded edges and smooth characteristics. Very light roasts are to be avoided, a medium to dark roast matches the cup profile very nicely.

Sumatra’s smallholder coffee is a complicated process. Notably, processing is typically not overseen by a single individual or team; instead, coffee moves task by task through different parties before reaching its final, fully-dried, state. Coffee farms tend to average 0.5-2 hectares each. Every coffee village has a collector (or more) who receives fresh-picked cherry, or humid parchment, for processing each day. Once a batch of coffee has been depulped, fermented overnight, washed clean, and then quickly sun-dried to the touch, each collector then delivers the batch to a central miller. It is at the mill where the coffee is mechanically hulled of its parchment, leaving behind just the soft, high-moisture coffee bean (thus earning the term “wet-hulled”), all of which is spread out on large patios to continue drying.  

Tanzanian BCT Select Peaberry

Tanzania BCT Select Peaberry is sourced from a group of 235 family-owned farms located in the Mbozi district within the Songwe region of Tanzania. Producers harvest and deliver cherry to a centralized processing station where the coffee is depulped, fermented, washed and dried. The aggregate processing stations have been established in the last three years to provide producers with a centrally located processing facility that can process coffee more consistently and ensure better quality, which results in better prices from the international market.

Tasting Notes: Rich and chocolaty, Tanz coffee is always high on our go to list for stronger chocolaty darker roast coffee. At the medium roasts one will see a more gentle cup with good body, a little sweeter edge, hints of acidity and stronger chocolaty spice. Darker roasts get much fuller bodied and bring out the very strong bakers chocolate edge balancing nicely with classic African spice note and complimenting roasty/smoky tones.

Roasting Notes: Medium to dark roasts are preferred and let the cup shine. Light roasts risk a little earthy tone that will blossom into more spicy chocolate factor darker roasted. We found a quicker roast accentuates some of the sweeter tone and crispness which was a good thing.

Costa Rican SHB EP Tarrazu San Marcos

In Tarrazu there is a cooperative that runs like a clock, a very big and well calibrated clock. With more than 4,650 members from Tarrazu, a canton in the province of San Jose, Cooperativa de Caficultores de Tarrazú RL (Coopetarrazu) is designed to receive cherries from many small farms and consistently process their coffee into a well-balanced regional blends, this one being San Marcos.

This is the same Co-op that also produces La Pastora.

Tarrazu coffees are famed for snappy, strikingly clean flavor. Known as a “classically complete” coffee, they’re crisp and medium-bodied, with tangy citrus flavor and a fine, satisfying aroma. Tarrazu cups wonderfully at all but the lightest and darkest of roasts.

Tasting Notes:
The aroma is floral and sweet like honey. A nice medium bodied, smooth & creamy cup of coffee with little stronger floral aspect, medium to low acidity. It does get a good lemongrass tone at lighter roasts with a soft fruit tone as the cup cools, crisper cup with a slight nutty tone. Turns much more chocolaty into the medium or dark roasts. The cup finishes with a pleasantly surprising spiciness. This is a savory cup of coffee with wonderful complexities.

Roasting Notes:
Easy to roast and good from light to dark. Will roast a little two toned, make sure everything is through first crack before cooling it out. Medium roasts are where thought it to shine, well balanced and smooth; might be a little mild for some. Darker roasts are slightly edgy but great pronounced dark chocolate tones balancing with some smoky and toasty notes, a good combo.