Junto Colombia Finca Cataluna – Cataluna is the farming project from Flor Marina Betancourt. Flor comes from generations of coffee farmers and learned about the industry from her father on the farm she grew up on. Flor’s father inherited a plot of land and she convinced him to turn it into a new farm, Finca Cataluna. This is a smaller farm where Flor, her husband, and two sons help out with the harvest and hire about 10 others to help with the picking. This is a Pink Bourbon, grown at 1700 MASL in Huila. Whole cherries are fermented for 12 hours before pulped and fermentation continues for 40 hours and then dried in a green house. This coffee was stellar right away on my first brew, and the Pink Bourbon is obvious. I tasted Cherry and Hibiscus flower with medium acidity, maximum sweetness. I brewed this with a 15.3:1 ratio and ground it right at my typical starting point for a washed Colombia. I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds (First pour at 0:45, second at 1:30) for a 2:50 total brew time.
Junto Guatemala La Joya – La Joya is an experimental farm operated by brothers David and Eddy Solano, 4th generation coffee farmers from Chimaltenango. David is a 3-time national barista champion, which in Guatemala is super impressive. They have produced world champions in the past and have a very competitive competition. David and Eddy were inspired learning about carbonic maceration to start processing coffee in newer, experimental methods. From a country that only a few years ago exported over 90% washed coffee, this is a new idea in Guatemala. In Carbonic maceration, typically CO2 is injected in to the Anaerobic tanks to flush out any oxygen. David started using nitrogen to even further push the funk level. This coffee was processed as an anaerobic natural, meaning the cherries were sealed in the tanks along with yeast that was chemically separated in a lab from pineapple. So this is not one of those gimmicky coffees where fruit was added directly to the fermenters. This coffee is an absolute funk bomb. I tasted fermented strawberry, dark, intense chocolate, and not a whole lot of tropical fruit. This is pretty surprising considering not just the processing but the tasting notes on the actual bag. I am truly not worthy of even being able to dial this one in but I will give my best instructions. I brewed this with a 15:1 ratio, and ground it three clicks finer than my typical grind setting. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, ending my last pour at 2:35 for a final drop time of 3:00.
Lykke El Salvador Ignacio Sosa – This can comes from Ignacio Sosa’s farm “Las Pilas” in El Salvador, located across the river from Honduras. This proximity allows for higher elevation, which is 1600 MASL. Pretty good for El Salvador. This is a full natural Pacamara, one of the most challenging coffees to roast. Lykke does an incredible job with this one, and it is easily my favorite coffee of the bunch this month. Pacamara beans are larger, but super low density. Roasting these is a true skill test. I tasted pear and literal papaya all around this cup. Sort of strawberry jam vibe on this as well. This doesn’t really have a big front-end or lasting finish flavor, but more of everything all at the same time. I brewed this with a 16.3:1 ratio, and ground it right at my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 40 seconds (0:45; 1:25; 2:05) for a 3:15 brew time.
Lykke Snovatten (Peru Agua De Nieve) – This is the third round of Snovatten we are trying, and I am happy to say the quality has increased again. Agua de Neive is located in Peru at the edge of the Amazon, sitting at the base of the Andes at 1800 MASL. The cup is always so crisp and clean, it is always a favorite. The temperate climate, elevation, and clean water flowing down from the mountains gives this delicate profile it’s structure. I tasted Chrysanthemum, Persimmon, and Vanilla Ice Cream. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 ratio, and ground it right at my typical starting grind size. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, ending my last pour at 2:10 for a 3:00 brew time.
Stimulus Coffee Club 