Lykke Peru Agua De Nieve (Snovatten) – Such an icon at this point. The bag is familiar, but I can’t say the flavor profile is. Snovatten is Lykke’s year-round single origin from their high elevation farm near the Andes mountains at the edge of the Amazon rainforest. This coffee is made up of Caturra and Typica, different from last year when there was also Bourbon mixed in. The focus of these year-round single origin coffees is sustainability in the specialty coffee supply-chain. With so many micro-lots that give producers temporary joy and then drought for the remainder of the year, we will need coffees like this to maintain the future of specialty coffee supply. I tasted Cherry, Wildflower Honey, and slightly more body than past renditions of Snovatten. I brewed this with a 16:1 ratio and ground it one click finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my third pour at 2:20 for a 3:15 final brew time.
Lykke Peru Tito Cachay – A special Geisha can from Lykke! I could not turn this one down – this comes from Tito Cachay. Tito’s farm is deep in the forests; it is free from pesticides and other synthetic fertilizers. The coffee trees are grown under shade trees amongst Kataleya Orchids, for which this coffee is named. A lot of Geisha coffee is grown here at an elevation of 1800 MASL, also in the Agua De Nieve region. This is a classic Geisha profile, which is insane! Typically the Geishas that I am able to include in this subscription are priced much lower, and while usually high quality coffees, are not 10/10 Panama-tasting crazy Geisha. I am tasting jasmine, cane sugar. I brewed this with a 15.6:1 ratio and ground it right at my typical starting point. After a 35 second bloom, I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:10 for a 3:10 final brew time.
Vivid Honduras Kevin Fernandez – This is the second lot we brought in to the sub from Kevin Fernandez, a young producer and nephew of local legend Nahun Fernandez. Kevin’s plot of land is located on his family’s ancestral land and is adjacent to his relatives that are producing some of the best coffee in Honduras. The farm is located in Santa Barbara at an elevation around 1550 MASL. This is a big time Funky natural Pacas! One of the fruitiest and funkiest naturals I have tasted in a minute. I can confidently say the quality has gone up since two years ago when we tried this last, and the brew is holding water better this time, as I remember the beans were super low density last time around. I taste Dark Cherry, deep red wine, Plum, and Dark Chocolate. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 ratio, and ground it three clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:35 for a 3:20 final brew time. **Wide circles on this one to slow it down!
Vivid Mexico Eber Olivera Baltazar – This Mexican Geisha (WOW) comes from producer Eber Olivera Baltazar, owner of the farm Villa Talea De Castro in the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca. The farm is located four hours away from Oaxaca City, in an area considered one of the bio-diverse areas in the country. The Sierra Norte mountains are consumed by rainforests, allowing a ton of rainfall during the 8-month long rainy “season”. The farm is located at 1600 MASL, where Eber experiments with new farming techniques on the modest plot of land, and this lot represents the first time Eber’s coffee has left Mexico. Apparently is quite the legend in the country’s coffee scene? Big deal! These Geisha cherries are picked at the ripest point, and then dry-fermented for 24 hours before washing and wet-fermentation for 36 hours. This results in a red-fruit filled cup with notes of Amaretto and Pistachio, Very complex profile. Too many tasting notes to even try and list a couple. THIS is what the Geisha varietal is all about. I brewed this with a 16:1 ratio, and ground it two clicks finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:20 for a 3:05 final brew time.
Stimulus Coffee Club 