Junto Colombia La Primavera – This beautiful Pink Bourbon comes from the legend Freddy Correa, the producer behind lots from El Vergel estate whom has produced some of my favorite coffees in recent years. The farm is located in Huila, Colombia and grown at 1800 MASL. You will notice that the bag states ‘semi-washed”. This really threw me off; I fully assumed someone didn’t know what honey process was but it turns out it truly is. The cherries are dry fermented for 24 hours, then de-pulped and fermented in light mucilage before being fully washed. The profile this creates is incredible. I tasted bubblegum, Rooibos, finishes with watermelon. Unexpected bright banger. I brewed this one quickly. However, it also tastes ridiculous in a larger format with slower pours or for auto-drip. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 ratio, and ground it one click finer than my typical starting point. I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds, finishing my second pour at 2:00 for a 2:40 total brew time.
Junto Rwanda Fugi Urubyiruko – While a new producer, this is a new rendition of the Intango Natural process we had from Rwanda last year. Fugi is a project in Rwanda started around 2018, a group of smallholding farmers that live in the Kiyonza mountains of southern Rwanda. Intango is the old school Rwandan method of dry fermenting cherries in clay pots. This creates a wild cup profile due to the open membrane of the clay. The Fugi group started with a widowed/single mothers group to come together and create a community helping each other with processing and growing techniques. It has expanded in recent times to accept a Senior Men’s group as well as this lot – Urubyiruko (Youth group). This is 100% Red Bourbon, as is most coffees grown by this group, and grown at a range of 1500-1850 MASL. Ok so this coffee is WEIRD. I brewed it for the third time and I just now got it dialed in. My first two tries were straight up bad coffee. It is intensely floral, not the typical delicate rose/lavender floral we normally think about. Like getting your mouth and nose stuffed with Lilac branches. I tasted that, obviously. As well as geranium, honeysuckle, and hemp (TASTES LIKE WEED). I recommend brewing this with a 15.3:1 ratio, and ground right at typical starting point. At least until it is a month off roast, I will be blooming this for a full minute, maybe longer. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds for a total brew time of 3:05. I also would recommend a lot of experimentation, use the Aeropress, the clever, and definitely try it as Espresso if that is an option. It definitely can’t handle a lot of water passing through (note the 15.3:1 ratio).
Kaffa Honduras Don Amado – Ok so this one is technically not an all-time favorite because it is a new one for me. It has been a part of Kaffa’s direct trade partnership for years apparently though so I must be blind. This is a 100% washed Pacas, super common for coffee coming out of Santa Barbara. This comes from Jose Amado and his wife Sandra who inherited the farm from his father, Don Amado in 2010. Jose passed away in 2019, and now Sandra runs the farm with her four children creating crazy sweet and dynamic coffees and continuing the epic legacy brought before them. They grow primarily Pacas, Yellow Catuai, and Red Catuai at the farm. Most coffee here is washed. After depulping the cherries, they are dry fermented for 15 hours, then washed and dried on raised beds for two weeks. Maybe it is because I only know how to dial in simple washed coffees anymore, or maybe it is just that good. The first sip hit me with a blast of sugars, with well-rounded acidity for a cup indicative of this region. Like biting in to a honeycomb, with green grape, molasses, and lychee. I brewed this with a 16:1 ratio, and ground it right at my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:15 for a 3:05 brew time.
Kaffa Peru Damian Espinoza – Definitely a classic, I believe this is my third go around with Damian Espinoza’s coffee. Damian has grown coffee on his farm ‘Finca La Palma’ since 2002, and moved to specialty much later after a neighboring farm won a Cup Of Excellence competition. The cost per pound of winning lots was enticing and now Damian focuses on each plot carefully, growing mostly Caturra and Bourbon. Damain mostly produces natural processed coffee, as he preferes the profile but also because water supply can be scarce in that high elevation region. This lot was imported by Origin Coffee Lab, a Cajamarca based coffee company that seeks to expand Peruvian micro-lots, and varietal separation. I tasted Coconuts, Guava, and thyme. Super tropical and delightful profile. I brewed this with a 15.7:1 ratio, and ground it one click finer than my typical starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:30 for a final brew time of 3:20.
Stimulus Coffee Club 