Sampler – 6 Half-Pounds – Burman Coffee Favorites:

Sample some classic coffee flavor profiles from around the world! A half pound each of:

Panama Premium Boquete – Garrido Estates – Washed SHB

Garrido Estate coffee very rarely makes it to the US. Owned and operated by Jose David Garrido Perez and consists of 4 farms including the famed Mama Cata.

Located in some of the best growing territory in Panama; some of the biggest names in Panama coffee are also located in this prime territory, Hacienda Esmeralda and Elida Estate are neighbors.  Since his coffee is almost always obtained by foreign markets, many in the US have not heard the name Garrido before but it easily competes with the best of the best.

This is an aggregate coffee by Jose David Garrido Perez. He has come up with awesome tasting blend of washed processed strains and lots from all of his farms.

This is a super tasty and clean washed processed coffee, a good example of traditional Panamanian coffee. Highly rated but not a competition winner, much more affordable than the natural processed boutique coffees or the single strain offerings but just as tasty in our book. Not as exotic, more classic in its tones.  Produced by one of the best Panama farmers on the block!

Tasting Notes: We thought best from medium to dark roasts but works from light to dark. A clean, sweet and smooth daily drinking cup! A little fuller bodied at the light-medium roast level with a great balance between the slight winy/floral notes & nutty/malty darker tones. Similar to Guatemalan coffee. Some acidity at lighter roasts but just a hint, medium to dark roasts would be marked as low acidity. As one pushes it into the medium roast range, the very sweet nutty tones come off a bit caramel like. Still plenty malty, it will linger on the tongue.  Dark roasts turn pretty strong with the sweeter malty cup profile mixing nicely with smoky and roasty notes.

Roasting Notes: An easy coffee to roast, very nice screen. Good from light to dark, pretty low chaff and pretty even roasting. Darkens up pretty quickly, will look a little darker than it is. We recommend trying it on the lighter side of a medium roast to get a nicely balanced cup.

Costa Rican Org. SHB EP Finca Amistad

Hacienda la Amistad, located in Coto Brus, a canton in the province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica, is owned and operated by Roberto Montero, a third generation coffee farmer. Roberto’s grandfather first came to the area in the early 1900’s as part of a team surveying the border between Costa Rica and the newly formed country of Panama. Roberto’s grandfather later purchased over 10,000 hectares of land and began to cultivate coffee. Roberto’s family has returned more than 6,000 hectares of land to the government of Costa Rica for the preservation of La Amistad International Park, the largest natural reserve in Central America. Only 300 hectares of land are utilized for coffee cultivation while the remainder of the 4,000 hectare estate is preserved forest teeming with wildlife.

Roberto’s commitment to organic farming pairs harmoniously with his commitment to his community. During the coffee harvest, Roberto provides housing and free access to medical care for the seasonal pickers because most are indigenous people from Panama who come to La Amistad with their entire families. Roberto also takes pride in his ability to provide more than 100 full-time jobs to his neighbors from Las Mellizas, not only in coffee cultivation, but also in the dried fruit operation that he runs year round at La Amistad. Roberto hosts an annual employee celebration to recognize all their hard work and he also distributes school supplies to their children each year before school starts.

A video from La Amistad available for your viewing HERE.

Tasting Notes: This is one you Costa fans will not want to miss; great smooth and clean coffee. A sweet and nutty cup that turns a bit chocolaty as one pushes past a medium roast. Wonderful balance of tones with hints of floral and soft fruit that pop out at most roasts levels. A little herbal spice in the aftertaste. Medium bodied cup with low to medium acidity depending on roast level. A cup everyone should love.

Roasting Notes: A shame to roast super dark, will mute up sweetness and all the lighter tones but still tasty. Avoid cinnamon and light roasts, it will not be balanced and taste pretty front loaded with acidity and floral. It shines in the city+ to full city range. If you like a hint of acidity, a nice city or city+ roast (lighter side of medium) will be perfect, if you like lower acidity and a little fuller bodied, shoot for right before 2nd crack. (strong medium)

Nicaraguan RFA Selva Negra – Honey Processed

Selva Negra’s history is in many ways the history of the coffee in Nicaragua altogether. In the 1880’s the Nicaraguan government invited young German immigrants to come and settle in Nicaragua in order to promote coffee growing in the northern highlands. Many accepted the offer, thus forming the main coffee plantations of the country; some estates bear names of their motherlands. Selva Negra means Black Forest, and the coffee estate is called La Hammonia, Latin for Hamburg. Located approximately 4,000 ft. above sea level, La Hammonia has been producing fine old style Arabica coffee for over 100 years. Eddy Kühl & Mausi Kühl-Hayn, the farm’s proprietors are descendants of two of these original German immigrants – Alberto Vogl and Klaus Kühl.

Selva Negra Estate Coffee is grown at a high altitude in a shaded environment. This allows the bean to have a slow development cycle which instills an intense and fulfilling flavor to each bean. The coffee is not only 100% Arabica, but more importantly it is mostly Bourbon and Typica strains (which produce higher quality beans than other varieties of coffee trees). The region of Matagalpa, Nicaragua is mountainous with excellent volcanic soil producing exceptional beans. Finally, the coffee is prepared using an environmentally friendly washing process, which gives the coffee still one more unique quality enhancing aspect.
Tasting Notes:
A nice medium to dark roast more potent Nicaraguan offering. Medium to full bodied with just a little hint of acidity. Strong Medium roasts were our favorite with thicker more complex malty tones, a sweet edge, hints of herbal spice and almost no acidity, a good daily drinker being very smooth.  Just a touch of a fruit tone as the cup cools. Darker roasts produce a similar cup but turn it semi-sweet with complimenting smoky tones, not quite as smooth but has the heft many darker roast fans will love.

Roasting Notes: 
Medium to low chaff and even roasting, shoot for right around 2nd crack to start, one can go a little lighter or darker depending on personal taste. Would give it a 48 hour setup to smooth out the cup.

Ethiopian West Arsi Washed Gr. 1 – Refisa

Our first new crop Ethiopian of the season! A super clean, balanced, delicate and sweet cup you won’t want to miss. Washed Ethiopians are known for their delicate and floral profile at lighter roasts and this lot is a wonderful example. Shows hints of peach, floral and citric crispness upfront, balancing with a juicy body and nutty/chocolate undertones. Cups like this really showcase the heirloom strains that makes Ethiopia coffee unique and so special.

This coffee is sourced from smallholder farmers in the villages of Roricho, Bulga, and Solena, located in the surroundings of the Refisa Washing Station in the Nensebo woreda, West Arsi zone, Oromia region. The washing station is located within the village of Refisa itself  which gives the lot its name but the coffee in this specific lot is grown exclusively in the immediately neighboring communities. Producers work plots averaging just 1 to 2 hectares, at altitudes between 1,900 and 2,070 meters above sea level. Cherries are hand-harvested and transported to the station  often by donkey or horse where they are processed by SNAP Specialty Coffee under the direction of Negusse Debela. The station, founded in 2019, works with approximately 588 registered producers and operates 200 raised drying beds to ensure consistent, high-quality processing.

Tasting Notes: A delicate and bright cup with a surprising sweetness. At lighter roasts, lemon and a soft herbal tea notes take the lead, alongside mandarin, peach, and prominent florals like jasmine and coffee blossom. As the cup cools, the peach becomes a bit more intense, the acidity softens slightly without disappearing, and the cup stays clean and elegant, complemented by a honey-like sweetness and a soft caramel or vanilla finish. At medium roasts, the body rounds out and more chocolate-like notes emerge without sacrificing acidity or sweetness making this a very versatile coffee. However, we notice that at darker roasts the floral and fruit notes quiet down considerably, giving way to more chocolate and sweetness but at the cost of acidity and fruit.

Roasting Notes: Medium chaff, very easy to roast. Best between light and medium roast going too dark flattens the fruit and floral profile. On air roasters, a slightly slower development is recommended, as too fast a roast can push the cup toward herbal tones. That said, this is a very versatile coffee that performs well at any development percentage. A rest of 2 to 3 days post-roast is especially beneficial for the fruit and sweetness to fully express themselves, though after the first 24 hours most of its notes are already coming through.

Haitian Premium – Cafe Kreyol – Zombie Desert 17/18

Haitian Blue is what made Haiti famous for coffee. At one time it was as rare, as tasty and as expensive as Jamaican Blue Mountain but unfortunately those days are long gone. The Haitian economy was toppled a couple times for a plethora of reasons (including corruption and earthquakes). The fields and farms went untended and were abandoned, later the coffee trees were mostly used for firewood to folks living in the area. Very sad start to this coffee but this should be a positive story, for these beans represent the resurrection of awesome Haitian Coffee. Co-ops have stepped in, helping with nursery’s, strain selection and processing. Operations like Cafe Kreyol and Singing Rooster have stepped in to provide outside financing and marketing, it has finally gotten to the point of pretty awesome coffee again, but the most important factor is still growing; folks like yourself buying and loving the coffee.

The last 5-10 years has been the rebirth of Haitian coffee. They have resurrected the farms though social co-ops that work very hard to create a premium product to achieve very high dollar values. Which in turn greatly help rebuild the infrastructure while provide excellent jobs and opportunity. Solving the worlds problems one cup at a time.

Cafe Kreyol goes into some of the most impoverished and troubled areas that are within prime coffee growing territory, organizes farmers, teaches how to correctly process beans, guarantees purchase of the beans at way above market prices ensuring it goes directly to the farmers and strives to really turn around some of the more troubled areas, putting people to work at well above average wages and ensuring future livelihoods.

Papua New Guinea – Carpenter Estates – Bunum Wo – Kula Peaberry

All coffee bearing the Carpenter Estate name is grown at over 5000 feet elevation. All of their Estates considers soil and water conservation as a priority, and, the plantation is bird and eco-friendly. The plantation employs a medium density shade strategy, using two types of shade trees. This promotes even ripening of coffee cherries and provides habitat for at least 90 species of birds.These are washed processed Arabica coffees. Quality Control begins in the field; Cherry coffee is hand-picked and carefully checked for uniformity; it must be red and fully ripe which allows for the correct balance of sugar and acid within the cherry. This selected cherry is then pulped on the day of picking.

Tasting Notes: Similar to the Sigri Peaberry but with a pinch of brightness and no fruitiness: smooth, rich and chocolaty cup with a little spice note in the aftertaste. We liked it best at a solid medium roast, developed the smooth and rich chocolate notes. A rich cup with a fuller body and lower acidity, a creamier mouthfeel. A great year for it, far less herbaceous and earthy than most aggregate production PNG coffees. Medium bodied with a sweeter edge, a cup almost anyone would enjoy. Kind of like a Sumatra coffee without all the earthy funk. Best served in the medium to dark roast levels but some will find joy at lighter roast points with a longer setup.

Roasting Notes: Very easy to roast – large screen peaberry beans that roast very even. Being fresh as can be they can take a little longer to get to 1st crack. Although some will like it, I would avoid the light roast points, can get some underdeveloped chocolaty notes.

Read More:
Papua New Guinea “The Wild West Of Coffee Production”
Papua New Guinea Carpenter Estates Coffee