COLOMBIAN NARINO – FINCA SAN ANTONIO – NILSON DIAS – NATURAL PROCESSED

A very exotic Colombian offering. This is a slow dried natural, meaning plenty of ferment and fruity tones in the cup profile. Uneven roasting and high chaff, beans like these are changing the coffee game and you will either love or hate them. For a natural fan, this lot is terrific and a perfect example of the processing.

Nilson Luis López Dias, who owns and manages San Antonio, is at the center of the Buesaco success.  In addition to managing his own farm with 25 acres cultivated with coffee, Nelson and his wife Cielo have been helping an export company called Inconexus sources coffee from producers in Buesaco who are now selling coffee in the COE auction. The partnership has helped producers gain access to technical support for best agricultural practices, improve quality, increase earnings from coffee sales, and strengthen the family’s livelihood.

San Antonio, located in the community of Medina Espejo in the municipality of Buesaco within the department of Nariño, Colombia. Two volcanos (Doña Juana in the north and Galeras in the south) are responsible for many of the rich mineral traits found in the soil composition.  Nariño’s proximity to the equator also means intense exposure to the sun (relatively constant and powerful year-round), which influences the cherry maturation rate. The municipality of Buesaco, which has an interesting micro-climate caused by warm air that rises from the canyons at night and acts like a protective blanket for the coffee plants.  As a result of these combined attributes, coffee plants passively absorb the sun’s energy during the day and then come alive at night when the conditions are less harsh. This translates into concentrated flowering and long cherry maturation periods. All of these factors produce exceptional coffee frequently rewarded in the Colombia Cup of Excellence, including the 2017 first place coffee from Medina Espejo.

Tasting Notes: 
Great and very lively red fruit tones, a bit of floral, a little hint of citrus all combining with a traditional Huila undertone (jammy, nutty and chocolaty). Great light to medium roast coffee. Lighter roasting will really promote the more floral aspects of this cup along with the red fruit and acidity. As one pushes closer to 2nd crack, the acidity mellows considerably, the body gets much larger and its more jammy bodied qualities come out with plenty of fruit tones retained. Dark roasts are a little edgy and muted.

Roasting Notes: 
A little more challenging to roast with its higher chaff and 2-3 color shades while in the roaster. Good news, it tastes great from light to borderline dark. We would error on the lighter side rather than risk it hitting 2nd crack (besides a single pop or two). We liked it best stopped just at the end of 1st crack, which leaves a light-medium roast profile on the beans. Many will like it a bit darker with that jammy body, if that’s the case, get real close to 2nd crack or upon first pop, cool it out. 48 hour setup on this guy really help smooth it out.

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COLOMBIAN MAGDALENA FTO – SIERRA NEVADA

A super fresh great tasting Colombian certified up the wazoo! A new region that we have not had coffee from before but after tasting this lot, will keep an eye out for other arrivals.

Coming from family-owned farms organized around Asociación de Productores de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a producer association with 32 members who live in the municipality of Ciénaga within the department of Magdalena, Colombia. Members of ASOPROSIERRA promote agro-ecology principles to improve the quality of their coffee while taking care of their natural resources.

Tasting Notes: 
This cup has just about everything I personally love in a Colombian. A little soft fruit tone upfront with just a little hint of sweet acidity balanced with a nice nutty caramel tone and finishing with a little bakers chocolaty factor. Smoother than most and without that very dry nutty and  herbal tone that one commonly sees out of Colombia. Clean, smooth and rich coffee; a great everyday drinker.

Roasting Notes: 
A great medium to dark roast coffee. Light roasts promote a little too much raw acidity and will not develop the lovely caramel/chocolate tones in the cup. Medium roasts are soft and balanced with a sweet edge. Darker roasts will be a much heftier cup chopping out all the acidity and most of the soft fruit, still very tasty but less exotic.

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COLOMBIAN BCT PREMIUM HUILA TIMANA

A very tasty aggregate lot from a micro region in Huila called Timana. Although some of our past Huila offerings have most likely contained some Timana beans, this straight chop out of Timana is fantastic.

All grown above 1600m (high altitude) and consisting of 2 Arabica strains; Colombia and Cattura.

Created by our favorite Kona expert Mr. Stewart (who also has some awesome Colombian buddies), he was also behind our older Colombian Dulima offerings if you liked those.

Tasting Notes: 
A very nice super clean Huila cup! Buttery textured and complex; strong semi-sweet traditional walnut/chocolate tones balanced with with a little brightness and soft fruit tones.

 A very nice super clean Huila cup! Buttery textured and complex; strong semi-sweet traditional walnut/chocolate tones balanced with with a little brightness and soft fruit tones.

Roasting Notes: 
Easy to roast; a nice medium roast is where these beans will shine. Works at light and/or dark roasts but looses a little balance. Light roast will have much more floral and soft fruit balanced with a dry nutty, dark roasts are much thicker and bittersweet, low acidity and nutty/chocolaty/smoky type profile.

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BRAZIL PREMIUM NATURAL FAZENDA PRIMAVERA

We knew it was only a matter of time; Fazenda Primavera won the recent pulped natural cup of excellence for Brazil, the #1 spot. It was a Pulped Natural Geisha (that ended up selling for $140/lb). Really shows the quality of the operation. Although this is not the winning COE  lot, it is a fantastic high scoring Red Catuai which they took great care to produce.

Following his father’s footsteps, producer Ricardo Tavares has dedicated his life to the coffee industry. As an innovator, he promotes and supports new coffee practices.

I first met Ricardo Tavares about five years ago and have since been stuck on his coffee. Coffee is in this man’s blood and one can see his passion within minutes of talking with him. Although he is mostly in with Brazil’s larger farming models, he had worked over the last 5 years to bring a very boutique edge to some smaller lots, working with guys like top-end Panamanian farmer and processor Garciano Cruz to improve their smaller high-end lots.

Fazenda Primavera is located in the municipality of Angelândia, Minas Gerais. The farm altitude is between 1000 to 1050 meters above sea level, which promotes the cultivation of specialty coffee.

Furthermore, the climate also provides favorable conditions with average temperatures between 68 and 75 °F annually and precipitation of 3 to 4 ft. Fazenda Primavera has state of the art installations including a very large drying patio, 14 electric dryers, and equipment for processing fully washed coffees. The farm cultivates predominately Red and Yellow Catuaí (95%), but it is slowly introducing new varieties such as Novo Mundo. The farm certificates include Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, Minas Coffee and Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association.

Tasting notes:
A wonderful lot and a great single origin drinker. Very clean cup, a soft acidity at lighter roasts gives a sweet floral edge balancing with a hint of soft fruit and a little chocolaty edge; a little nuttier as the cup cools. Medium roasts start bringing forth a little nuttier profile with less of a floral aspect. Right around second crack was smooth and a bit fuller bodied, nutty/caramel/chocolate with just a hint of caramel, floral and fruit in the aromatics but not in the cup. A sweet edge to this coffee no matter the roast level.

Roasting Notes:
One almost cannot screw it up. Clean enough with good depth of flavor and sweetness to please a lighter roast drinker. Lighter roasts will be the only ones with a little acidity to them. Medium roast is the most balanced, great mix of soft fruit and caramel/chocolaty undertones. Dark roasts are great for a darker roast fan, on the sweeter side with minimal sharpness and smoky chocolate-like cup profile.


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RWANDA MISOZI FT ABAKUNDAKAWA PEABERRY 14+

A tasty new crop (2018/19) Rwanda at a steal of a price. An upfront warning, this is a nice screen of coffee (few to no broken beans) but is a small screen. It will still work in any home roaster but you may want to shake your Behmor drums before putting them into the machine and keep an eye on your Nesco while roasting to make sure they don’t jam the auger.

Abakundakawa, or “those who love coffee,” is a cooperative founded in 1999 in the Northern provinces of Rwanda. The cooperative owns two central washing stations, with a third washing station planned to open in 2018. Abakundakawa is part of the larger Misozi group, which helps with processing and certification paperwork. The cooperative invests heavily in programs and infrastructure for its members, including a new community center for some of the farmers furthest from the main mills. The cooperative is also involved in dairy production, giving a calf to different member whenever a cow gives birth. The coffee that they produce is washed, fermented for 36 hours, hand sorted, and dried on raised beds. The pulp is distributed back to farmers for use as compost, and final milling is done in Kigali before export.

Tasting Notes: 
Nice and chocolaty with a bit of fresh acidity. A bit floral upfront especially at the lighter roasts. Nice lemony citrus tones balanced with a smooth and rich chocolaty factor. A little hint of malty caramel can be found. A bit more delicate of a cup than most Africans, doesn’t hit you over the head with monster herbal or bakers chocolate, quite smooth, clean and easy to drink. Works for darker roasts as well, bigger bodied and brings some of those rougher African bakers chocolate notes when into 2nd crack along with some smokiness.

Roasting Notes: 
A nice easy coffee to roast and good from light to dark. Recommend a light/medium roast on it as long as you are okay with some acidity (not over the top). If you dislike acidity, make sure to get it close to 2nd crack if not into it, drops the acidity level to almost non-existent.

RWANDA MISOZI FT ABAKUNDAKAWA PEABERRY

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RWANDA FTO RFA DUKUNDE KAWA MUSASA – MBLIMA

New 2018/19 Crop!

Rwanda FTO Dukunde Kawa Musasa Mblima is sourced from family owned farms organized around the Musasa mill located near a gorilla habitat in the Gakenke district of Rwanda. Farm plots are so small that measurements are based on the numbers of trees, not area of land.

Farmers who process their coffee at the Musasa mill are members of the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative, which started in 2000 with enough funds to build one wet mill. In the following years, the Dukunde Kawa Cooperative has built three more wet mills and completed construction of their own dry mill. More than 80 percent of the cooperative workforce is women, and producer-members have used earnings to improve their standards of living with investments in livestock, access to healthcare, and programs to protect the environment.

Tasting Notes:
Medium bodied and clean; very chocolaty cup profile with some nice citrus floral overtones. Lighter roasts will have strong citrus and floral aspects, a bit too much for most unless you love a sizzling cup. Medium roasts get very balanced, hints of floral and citrus fruit with a smooth and rich chocolaty undertone. Dark roasts get much fuller bodied with stronger bakers chocolate and smoke. If you go between a city and full city roast, one gets a nice brown sugar like tone while the cup is super hot, as it cools the chocolate note pops out above the citrus tones.

Roasting Notes:
Good at almost any roast, light roasts will be higher acidity so err darker rather than lighter if you do not like a bright cup. When roasting Africans (this guy included) they will look a shade darker than they are, a sheen gets on the surface at a nice medium roast.


Rwanda FTO Dukunde Kawa Musasa Mblima

Rwanda FTO Dukunde Kawa Musasa Mblima

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA – KIMEL ESTATE PB

Before we found some personal friends in Papua New Guinea, this is the coffee we used to rely on. Awesome folks even though at the time we had never met them. One of the few Estate produced coffees (a bit smaller than Carpenter) and located just a couple miles down the road.

A couple years back times were rough with Kimel, PNG is a tribal land and not all the tribes get along all the time. To have an estate in PNG means you have to have an open environment between the tribes living/working on or near the estate. Unfortunately Kimel had a rough couple of years due to some tribal conflicts and coffee production and quality wavered pretty good. This is when we started working direct with Carpenter Estates and found some absolute gems of beans. When I got this years Kimel AA sample though some friends, we couldn’t help but to pick it up. Great screen, super clean cup profile. A bit milder and sweeter than last years Sigri. Plus it got here earlier, our Carpenter Estate beans are still a week or two away.

Tasting Notes: 
Medium bodied, low acidity and a clean cup. Perfect example of what a premium PNG should taste like. Not super jazzy but great prep and carries the tastes PNG fans are looking for. Smooth chocolate, bigger body and low acidity. Hard not to enjoy this cup. Lighter roasts are milder and sweeter, not quite the heft of the medium to dark roasts but tasty. Medium roasts bring out a bigger body and stronger chocolaty tones, turns a bit more semi-sweet as one gets real close to 2nd crack. Dark roasts get smoky and thicker with a little bitter edge to it.

Roasting Notes:
Although traditionally PNG coffees are taken a little darker, go a shade lighter that you think. We thought a city + roast was wonderful. Smooth, sweet and more down the milk chocolate alley. Maybe a little hint of acidity lighter but with a 2-3 day setup, it will be gone. Darker roasts work great with this bean but turn it stronger, loses its delicate tones and shows more Indo style tones into 2nd crack.


Not my best picture but I spent a lovely evening at the Mt Hagen Club talking with Brian (Kimel Estate Manager) about our mutual passion for coffee.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – CARPENTER ESTATES – BUNUM WO KULA PB

This season we went with what they call Kula processing. Kula processing means only dried on raised drying beds and double screened via color sorter and double hand picking. Basically means the best of the best from Carpenter Estates.

Bunum Wo was the first section of Carpenter Estates that I went to visit. Very impressive wet mill and a very crazy cherry picking/gathering system.

One of the more impressive nurseries was located on Bunum Wo and they seemed to be playing around with more strain diversity than the others. Which tends to come out in the cup with a bit more depth to the darker tones.|

Tasting Notes:
Similar to the Sigri beans in the fact it is pretty low acidity, very clean in its cup profile. Very smooth darker toned spice notes. Most would call it a pretty sweet chocolaty cup with a bit of spice. Very smooth cupping this year with no herbal tones or earthyness. Medium bodied with a sweeter edge, a cup almost anyone would enjoy.

Roasting Notes:
Very easy to roast – large screen flat 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, one can get some underdeveloped chocolaty notes.

The quick story of Papua New Guinea Sigri (one can clear up a lot of information when you get on the ground somewhere):

What I and many others thought was Sigri Estate is actually Carpenter Estates – Sigri being only one of the areas of the estate (easily the most famous). The other two are Bunum Wo and Kindbng (sounds like Kin ding). Each of the three produces a different cup quality; PNG being full of microclimates really puts a different spin on each section. Each one is like its own village situated right next to each other, with separate wet mills, drying fields, nurseries, living quarters, and schools for each of the three sections. They do share a couple facilities (dry mill, bagging, trucking to port) and many staff.

Each of the three sections of Carpenter Estates has separate fields for different strains and top-notch agronomists to grow the best beans. Most of these folks have coffee in their blood. Being a part of the coffee here is a birthright for them (seen as a cradle to the grave philosophy). Great pride all around.

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KENYA NYERI OTHAYA KAMOINI PB

A great super fresh arrival! This could be the one you Kenyan fans have been waiting for. Bright and clean as can be, almost a little teeth chattering at those light roast points.

These beans are from family owned farms located on the southeastern slopes of the Aberdares mountain ranges in Nyeri County, Kenya.  The Kamoini Factory was founded in 1987. Farmers deliver their harvested cherry to be processed at the Kamoini Factory (wet mill), which is managed by the Othaya Farmers Co-operative Society.  Cooperative members generally cultivate around 250 coffee trees on half-acre plots intercropped with Bananas, Grevillea, and Macadamia trees.

Tasting Notes: 
Very dependent on roast a super fun one to play around with. Hard to make low acidity so make sure you like at least a medium acidity cup if you buy this guy. Light roasts will be very lemony citrus and floral balanced with just a little hint of a chocolate tone (green tea spice accent) with great aromatics that add some soft fruit tones. Medium roasts get a little more balanced but still strong on the floral front end, introduces a little soft fruit note not just in the aromatics. Dark roasts mute up a lot of acidity but you will still notice some, greatly strengthens the chocolate tea spice note and becomes much more bittersweet.

Roasting Notes: 
Hard to know what one would like best with this cup but when first drinking this pretty extreme Kenyan, I would suggest taking it a little closer to 2nd crack than first, a bit more balanced. Go lighter if you want more floral, darker if more chocolaty body.

KENYA NYERI OTHAYA KAMOINI PB

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KENYA KIAMBU FAIRVIEW ESTATE AB

Usually Kenyan coffee lose some of their track-ability through the mill aggregation model. This cup is cool for its an estate produced offering, where is came from and the folks behind it are well known.

Kenya Kiambu Fairview Estate AB Grainpro is sourced from the Fairview estate located in Kiambu County, Kenya. Fairview has its own mill where cherry selection, depulping, fermentation, washing, and drying are meticulously executed. The estate has 100 acres of coffee production and employs more than 400 people during the harvest. Fairview is also an active contributor to the local primary school.

Tasting Notes:
No missing this cup is a Kenyan though, decently strong acidity upfront especially on the lighter roast side; comes off pretty buzzy and citric with a little soft fruit.  Strong bakers chocolate with equally as strong herbal spice notes balance out the acidity nicely. If you want to shoot for a more acidic bright cup, roast it a bit lighter, looking for more of the robust spice and chocolaty tones, take it a bit darker.

Roasting Notes:
From light to dark a tasty cup. Extreme roasts (light or dark) will cause extreme flavor profiles. Lighter is very acidic, darker is very bakers chocolaty and full bodied. Shoot somewhere in the middle to start and take it lighter or darker for personal taste preference.


Kenya Kiambu Fairview Estate AB

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INDONESIAN SUMATRA TAKENGON MANDHELING GRADE 1

Sumatra Takengon Grade 1  is sourced from the Jagong Mill and surrounding family-owned farms located in the Takengon and Atu Lintang coffee region of Aceh province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Irham Junus owns and operates the Jagong Mill with his son, Andi and daughter, Ina. The Junus family has focused on meticulous ripe cherry selection resulting in something truly unique in Sumatra. The Junus family also has full control of the processing and milling right up to the final export stage, avoiding the long and convoluted supply lines that can compromise Sumatran quality.

Tasting Notes: 
A very nice fresh crop arrival. Full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel, low acidity and spot on tastes from a traditional Mandheling Sumatra; pete moss, smoky, chocolaty and strong. A clean enough cup to get a decent medium roast, gives a smoother mouthfeel and has a bit of sweetness upfront, darker roasts will turn thicker but also edgier and promote the smokier side of the profile.

Roasting Notes: 
As with most Sumatra coffees, the processing promotes a couple different shades in the roaster. It is normal to see some beans lighter than others. Make sure if shooting for the medium roasts, that you judge it from the lighter looking beans, important to get them all through first crack. When roasting darker, judge it by the darker looking beans for if they get too dark or burn, gets a little ashy tone in the cup.

Indonesian Sumatra

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GUATEMALAN FRAIJANES PALO ALTO AZUL

Guatemala Fraijanes Palo Alto Azul is from Finca Agua Tibia, a farm managed by Industrias Agrícolas Centro Americanas.  Finca Agua Tibia is located in the municipality of Fraijanes within the department of Guatemala, Guatemala.  

Finca Agua Tibia was established more than 150 years ago by Franciscan monks and has been producing coffee since 1940. Coffee processing continues to be steeped in tradition and has not been modernized. Seventy-five percent of Finca Agua Tibia is preserved forest. There is also an ornamental nursery, other crops and an award-winning dairy farm.

Tasting Notes: 
This cup falls about half way between an Antigua and Huehue. Lighter roasts show a more Antigua style cup profile, a little hint of floral with some nice and smooth chocolaty notes, a little thinner and sweeter. As one pushes the roast a bit further it develops into more of a malty tone and the acidity falls off, still a sweeter edged coffee up until 2nd crack, which turns it a bit stronger and smokier, much dryer darker toned complexity. 

Roasting Notes: 
A nice medium roast is the way to go; at least to start. Very balanced and a great everyday drinker. Lighter roast are equally as tasty with this being a clean cup but a little bite from the acidity. Darker roasts will be good but much rougher and less delicate.

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ETHIOPIAN NATURAL YIRGACHEFFE GR. 1 KOKE CO-OP

The Koke cooperative was established in 1975, and joined The Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) in 2002. It currently has 1,153 member farmers. All of the members grow their coffee on plots of land under 4 hectares. By joining the YCFCU, the KOKE cooperative has benefited from being a part of a larger cooperative and a network of coffee producers. YCFCU has built schools, helped bring electricity to small villages and communities, and built bridges to make transportation safer and easier.

A very exotic and tasty Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.

Tasting Notes:
Good body with some very complex darker spice tones. A little lower acidity than the usual Ethiopian and milder on some of the red fruit notes. Lighter roasts will have a little hint of acidity, nice chocolaty factor with some black tea like spice notes, as the cup cools one can see some red fruit in the cup but while piping hot, are overtaken by the classic Yirg spice tones. Medium roasts up to 2nd crack build the chocolaty factor nicely while muting up the acidity. Soft fruit tones comes through in the aftertaste.

Roasting Notes:
A cool cup from light to dark but erroring closer to 2nd crack than first was a good thing in our book. This cup is not all about ferment fruit, this cup is about complex tea like and floral spice which find a balance around a strong medium roast. Nice and clean for a natural, easy to roast.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Koke Coop

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ETHIOPIAN HONEY YIRGACHEFFE GR. 1 KOKE CO-OP

The honey processed Koke is what got us first loving the Koke Co-op. Smack dab in the middle of a natural and washed processed as far a cup tones go.

The Koke cooperative was established in 1975, and joined The Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (YCFCU) in 2002. It currently has 1,153 member farmers. All of the members grow their coffee on plots of land under 4 hectares. By joining the YCFCU, the KOKE cooperative has benefited from being a part of a larger cooperative and a network of coffee producers. YCFCU has built schools, helped bring electricity to small villages and communities, and built bridges to make transportation safer and easier.

A very exotic and tasty Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.

Tasting Notes:
Good body with some nice brightness right upfront, a bit floral on first sip quickly fades into a nice red fruit tone, especially as the cup cools. The floral/fruit is nicely balanced with a spicy chocolate tone with a faint hint of classic Yirg herbal tea like tones. If you enjoy a nice washed Ethiopian as well as natural processed, this will be the cup for you – not overly fruity, just a nice accent with great depth to the darker tones.

Roasting Notes:
Definitely a lighter roast coffee – one can take it closer to 2nd crack than 1st but all the jazz and exotic tones will be burned out if you touch 2nd crack with this bean. I liked a quicker roast to a city plus (medium) with a 48 hour setup to smooth out those dark tones a little.

Ethiopian Honey Yirgacheffe

Ethiopian Honey Yirgacheffe

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COLOMBIAN RFA ORG. FINCA BUENA VISTA

Finca Buena Vista is owned by Eneil Bayona and is located in the village of Minca. Eneil loves to produce coffee; it’s been in his family as long as he can remember. It hasn’t always been easy though, as he’d gotten discouraged by low coffee prices. Since then, he’s worked hard to make sure his coffee is certified as Organic, which has gotten him a much higher premium that he uses to continually re-invest in production and improvement. Eneil is heavily involved in the region and works with neighboring producers to pilot new planting programs and test new varietals.

Tasting Notes: 
Good body with a pronounced toasted walnut and bakers chocolate undertone. A bit of acidity upfront at lighter roast makes it an interesting cup at almost any roast point. Lighter roast promote a bit of herbal spice between the citrus and chocolaty factor – on the sweeter side. Strong medium to dark roasts mute up almost all of the spice notes (the stronger chocolaty tones cover it up) and the cup becomes big bodied and bakers chocolaty.

Roasting Notes: 
An easy to roast coffee. Avoid light roasts if you do not like acidity. A full city roast really bring forth the bakers chocolate like undertones, a nice medium roast has the best balance but everyone here liked it best close to just touching 2nd crack going after the bigger body and chocolaty factor.

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COLOMBIAN PREMIUM HUILA ACEVEDO

This cup is sourced from family-owned farms located in the communities of San Isidro, La Palma ,Las Brisas, El Recreo, and El Silencio in the municipality of Acevedo within the department of Huila, Colombia. The producers collaborate with an export company called Banexport to gain access to technical support for best agricultural practices. Banexport has matched these regional producers (Eduar Perdomo, Robinson Huelgos, Ricardo Mendez, Gustavo Bustos, and Ledesnair Valencia) because of their shared commitment to exquisite coffee processing and loving care for their farms (San Isidro, El Recuerdo, Las Dalias, Villa Sofia and El Altico), which produce complementary profiles.

Tasting Notes: 
A very traditional Huila coffee jazzed up with a hint of acidity upfront. Fuller bodied and on the cleaner side, these beans have quite a toasted walnut base tone that turns pretty chocolaty into the darker roasts. The acidity can be a little strong at the light roast points bringing into play a citrus and floral front end that keeps it a bit on the sweeter side. Darker roasts will be very low acidity but incorporate a much edgier cup profile.

Roasting Notes: 
Easy to roast; a nice even washed processed bean. If you like a little acidity make sure to keep it on the lighter side, if not, make sure to get at least a strong medium roast on it. Works well at the darker spectrum but turns a bit edgy and semi-sweet.

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COLOMBIAN HIGH GROWN DIANA, OMAR & HARBY LOPEZ EL CORTIJO & VENECIA FARMS – CAFE SOCIAL

We found some great new friends in Colombia – the Lopez family. One of family; Omar, is here in our home town and runs a small craft roastery and coffee shop basically on the UW Madison Campus. There farms are in a lesser known more remote region we have never previously pulled coffee from – truly a fantastic cup profile, one can tell upon first sip that this is not your average run of the mill Colombian.

Their coffee is grown in the “Eje Cafetero,” the heart of the coffee regions of Colombia, in the core of the Andes Mountains. This region produces some awesome Arabica coffee. This exceptional, shade grown, single origin coffee is produced by the Lopez siblings on their two family farms: El Cortijo and Venecia.

Diana Lopez  is the owner of the coffee farms; Harby Lopez helps with logistics and transportation in Colombia; and Omar Lopez lives in Madison and runs Cafe Social, the coffeehouse. They all work together to provide an efficient model for direct trade; the most ideal model for coffee farmers but one of the more difficult to achieve. 

Tasting Notes:
A very nice smooth cup of coffee. A hint of a soft fruit tone, a little floral and on the sweeter side. A bit of nutty, chocolaty tones and spice balance the cup out and reminds you this is a stronger profiled Colombian. Fuller bodied, especially into the strong medium to dark roasts.

Roasting Notes:
Versatile roasting coffee, good from light to dark. Shines at the darker roast points; just before to just into 2nd crack. Interesting at lighter roasts but much more front loaded. Very fresh coffee will most likely mellow in a couple months. We air freighted it in from the farm for exceptional freshness.

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BURUNDI BUZIRA-MURUTA WASHED

New 2018/19 crop – after not being able to source some good Burundi coffees last year we finally found two winning lots. Complex as can be, this is a cup that screams African.

Burundi Buzira-Muruta Fully Washed 15+ Lot 31 is sourced from family-owned farms organized around the Coffee Processing Company (CPC), which was established in 2010 by Salum Ramadhan who was born and raised in the Kayanza province, Burundi. Salum operates four washing stations in Kayanza. All four stations reflect Salum’s passion for coffee and his commitment to his community. Lots are meticulously separated and fully traceable to harvest date and washing station. Each lot is classified through a strict protocol that includes hand sorting and floating the cherry. Depulped coffee undergoes a three-part fermentation process, 16 hours of dry fermentation, then another 14 hours of fermentation with water, and then washed and soaked in fresh water for 10 hours.

Salum pays well above the government minimum for cherry and pays farmers extra to sort cherry. He also encourages the farmers to keep and process unused cherry for personal consumption or to sell in the local market. Salum has a nursery program to distribute seedlings to farmers. He has also been paying to build additional classrooms to alleviate problems with overcrowding in the schools.

Tasting Notes:
Medium bodied and chocolaty with some very bright and citrus acidity upfront, it has some very complex herbal/floral/fruit tones balancing the cup.  If you stick on the lighter side, the acidity almost mimics a nice Ethiopian Sidamo with a little tropical fruit note. One of the first semi-sizzling Africans to arrive so far. These tones can either be hidden by roast level or accentuated. Very clean and a bit on the exotic side.

Roasting Notes:
Good from a city plus to as dark as you want to go. Lighter roasting really gives it snappy acidity and stronger fruit notes. The fruit notes are down the grapefruit or orange area, a little on the tart end, not ferment sweet. The chocolaty side of the cup can be seen at a city plus roast but really gets accentuated towards the full city mark and contains a bit of that classic African herbal tea-like note. Darker roasts get strong and a bit bitter but still retain a lot of flavor depth and exoticism. A very fun cup to play around with the roast level.


Burundi Buzira-Muruta Fully Washed

Burundi Buzira-Muruta

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BURUNDI BUZIRA-MURUTA NATURAL

New 2018/19 crop – after not being able to source some good Burundi coffees last year we finally found two winning lots. Complex as can be, this is a cup that screams African.

Burundi Buzira-Muruta Natural is sourced from family-owned farms organized around the Coffee Processing Company (CPC), which was established in 2010 by Salum Ramadhan who was born and raised in the Kayanza province, Burundi. Salum operates four washing stations in Kayanza. All four stations reflect Salum’s passion for coffee and his commitment to his community. Lots are meticulously separated and fully traceable to harvest date and washing station. Each lot is classified through a strict protocol that includes hand sorting and floating the cherry.

Salum pays well above the government minimum for cherry and pays farmers extra to sort cherry. He also encourages the farmers to keep and process unused cherry for personal consumption or to sell in the local market. Salum has a nursery program to distribute seedlings to farmers. He has also been paying to build additional classrooms to alleviate problems with overcrowding in the schools.

Tasting Notes:
This unique cup features pleasant but not over the top red fruit tones balanced with an herbal spice chocolate finish. At a lighter roast this cup is pretty bright, which adds a great depth of flavor. Medium roasts and beyond really mute the acidity and allow the chocolate undertones to break through. Even though at a lighter roast this cup is on the brighter end of the spectrum, it is nowhere near as acidic as the washed processed version. This medium to full bodied cup is smooth with a slight creaminess that leaves you with a wonderfully complex aftertaste.

Roasting Notes:
Unlike the washed processed, this is not a dark roast coffee. All the jazz and cool defined tones will be before 2nd crack. Lighter gave more exotic red fruit and a little hint of acidity, darker (close but not into 2nd crack) gave a much more chocolaty cup profile with just a little hint of red fruit. We all thought the lighter roasts were the best, darker although tasty turned it a little plain and too flat.


Burundi Buzira-Muruta

Burundi Buzira-Muruta

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BURUNDI A KAYANZA MATRACO- BUSINDE STATION

The Kayanza province is in the northern part of Burundi, close to the border of Rwanda, located at an altitude of more than 1800m. Kayanza has the reputation of being one of the best coffee producing regions in Burundi. It is also known for being the water source of the Nile River.

The Matsitsi Trading Coffee SU (or Matraco) company was founded in 2015 and is owned by Mr. Matsitsi, a coffee producer who oversees Matraco’s three washing stations and over 10,000 trees. Two of these washing stations are in the Kayanza province and one other is under construction in the Muyinga province. The two washing stations in Kayanza are some of the best
around and have won Cup of Excellence awards in the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 competitions. Matraco is focused on fine-tuning its production process while promoting ethical trade and environmental protection.

Tasting Notes: 
A good clean and rich Burundi coffee. A bit lower acidity compared to our other Burundi offerings but nice and chocolaty, a good little hint of a spice note and herbal tones letting you know its an African. Smooth and a bit sweet at a medium roast, much heftier into the darker roast, turning it into a strong and fuller bodied cup. A great African cup and not too acidic, one almost everyone will like.

Roasting Notes: 
Easy to roast, would avoid real light roasts for it will come off pretty sharp and can be a little grassy. Medium roasts were wonderful but not super strong, delicate smooth cup. Darker roasts are where this cup shined, great African tones with a strong bakers chocolate note.

Burundi Green Coffee

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