The Barn Honduras Caballero – I love the Caballero farm so much, which is why it’s interesting that this is the first non-washed coffee I have had from there. The farm is operated by Marysabel Caballero in La Paz, Honduras. Most cherries are grown at 1600 MASL,and until very recently most coffee was fully washed. From what I understand, naturals had started being produced only four years ago. The name of this coffee, Confite #8, refers to the name of the process they have given to extended full cherry fermentation (natural). This means this is the 8th lot of this process that has been applied at Caballero. Apparently processing naturals in Honduras can be challenging due to high humidity levels, which makes sense as a lot of Honduran naturals I try have another level of funk to them. The layer of cherries set out to dry ferment must be very thin as to not create mold or fungus. This coffee is crazy funky. The dry grounds smell like pineapple, but I have not made a brew yet that interprets this into the cup. This could be due to how fresh this is, which at this point today is only 7 days off roast. I taste black walnut, overripe raspberry, and maybe some oakyness like you would find in a dark cabernet. I brewed this with a 16.7:1 ratio, and ground it four clicks finer than my typical starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, ending my last pour at 2:50 for a 3:25 final brew time. I have struggled big time with this brew, and honestly I suggest brewing it any other way than drip/filter. I have tried it in a tricolate, and this helped it shine. Other methods similar like an aeropress or immersion might help this as well.
The Barn Rwanda Huye Christmas Coffee) – The Huye Mountain Estate is an iconic farm The Barn works with regularly. I have probably had this same washed Red Bourbon 4 or 5 times now and it is always lovely. Huye Mountain is operated by David Rubanzangabo. The land is known to have rolling hills for miles with great terroir; the nutrient rich soil, high elevation and heavy rainfall during tree production leads to high quality cherries. This is a washed Red Bourbon coffee, grown at elevations from 1700 to 2200 MASL. All processing takes place at Huye Mountain, with this being a typical African washed process. Cherries are pulped, fermented, and then fully washed. The seeds are then dried on raised beds under shade to slowly dry to a proper moisture content. Perfect holiday coffee right here. It has the iconic central African profile of dried figs, and even a slight hint of lemon/lime. It is a beautifully sweet coffee. I brewed this coffee with a 15.5:1 ratio, and ground it two clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 40 seconds. I finished my third pour at 2:20 for a 3:20 final brew time.
The Barn Costa Rica Volcan Azul – This is another heater from the world famous Volcan Azul coffee farm. The owner, Alejo Castrok is known across the globe for his experimental processing techniques and genetic testing. Only at Volcan Azul do you see varietals like H1 or H3. The coffee from here can always be expected to be crazy. This lot being an H3, is a hybrid of Ethiopian varietals and Caturra to produce the interesting Ethiopia Heirloom flavors but adding resiliency to leaf rust and disease. This is being referred to as a “Warm Anaerobic”. Cherries are measured while still on the tree for the sugar content, and then picked once they reach appropriate levels. A truly technical way of deciding how to pick the ripest cherries. The whole cherries are then placed in the sealed anaerobic tanks at a temperature 4c higher than what is standard for four days. Sugar content and pH is monitored at all times during fermentation. The cherries are then dried for an additional five days on raised beds before pulping and drying. Finally, a coffee that advertises blueberry and actually tastes of blueberry. I brewed this with a 16.5:1 ratio, and ground it three clicks finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 40 seconds, finishing my third pour at 2:25 for a 3:00 final brew time.
Vivid Colombia Rafael Aya – Rafael Aya is a new producer for me, and has been growing specialty coffee since only 2017. Before that, Aya had grown more commodity coffee for nearly 20 years, and studied coffee production at the national agricultural institute. Being located in Huila, one of the most famous specialty coffee growing regions in Colombia and even in the world, the climate and terroir is simply too good for commodity coffee! This is a Pink Bourbon grown at 1750 MASL and is classified as fully washed. This is, however, the funkiest fully washed Colombia I have tasted so I suspect some alternative processing techniques are at play with this one that were not published. I checked other roasters with Rafael Aya’s coffee, some being Pink Bourbon or Caturra and I saw notes like washed Anaerobic or 150 hour wet fermentation. Those technically are washed still but certainly would deserve an asterisk. I taste sour lemon, pomegranate, and cloves. I brewed this one with a 15.5:1 ratio, and ground it two clicks finer than my typical starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my third pour at 2:20 for a 3:05 final brew time.
Vivid Kenya Gakuyu-ini – Another washed Kenya SL28/SL34 from Kirinyaga! (Last months Kenya Kiri was also from Kirinyaya). Gakuyu-ini is a famous washing station at the foothills of Mt. Kenya. I personally relate Gakuyu-ini with more blackberry and delicate acidity flavors. Gakuyu-ini is the sole processing station for the Thirikwa farmers co-op, made up of around 1600 farmers that own about a half plot of land. The farmers bring their ripe cherries to Gakuyu-ini for processing, where quality graders check the cherries for ripeness by hand-sorting and floating. After the classic Kenya double-soak washing process, the seeds are dried on raised beds for two weeks. This has an iconic Kenya profile. I would know this was a Kenya on a cupping table right away. Grapefruit, bitter molasses, graham cracker dominate the cup. I brewed this with a 16:1 ratio and ground it three clicks coarser than my typical starting point. After a 45 second bloom, I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my third pour at 2:05 for a 2:45 final brew time. I tried doing a faster brew that usually helps with Kenya acidity but it was NOT it. Slow this one down.
Stimulus Coffee Club 