3 lb Bundle: Special

Indonesian Bali Org. – Kintamani – Natural

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.

“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 cup with good body. A wild old world natural processed good from light to dark. A beautiful tasting bean this season: slightly fruitier but still balances with traditional Indonesian character. Hints of acidity with stronger fruitiness at lighter roasts, strong fruit/oak tones on a more nutty/earthy/chocolaty profile at darker roast points. No missing the wild side in this cup. Medium roasts are where one should shoot for their first roast, mutes some nutty tones and pronounces the chocolaty factor for some balance, 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:Higher chaff and slightly uneven roasting. Right around a full city roast (close or touching 2nd crack) is going to be the sweet spot for a bulletproof roast level. Lighter can be quite tasty as well, much more emphasis on the fruitiness, but too light and one can get some sour/herbal. 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 blend or Yemen type cup profile, a bit of rustic chocolate and a bit of fruit – almost anyone would like that cup!

Ethiopian Sidama Natural Gr. 1 – Bokasso
bokasso carries out activities that often go unnoticed but are crucial for small producers, including training producers in best organic practices and investing in basic infrastructure needs like road improvements and establishing local warehouses. SCFCU focuses on establishing a certification process for local cooperatives, creating micro-credit for producers and investing in social programs on a larger scale. Environmental training programs, healthcare initiatives, life insurance, and educational opportunities are just some of the ways SCFCU strives to improve the quality of life for coffee producers and their families.

Tasting Notes: No missing the more wild natural processed tones in this cup. Best served at the light to medium roast levels. A bit of citric crispness upfront that quickly fades into a sweet fruity note, the lighter tones balance with a boozy complexity, think oaky barrel aged like tones, with more traditional nutty/chocolate like tones in the aftertaste. Wonderful depth of flavors and a clean tasting cup from light to dark. With its more potent tastes, a longer setup will help smooth it out the cup and reduce some of the wild tones. Light roasts themselves will show a little higher acidity, lots of citric and fruitiness, balances more on the nutty side of things. Medium roasts promote a bit more chocolaty factor, reducing some of the citric acidity, bringing out more of the barrel aged darker toned complexity with fruity highlights. Dark roasts are interesting but can get a bit bitter as you enter second crack, assuming you like stronger edgier coffee, can be a unique treat for dark roast fans.

Roasting Notes: A beautiful screen of coffee for a slow dried natural, even roasting but will have a higher chaff content. With higher chaff, for most coffee roasters, make sure to reduce batch size a little and keep a close eye on it. Can be a little wild with very quick and light roasts, a good coffee to get a little slower development on.

Panama Premium Boquete – Damarli Estate – Catuai Natural Processed
This is season five of working with Keith Pech, owner of Damarli Estate. He has some family in the U.P. (Michigan) and passes by our warehouse from time to time when visiting them. Keith and his father David are on the cutting edge of Panamanian coffee, which says a lot, many think top end Panama coffees are the best in the world. Because he likes us so much, we get the best chops from his farm, as well as from his friends and neighbors. A super cool direct relationship that brings some of the best Panamanian coffees to our customers. Coffee is in the Pech families blood, Keith’s mom is actually part of the Ruiz family, who’s grandfather was one of the first specialty coffee pioneers in Panama.

This Catuai Natural is one of the larger lots this season. A wonderful price for a tasty Panama natural. Catuai is a little fuller flavored strain versus the typica, hints of acidity and soft fruit mark the cup, strong nutty/chocolate like darker tones with a sweet edge. A wonderful more daily drinker from Damarli Estate.

Tasting Notes: Although similar to the Typica, this Catuai is a more potent cup, stronger acidity with more complex darker tones (a little along the lines of African coffees). Light roasts themselves will be brighter with crisp lemony floral notes and more noticeable fruit tones, nutty tones to balance out the cup. Medium roasts bring a smoother and richer cup, develop the nuttiness into more of a malty/chocolate like taste, reduces the fruitiness but keeps the sweetness, still a bit lemony upfront but has a much more noticeable malt like tone with a bit of spice to balance it out. Darker roasts pull a little bitter/malty contrast but it goes well with the roasty and smoky tones and retains a sweet edge. A little longer setup sees a smooth a sweet darker roast.

Roasting Notes: A bit dependent on personal taste what to do with this coffee and can be a bit harder to roast. High chaff, good to reduce the batch size slightly. Looks way darker roasted than it is, even at first crack, looks like you are pushing 2nd crack. If you are seeing splotches of color on a single bean, you are still in the light to medium ballpark. A strong shine to the beans are you are getting closer to 2nd crack than first.  If you like acidity, floral and fruit tones, the light roast cup is pretty cool stuff. If you like traditional Panama and Central American coffee, good to go into the medium roast points to get some darker toned balance. Darker roasts will be exotic for the roast point, but we liked it best before 2nd crack. A longer setup time on these beans will help a ton, blasty coffees often need 3-5 days to start tasting their best.