Description
Garry’s coffee special features three of our more interesting coffees. Higher acidity, interesting processing, this bundle is leaning towards more exotic coffee tones.
A pound each of:
Timor-Leste Letefoho – Natural Processed
Not your average Timor coffee! This is a wonderful very fruit forward, wild, old world natural processed. If you like Indo. Bali Kintamani Natural or Yemen coffees, this will be right down your alley.
Among the misty highlands of Timor coffee is known as the “golden prince,” and grows under extensive shade on rugged and steep mountainsides. Due to the extremely wet environment of Timor, most coffee is either wet-hulled or fully washed, making naturally processed coffee rare. Although unusual, the extended drying time for naturally processed coffees in the region can bring added sweetness and fruit to the heavy body typically associated with the coffee of Timor.
A very tasty aggregate production (small holder) coffee coming from the Letefoho sub-district of the Ermera municipality in Timor.
Similar to much of Indonesian, Timor has its own strain of coffee that naturally crossed an Arabica strain with a Robusta strain creating a wonderful hybrid that has now been used around the world. Although this happened naturally in Timor, the idea behind this is currently saving the coffee industry. As climate continues to change and world trade keeps expanding, coffee has been getting hit with a lot of disease and pests that Arabica plants are susceptible to but Robusta is not. These hybrid strains have been keeping the farms alive and over the years and they have really dialed in a unique and tasty cup with the strain over the years.
Tasting Notes: A tasty cup from light to dark. Lighter roasts will have stronger citric floral acidity that will fade into wild semi-boozy red fruit tones. Those lighter tones balance out with a more rustic chocolaty dark tone, a sign of its Timor heritage. All in all, lighter roasts will produce a sweet edged cup with a fuller body and higher acidity. A great roast level for more new-wave coffee heads.
As one pushes into the medium roast level it cuts out most of the citric and floral tones. A much smoother cup with plenty of sweetness and fruit tones, It will lean the dominating taste to the more rich & rustic dark chocolate side. A little easier to pick it out as a Timor coffee from medium to dark. Smooth, rich, sweet and fruity. Not nearly as sharp as lighter roasts, a good starting point for most natural fans.
Dark roasts hold well, usually it burns out the delicate fruity/floral on most naturals, but being a Timor, the great body and strong nutty/chocolate tones pop right out, a bit smoky and less sweet than lighter roasts, hints of fruitiness in the cup and aromatics but not as noticeable in the taste until the cup cools.
Roasting Notes: A bit uneven roasting and high chaff. A sign of it being an old world natural. We would still consider it pretty easy to roast, for it will taste good from light to dark. If you do not like brighter cup characteristics, make sure to error a bit darker in your roast.
Ethiopian Guji Org. Natural Gr. 1 – Kayon Mountain Shakiso
Fresh Kayon Mountain has become a tradition around here, marks one of our favorite times of the year, new Ethiopian season!
Beautiful coffee and screen. The Kayon Mountain Coffee Farm is 500 hectares with about 300 hectares planted in coffee and has been owned and operated by Ismael Hassen Aredo and his family since 2012. It is located 510 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, and the property crosses the border of two villages—Taro and Sewana—located in the Oromia region, in the Guji zone of the Shakiso district of Ethiopia.
Ismael oversees a staff of 25 permanent full-time and 300 seasonal employees, and the farm management offers free transportation services as well as financial support for building schools and administration buildings for the community. The farm competes with a nearby mining village for seasonal workers, so Ismael and his family tend to pay higher wages to their pickers in order to incentivize them returning year after year.
Tasting Notes:
Clean, bright, sweet with a very diverse flavor set. Stone and darker fruit, citrus & floral, and spiced chocolate tones are the main flavors one can see in this cup, either accentuated or muted depending on roast level. Nice jammy body will be seen in the medium to borderline dark roast mark. Very dependent on roast – lighter roasting gives much more of the citrus, red-fruit with just a hint of a spicy chocolaty factor, a much dryer finish. Darker roasts produce much more of a bakers chocolate cup with a hint of a strawberry like fruit note and good sweetness, far less acidic. A very enjoyable cup from light to dark.
Roasting Notes:
Classic natural processed, fairly even roasting (one can see a couple shades but they are close to each other) with high chaff. We liked it best right around a medium roast – not as bright or floral but developed a real nice fruit versus chocolate profile. Many lighter roast fans will like to take it lighter – 2 out of 6 here who tried it did like the lighter roasts better – super dark roasts will get pretty edgy but have very nice aromatics and a strong chocolaty smoky cup profile.
Indonesian Bali Kintamani Natural RFA Org.
New Crop! A very unique, overly fermented (very fruity) cup of joe.
Bali is a tiny island– actually, a submerged volcano peak – just off the east coast of Java, with many small coffee farms. The farmers who grow Kintamani Natural belong to cooperative organizations known as Subak Abian (SA) founded on a Hindu philosophy known as “Tri Hita Karana” (the three causes of happiness). SA co-ops foster community in agricultural, social and religious activities, and have been certified Organic since 2008. Pesticides are never used on their coffee farms, and fertilizers are 100% organic.
SA farmers grow almost all heirloom Arabicas, Typica & Bourbon. They use trees such as Erythrina, Tangerine, and Orange to shade the coffee, which improves yield and cup quality and enhances wildlife habitat.
A couple of years ago, our supplier Royal Coffee visited the Subak Abians, who also produced our semi-washed “Blue Moon” coffee. Noting the scarcity of groundwater due to very coarse volcanic soil, Royal suggested trying natural (dry) processing. Raised beds are already used for drying parchment for Blue Moon, so it was easy to also use them to dry whole ripe cherry for this coffee. They did a test batch, and Royal was so blown away by the quality and flavor they purchased a full container!
“Kintamani Natural” is 100% sundried on raised beds; It’s perhaps the first ever special prep natural Indonesian. Raised beds keep the cherry free of dirty flavor, and facilitate very quick drying in Bali’s high altitude sun and constant island breeze. The cup is extraordinarily exotic and unique with a rich, buttery mouthfeel, while retaining Indonesia’s full-bodied, savory character. It features super-intense, brandyish fruit flavors of plum and sweet cherry at lighter roasts; darker roasts develop much heavier body with a spicy, smoky twist. An easy roaster that’s exceptionally versatile, roast Bali “Kintamani Natural” any way you’d like; slow or quick, from first crack to French, you’ll get very unique and terrific flavor!
Tasting Notes:
Very fermenty/fruity, lower acidity with good body, a wild old world natural processed. This crop year is a little more traditional Indonesian coffee but roasts nicely, thick and creamy with a sweet edge; hints of acidity and strong fruit/oak tones on a more nutty/earthy/chocolaty profile. No missing the wild side in this cup. Medium to dark roasts are where one should shoot, mutes some nutty tones and pronounces the chocolaty factor, still plenty of wild fruity natural processed tones in the cup. Dark roasts will introduce some smoky accents but retain great sweetness. A great balance of slow dried natural with thick and creamy dark tones all in one cup.
Roasting Notes:
Right around a full city roast (close or touching 2nd crack) is going to be the sweet spot. Lighter roasted the chocolaty factor is a bit earthy. If you hit the error slightly lighter though, can add a little hint of citrus acidity, tasty but at the risk of an earthier cup. Most will want to push it more towards a medium roast or darker. Right before 2nd crack mutes up a bit of fruit but gets more like a single origin mokka java, a bit rough chocolate and a bit of fruit – almost anyone would like that cup!
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