Description
Sample some classic coffee flavor profiles from around the world! A half pound each of:
Papua New Guinea – Carpenter Estates Kindeng – Kula AA
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.
Read More:Papua New Guinea “The Wild West Of Coffee Production”
Papua New Guinea Carpenter Estates Coffee
Tasting Notes:
Good from light to dark. In general, the strongest offering out of the three, smooth, big bodied & creamy with semi-sweet chocolate notes, nutty accents and a bit of lingering spice in the aftertaste. Lighter roasting will show some stronger citric acidity comingling with stronger herbal notes, a hint of chocolate, good depth of flavors but will be a bit sharp and herbal for most. Medium roasting gets the fuller body and more chocolaty toned cup with a hint of spice, unlike the other two, this will still have a little hint of citric, leaving it a bit sweeter tasting. Darker roasting gets hefty bakers chocolate note with complimenting roasty notes, no signs of the brighter cup profile at lighter roasts. Although its the brighter of the PNG coffees, it has medium to low acidity comparatively to other origins.
Roasting Notes:
Good almost anywhere we would avoid real light roasts for you will find a bit of raw acidity and underdeveloped darker tones. City plus to as dark as you want to go. To see it shine, keep it closer to 2nd crack than first. An awesome darker roast cup, great for espresso, cold brew, or a more stout like drip coffee.
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
Mexican Terruño Nayarita – El Cuarenteño Reserve – Washed Processed
This washed micro lot is very sweet and clean with a slightly fruity crispness. Coming from the community of El Cuarenteño in Nayarit, Mexico, part of the Grupo Terruño Nayarita (GTN) ecosystem. GTN is a vertical grouping of local, democratic coffee-growing societies; all international exports are managed by San Cristóbal Coffee Importers, with 100% traceability from the moment the cherries are received through TrackYourCoffee. Want to know why we think Terruño Nayarita is so cool? Check out our new blog post about them.El Cuarenteño is located in the foothills of the Sierra de San Juan, west of Tepic (Nayarit): an area of volcanic soils and microclimates where small producers process cherries in simple wet mills and then send the parchment to a centralized dry mill, a practice that increases cup consistency in washed export lots like this one. The cherries are floated/selected, pulped, and undergo controlled fermentation; Washed with careful water management, this coffee is dried on the parchment patio, frequently turned over for uniformity. This coffee bears the marker “Patio Lot #150” identifying the specific patio/lot within the mill. It ends in a centralized dry mill (sorting by density, mesh, and color).
Testing Notes: A wonderful batch of Terruno Nayarita great from light to dark roasts. This is one of the higher rated lots we have seen recently: crisp, clean and a bit brighter. Light roasts will highlight the higher rating but will be a little acidic for some. Medium roasts and very smooth and make for a great every day drinker. Darker roasts retain a very sweet edge but will produce a much flatter more potent cup. Lighter roasts have a hint of citric and a red-apple sweetness, supported by a gentle lemon/mandarin brightness that’s lively but not sharp. A light floral lift rides over a chocolate–caramel foundation; as the cup cools the tastes stay together showcasing the cleanliness, adds a soft hint of ripe stone fruit. Balanced, approachable, and versatile across brew methods. Medium roasts build up a bit of body, retaining just a hint of apple like acidity, pronouncing the smooth and nutty, chocolate like tones. Darker roasts get a bit roasty, but still have a nice and sweet edge, the most chocolaty cup profile assuming you don’t mind a bit of roasty/smoky to accompany it.
Roasting Notes: Even roasting with medium to low chaff levels. Works well from light through medium, up to just shy of 2nd crack. Lighter roasts bring the most citrus/floral pop and the apple-like sweetness; medium is the crowd-pleaser, where caramel/nutty/chocolate round the cup while keeping friendly acidity. Push a touch darker for heavier mouthfeel and deeper chocolate, knowing brightness and florals will recede. Even, easy-going washed lot—aim for a steady rise, a clearly audible 1st crack, and short-to-moderate development to keep clarity and sweetness in balance.
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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