Vivid Costa Rica Hacienda La Minita Villa Sarchi – The La Minita farm has been on the map since the 60’s, but has only been growing coffee since 1985. La Minita means “the small mine” because of rumors that Colombian people moved to the area during the 1800s to search for gold, rumored to be found on where the farm sits today. The plantation covers a total of 1200 acres, with 800 acres used to grow coffee. The rest of the land consists of forest preserves with the Tarrazu river running alongside. La Minita is a decently sized operation that is obsessed with high quality production and seeking to be considered one of the best in Costa Rica by the specialty coffee world. This is the holidayiest tasting coffee of the bunch for sure. The flavors are pretty on point for what is on the bag. I feel like it is a little more cardamom than clove, but what do I know. This does not have a ton of fruit for an Anaerobic for it is definitely a fun coffee regardless. Once it cooled down I got some dry fruit like persimmon or starfruit, but overwhelmingly cardamom and vanilla flavors. I brewed this with a 15.8:1 ratio and ground it one click finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses after a 40 second bloom spaced out by 40 seconds, finishing by last pour around 2:20 for a 3:10 brew time.

Vivid Colombia Gabriel Castano PB – Yes, we have had this one before. Gabriel Castano, the “Godfather of Pink Bourbon”. I did have to get this one again this time around because of how incredible it was last time. This one in particular is an extended fermentation, washed Pink Bourbon. It was fermented for a total of 90 hours, an insanely long time for a washed coffee but the method is becoming increasingly popular due to the annoying coffee bros that don’t f wit naturals. The flavors here were subtle so definitely let this one cool down a bit to get all the complexity; I tasted Guava, Honeydew, and the aroma of caramelized Sugar. I brewed this with a 15.8:1 water to coffee ratio and ground it three clicks finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:25 for a 3:00 brew time.

Kaffa Honduras Miguel Moreno – How can we pass up a coffee from a Moreno that also coincides with a “Sweet Christmas Coffee”??? The excitement does not just fade there, the Pacas varietal is so common from the Moreno clan, but this one is HONEY processed. I have never had a honey processed Moreno coffee and while drinking it this morning I was super annoying talking about how great it was. Miguel is the brother that studied in the United States and returned to give a last attempt growing coffee in the El Cedral part of the El Filo plantation. The family had issues with growing coffee in this land and almost turned it in to vegetables. In the cup, I tasted Marshmallow, cinnamon sugar, dark cherry, and Caramel Apple. I brewed this with a 16.3:1 ratio and ground it one click coarser than my typical starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:40 for a 3:20 brew time.

Kaffa Ethiopia Halo Hartume- The last of the four coffees to arrive on my doorstep two fulls weeks late… but Good things are worth waiting for. This is such a fantastic natural Ethiopia. It comes from the Halo Hartume washing station, where around 396 smallholding farmers bring cherries from the Gedeb region. Mijane Woressa is the owner of Halo as well as the original washing station, Worka Sakaro. Halo was opened with the intention of helping the local producers commute shorter distances to deliver their cherries and to engage with a newer community. Keeping the regions that deliver to a washing station small will enhance traceability in the varietals coming out of Ethiopia. This lot was actually reminiscent of the April Zewde Estate which we can all agree was 100% the bomb. I tasted Jasmine, Earl Grey, and peach. I brewed this with a 15.2:1 ratio and ground it five clicks coarser than my typical starting point (one click finer than my usual Ethiopia grind). I poured two fast pulses spaced out by 45 and kept my pour towards the center. I finished the second pour around 1:45 for a 2:35 total brew time.

April Ethiopia Zewde Estate – This coffee will be the most drank this month by far, and we only have it by mistake. The coffee I originally chose ended up being sold out and so I deferred to this one. The Zewde Estate coffees are a staple in April’s lineup now and for some reason I always pass them up but serendipity worked in our favor this time. Zewde Estate is a single-farmer lot in Hambela, Guji – a rarity as we all know. April’s Ethiopia partner is an organization called METAD, which typically helps a lot in developing low-income farmers but for the Zewde Estate, it is METAD’s own micro-lot focused farm where they grow exclusively Ethiopian Heirloom varietals separated to keep distinct Ethiopian profiles. This lot is a 100% Krume varietal and natural processed. I am always amazed how clean these natural profiles are but still with a distinctive natural profile that is recognizable. I tasted bright peach and lavender right away, with jasmine and bubble gum. So refreshing. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 water to coffee ratio and ground it 7 clicks coarser than my typical starting grind. I poured 2 pulses, first one at around 45 seconds, and the second at 90 seconds for a 2:55 total brew time.

April Kenya Kainamui – This is the same lot of Kainamui from this summer and it is even better this time around. This is always one of my favorite coffees. Honestly, I am surprised this is even a Kenya. This is from the Kainamui processing station in Ngariama, Kirinyaga. The processing station is owned by the New Ngariama Farm co-op and is a SL-28/SL-34 AA lot grown at 1750 MASL. The Ngariama co-op is comprised from around 950-1000 local smallholding farmers from the community that bring their harvests to the Kainamui factory where it is graded and floated for defects. All coffee is then fermented for 24-48 hours before drying on raised African Beds. The Kainamui Factory sorts the different sizes by AA, AB, PB, etc. The highly acidic Kenya cup is not what I am finding with this. It has so much more mapley sweetness than what the world has come to expect from Kenya. I tasted a touch of apple and pomegranate. This is a super complex and another outstanding selection from Kainamui. I brewed this with a 15.7:1 ratio and ground it 4 clicks coarser than my typical starting point. After a quick 35 second bloom, I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds. I finished my last pour at 2:15 for a 3:20 brew time.

Junto Ethiopia Hada Molecha – This is a small processing station in Aricha, Gedeo. This is a great station that is committed to paying the smallholding farmers better prices. The average plot size for the farmers is between 2 and 10 hectares,and will only yield a few bags per year. Hada Molecha has the privilege of DNA testing the cherries that are brought to the station and this lot apparently is a blend of Krume, Dega, Wolishu, 74148, 74110, 74165, and 74112. I would say a blend of seven varietals is basically not even worth knowing as it is almost impossible to taste the variances. The brightness here is out of this world. I tasted Meyer lemon, floral, cherry, all the potential of what a Washed Ethiopian can be. I brewed this one with a 15.5:1 water to coffee ratio and ground it 7 clicks coarser than my typical starting point. After a 40 second bloom, I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds, finishing my second pour at 1:50 for a 2:45 brew time.

Junto Colombia El Guayapo – This comes to us from the Huila district by producer Jaime Burbano. This is a Pink Bourbon varietal grown at 1750 MASL, in an ideal forested climate for my favorite varietal. The cherry is picked and then held in the cherry for 15 hours before being dry fermented in sealed containers for 42 hours. This is technically not natural processing but is an advanced technique of washed where the cherry is used to ferment the seed for a fruitier profile. In the cup, I tasted Guava, orange marmalade, and cherry. I brewed this with a 16.2:1 water to coffee ratio and ground it right at my typical starting point. After a 40 second bloom, I poured three pulses spaced out by 40 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:30 for a 3:10 brew time.

Kaffibrugghusid Colombia El Obraje – What drew me to the Obraje was mainly the elevation. This full Caturra lot was grown at 2200 MASL in Narino which isn’t insane or anything, but definitely higher than average for the region. El Obraje is the name of the farm by Pablo Guerrero. Hacienda El Obraje has been in Guerrero’s family for generations but was not traditionally a coffee farmer. Originally, wheat and other grains were grown in the 90s before moving on to more fruits and then eventually coffee in 2000. He started with commodity and was doing nothing groundbreaking with coffee, and after several years of this, grew a processing station and started focusing more on quality and better varietals. The elevation and soil quality has made the property almost perfect for growing coffee. The cool temperatures and volcanic soil are what really help coffee thrive. After harvesting, the cherries are left to ferment for 20 hours in the same sack that the pickers use. The cherries are then floated for defects, and wet fermented for 24 hours. The coffee is then fully washed, and floated again for extra defects. Drying is usually 16 days. Right away I tasted a charred oak note with green apple acidity and honey sweetness. I brewed this a bunch of different ways and the same basic profile came back each time. Be careful with the brew on this, as a quicker drop time gives it some slightly cardboardy notes. I also raised my average brewing temperature from 93C to closer to 97C to help extract everything out of this coffee. I brewed this one with a 17:1 ratio and ground it two clicks finer than my typical starting point. After a 50 second bloom, I poured three pulses spaced out by 40 seconds, and poured fairly wide circles to slow down the brew. My third pour ended 3:00 for a 3:40 brew time.

Kaffibrugghusid Ethiopia Konga – Konga Washing Station… Iconic. The Konga Village is located in Yirgacheffe, and the Konga Washing station was established in 2002, with the goal of bringing out the beautiful wild coffees of the region to the rest of the world. The washing station processes cherries from nearly 1200 smallholding farmers. Because of the staggering number of producers, there will rarely be a specific varietal tied to the coffee that comes from here unless it is for a specific lot. The elevation in this region averages 1925 MASL and the cherries are processed in the traditional Natural process for this station. This is an old school tasting Natural Ethiopia. Sort of a blast of ripe blackberry, heavy red wine, and tart cherry. For my brewing temperature like with the Obraje, I used a higher temp of about 96C. I brewed this with a 16.5:1 ratio, and ground it 6 clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:10 for a 3:00 brew time.

Manhattan El Salvador Carlos Mendez – This is not the first time with Mr. Carlos Mendez! We had coffee from Carlos last November roasted by Manhattan and I have to say the quality has improved. This lot is 100% Pacamara, one of my favorite varietals and is grown from 1350 MASL. Carlos Mendez has won multiple Cup of Excellence awards and is famous for the work in Ahuachapan region, bordering Guatemala. This lot is a double fermentation natural, meaning after harvesting the cherries are gathered and fermented openly for 24 hours and then fermented anaerobically for 24 hours. The coffee is then slow dried for 40 days. Manhattan actually commissioned Mendez to produce the coffee this way for a competition last year and it turned out so well that they are standardizing this for Manhattan’s contract coffee. Yeah so kinda throwing a dart at the flavor wheel here… But this cup is wildly complex. In the brewing bed I was smelling like yellow bell peppers and white chocolate. The actual cup has some of that savory quality in the form of oregano or pesto. It sounds bad but it somehow worked. The sweetness was excellent and was kind of reminiscent of the yellow bell pepper that I had smelled. I love this cup but I shouldn’t. If you want to make an absolutely dreadful cold brew, this would hit the mark for you. I ground this coffee one click finer than usual and used a 16.2:1 ratio. I poured four pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:30 for a 3:20 drop time.

Manhattan Tanzania Edelweiss – This exciting sparkly guy comes from the Gaia farm in Tanzania, a member of the Finagro Farms collective. The farm is owned by the Vohoras, a multiple generational farm sprawling 1000 acres on the southern slopes of the Ngorongoro conservation area on the edge of a crater. The farm is located in a valley and the Vohoras provide a Rainforest Alliance Certified farm and it provides temporary housing to the seasonal harvesters. I love coffee from Tanzania but I have not seen a lot of variety in the varietals. Not a lot of variety-als? Sure. This one however is a mix of not only Kent but Red Bourbon, and SL28. This is my first coffee from the Gaia farm but I look forward to trying more, especially as Manhattan pushes them to experiment with fermentation. This was definitely my favorite cup… I tasted red fruit like cherries and strawberries with a nice herbaceous quality. I brewed this with a 15.8:1 ratio, and ground it 3 clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my third pour at 2:10 for a 3:05 brew time.

Kaffa Peru El Cerro Geisha – This one is the gift – I knew I absolutely had to hop on this train as I have never seen a Geisha come out of Peru before. The climate and terroir of Peru is super similar to Ecuador, however there is less experimentation typically. I think this means the potential for crazy coffee is endless and it is good to see some of the producers stretching their wings. This Geisha comes from Efrain Carhuallocllo at his farm in Cajamarca (1900-2050 MASL). Efrain grows mostly Caturra crop but has recently dabbled in new trees such as Geisha. The cherries are picked and sorted, then pre-fermented in the cherry for 24 hours. They are then pulped and fermented for an additional 24 hours, then washed and dried for 15 days on raised beds. Efrain plans to buy new dryers and invest in new equipment to improve the quality of some of the newer experimental lots in the coming years. The cup tells a dynamic tale; I tasted juniper, lilac, peach, cardamom, and lemon curd. I am a huge fan of this one and decided to use the rest of it for espresso. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 ratio and I ground it one click finer than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:15 for a 2:50 drop time.

Kaffa Peru La Palestine – As everyone should know by now I love a classic Peru profile for its simplicity. It is pure coffee seed juice when it is done well and is so pleasant to drink. Great as espresso, batch brew, immersion, anything. This is a full Caturra lot from the prized Cajamarca region located in the northern highlands of Peru in the Andes. This farm comes from the Alarcon Coronel family, it is a small farm with mostly Caturra and Red Bourbon grown around 1800-1900 MASL. This is a bit of an exciting lot, as it is not just a standard washing process which can be detected by the twist of flavors in this coffee compared to a standard Peruvian Caturra. The cherries undergo a pre-ferment in the cherries before being pulped and washed in the traditional method. This gives an extra acidity pop to the bean. In the cup I tasted fudge toffee brownie at the front, with cherry, and vanilla marshmallow. I brewed this with a 16.8:1 with a grind size two clicks finer than usual. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my last pour at 2:50 for a 3:40 brew time.

Sey Kenya Gitutu AA – Gitutu comes from the Kiambu county just north of Nairobi and made up of SL28, SL34, Ruiru-11, and Batian varietals – a classic Kenya cooperative blend. This region of Kenya has been blowing me away in recent years and this one is no exception. I have always loved Kenyan coffee and once said it was my favorite coffee producing region – the profile on this is basically what my ideal profile is. I tasted rhubarb, cranberry, and grapefruit. The acidity on this one is pretty high so I apologize if that isn’t your thing. I brewed this with a 16.3:1 ratio and ground it four clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I had to let the bloom go a little longer than usual – around 45 seconds. I then poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds, finishing my third pour around 2:30 for a 3:10 total brew time.

Sey Honduras Daniel Moreno – This is going to be the last time we see the Daniel Moreno name on a bag. Daniel Moreno is the patriarch to the Moreno family of coffee producers in Santa Barbara. Think Mario Moreno, Danny Moreno, Mabel Moreno, the list goes on. Daniel passed away and this is the final tribute coffee to Daniel who helped create the famous coffees of Santa Barbara, Honduras. His legacy will of course live on through his kids who grow some of the best coffees in the world. This one is a classic Moreno Pacas varietal grown at El Campo, one of Daniel’s first experimental gardens. Pacas is typically a riskier crop to grow as it is super prone to disease and is a mutated varietal from Bourbon. The mutation causes a shorter plant to grow from seed and is considered one of the higher qualities of a Bourbon parent. The cup was mostly like a vanilla parfait with good granola and strawberries. I also hinted at some thyme on the finish. I brewed this with a 16.8:1 ratio and ground it one click coarser than my typical starting point and poured four pulses spaced out by 30-35 seconds allowing for the bed to fall a bit between each pulse. My final pour finished around 3:00 for a 3:45 brew time.

Vivid Colombia Luz Divia Fierro Pink Bourbon – My first coffee ever from Luz Divia Fierro is of my favorite Pink Bourbon varietal, grown at 1650 MASL in the Acevedo district of Huila. Luz is among an emerging class of next level female coffee producers – she grows coffee with her husband’s father Elpidio, who originally owned the farm before passing it down, along with his vast knowledge of harvesting and processing. The actual farm name is El Meson; the earth consists of mostly loam soil with pockets of sand. The property features a waterfall and is partly on a national forest reserve. Luz planted around 20,000 Pink Bourbon trees several years ago when she began running the farm. This lot was washed and fermented for 40 hours total before depulping, and then dry fermented for an additional 24 hours before being thoroughly washed clean of any remaining mucilage. I tasted orange marmalade, a hint of jasmine, cranberry, and on the finish that good good Mott’s Applesauce. I ground this sweetie one click finer than my typical starting point and brewed this with a 15.5:1 water to coffee ratio. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds. If you notice your bed dropping super fast or even falling all the way below grounds, try pouring wider circles in a faster motion to stop that up. My third pour finished at 2:40 and my final brew time was 3:25.

Vivid Honduras Nahun Fernandez Pacas – It has been a minute since we had Nahun Fernandez coffee, the first time was early 2021. This coffee is just as interesting, as a fully Natural processed Pacas grown at 1600 MASL at the farm. Nahun harvests only the ripest cherries, then lays out the cherries to ferment in the sun. Once this is complete, the cherries are brought to the dry mill that Nahun and his family built and share. The collaboration with family, each of whom is performing their own experimentation techniques is pushing each of them to produce better coffee. Nahun is already advancing so fast that I can taste the progress from last time we used them in subscription as well as a random Parainema I had last year. I tasted melon and kiwi, with a mapley sweet finish. with super balanced acidity. This is much more delicate than expected which is a good thing to me, typically these coffees can be a little heavy. For brewing, I ground it 2 clicks finer than my normal starting point and brewed this with a 16.2:1 ratio. I let the bloom go for super long but as the coffee ages I will probably shorten it. Bloom should always be as long as the coffee needs it to be. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, finishing my last pour at 3:00 for a total brew time of 3:35.

Clever Uganda Zinule – I had no idea what to expect with this one… I did not even know the process when I decided on it truthfully. This is a Washed SL14, SL28, and SL34 blend that comes from a brand new washing station called Bulambuli in Mt. Elgon, right up against the border with Kenya. Ben Mukhone is the official owner of the washing station and is working with Nordic Approach for importing purposes and education of local smallholders that supply the washing station with cherries. Most of the smallholders are growing coffee between 1800 and 2300 MASL, but typically averages around 2000. The idea behind bringing in these Kenyan varietals is interesting to me, as they have historical success and in my mind, can nearly guarantee quality with proper growing techniques and processing. Basically, if these gardens are bordering Kenya, what can be done to ensure the growing is done properly? This is where Nordic Approach knowledge comes in to assist and educate every level of the production line. In the cup I tasted Boysenberry, apple, and fresh strawberry jam. This is a super Kenya-esque cup but honestly it is cleaner, less acidic, and more balanced fruit. One of the best I’ve had and I will remember this coffee for a long time. I brewed this with a 16:1 ratio and ground it 2 clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds. As typical with Clever, the bloom couldn’t last long since these coffees are LIGHT. My third pour finished around 2:10 for a 3:10 drop time.

Clever Kenya Ruarai – Ruarai is the name of the river that runs alongside this gorgeous washing station located in Nyeri town in central Kenya. By now we all know my immense love for Nyeri and the bright, tropical flavors we taste from here. The Ruarai station is owned and operated by the Ruthaka Famers Cooperative Society, an organization in Nyeri that is made of several hundred smallholding farmers with an average garden size of 0.4 Hectares. Most of these farmers grow their coffee on the slops of Mt. Kenya. At the Ruarai station, water from the Ruarai river is used for all washing and processing. As with this specific blend, mostly all of the coffee brought here ends up as Washed process and is a mix of SL28, SL34, Batian, and Ruiru-11. Each farmer does their own sorting for ripe and unripe cherries. Once delivered, the cherries go through a disc pulping machine that removes the skin and external layer of pulp. The coffee seeds are then graded in to levels 1-3, and level 3 is thrown out due to low grade. In the cup I was blasted with raspberry, mandarin orange and ended with honey or almost candy sweet. Not as dry or heavily acidic as many Kenyans but still has playful brightness. I brewed this one with a 15.8:1 coffee to water ratio and ground it three clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured three pulses spaced out by 40 seconds, finishing my final pour at 2:30 for a 3:20 drop time.

Junto Rwanda Batoya Island Intango – This is the second Rwanda we have tasted from Junto – also from Baho Coffee. I don’t think of Junto as being a gatekeeper of excellent Rwanda but they do continue to surprise me and blow me away with the flavors they are bringing out of them. Bugoyi is the name of the washing station – located on the western border of Rwanda on Lake Kivu. Bugoyi collects cherries from around 1300 local farmers. The term “Intango” comes from the old style of clay pots that have been used by Rwandan farmers for centuries to ferment fruit. The resulting fermented juice was claimed to provide strength to warriors before a battle (I think we all get a lil liquid courage when we sip on some fermented juice 👀). This is a Low Oxygen Natural, but not fully anaerobic. The clay pots are not sealed, however as the whole cherry 100hr fermentation takes place, CO2 takes over the pot and pushes O2 out of the tank. Due to the nature of clay and how the pores change over time, the flavor profile here is truly unique to any other coffee in Rwanda or the world because of the microbes, yeasts, and bacteria that live in the porous clay. After this stage, the cherries are then moved to raised beds to dry. The cherries dry from 20% moisture to around 11%, this takes around 80 days. After this the seeds are milled and sent to us for roasting :). I tasted plum, strawberry, and herbs. It is most definitely a natural… It has a lovely brown sugar lingering finish though and I will for sure try to brew it differently and probably try it as espresso to get as much out of it as I can. I ground it one click finer than my typical starting point and used a 15.5:1 water to coffee ratio. My bloom only lasted about 35 seconds, and then I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds. My final brew time ended at 3:00.

Junto Ethiopia Sedaqa Layered Fermentation – Sedaqa is a new washing station for us in the subscription. It is located in Bona Zuria in southern Sidama. While researching this farm it seems that everyone copy/pasted a standard write-up from an importer starting with “All sites have a claim to beauty since they are in the countryside of Ethiopia. But the Sedaqa Olonso site stands out for its simple breathtaking beauty that unfurls”. I couldn’t even find a picture of the beauty though! Anyway, this is a newer washing station that opened in 2019. The washing station is the processing home for about 300 local smallholding farmers. The cherries are dropped off and pulped, then put in fermentation tanks for 24-72 hours. After this, natural channels through the farm that come from rivers are used to fully remove the mucilage from the seed. After washing, the seeds are dried on raised African Beds, and turned manually by the station workers. Most of the cherries come from the local coffee gardens that only produce a few sacks of coffee per year. Due to the demand in specialty coffee, the farmers are being paid better, and Sedaqa is able to invest more in their community. These gardens are located at a staggering 2350 MASL. This cup was delicious and clean. I tasted orange marmalade and jasmine. The cup was balanced yet tart and lactic. Acidity is on point. I ground this six clicks coarser than my standard starting grind (I should probably just call 6 coarser my “Ethiopia Grind”. I brewed this with a 15.2:1 water to coffee ratio and had a weird pour. I basically did two blooms. My first bloom was short, only 1.5x the weight of the ground coffee and it lasted 25 seconds. Then I poured about 3x the total amount and let is bloom for another minute. So at the end I was at 1:30, and had 100 grams of water in the bed that started with 18 grams of coffee. I then poured two quick pulses with tight circles spaced out by 40 seconds. My final brew time was 3:10.

April Ecuador Pillcocaja Red Honey Ethiopia – BACK AGAIN with the Pillcocaja bangers! This farm is quickly becoming one of my favorites in the world and I have only ever had it from one roaster. Ana Maria and Nicolas are the owners of the farm and do all processing on site. The farm is located in Yunguilla Valley in Azuay, Southern Ecuador. The farm is located at 1650 MASL, and all the coffee trees grow under much larger native trees to the region. Until 2013, PIllcocaja was dedicated to growing and distilling sugar cane for liquor. After this, they landed a contract with Nestle to produce a huge lot of commodity gar-BAGE, but had special land with high quality soil to grow specialty. This led to April forming an extremely special relationship with Pillcocaja. I tasted melon and kiwi. Clean with excellent acidity. Possibly my favorite Pillcocaja I have ever had. I ground this one 3 clicks coarser than my typical starting grind and brewed it with a 15.8:1 water to coffee ratio. After a 40 second bloom, I poured four pulses spaced out by 35 seconds and finished my last pour at 2:45. The final brew time was 3:40.

April Costa Rica Volcan Azul Yellow Honey Marsellesa – Ok, so now this is like the 12th time we have had Alejo Castrok’s coffee from Volcan Azul so I will spare the grimy details of how the beautiful relationship sprouted between Patrik Rolf and Alejo Castrok. Importantly, this is a fully anaerobic Marsellesa, a varietal created as a hybrid between Catuai and Sarchimore. These are both super common varietals in Costa Rica. Sarchimore has excellent durability to leaf rust, and Catuai is just a fuckin winner. The resulting Marsellesa is a super durable plant that produces delicious sweet coffee. This coffee has great acidity as well. In the cup, I tasted blackberry, cardamom, Apple Pie, and a light, fruit-forward Cabernet. I ground this one right at my typical starting grind size and brewed this with a 15.8:1 ratio. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds after a quick 35 second bloom. The bloom dries out super fast and there is no reason to extend any further for this coffee. I finished my last pour at 2:40 for a 3:15 drop time.

1. Vivid Colombia Blanca Marina – Our keynote of specialty coffee in 2022 is this Washed Castillo grown in the town of Pasto in Narino, Colombia. Blanca Marina is a newer producer for Vivid, but by no means new to the game. She has been producing coffee for decades, and now looks to her daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters for help on the farm – called “El Aguacate”. While a simple Narino Castillo, this set of trees was put aside to let the cherries go past the red color which is normally considered to be ripe, which allowed them to turn purple. This was confirmed to not be considered “overripe”, however as it allows for the seed to take in that extra sugar from the cherry before being picked for processing. The fermentation was a standard 24 hours in tanks, then dried for two weeks on raised beds. This means the extra fruit flavor in this coffee comes directly from the cherry ripening which I find fascinating and the reason I say this is what specialty coffee is coming to. Experimentation, learning, growth. The flavors in the cup were vibrant. Cotton candy on the nose, and in the cup I tasted rhubarb, macadamia nut, and sauvignon blanc. The flavor and body in the finish was all Maple syrup. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 ratio, any higher and it gets cardboardy. I ground this one right at my standard Colombia grind setting and let the bloom go pretty long on this one to 55 seconds, but Vivid coffees tend to degas quickly so I bet this time will go down with age. I poured three pulses spaced out by 35 seconds for a 3:10 drop time.

2. Vivid Honduras Evin Gomez – This has to be the coffee I was most excited about this month. Evin Gomez is a super young producer in Santa Barbara and from the beginning he has been growing Parainema, the varietal from Santa Barbara that has been winning countless awards and a couple Cup of Excellence awards. This lot is fully Natural-processed 100% Parainema, grown at 1450 MASL. This one can be tricky to brew, and I myself will be letting it rest a couple more days as it needs some time to de-gas. The cup is pretty intense with flavor as well as body. I tasted a heavy dark chocolate with dried papaya, and those classic strawberry wafer cookies. I brewed this with a 16.7:1 water to coffee ratio, and ground it two clicks finer than my usual starting point. I poured four pulses spaced out by 30 seconds, ending my last pour at 2:40 for a 3:10 drop time.

3. The Barn Ethiopia Gedeb Chelchele – Gedeb is a micro-region in the greater Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia, and I am sure all of us have had a coffee grown in Gedeb before. Chelchele Estate is essentially a processing station for the local smallholders; however, coffee is grown at the estate. We can not be certain if this particular lot is grown at the estate or by local smallholders, as it is most likely all blended before processing the cherries. The Chelchele owner is named Metad, who is considered a great philanthropist in the area. Metad funds schools, coffee growing education, and scholarships for the locals. Metad is working toward coffee traceability as they realize that the modern coffee drinker cares about things like varietal and seed development. I nailed this brew on the first try, and was blown away by the flavors. The cup is all tropicals and berries. Strawberry to the face, mango, just so super sweet. On a second brew in a larger format it was slightly simpler but was like drinking Hibiscus tea. I brewed this with a 16.3:1 water to coffee ratio, and ground it six clicks coarser than my typical starting point. I poured two pulses spaced out by 45 seconds, for a drop time of 3 minutes flat.

4. The Barn Burundi Bumba Hill – Now time for the winner of the four coffees… Bumba Hill. This lot comes out of the Longmiles Burundi project, where washing stations are built to assist local farmers with access to water and electricity to produce some of the best coffee in the world. This is especially important for the Bumba Hill farmers. The coffee farm was incredibly difficult to reach, and left the farmers forced to walk three hours with the sacks of cherries to the nearest washing station. Thankfully, Longmiles project completed a new washing station last year called Ninga Hill that is much closer to Bumba and allows easier processing with less transportation required on foot from the Bumba Hill farmers. As is standard for coffees grown in the Kayanza region, this is a 100% Bourbon lot that is depulped, then fully washed. I have even heard that a team of people at the station lay out the cherries, then run and dance all over them to loosen the mucilage before washing. This cup is the Kenyaiest Burundi ever. I tasted blackberries, grapefruit, rock candy, and it has a lovely, silky body. It brews much more like a Washed Ethiopia though, because of the small, dense beans. I brewed this with a 16:1 water to coffee ratio, and poured two slow pulses spaced out by 40 seconds. My last pour finished at 2:20 for a 3:20 drop time.