Description
Sample some classic coffee flavor profiles from around the world! A half pound each of:
Colombian Regenerative Org. Tolima – MULTICOOP – Washed Processed
The agricultural practices for this lot go beyond traditional organic farming, implementing a regenerative model designed to restore soil health and increase local biodiversity. Coffee farmers use natural compost and cover crops that not only nourish the coffee plants but also help capture carbon and retain water in the soil. Processing is decentralized: each family operates its own micro-mill on the farm, handling selective harvesting, pulping, fermentation, and sun-drying. This allows for rigorous quality control at every stage before the beans reach the collection point.
To guarantee traceability and export logistics, Multicoop works in strategic partnership with Mastercol, who handle the milling and final preparation of the beans for the international market. This collaboration directly connects high-altitude producers with global buyers, ensuring that the value generated by the coffee’s quality returns to the communities for reinvestment in their crops. This coffee is a clear example of sustainable and technically sound production, offering a clean and consistent cup that faithfully reflects the terroir of the Colombian Andes.
Tasting Notes: A very pleasant cup, great daily drinker being a classic Colombian cup. Above average cleanliness and brightness, not a sizzling cup but definitely crisper than most Colombians. Medium bodied with a smooth and rich mouthfeel, stays sweet and clean from start to finish. At light roast points, the profile is crisp and herbal, showcasing brighter citrus notes of lemon and orange, hints of tropical fruit. As you move into a medium roast, the acidity decreases considerably, smoothing out into rich nutty, chocolate with hints of soft fruit; interestingly, as the cup cools, the brightness re-emerges to lift the chocolate notes. If you take it to a dark roast, the acidity disappears completely, leaving a heavy body with deep chocolate flavors, great cleanliness, and lingering sweetness.
Roasting Notes: Easy to roast with good bean size, few defects, and very low chaff due to the processing. We recommend a roast level between Light and Medium to capture the perfect balance of fruit, acidity and chocolate. If you are aiming for a light roast to highlight the acidity, be sure to develop it slightly past the first crack; stopping too early can result in raw peanut or hazelnut notes. For fans of darker coffee, this bean handles heat well, offering a very clean and full-bodied cup without the fruit tones.
Costa Rican SHB EP Tarrazu La Pastora – Washed Processed
Like clockwork, a parade of vehicles of all sizes, from pick-up trucks to dump trucks coming from central receiving stations, arrive in the late afternoon full of cherries that were picked during the day. The cherries are quickly weight and placed in a large tank with water to remove the less dense beans that float to the top inside the cherry. Next the cherries are depulped and pass through a demucilager that mechanically strips the mucilage from the beans. All of this is done with a recycling water system. The washed beans move down from the wet-mill through a long elevated conveyor belt into a machine that uses forced air to shed any remaining water. The coffee then passes through a series of dryers to gently reduce the moisture to 11 percent. All of this happens in a matter of just over 72 hours, which seems fast until you stop to consider that not a minute is wasted in the process. After all this, the coffee is rested for a period of at least a month in silos and then milled for export with another equally impressive series of machines dedicated to dehulling and sorting green beans by weight and color
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.
Ethiopian Guji Natural Org. Gr. 1 – Kayon Mountain Shakiso
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.
Tasting Notes:
Clean, bright, fruity and 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.
Haitian Premium Blue – Cafe Kreyol – APCAB Gr. 2 – Washed Processed
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.
Tasting Notes: Awesome cup this season, good from light to dark. Darker roasts which are more traditional for Haitian coffee, come off robust and strong with a floral islandy sweet edge and a smoky aftertaste. Bigger bodied and on the chocolaty spicy side of things. Being a little cleaner, this cup is very good at light to medium roasts as well; sweet with a more nutty/caramel tone, can come off a little herbal too light so tread lightly. A little acidity but not enough to push folks away. A lovely daily drinking cup. Heavier bodied and lower acidity, semi-sweet hints of floral and caramel, balanced with a nice strong earthier chocolate note. Darker roasting makes for a pretty bold cup with some added smoky factors.
Roasting Notes:Beautiful larger beans, medium to low chaff and fairly even roasting. We recommend a solid medium roast to start. Fuller bodied and smooth with a sweet edge. Looking for a more delicate cup with sweeter hints of nutty/caramel/floral? Go a little lighter. Looking for a very strong semi-sweet chocolaty cup with a smoky edge? Make sure to touch 2nd crack with it. Great prep and a easy to roast coffee. Medium to low chaff
Kenya Premium Kirinyaga – BCT Select AA – Top Lot
In 2024 I finally put feet on the ground in Kenya and I finally understood what makes Kirinyaga (and Kenya as a whole) coffee so special. Much of Kenyan coffee is produced in more arid regions. As you get a little father away from Mt Kenya, the climate dried up quickly. Kirinyaga is one of the most lush environments in Kenya, quite jungle like and as many know, good rainfall and plenty of shade often makes the tastiest cup.
Growing the coffee is only half the battle to producing stellar coffee. What separates Kenya for most other producing nations is the way it organizes farmers into Farmer Cooperative Societies (FCS), basically every farmer, large or small, is connected to internal infostructure that gives them the support, knowledge and tools to grow the best coffee. These FCS’s are all locally owned, organized and run, letting them adopt to their microclimates and individual needs.
The last part, and equally as important but a little highly debated if good or bad, is the finally step in coffee production, the dry milling and auction system. Almost all Kenya coffees funnels through three processors, only one being owned by the Kenyans themselves. The good behind this, Kenya dry mills have some of the most impressive technology and facilities to produce absolutely stellar lots. In my travels I have never seen processing centers like they have in Kenya. One never sees bad export lots basically every lot is a gem. The bad, they are mostly foreign controlled and the FCS’s must use one of the three to end up with a final product. There are good laws in place to protect the farmers, but they have very little choice on how to finalize the processing and export the coffee.
Tasting Notes: A very clean and bright cup, silky-smooth mouthfeel that shines from the first whiff of honey sweetness to the final sip of bolder spice. Best served at light-to-medium roasts. A brighter, full flavored cup with great depth of flavor. Upon first sip, one will see a vibrant burst of lemon/orange citric comingling with a slight red fruit, quickly balanced by a creamy cocoa undertone with a little gentle black-tea like spice in the aftertaste. Underlying notes of roasted nuts and cocoa anchor the profile. As the cup cools the acidity softens and a deeper chocolate note swells, yet the honey aromatics persist, making every temperature stage deliciously consistent.
Roasting Notes: An easy-going bean with moderate chaff and even color. Keep it in the light-to-medium range if you’re after the fresh citrus pop and fruity nuance; these roasts showcase the red-lemon snap, blueberry sweetness, and honey fragrance while preserving a lighter, tea-like body. Taken to Full City, just shy of second crack, the fruit folds gracefully into rich cocoa and roasted-nut depth, yielding a silky medium body and mellow orange acidity. Pushed into second crack for espresso or cold-brew fans, you’ll land a cup of smooth bittersweet chocolate with low acidity and a subtle spicy edge. Let the coffee rest 48–72 hours after roasting: the citrus settles, the honey rounds out, and the cup shows its full character.
Kirinyaga coffee always holds a special place in my heart. My earliest coffee memories involved Kirinyaga coffee. Garry Burman (well before Burman Coffee was in existence) was always a coffee head, I remember helping my mother make him pour overs of his favorite brew when I was only a couple feet tall. Golden Kirinyaga coffee from Victor Allen’s was his favorite premium special coffee, not an everyday item, but one for special occasions. Even back then Kenyans were very expensive and rarer coffees. I remember the first fathers day I was actual able to buy him something myself from saved money, it was a bag of Golden Kirinyaga coffee. After starting BCT in 2002 we often worked with Victor over numerous coffees and origins (including Kirinyaga) but unfortunately Victor left this world a few years ago. Here is a cup to you Mr. Allen! Thank you for spreading the passion of this lovely origin.
Panama Premium Boquete – Mama Cata Estate – Caturra Washed “Cañazal”
Mama Cata is a very top notch award winning farm that very seldom makes it to the US. Located in some of the best growing territory in Panama, Jose’s highest elevation and most renowned farm. 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 always obtained by foreign markets, many in the US have not heard the name Mama Cata before. Founded in 1911, one of the original premium Panama farms, currently owned by Jose David Garrido Perez (who also owns Garrido, and just happens to be decent friends with our Panamanian farmer buddy, Keith Pech). Jose has previously won the Best of Panama and his coffee place regularly in the large competitions. This farm knows how to grow/process some of the world’s best coffee.This is a super tasty and clean washed processed coffee, very highly rated but not a competition winner, much more affordable and a bit more classic in its tones. Produced by one of the best Panama farms on the block!
Tasting Notes: Great from light to dark. Light roasts will show great depth of flavor and produce a very clean cup. Some acidity, which brings lemony and floral tones to the front end of the tastes, balances them with a sweet edged nutty/malty undertone, hints of a vegetal spice. As one pushes the roast a little darker, the body increases, as the acidity and vegetal spice dissipated. Made for a very lovely daily drinker in the medium roast range; sweet, smooth & complex. Pushing the beans darker, the citric and floral acidity drops nicely to a crisp hint or none at all, the malty tones can turn quite robust as you approach or touch 2nd crack. Sweet, smoky, roasty and malty.
Roasting Notes: An easy coffee to roast, beautiful large beans. 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.
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