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.
*Bundles change over time. You will get the listed coffees at the time of order. *
A pound each of:
Papua New Guinea – Carpenter Estates – Sigri – Natural Processed
Sigri Natural is a very different, crazy unique lot! Their first second natural processed export. Very wild fermenty stuff; very sweet, citric, floral, fruity, boozy, oaky, nutty, earthy, herbal, chocolaty with a bit of acidity behind it. Reminds me of the Bali Kintamani Natural, or Colombian Manos Natural with a darker toned spin.
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: Good from light to dark, very different tasting dependent on roast level. If you are a very fruit forward natural fan, sticking in the light to medium roast level is recommended. Contrary to many naturals, these beans rock at the fuller roast levels as well, touching or into second crack produces a very lively cup, not super roasty with incredible depth of flavor and good balance between light and dark tones.
Light roast themselves, are pretty citric, sweet and floral with almost a red wine vinegar herbal like quality. Can tell this is a very slow dry natural. A longer setup rid the cup of more astringent features, takes almost 5-12 days of resting for these funky naturals to mellow. Medium roasts get much more chocolaty with fruity overlays, very tasty. No missing the fruitiness assuming you are pre-second crack. Medium bodied with just a pinch of citric/floral crispness. Although we liked all the roast points, darker roasts were our favorite with its crazy depth of flavors, strong semi-sweet chocolate tones balancing with a barrel aged red fruit.
Roasting Notes: A good screen for a fruity natural, but also keep in mind, not quite the gem of their washed processed. More extreme naturals like this are uneven roasting and high chaff with variance in colors and size. We recommend erroring darker than lighter. With the two toned roasting, if you nail the roast too light, it will show some grassy/veg cup qualities if too many beans are before 1st crack.
Zambia Kateshi Estate – Anaerobic Natural Processed
Anaerobic coffees are fermented coffees. They use sealed containers to control the fermentation. There are no rules for the farmer, one can produce low fermentation coffees similar to washed processed using this method, to complete ferment bombs way beyond most natural processed beans. Unlike last season, in which this offering was more of a ferment bomb, this season, it is much more refined, definitely the most fruity and citric out of the three offerings but not nearly as over the top, much cleaner and more balanced in its tastes.
Kateshi coffee estate, as one of the first coffee estates in Zambia, was established in 1972 close to Kateshi village. Back then, its wet processing facilities represented the heart of coffee production in northern Zambia having been the central mill for all coffee produced in the region. It is also award-winning; its natural and honey placing both 1st and 2nd in Zambia’s annual Taste of Harvest competition.
Local Community is at the heart of the estate’s vision. They provide daily access to safe drinking water to over 20,000 locals and supports 3 schools that provide 1,500+ students with primary and secondary education. Also on site is our health clinic, the only such facility for 30km. Complete with a pharmacy and delivery room, the clinic provides free basic healthcare to over 4,000 community members and sees an average of 95 visitors per day.
Kateshi has been recognized for boldly challenging gender stereotypes in Zambia, being the first and only coffee estate to employ women for traditionally male-dominated roles such as driving tractors, bull-dozers and road graders. Oh, and they also sponsor a football team, the Kateshi Coffee Bullets who compete in the Zambian 1st Division.
Tasting Notes: Best at the light to medium roast levels. Comparatively to the other more traditional Zambia offerings, this cup has stronger acidity, a thicker body, stronger fruit notes ranging from citric/tropical to a bit of classic red fruit. One can still see the classic Zambia cup profile with its darker toned contrast, nice and chocolaty with a bit of spice. Easily the best depth of flavor out of the three: all sorts of delicate little flavors pop out at the lighter roast points especially as the cup cools. Light roasts are the most citric and fruit, produces a clean cup with a little chocolate/spice balance. The soft fruit tone is a bit covered up by the brightness at light roasts, will be easier to see as the cup cools or the beans setup for a longer period. Medium roasts will pull a lot of the citric out of the cup, more along the lines of a buzzy acidity versus citric, a chocolaty cup with pretty exotic fruity highlights. Will pick up a little woody barrel aged tone to go along with the slight fruitiness to let you know you have something exotic. Darker roasts are interesting and strong, but will be bittersweet, not creamy and smooth like the washed processed.
Roasting Notes: Roasts pretty even and has a medium chaff level. Much cleaner bean preparation from last season. Surface color darkens up quickly, so if shooting for lighter roasts, almost easier to watch for the expansion in size, then give it a quick sec before cooling. Crazy coffees like these have a long setup period. Many think waiting 7-14 days after roasting on sizzling anaerobics brings a whole new level to the tastes. We have a hard time waiting that long but fun to save some beans to see how the tones develop.
Ethiopian Sidama Org. Bombe Gr. 3 – Natural
The processing station is located in Bombe, a small town in the Bensa district of eastern Sidama, close to the Harenna Forest preserve. The 725 farmers delivering cherry to the washing station average two hectares each in this area and some of the highest elevations in the whole of Sidama. There are three collection sites responsible for managing cherry delivery throughout the catchment area.
Bombe processes equal volumes of both fully washed and natural coffees, and has also produced a number of barrier-pushing experimental microlots over the years using unique fermentation techniques. This lot, a standard sundried natural, was carefully curated at the cherry stage. All cherry was then floated to remove less dense coffee, and then sundried on raised screen beds for 21 days. Drying beds are intentionally placed in areas that receive more consistent wind and less direct sunlight over the course of a day, which allows cherries to dry more evenly and avoid the risks of uneven temperatures, breakage, or drying too quickly and losing flavor in the process.
The Sidama region is known for producing the most coffee at the highest grades in Ethiopia, and the geography explains why this is. This region spreads across fertile highlands, where half of the land is cultivated. The surrounding rivers and lakes along with the very high elevation results in cool weather and fertile soil. These factors, in combination with over 100 inches of rainfall per year, cause the coffee to ripen slower than in any other region in Ethiopia. There are over 50 cooperatives and 200 washing stations throughout Sidama.
Tasting Notes: This is not a super fruity natural, would be considered a darker toned, lower acidity, chocolaty cup. One can tell its natural processed roots with its sweetness and thickness and its Ethiopian roots with highlights of spice & fruity/floral notes throughout the roast range. Best served in the light to medium roast range for drip brew for it will show its best balance and promote a hint of fruity/floral. Turns into a chocolate bomb at the darker roasts, more on the dark chocolate side, which would work wonderfully for espresso or cold brew. Lighter roasts have a pinch of citric acidity and wonderful aromatics, hints of red fruit that balance with a bit of semi-nutty tea like spice.
Flavor Profile: Lime, strawberry, hibiscus, balsamic, sweet, cocoa
Roasting Notes: Easy cup to roast, make sure you get some development past first crack, can risk a little grassy at super light roasts. Great from a medium roast to as dark as you want to go. Medium chaff, shouldn’t cause any issues. A slower roast helps mute some acidity and bring the lovely complex dark tone to the foreground. One will see a couple lighter beans in the mix, judge roast level by the bulk of the beans, not the couple of lighter ones.
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