April Kenya Kianimui AA – The coffee I am most excited about this month goes first on the list here. We tried the Peaberry version of this lot a few months ago and it was one of my favorite Kenyan coffees of the year. When Patrik notified me this one was tasting better than that one, I knew it would not only be a great experiment to compare the two but it would also serve the purpose of the subscription to use the absolute best coffees I can find in the world. The Kianimui Washing station brings together local smallholders in the Ngariama and produces coffee with utmost focus. In this cup I tasted wild blackberry, sparkling rose, some sort of spiced thai iced tea flavor, christhanenum, and blood orange or maybe nectarine. This coffee is astounding and well worth the $15+ I paid for it knowing I was going to lose money on it 
but happy holidays! I brewed this with a 15.5:1 coffee to water ratio and ground it several steps coarser than typical starting point; Seven steps coarser on first brew but will probably go five or six coarser next time to tighten things up. I poured two pulses spaced out 45 seconds and my final pour finished at 1:50 for a total brew time of 2:50.
April Guatemala El Socorro Maracaturra – One of the newer partner farms of April’s comes El Socorro, owned by Producer Diego De La Cerda. This is yet another farm in Guatemala that stayed quiet in 2020 and then blasted forward in 2021 with wild varietals and processes. This coffee is a washed Maracaturra grown at 1800 MASL, staggering heights for Guatemala. As a reminder, Maracaturra is a hybrid of Maragogype (Big in Brazil) and Caturra (Big literally everywhere). The result is a larger bean matching the Maragogype but with flavor complexity the Caturra can have under the right growing conditions and processing. This was the first coffee I could taste clearly after the Covids quit fucking with my nose and it was an excellent choice. This coffee was beautiful and had such intricate flavors. The first taste was grape and butterscotch, followed by that fire raspberry toaster strudel (double icing). There was a tart cherry or pomegranate flavor that rule the whole cup. The body is excellent, super light, tea-like, and clean. I brewed this with a 16:1 water to coffee ratio and a grind just slightly coarser than normal. I poured four pulses spaced out by 35 seconds with a slightly wider pour about 1.5″ in diameter. I finished my fourth pour at 2:20 for a final brew time of 3:10.
Kafferaven Nicaragua La Picona – Not my first time using a coffee from La Picona roasted by Kafferaven and it won’t be my last! I used a lot from here just a few months into the coffee subscription as they changed my view on what Nicaragua coffee can be. I have gone over La Picona before but I will talk about them again as a reminder. The farm La Picona is located in Dipilto in an area classified as a nature reserve. The nature reserve has excellent shade coverage from trees, fertile soil, and cool air setting it apart from most Nicaragua coffee grown in hot climates. The farm is owned by Samuel Zavala, a long time friend and partner of Kafferaven. The coffee I have from here year after year always puts a smile on my face. The coffee is grown at 1200-1400 MASL and the main crop here is Maracaturra, which is the varietal of this lot. This lot is a Natural Process, where the ripe cherries are soaked before laid out directly under the sun until fully dry and then moved to the shade for fermentation to slow down. This is a classic dynamic Kafferaven Nicaragua. The La Picona farm is the original Nicaragua that changed my outlook on the Nicaragua profile. This starts out with a tart cherry and ginger note alongside the deep complex earth note. But wait, we hate earthy notes? For some reason these coffees just flip my preferences upside down. If you got this coffee, I am trusting you to have an open mind and think about these flavors without bias. This is a coffee I could win espresso competitions with and then take it to my cranky Uncle’s house and make him a cup he would love. I brewed this with a 16.7:1 ratio and ground it at my usual starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:35 for a 3:10 drop time.
Kafferaven Ethiopia Bensa “Julkaffe” – The Julkaffe in the Nordic countries is a coffee chosen to put a smile on your face around the holidays, translating directly to “Christmas Coffee”. The funny part about it is I never have had a clue why any of the coffees were chosen for the selection. They are always really good and one of the top coffees most of the roasters have at the time but it still feels like a random thing. Anyway, this is from Bensa Segara in Sidamo – a smaller region with many smallholder farmers. The washing station this coffee comes from is called Logita, recently purchased by a newer producer named Heleanna Georgalis. Heleanna bought this washing station in 2017 with the purpose of helping the local farmers with their growing practice and putting an emphasis on focus and quality in the processing. Heleanna has her own coffee farm nearby that has been in the family for generations. This lot is not from there. This is a washed Heirloom blend of local cultivars grown at 2100 MASL. In the cup I tasted a super herbaceous and citrusy profile. It was more on the Yuzu side because of the herbal notes rather than straight classic Ethiopia lemon. I also got a juicy papaya note that was playful next to the citrus. On the front end I tasted a sweeter brown sugary note that began the herbaceous trend to bridge in to the citrus. It is a lovely coffee. I brewed this one with a 16.2:1 water to coffee ratio and ground it at my usual Ethiopia grind setting, six clicks coarser than Colombia. This bean was obviously super dense and hard coming out of the bag so I knew I should brew it quickly and emphasize the acidity. I poured two pulses spaces out by 45 seconds, finishing at 1:40 and a drop time of 2:40.
Kafferaven Nicaragua El Arbol – El Arbol is a farm I have had mixed opinions on in the past based on a few different lots. Apparently they are a lot newer in the world which explains why they make so many attempts to use progressive techniques such as 1000 hour Fermentations and Carbonic Macerations. The farm is located in Dipilto as is the La Picona grown at 1150-1300 MASL. This farm is actually partly owned by Per Nordby and a few others in the coffee industry and is used to experiment. This lot is a standard Pacas, picked at ripe harvest and then processed in the Carbonic Maceration method where whole cherries are sealed in tanks flushed with CO2. Review the “How I Brew” post on my page to review this method. My one description for this one is “tricky to brew”. I had to dump out my first brew right away as I ground it at my usual starting point; I should have known for a massive sea shell bean and a weird process that there was nothing “usual” about it. I ended up going two clicks finer and still did not go fine enough. The last brew I made was turning the corner of letting out the explosions of flavor locked in these beans. Unfortunately, I ran out before I was able to achieve the full profile, but I got a light note of fruit roll-up and peach. In the brews I made, the profile was overwhelmingly: just straight chocolate and hazelnut which made for a nice cup but not the crazy complex profile I know this coffee should have. I recommend grinding this one 3-4 clicks finer than your starting point and using a 15.5:1 water to coffee ratio. Pour two slow pulses, one at 35 seconds and the second at 80 seconds. If the bed is dropping out right away then try wider circles before going finer. The brew time should be around 2:45.
Stimulus Coffee Club 