Vivid Costa Rica Hacienda La Minita Villa Sarchi – The La Minita farm has been on the map since the 60’s, but has only been growing coffee since 1985. La Minita means “the small mine” because of rumors that Colombian people moved to the area during the 1800s to search for gold, rumored to be found on where the farm sits today. The plantation covers a total of 1200 acres, with 800 acres used to grow coffee. The rest of the land consists of forest preserves with the Tarrazu river running alongside. La Minita is a decently sized operation that is obsessed with high quality production and seeking to be considered one of the best in Costa Rica by the specialty coffee world. This is the holidayiest tasting coffee of the bunch for sure. The flavors are pretty on point for what is on the bag. I feel like it is a little more cardamom than clove, but what do I know. This does not have a ton of fruit for an Anaerobic for it is definitely a fun coffee regardless. Once it cooled down I got some dry fruit like persimmon or starfruit, but overwhelmingly cardamom and vanilla flavors. I brewed this with a 15.8:1 ratio and ground it one click finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses after a 40 second bloom spaced out by 40 seconds, finishing by last pour around 2:20 for a 3:10 brew time.
Vivid Colombia Gabriel Castano PB – Yes, we have had this one before. Gabriel Castano, the “Godfather of Pink Bourbon”. I did have to get this one again this time around because of how incredible it was last time. This one in particular is an extended fermentation, washed Pink Bourbon. It was fermented for a total of 90 hours, an insanely long time for a washed coffee but the method is becoming increasingly popular due to the annoying coffee bros that don’t f wit naturals. The flavors here were subtle so definitely let this one cool down a bit to get all the complexity; I tasted Guava, Honeydew, and the aroma of caramelized Sugar. I brewed this with a 15.8:1 water to coffee ratio and ground it three clicks finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:25 for a 3:00 brew time.
Kaffa Honduras Miguel Moreno – How can we pass up a coffee from a Moreno that also coincides with a “Sweet Christmas Coffee”??? The excitement does not just fade there, the Pacas varietal is so common from the Moreno clan, but this one is HONEY processed. I have never had a honey processed Moreno coffee and while drinking it this morning I was super annoying talking about how great it was. Miguel is the brother that studied in the United States and returned to give a last attempt growing coffee in the El Cedral part of the El Filo plantation. The family had issues with growing coffee in this land and almost turned it in to vegetables. In the cup, I tasted Marshmallow, cinnamon sugar, dark cherry, and Caramel Apple. I brewed this with a 16.3:1 ratio and ground it one click coarser than my typical starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:40 for a 3:20 brew time.
Kaffa Ethiopia Halo Hartume- The last of the four coffees to arrive on my doorstep two fulls weeks late… but Good things are worth waiting for. This is such a fantastic natural Ethiopia. It comes from the Halo Hartume washing station, where around 396 smallholding farmers bring cherries from the Gedeb region. Mijane Woressa is the owner of Halo as well as the original washing station, Worka Sakaro. Halo was opened with the intention of helping the local producers commute shorter distances to deliver their cherries and to engage with a newer community. Keeping the regions that deliver to a washing station small will enhance traceability in the varietals coming out of Ethiopia. This lot was actually reminiscent of the April Zewde Estate which we can all agree was 100% the bomb. I tasted Jasmine, Earl Grey, and peach. I brewed this with a 15.2:1 ratio and ground it five clicks coarser than my typical starting point (one click finer than my usual Ethiopia grind). I poured two fast pulses spaced out by 45 and kept my pour towards the center. I finished the second pour around 1:45 for a 2:35 total brew time.
Stimulus Coffee Club 