Little Wolf Kenya Karinga – Karinga is a washing station and co-op in the Kiambu region just north of Nairobi. This lot is a blend of all the typical Kenya varietals: SL28, SL34, Ruiru-11, and Batian. The coffees are grown at 1840 MASL. It seems a little suspicious that they are saying exactly 1840 considering this is a co-op… but any information on this place is rare, to say the least. At least 650 smallholding farmers deliver coffee to Karinga, where the coffee is depulped and then wet fermented for 12-24 hours, washed 4 times, and then dried on raised bed for 8-13 days until moisture levels are reached. Lemon drop, Dark grade Maple Syrup, dark fruit. I brewed this with a 16.2:1 ratio and ground it four clicks coarser than my typical starting point I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds, finishing my second pour at 1:50 for a 2:50 final brew time. These are wide circle pulses to try and stretch the brew time out.
Little Wolf Costa Rica Chilamate – This is a fancy one! Finca Chilamate, produced by Las Lajas, is famous for their Alma Negra and Perla Negra processing. This is a farm I have been familiar with for over a decade now and they are always famous for super high quality funky beans. This is a Parainema, processed in the Alma Negra style. The farm is located in Sabanilla de Alajuela, Costa Rica at 1400-1600 MASL. If you are familiar with Las Lajas, you know you excited. For the Alma Negra, the cherries must be classified as fully ripe by testing their Brix content. The cherries are then dried on raised beds for around 5 days, with constant rotation to avoid any mold or deterioration. Then the cherries are moved indoors to a greenhouse to complete drying. It is an intensely hands on process. I taste Fermented cherry, almond, strawberry milk. I brewed this with a 15.8:1 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 2:20 for a 3:05 final brew time.
The Barn Guatemala La Colina – La Colina is a farm in Chimaltenango that I have seen around on specifically the Barn’s offering list over the years. La Colina is operated by Antonio Medina, and is the 3rd generation operator of the land in his family. He turned it into a coffee farm in 1991 after a growing interest in the process. The farm is located at 1700 MASL and this lot is 100% Caturra. Coffee only occupies about a quarter of the land, while most of it is rainforest that is certified by the National Institution of Protection of Forests. This coffee is a full natural – so the whole cherries are dried under the sun for 15 days. Moisture is monitored over the 15 days, and once completed, the seeds are pulped and washed off. The profile is not necessarily clean, and is for sure a very obvious natural profile with a good balance of fermented flavors and classic Guatemala cherry notes. I tasted Tart Cherry, brownies, with a lactic body. A good balance of fermented flavors and classic Guatemala cherry notes. I brewed this with a 16.3:1 ratio and ground it right at my typical starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds with wide circles to slow this down (the finer grind was giving some bad flavors). I finished my last pour at 2:25 for a 3:10 final brew time.
The Barn Ethiopia Kayon Mountain – Kayon Mountain is a delightful washing station in Guji, a region famous for explosive coffees and impactful community farming practices. The Kayon Mountain farm is about 500 hectares and is owned and operated by Ismael Hassan Aredo. Aredo employs about 25 employees year-round, and during harvesting time, an additional 300 seasonal workers. Aredo must provide transportation for all of these seasonal workers, and invests in the community via financial benefits for school building and administrative buildings along with other big coffee players in the Giju region. This farm is located at 2145 MASL and is a mixed native heirloom varietal. This lot is fully washed in typical Ethiopian style, with the seeds pulped and then wet fermented before being dried on raised beds. In the cup, I taste Lemon and overall just a tart profile. I brewed this with a 15.6:1 ratio and ground it seven clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured a quick 30 second bloom, followed by two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds. I finished my second pour at 1:40 for a 2:40 final brew time.
Stimulus Coffee Club 