Duck-Rabbit El Salvador Finca Miravalles – A Tabi varietal from El Salvador… I must always go for the unique combinations. This is not a super typical varietal grown in El Salvador; Tabi is a hybrid between Bourbon, Typica, and Timor developed in Colombia to increase plant hardiness. The Timor part of this hybrid was even developed with Robusta in it for slight edge on plant hardiness. That makes this technically not 100% Arabica, a designation to be scoffed at for a long time until recently. Miravalles is owned by the Duarte family, located on the western side of El Salvador near the Santa Ana volcano. This Tabi is grown at 1500 MASL and is a fully washed lot. The Duarte family process coffees in all different ways like honey and naturals, however I think due to this being a Tabi, they wanted to keep it washed to see what the true flavors in the bean could be. This is closer to what I would call a subdued sweetness type of brew, but so clean and sweet for what that category typically means. At first, this means notes like tootsie rolls, brown sugar, and pecan. Once the cup cools, mild stone fruits or watery fruits appear like dragon fruit. I brewed this with a 16.5:1 ratio and ground it one click finer than my typical starting point. After a 50 second bloom, I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my third pour at 2:25 for a 3:10 total brew time.
Duck-Rabbit Kenya Kiri – The best Kenya of the year so far is here. Kiri is located in Kirinyaga, Kenya, known for being a region surrounding the southern rim of Mt. Kenya. This is a SL28 and SL34 mix, and Kiri utilizes the natural waters and river flow from the slopes of Mt. Kenya for processing, like many other co-ops in the region. The Kiri co-op is made of many farmers that harvest wild coffee trees that grow on their property in a much less organized fashion than we see in some of the western world coffee farms. Kiri ensures that farmers can’t bring in less ripe or diseased cherries. They hire coffee clerks that observe the floating of cherries and discard any that are too low of quality to be processed. This is a typical Kenya double wash process where the coffee seeds are soaked for a second time after final pulping. While being bright and clean, this coffee also contains an herbaceous/vegetal quality. The mixture of flavors seem strange but the notes kind of come in waves. It starts out with a cotton candy vibe, and then moves to a sweet yellow apple, then thyme’d green beans. The finish is super clean, as is the entire brew. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 ratio, and ground it two clicks coarser than my typical starting point. After a 30 second bloom, I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds, finishing my second pour at 1:50 for a 2:45 final brew time.
Kaffa Ethiopia Danche – This stunning babe comes from the Danche region of Yirgacheffe, processed at the Chelbessa washing station. This field blend was processed in a classic washed Ethiopia fashion with a wet fermentation followed by drying on raised beds. The washing station is overseen by Negussie Debela, former I.T. guy in Addis Ababa turned coffee producer. As with many Yirgacheffe lots, this is a pooled lot from many smallholding farmers grown at 2000-2300 MASL and is various landrace varietals. This is a bright, sparkling joy of a washed Ethiopia to cap off the end of fresh washed Ethiopian season. In the cup I taste Meyer lemon and bergamot. This is for the acidity lovers. I brewed this with a 16:1 water to coffee ratio, and ground it six clicks coarser than my typical starting point. After a 45 second bloom, I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds, finishing my second pour at 2:05 for a 2:45 final brew time.
Kaffa Guatemala Ixban- The early christmas coffee comes from San Pedro Necta, an area inside the Huehuetenango department. Ixban is a group of eight farmers in San Pedro Necta that have formed a cooperative producing company. Their lots are all grown at 1700-1800 MASL and consist of Caturra and Bourbon. These eight farmers rely on coffee crop alone for income, and have produced coffee their whole lives. The slightly higher elevation at these smaller lots means that harvest happens a little bit later than what is standard for Huehuetenango coffees. While most farmers have finished up processing, The Ixban group begins the harvest. All of their coffee is taken to a local mill after the farmers personally pulp, ferment, and dry the coffee seeds themselves. For the overall vibe of this coffee, I am going to call it a classic breakfast cup with some first taste flair. I tasted coconut cream, oregano, and super chocolatey as it cools. I brewed this with a 16.7:1 ratio, and ground it right at my typical starting point. I poured a 55 second bloom, followed by three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds. I finished my third pour at 2:25 for a 3:20 final brew time.
Stimulus Coffee Club 