Stimulus Coffee Club

Innovative Processing Discussion – Anaerobic, Honey, Carbonic Maceration

The words Anaerobic and Carbonic Maceration did not exist in the specialty coffee industry until about five years ago. In my world, they did not exist until this past year. My own \”pandemic special\” if you will. It took me a long time to understand the difference in processing of these coffees and what it means for flavor development. I am in no way teaching this information from personal experience. Rather, I am sharing what I\’ve learned based on educational materials provided by the very best green coffee importers and producers in hopes that this information can also be a helpful resource to understand the story behind each coffee we drink.

ANAEROBIC

I have tossed the term anaerobic around in a pretty nonchalant way in this subscription without really explaining the meaning and impact this has on the future of specialty coffee. Basically there is an added step to the typical Washed/Natural/Honey process to yield an Anaerobic process – sealing the coffee in a tank to cut off oxygen.

In the \”Washed Anaerobic\” process, the coffee cherries are depulped of all cherry and mucilage in the normal washing process. The coffee would then be sent to fermentation tanks in an open environment for 18-36 hours (generally), and then \”washed\” with turbulent water to remove all mucilage. The difference in Anaerobic would be the post-depulp stage. Rather than having an open fermentation tank like with a normal washed processing, the tanks (plastic, stainless steel, etc.) are hermetically sealed to prevent air from coming in. Next is where it gets interesting – the depulped mucilage is gathered, packed together, and then spread across the coffee seeds till evenly coated. Once sealed, the oxygen in the tank is diminished by the Carbon Dioxide production.

The time spent in sealed fermentation tanks is completely up to the producer and what they are trying to do. I have seen some for 18 hours and some for 400 hours at colder temperatures. The reason these coffees are so vibrant and delicious is from the flavors of the cherry being directly injected in the coffee seed due to cherry skin-contact during this oxygen-free environment. The control of pH, sugars, temperature, and yeast production is easily observed because of the smaller batch sizes. This extra effort is why we typically find these coffees to be a little more expensive.

Alternatively, there is a \”honey style\” of anaerobic processing. The small difference here is that the coffee seeds are sent in to the tanks without depulping all of the mucilage. Since I brought it up, I figure I should explain why this is honey style, by giving a brief overview of honey processing.

HONEY

Honey processing includes four different colors: White, Yellow, Red, and Black. Each color in this order corresponds to a different level of seed-in-cherry fermentation. These coffees when done correctly have an excellent marriage of sweetness, clarity, and fruit.

The different colors mean something different as far as standards go in every country of origin. In general, white honey means mostly all mucilage is removed during depulping stage, yellow has slightly less mucilage removed, and so on. Additionally, black and red honeys have an extended fermentation time to create even more fruity flavors in the coffee. Black honeys are fermented the longest, and therefore require the most monitoring to prevent over-fermentation.

To answer the obvious question; no. There is no actual honey involved. The use of the word honey refers to the stickiness of the seed following fermentation with the mucilage remaining on the seed. The stickiness level of the seed is developed through the most important stage of honey processing – the drying. If honey processed seeds are dried too quickly, the seed won\’t have enough time to absorb the mucilage flavors. If they are dried too slowly, the coffee bean risks over-fermentation.

To find the balance in fermentation, the raking of the seeds on raised beds in the open air is extremely important. This control of the drying rate is what makes this an innovative process. The desirable flavors of natural process coffees are present, while minimizing the risks of over-fermentation.

CARBONIC MACERATION (CM)

CM is a highly controlled, intricate version of Anaerobic processing. The process was developed by a famous coffee person named Sasa Sestic from Australia. Sestic worked closely with wine-makers who utilize this technique regularly, and particularly with a Colombian producer named Camilo Merizalde.

When I first asked what this process meant, I thought it was just a pretentious way of saying it is Anaerobic. Turns out, it is in fact a nerdier version of Anaerobic. All the steps are followed after the depulping stage (or lack thereof in the case of a natural Anaerobic) and tank sealing. However, instead of the fermentation process letting the Carbon Dioxide consume the Oxygen in the tank, the tank is flushed with Carbon Dioxide at the very beginning, allowing the producer to completely control the amount of yeast, bacteria, fermentation, pressure, and temperature in the tank.

The result is an intensely fruity yet clean brew. The coffee tastes pristine. However they are not cheap due to the cost of materials, labor, and the experience in coffee processing required for the proper fermentation. I hope to share a CM coffee with the subscription soon, as I would love for everyone to taste what I consider the most progressive processing technique the world has to offer right now.

Thank you to everyone for reading/skimming this information. The test is next Tuesday.

Just kidding, but I do hope if people were confused on what these processes mean, they can find clarity in my explanation. As mentioned above, this information is not entirely derived from my own personal knowledge, so here is a list of sources I used to gather this information:

https://blog.genuineorigin.com/2018/07/31/anaerobic-process-new-flavors-innovation/

https://projectorigin.com.au/cm-selections/

https://www.lacabra.dk/products/los-pirineos-semi-carbonic-maceration-petites

https://www.cafeimports.com/australia/blog/honey-process/

November Coffee: The Barn Brings the Funk

This month I bring back an old favorite; a roaster I sought out for years during college and finally was able to visit in 2016. My favorite part of the roaster was a memo sitting at the sugar/lids/straw station about their high quality sustainably-sourced raw cane sugar and how you should not use it because their coffee has natural sweet flavors that do need not be altered by additives. I was validated knowing that the pretentious coffee attitude I possessed was a global phenomena and I could find myself comforted halfway across the globe. That all being said, the roaster I am talking about is of course, The Barn!

The Barn was the first international roaster brought to Chicago in 2017 and was greeted with open arms. On the order form, many of you stated they would love to see The Barn featured in the subscription. With the current coffee lineup The Barn is working with, I felt it was a great time to showcase the coffee they are capable of producing.

1. Costa Rica Juanachute

Juanachute, Terrazu, Costa Rica

From the Terrazu region of Costa Rica comes the farm called Juanachute. Juanachute is technically classified as a \”micro-mill\” which is really just a classification of how much coffee is processed on site. Typically this is standard for most of the coffee from single-producer farms in Central/South America we drink, however this farm and mill was one of the first of this kind in Costa Rica. Producing small lots, not meant to be blend binders and commodity coffee was simply not done in Costa Rica. As with the changing market, Luis \”Tacho\” Castro decided to create coffees with close attention to detail in both growing and processing. Additionally, Tacho was curious to experiment. Curiosity led him to be one of the earliest adapters of the Anaerobic technique. So early in fact, Tacho created his own fermentation tank to accomplish this. I wish I had a photo of the tank, but it is essentially a massive plastic tank with a one-way release valve to allow oxygen to escape but not enter. I do plan on writing a post about how Anaerobic and Carbonic Maceration work and how they differ when I have enough time, as I know we have had a ton of anaerobic coffees since the start of this. This all results in this stunning coffee grown at 1600 MASL in the beautiful mountainous region shown above. Upon grinding this coffee I got a little concerned… It smelled woodsy and smoky. Two aromas I would never look for in a coffee. That aroma stayed through the entire brewing process. Once the brew finished, I quickly discarded the filter and grabbed the carafe to smell, and to my pleasant surprise those fragrances disappeared! It turned in to a sweet, cinnamon forward cup. In the cup I tasted cinnamon, toffee, plum, spearmint, and a sort of salted caramel taste combined with bitter liqueur (Campari anyone?) that I could not quite articulate. I brewed this coffee using a 16:1 ratio and a pretty standard starting grind setting. After the bloom, I pulsed this coffee three times from 35-50 s, 65-80 s, and 95-110 s. My drop time was 2:30. I look forward to experimenting with this one to see what other flavors I can get out of it.

2. Ethiopia Tabe Burka

I realized when selecting a roaster this month that I haven\’t bought a single Natural Ethiopia for the Coffee Club yet. For as many people that specified how much they love Natural Ethiopians and/or stated a specific Natural Ethiopia they remember enjoying, it is quite the oversight on my part! I typically am careful when selecting these coffees as many can come off as one-dimensional or aggressively fermenty. The reason so many coffees in Ethiopia are sun-dried (natural) instead of Washed is due to lack of access to clean water. This combined with low wages paid to the hardworking members of processing mills can lead to uncontrolled fermentation times and less attention to detail. However, a great Natural Ethiopia can erase your worries, and trap you in the world of specialty coffee. This coffee is from the Guji region of Uraga, and consists of cherries picked only in close proximity to the Tabe Burka washing station. This coffee will remind us of the ancient tradition that is Ethiopian Coffee. Upon my first sip of this coffee, a wave of relief rushed over me. The coffee had zero aspects of an over-fermented natural. What I taste instead is a brown sugar and sweet tart party in my mouth. While not something I would describe as complex, it is clean and crisp. The fruit notes are well articulated and last throughout the entire tasting experience. I brewed this coffee with a 16:1 ratio and a coarser grind setting. My drop time was 2:45 for a pretty small brew (12 gram dose). I would say 2:45 is a good drop time if you are making a larger brew, but for my cup I think it was a tad over extracted. This one is a crown pleaser, please share with whoever you can (from 6 feet away of course).

3. El Salvador Himalaya

The Barn has been working with the Himalaya farm for some years now, and I have always seemed to let them slip through my fingers. Although I have not tried anything yet, I still associate this farm with various micro-lots, rare varietals, and experimental processing. This farm was started in 1880 and remains in the same family. Mauricio Salaverria comes from generations of coffee growers, and possesses the collective knowledge of those before him to grow excellent coffee. This specific coffee is a Natural Maragogype. Like I first did, I am sure you are now saying \”what the f$&% is a maragogype\”. It is a varietal that was mutated and produced first in Brazil, and is used to create a lot of interesting new hybrid varietals. The pure Maragogype is a massive sea-shell sounding bean. So before you ask, grind it finer than usual. The vision Mauricio holds for the farm is inspiring. Currently Himalaya covers 24 hectares and grows varietals like SL28, SL34, Maracaturra, Gesha. With the level of control over the processing, this natural coffee will show clean, exotic flavors. Right when my grinder started breaking these clunkers down, my kitchen filled with aromas of strawberry, spices, and tropical fruits. In the cup I taste ripe strawberry, lychee, caramel, and an overall 10/10 sweetness. Like stated above, I ground this a couple clicks finer than usual. I still poured my normal routine of three pulses at 35 second intervals and it dropped out at 2:40. I used a 16.5:1 ratio but am interested to see how it might changed if I use even more water. Say, a 17:1 ratio. Will it bring out more fruit? Or will it flatten the flavors out. Please try and tell me!

October Coffee: Kaffa – Oslo

October is the best for a couple reasons: the trees turn and become a form of earth art vibrant with an autumn palette, the month ends with the most important holiday, and last but not least, it is prime coffee sipping weather. This month we are drinking coffees from Kaffa from Oslo, Norway. I am not sure how many of you are familiar with Kaffa, as they were not a common roaster in the shop and hardly anyone in the United States sells them. They are a large roaster and, unlike the other Nordic roasters we enjoy, they use an older roaster called a Probat. Some argue that the roaster the others use, called a Loring, produces cleaner coffees with greater consistency. But roasters like Kaffa that do not use this newer, more techy/advanced roaster make me question that argument because their coffees are always clean and pop with flavor. Regardless, lets get in to the offerings!

Probat roaster at Kaffa

1. Indonesia Waerebo Apen

I am so excited about this coffee! I have not had a great coffee with these clean flavors in years. To preface with a quick geography lesson: the Pacific Rim include but are not limited to Indonesia, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Papua New Guinea. While I was with Sump Coffee we purchased coffee from Sulawesi for a couple years and they were fantastic. Recently, for some reason the coffees from Sulawesi dropped in quality and/or production so I wasn\’t able to find them anywhere. Furthermore, I\’ve been only able to find one or two good coffees from Sumatra and Papua New Guinea. Hence why this Indonesia coffee is basically the reason we are drinking Kaffa this month. The Waerebo Apen is a honey-processed yellow bourbon coffee from the Waerebo region, where one of the oldest communities in Indonesia is located. The coffee produced here helps the community run sustainable agriculture and helps coffee producers with innovation and growing micro-lots in the varying climates of this region. The flavors in this coffee are intoxicating. It is the most complex coffee I have had in a long time, with flavors of dried fruit, sour candy, chocolate, and honeycrisp apple. I brewed this coffee with a 16:1 ratio, and ground it at my normal starting point for a Colombian or Ecuadorian coffee. I used three pulses spaces 10 seconds apart, finishing my last pour at 1:50. My final brew time was 2:50.

2. Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelbesa

The Ethiopian coffee season is coming to an end soon. In the coming weeks, we will see less and less fresh crop Ethiopia coming in and most Ethiopians remaining will be late-season or leftover. This delightful washed Ethiopian is from the Negusse Debela processing station, which receives coffees grown in \”semi-forest\” conditions. While we do know the main varietals grown in this region and processed at this washing station are Dega and Wolisho, we will never know for sure if that\’s it as transparency in Ethiopia is difficult. However, these natural varieties produce wild flavors not known elsewhere in the world…one of the reasons we will always love Ethiopian coffees. In this coffee I tasted explosive citrus and stone fruits. Bright tropicals hit right away, then turn to juicy peach and florals, with a spiced orange tea aftertaste. I brewed this with a 15.5:1 ratio and a coarse grind setting to achieve a faster brew. Personally, I used a smaller dose so I went for a 2:20 brew time with two pulses separated by 10 seconds, finishing my pour at 1:30. If you are making a larger batch, I would just recommend going much coarser than usual and adjusting your pour or grind setting to get this to taste better. If it tastes weak, you probably have gone too coarse or poured too fast.

3. Uganda Mbale

For years, Uganda has primarily produced a lot of low quality green, which kept income and quality low. This is changing. I chose this coffee because I think specialty coffee development in Uganda is extremely important to support their economic efforts. While most of the current coffees from Uganda are naturals, such as this one, I look forward to how the processing progresses in the years and would warmly welcome another country to my \”favorite origins\” list. This month\’s offering specifically is a natural semi-anaerobic coffee. While exciting on it\’s own, that is not even the best part. The varietals are SL28, SL34, and SL14, which are all typically Kenyan varietals. This lot comes from the Sironko processing yard located in the Mbale area in Eastern Uganda. In this coffee I tasted a hit of funk right away, but it is fleeting. The cup quickly transforms in to a delicate, yet sweet cup with a long sticky sweet aftertaste. I tasted fermented blueberry, graham crackers, lavender, with a coating yet silky body. I brewed this one with a 16:1 ratio and ground it a couple clicks finer than my usual starting point to give me a 3:00 brew time. I would do 3-4 pulses to achieve this brew time.

Thank you again for allowing me to bring wonderful coffee in to your home and allowing me to continue supporting these roasters working so hard to create a better world for coffee to thrive in.

September Coffee: Vivid Congo Hutwe and Other Friends

VIVID AROMAS AND TASTE!

Vivid for me is basically a \”Missed Connections\” success story. They sent me samples at the beginning of 2020 in an attempt to be a part of the retail coffee rotation at the Llama. I didn\’t even know they were sent to me until a fellow Barista texted me to ask if they could take them home as they needed coffee and I nearly said yes, as I was stressed about something else at the time, but my coffee instincts took over as I made sure to try every coffee sent to me to be polite. The coffees were outstanding, which can be rare for a random sample pack showing up. I immediately contacted the roaster/owner, Ian Bailey. We had a couple great runs with Vivid at the shop and then boom… Covid hits. Now, because of a couple of random occurrences taking place I am able to share the delicious coffees with the Coffee Club.

1. Congo Hutwe

Typically when the roaster describes a coffee as \”lights out\” that means I buy. This exquisite representation of the years of build-up and booming quality standards in Congo is by all means \”lights out\”. The Hutwe washing station brings together cherries from many smallholder farmers ranging from 1500-1800 masl and consists of mostly Bourbon. Another variety known as Rumangabo is grown locally and is suspected to be mixed in with the Bourbon cherries. The Hutwe station is located near the eastern border of Congo, northwest of Burundi/Rwanda and just west of Uganda. The growing conditions here are great for Arabica with fertile volcanic soil, high altitude, and rainfall. The region however is extremely impoverished and for many years has lacked proper infrastructure for Coffee Production. This coffee is delicate. \”Tea-like\” as they say. I tasted notes of jasmine, caramel, and sour candy. I have a hunch it will make for a great espresso. I brewed this coffee on my v60 with a 15.5:1 coffee-to-water ratio, and ground it finer than typical African coffees because of the lower elevation. It was actually two clicks finer than the Kenyan coffee last month from Kafferaven. I poured two pulses following the bloom from 30-60 s, and then 75-105 s. The brew time ended up being 2:20. Next time I am probably going to pour wider circles to bring the fines down and extend the brew time to see if I can get more out of it.

2. Colombia Albeiro Ramirez – Chiroso

This coffee interested me because it is essentially a single-variety test of a new variety to me. The varietal is called Chiroso, which exists as a natural mutation to the more mainstream Caturra varietal. Producers in the Antioquia region discovered the cherries were different and that the resulting coffee tasted outstanding. The producer of this coffee, Albeiro Ramirez, has been experimenting with Chiroso and made sure to provide a sample to Vivid. Albeiro grows this coffee high up in the mountains bordering Medellin at 1900-2100 masl. This coffee has excellent sweetness with notes of vanilla, brown sugar, grapefruit, and a suggestion of peach. I brewed this coffee with a 16.5:1 ratio and used my longer brew time schedule. I ground it a couple clicks coarser, and poured four pulses. Each pulse was spaced 30 seconds apart following my 35 s bloom, so I poured each increment at 35 s, 65 s, 95 s, and 125 s. The final brew time was 2:50.

3. Costa Rica Hacienda La Minita – Anaerobic Villa Sarchi

When I asked Ian about the current lineup, knowing the Congo was in stock, he told me that he just received six Costa Rican microlots with all different varietals and processing methods to which I replied, \”Holy Shit.\”. I really contemplated switching up the entire format this month and repackaging all six of them in smaller quantities for people to try but honestly that sounded like an awful laborious task. So instead, I chose the most unique one. This is a washed anaerobic coffee from Tarrazu, grown on the flagship farm for La Minita. La Minita is actually a global coffee importer, and this farm in Costa Rica is a place where they can experiment with varietals and processing. The anaerobic part will speak for itself in this unique coffee, but the Villa Sarchi varietal is one of my absolute favorite varietals because of it\’s clean, crisp flavor profile. This is an intensely sweet and fruity cup, reminiscent of the best juice ever (mango nectar; don\’t fight me). I also detected a slight earthy tone in the cup but it could be the way I brewed it. This coffee is clean yet a thick, heavy body coats the palate. I brewed this coffee with a 16:1 ratio and I used a finer grind setting than a typical starting point. Finer than the Congo listed above by about two clicks on my Wilfa grinder. I poured three pulses following the bloom from 35-60 s, 70-95 s, and 105-130 s. The final brew time was 2:40.

Thank you for exploring the world of coffee with me. Until next month,

-Dylan

How to: Campsite Coffee and Freezing Surplus Beans

More than acceptable camping kettle

With Labor Day coming up, I know a lot of you may be camping. So I figured now was as good of time as ever to go over how I prefer to make coffee in the great outdoors. Just because you are away from electricity/your tools to control independent variables in brewing does not mean you must succumb to instant coffee!

My method is semi-derived from April Coffee Roaster\’s Aeropress Method but with some modifications I preferred, better for brewing two cups for yourself and a camping partner while enjoying the brisk morning air next to the crackle of a fire. I included a photo of the kettle I use to show that I recommend NOT buying a nice stainless steel kettle to make coffee on an open fire. It is going to get covered with ash and soot, and the handle most likely melted if it has any plastic on it. This kettle was $5 from a thrift store.

Give yourself at least a liter of purified water, or at least water that does not obviously smell like sulfur or having a greenish tint from the nearby swamp.
Bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute to kill any bacteria.
Dose 25 grams of coffee in to your hand grinder. On a Porlex grinder I used the 12 setting (12 clicks from all the way closed)
Rinse Aeropress with paper filter with hot water.
Dose your coffee, pour in 140 grams of water, and then stir for 10 seconds. The timer should read about 20 seconds by now – quickly insert the plunger at a slight angle, and then in a small motion push the plunger back up-right. This allows the vacuum in the Aeropress to be created while losing minimal liquid from the brewer.
At 50 seconds, remove the plunger and stir for 20 seconds. Replace plunger using same method.
After 20 seconds of resting (time should read 1:30), begin pressing down on plunger for a total of 20 seconds at constant pressure until you hear the hissing sound. This means all available brewing liquid has been expunged.
Divide the \”concentrate\” between both cups. Each cup should have 55-60 grams of concentrate Aeropress coffee in it.
Dilute each cup with 120 grams of water. You can use hot or cold water for this dilution. Alternatively you can add 120 grams of ice instead of water to make a flash-chilled ice coffee.

Next, I wanted to give a brief overview on the idea of freezing coffee beans as requested from a few members. For the first few years of my coffee career this was a huge no-no. I never really understood the science behind it but I was an amateur and trusted the \”professionals\”. Now I believe it is an extremely helpful tool to store coffee beans that I am excited about trying but that I will not be able to get to because of a surplus of open bags at the moment.

First rule, never freeze a bag of already opened coffee. The vent on any bag is one-way, meaning it lets air/gases escape but does not let anything in. Once the bag is opened, you are allowing outside oxygen to mix with the oils that naturally occur from roasting. Once this is frozen and unfrozen, the humidity from the air will attack the beans by dulling the flavors and allow other food in the freezer to flavor the coffee beans. No raw chicken flavored coffee please.

Next, do not re-freeze coffee ever. This has to do with the bean\’s temperature range rapidly fluctuating too often and can change the coffee\’s acidic compounds.

I personally seal the actual bag of coffee inside another sealed plastic bag for extra protection just in case the bag is torn or a poor air-vent design. If you do or do not do this, it is important to freeze and un-freeze the coffee the same way. If you do double seal, take the entire double-sealed coffee bag out of freezer and let it thaw for at least 12 hours before opening. Coffee beans take a long time to change temperature and will brew completely wonky if still cold.

I hope all of this material is helpful and do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or possible holes in my descriptions.

– Dylan

August Coffee: Kafferaven Per Nordby

Happy August everyone. This month we are trying coffees from Kafferaven Per Nordby from Gothenburg, Sweden. I love this roaster for many reasons – mostly involving the dedication to direct trade. All of Kafferaven\’s coffees are direct trade, coming from only a handful of countries to make sure the focus on producers is always there. With this business model, Per is able to guarantee the producers worked meticulously to produce superbly high quality coffees in a sustainable way, growing each year to make better coffees and create a healthier world. You might notice that all of the coffees were roasted earlier this month; this was something I intentionally made sure of to ensure the first cup of any of the coffees I chose this month were rested well enough. When I first started working with Kafferaven I noticed that unlike other roasters, the coffees NEED to rest for 10-14 days before drinking. So I saved you all the trouble and confusion of going through the gassy flavors that I initially went through in order to taste their full potential. Now let\’s talk about the coffees!

First up is the coffee that almost everyone received – Kenya Gachuiro.

Per and his family with owners of Gachuiro factory

Earlier this year before the pandemic started, Per moved his family to Kenya for what was supposed to be six months, to build a stronger network of coffee producers with the wet mills and co-ops in Kenya. This trip had to be cut short due to travel restrictions. This coffee ended up being from one of the best washing stations Per met with and he became so impressed that he made sure to release this product first. Gachuiro is one out of four wet mills in Kiama cooperative located close to Karatina town in Nyeri. Gachuiro has 480 members, fairly evenly divided between male and female. Manager Ephraim and machine operator Leonard work close with the rest of the staff to ensure a high quality. Cherries are sorted and pulped the same day as picking. Fermentation takes 14-18 hours and water is circulated every 6 hours. Post-fermentation coffee is soaked 24 hours before being dried on tables for 10-14 days. Right away when I brought the cup to my nose I knew I was going to love it. So floral and sweet smelling. On first sip I tasted hibiscus, blackberry and other tart tropical fruits. I ground it slightly coarser than normal and used a 15:1 water to coffee ratio with just two pulses (30 s bloom, first pour from 30-50 s, second pour from 70-90 s) and a total brew time of 2:30.

The second coffee is Costa Rica Yemersons. This coffee has been around for a bit longer, but the profile is so clean and sweet. This coffee is more of a crowd pleaser – something your dark roast loving uncle might like but also something I can enjoy every day. It is a honey processed Catuai from the Yemerson family, a family that has been producing coffee for generations. The current farm is 32 years old and was created with the marriage of Yemerson\’s parents, as Yermerson\’s grandfathers, don Victor and don Julio, both had farms that they merged into one. He tells us they are also the source of Yemerson\’s passion. Yemerson built his micro-mill in 2018, and this coffee is his second export. I brewed this one with a 16.5:1 ratio to help clean up the full body. I ground it slightly finer than I usually start with and used three pulses (25-30 s bloom, first pour from 30-40 s, second pour from 70-80 s, third pour from 110-120 s) and ended with a 2:45 brew time. This created a rich cup with a lot of caramel, brown sugar, banana, and a soft floral finish.

Next, the Burundi Nyinya. Nyinya is a natural processed 100% Bourbon coffee from a group of growers in the northern province of Ngozi. More than 1533 farming families from 20 nearby coffee hills deliver their cherries to Nyinya. While women make up only one third of the producers who contributed to this coffee, they are without question the thread that holds coffee farming communities together in Burundi. They work incredibly hard; hand tilling the soil, growing, harvesting, sorting and hauling multiple crops, not just coffee. And they often do all of this with a baby on their back or a child at their hip. I brewed this coffee with a 16:1 ratio with a faster pour using two pulses (30 s bloom, first pour from 30-45s, second pour from 75-90s) and ended with a 2:40 brew time. The brew is wildly fruity, I don\’t even think I can articulate the flavors. The finish was all dark chocolate. I am sure as this one ages it will clean up.

Lastly, is La Picona. Not many people received this coffee as I am nervous getting people into Nicaraguan coffees. It takes a fairly specific palate, although not an advanced one, to enjoy them. I exclusively buy Nicaraguan coffees from Kafferaven, as their Nicaraguans are some of the best I have ever had. Also, not many other roasters I work with buy green from there as the quality can be a gamble. Per works with several farmers in Nicaragua and while I don\’t always find I like all of them, I usually am impressed by something. The chocolatey, tobacco flavors mixed with fruity undertones just make me smile. This coffee specifically is grown by Samuel Zavala in the Dipilto region, close to Honduran border. Zavala is known for his obsession with the Maracaturra variety, a large hybrid varietal crossed between Maragogype and Caturra. La Picona happens to be a Natural processed Maracaturra. I found this coffee to have some funk when hot. Not gross earthy funk, but some obviously fermented flavors that would not be for everyone, which is why I purchased so few bags of this. However as it cools a sweet tart flavor comes out with a cinnamon finish so definitely let it relax after brewing. I used a 16.5:1 ratio and had to grind much finer than the typical brew because of the incredibly low bean density (notice how the beans sound like sea shells?). I used three pulses for this one but next time I brew it I\’ll experiment going coarser and using as many pulses as humanly possible to get more sweetness and cut down earthiness. To extract more funk I would suggest extending the brew time longer, and for more clean fruit I would go finer and brew it faster.

Enjoy!

July Coffee: April Brings Ethiopia Varietal Transplanted to Ecuador

Another month of quarantine passes us by, another month of interesting and fresh coffees for us to drink. I decided on April this month for a few reasons. First off, why not. April always has a full range of coffees that I would feel comfortable buying without trying or knowing anything about beforehand. Each green coffee is meticulously tasted and rated on quality before being purchased and they have an extremely progressive take on direct trade. Secondly, I choose them because of the actual coffees they have in inventory right now. Let\’s jump in.

The Ethiopia Varietal Pillcocaja was the coffee I was most excited about so I made sure everyone in Stimulus Coffee Club was able to get a bag. This is the 5th or 6th lot from the Pillcocaja farm roasted by April, and those lucky enough to try the very first lot (Red Honey Typica) at Purple Llama back in March should understand the hype around these lots. This experiment of transplanting Ethiopian Varietals to South America is sort of new/modern and so far has been a beautiful experiment. While I was not familiar with this farm before April introduced me, the respect for them was instantaneous. In this coffee I tasted dark chocolate and raspberry. I was looking for the citrus notes that I was expecting to find but did not. I ground this coffee finer than usual and poured in three segments. I used 17 grams of coffee, then bloomed with 40 grams, then poured to 110 grams, then 180 grams, then finally to 270 grams. This was a 16:1 ratio and a 2:50 brew time. I would recommend starting at a lower ratio like 15.5:1, as my cup had lost some of the bounce I was expecting. UPDATE: I made this coffee again after letting it rest, I ground it much finer than first try and used a 16.5:1 ratio. This brought out so much more sweetness, florality, and cleaned up the cup. I am now a huge fan.
Next, the Kenya Kamwangi. I know some of you are obsessed with Kenyan coffees and I knew this one would be excellent. Similar to last month\’s Kenyan Coffee from SEY, this coffee was grown in the Kirinyaga region as well. The Kamwangi is especially known for less traditional Kenyan coffee flavors typically, with more rhubarb and tartness than the typical honey/grapefruit. While I do love the classic Kenya profile, I love uniqueness and flavor variability more. I used a 15.5:1 ratio for this one, with only two segments. After a 40 gram bloom, I poured to 160 grams, then to 250 grams for a 3:00 brew time.
Lastly, I decided to bring back the Burundi Nyabihanga. This coffee is just delightful. I was selling this coffee and brewing it on v60 at Purple Llama back in February. It was fantastic then, and upon confirmation from April\’s owner/founder/roaster that the profile has held up and aged perfectly, I knew it would be a great coffee to use to round out the offerings this month. This coffee has a classic Burundi profile but with April twist (more crisp clarity than earthiness). If you have the ability to make espresso at home, I recommend using this coffee, as it brings out the tart lime and orange flavors. For filter brewing, I would grind it similar to the Ecuador Pillcocaja. I recommend extending the brew time on this one as well; I think it brings out the juicy flavors. Brew the Burundi with the same number of pulses as the Ecuador as well, and it should yield a longer brew time because of the higher bean density. Use a 16:1 ratio to start.

Remember, all of my brewing recommendations shall be seen as starting points since everyone is using a different method, with a different grinder, and different water. As always, reference my \”How I Brew\” post on how to scale up when using an automatic/batch brewer.

I hope you enjoy these coffees and I recommend reading the April blog or watching his videos on brewing. He has excellent insight on why coffee does the things it does when you add hot water. You can find that here if you\’re interested: April Blog

Lastly, lets get a discussion going! Please comment your thoughts on the coffee or a good method to make them to help others (including me) make better coffee at home and also refine the offerings for each month.

June Coffee: SEY

This month I bring SEY Coffee from Brooklyn, NY to you. This is a roaster anyone that has been in Purple Llama at any point in the last three years has surely tried. They are one of the first roasters I brought on when I started my role there, and they never gave me a reason to stop buying coffee from them. I chose them this month specifically as they always shine the brightest late spring/early summer. It is a time when the fresh Ethiopians come in, and the small Colombian micro-lots are coming to an end.

I chose three different coffees to present, dispersed to each person based on their stated origins of preference and feedback on the last order. Again, providing feedback helps me specialize each order. Here is information on each of them:

Colombia El Placer –

This is the third coffee I have personally tried from El Placer farm this year. The El Placer farm is owned by Jesus Saavedra, one of my absolute favorite coffee producers in Colombia. This is the last lot from Saavedra\’s high elevation farm (2100 MASL) SEY is featuring this year. This coffee is 100% Castillo and has a slightly earthy fragrance that kind of resembles sweet corn. The flavors are spiced strawberry and tropical fruits. Acidity on this coffee is slightly higher than a typical Colombian coffee: I used a 15:1 coffee to water ratio and did my \”Normal speed\” brew. This means a standard grind with bloom and then two pulses. Finishing at a 2:45 brew time. I finished pouring at around 1:45.
Kenya Karindundu –

A Kenyan coffee from SEY is not always an expectation each year. Since they are so dedicated on traceability and direct relationships, Kenya can be a tricky origin to work with. What we know about this lot, is that it was grown in Kirinyaga and processed at the Gatomboya Washing Station. The varietals are very typical: SL28, SL34, Batian, and Ruiru 11. While some people are opinionated on their Kenyan varietals, I am not. I have never found a Kenyan Coffee with Ruiru 11 or Batian to be of lesser quality than a \”pure\” SL28 or SL34. Like many other roasters, SEY is nervous about the future of Kenyan coffee as the soil conditions are getting worse every year. Luckily this coffee reminds us why it is worth the fight to keep Kenya a strong producer of beautiful coffees. It has a big sweet mouthfeel, with flavors of honey, pastry dough, and tastes the way flowers smell. I used a 15.5:1 ratio for this one with a 2:30 brew time. I brewed this one fast, with a quick 10 second pulse. I finished pouring around 1:30.
Ethiopia Yabitu Koba –

\”This coffee is mind blowing. This Ethiopian season is going to be insane and might end up being the best Ethiopian season of my personal career. Please drink every single one of them.\” – Production crew at SEY. I don\’t know if I can specify a \”best\” at this point in my coffee career, but it is comforting knowing that the coffee that nearly every single member of Stimulus Coffee Club received has this review. Yabitu Koba comes from the famous Uraga region, known for it\’s high elevation. This coffee was grown at elevations ranging from 2160 – 2310 MASL. The flavors of this coffee are spectacular and probably my favorite of the three. I tasted lemon, lavender, sparkling grape juice, and about 100 other very bright tasting flavor compounds. I used a 15:1 ratio, with a 2:15 brew time. I used a fast pouring method, finishing my last pour around 1:25. I recommend grinding this coffee much coarser than usual because of the high density. If the brew tastes tea-like without much citrus you are grinding too fine.

As always, thanks for supporting the subscription and I hope everyone enjoys the coffees! Feel free to comment below to start a discussion on any one of these coffees. As promised, I have donated all profits from this month to three different organizations that align with my principles and the way I see the world progressing to. All three organizations: Reclaim the Block, Chicago Community Bond Fund, and Poor People\’s Campaign received a donation of $120 each. Thank you to everyone for the prompt payment to allow this to happen and EXTRA thanks to the few of you that donated extra money for this.

How I Brew

For existing members, hi again and I hope everyone has had a chance to dig into (and enjoy) the coffees I delivered last weekend. For new members, thank you for joining and I look forward to delivering some excellent coffees next month! For today’s fairly lengthy but essential discussion, I just wanted to share what some of my go-to starting brewing recommendations are.

“New” equipment – I recently acquired an Acaia scale and have been using the app to track how I am brewing and I have to say they are way better for home use than I expected. I never used them to their full potential in a service setting, cause who has time to get the app set up and save a brewing print in the middle of a rush? This is not necessarily important to brew great cups at home, but it certainly helps tracking your brewing history.

WATER – I hate talking about water, but I do have a lot of opinions on it. Here we go. The official SCA standard for water hardness is 50-175 ppm of CaCO3, which is a pretty wide range. What this means is don\’t use distilled water (0 ppm) but also don\’t use city tap water if your city has bad water. Chicago is actually at 148 ppm so technically it’s okay to use; this is because those giant industrial-ass looking machines way out in Lake Michigan are positioned far enough out to not collect the dirtier water closer to the shore. In general though, if you use any sort of filter, your water is going to end up in the recommended range. However, the most important thing is that if this number remains constant, your brew parameters will adjust around it, which is one of the many reasons I may use a different ratio with my PUR filter than someone with a full on reverse osmosis system, and even different again than someone putting their trust in the great Chicago Department of Water Management.

TEMPERATURE – Now while I have absolutely zero scientific evidence to back this up, in my experience the worse your water filtering is, the lower your temperature needs to be. At home, I use a water temperature of 92-93 C. While working at Purple Llama, I needed to use a higher water temperature of 95 C because the reverse osmosis system kept the water at around 60-70 ppm. Higher water temperature is able to extract more flavor compounds/acids from ground coffee; however, sometimes it takes undesirable acids from the grounds, especially when combined with a higher water hardness. A lower temperature with higher water hardness is how we get around undesirable flavors. Especially in coffees like the frozen cherry, which I\’m sure at a high extraction is going to give you some funky flavors.

RATIO/GRIND IN RELATION TO TDS – Next is a tricky topic that I know people in the coffee establishment won\’t agree with…how the TDS [total dissolved solids] reading from a finished brew only matters in terms of repeating a successful brew method. I was once told by a very pro-establishment coffee person that a finely ground, faster brew time and a coarser, slower brew time would make the exact same flavor coffee. This is just not true. They will have the same TDS theoretically, but based on experience, the acids and flavor compounds will be very different. Some coffees need to be ground coarser and brewed slowly (more pouring increments/pulses) and some coffees benefit from a faster brew time and finer grind. In my previous and future posts, you will see me mention a faster or slower brew time with associated grind settings. I am basing this off of how I experience tasting each coffee at different particle size and brew time. So, here’s an experiment for you: next time you make coffee, try going a little bit finer and try to complete all pouring at least 30 seconds faster than you normally do. This can be done by pouring faster and/or taking less pulses; the latter means that your pour volume per pulse should increase. Record what your drop time is and take a long pondering trip into the world of flavors. Then, next time go a couple clicks coarser than normal and do the opposite of the previous (finer grind) brew; either pour slower and/or add more pulses with less water volume per pulse. Compare this drop time to the previous faster brew. This slower brew could be about a minute longer than the faster brew. Now taste the difference. In general, the faster brew will be more delicate/tea-like with more acidity. The slower brew will have more body and more sweetness, with less pronounced fruit notes. If you’re using an immersion brew method (Clever, French Press, AeroPress) just decrease/increase steep time and disregard all mention of pulses. The differences in cup quality should still be present. So if you’ve tried the experiment for yourself, you have now tasted two drastically different tasting brews that have probably very similar TDS. Which brings me back to my point of all this: don\’t shoot for a TDS when you make your coffee. I tend to use the \”faster\” brew method for coffees with a profile similar to washed Ethiopian coffees or Kenyan coffees; something that is tasty because of brighter flavors. Sometimes this can sacrifice sweetness, however, the complexity of citrus notes and tropical fruit can become more clean and clarified. The \”slower\” brew method is what I use for coffees like the frozen cherry natural I delivered last month from Junto. Sometimes with coffees like that, if you grind too fine and brew too fast you extract the high acidity flavors and those flavors from a natural can be fermenty and iodiney. Thus, a coarser grind and slower pour will extract the desired big sweet flavors.

As always, if you have any questions/thoughts about any of this please feel free to leave a comment that I can reply to. Someone else might have the same question so better to leave a comment to help an all-around understanding as a group!

May Coffee: Junto\’s Colombian Coffee Celebration

Happy Sunday everyone!

By now you have received your very first coffee order delivered by myself or the lovely Adam Hirzel. For the first month, you may have noticed you received only Colombian coffees. Single-bag subscribers and multi-bag subscribers all received the frozen cherry natural and then the black honey. Both of these coffees come from the same producer in Colombia, Felipe Trujillo of the La Ventolera farm in the Antioquia region. From many of you, I heard the same reaction that I also had when first hearing \”frozen cherry natural\”. It is a very experimental process that I had never heard of before either. Basically, they start with a Castillo variety (common varietal in Colombia) grown at 2000 meters. After harvesting, the cherry is processed like a normal natural and fermented for 400 hours. Next is where it gets a little funky… the fermented cherries are packed in sealed plastic tanks and kept at -18° C for three days. This process in unheard of in my world at least – cutting off a natural process to do a frozen anaerobic process. The combination of the two processes creates an extremely controlled natural fermentation, keeping the nasty natural flavors from taking over. This coffee is clean, excessively sweet, and fairly acidic. Brownies on the nose, flavors of cherry ice cream, and a lingering aftertaste of chocolate chip cookies.. Here is how I brewed it:

I used a 16.5:1 ratio, and went very April Coffee Roasters style on it, brewing just 12.5 grams of coffee with 205 grams water.
Grind this one EVEN finer than the black honey listed below. By one or two clicks.
For v60, I bloomed with 2x the dry dose, and then poured to 70 grams water, and from the start of this pour, I waited 30 seconds, until 1:10, then poured to 140 grams, then waited until 1:40, and poured to 205 grams. My brew time was 2:30, although if I would have poured slower and extended the final brew time, I feel more flavors would have come out.

Frozen Coffee Cherres being removed from -18° C sealed tanks

Next is the black honey coffee that many of you also received. This varietal is Yellow Colombia, a slight variation on the also common Colombia varietal. The trees were grown almost as high as the frozen cherry, at 1900-1950 MASL, and then harvested once cherries are ripened. What is interesting about this farm, is that not all cherries are picked upon perfect ripening. For this coffee, 70% of the lot was harvested at peak ripeness, 20% over-ripe (imagine a wilting strawberry), and 10% under-ripe. Again, this is not something that is super common, and definitely not something that is commonly shared. This coffee has more tropical berry notes, chocolate, and tartness. Here is how I brewed it:

I used a 16:1 ratio, using 20 grams of coffee, and 320 grams of water.
Grind slightly finer than your normal \”go-to\” starting grind.
I used a v60, and after blooming, I used two pours. 50 gram bloom, then poured to 200 grams, then poured to 320 grams. My brew time was 2:45.

From both of these coffees, I can tell that what is happening at Trujillo\’s farm is very advanced. If anyone remembers when I brought on a coffee from Trujillo roasted by Workshop Coffee (London), it was super sweet, and just a washed Colombia varietal coffee. Junto was able to work with him and find these two rare, unique coffees and I am so happy I was able to share them with you for the first month. Lastly, a few of you also received a coffee from the Copa Suacena competition that the Junto owner/roaster took part in judging. It is a competition from producers in Sauza region, and Junto was able to get coffees from 1st-5th place. Currently, 5th and 4th were available. 4th place was much more expensive and I would have had to do a special order for people interested. I talked with the roaster, and they told me that the 5th place actually had more fun flavor notes, reminding them more of a washed Ethiopia, with tasting notes of Currant, Lime, and Rooibos. Whereas the 4th place coffee is a much more classic Colombia, with more brown sugar and chocolate notes; what I would refer to as \”a great basic\”. I was not able to personally try the 5th place coffee I delivered, but please comment below if you received it and found a great way to brew it. Likewise, please feel free to comment on ANY of the coffees shared this month and your thoughts on tasting, brewing, or even what worked/didn\’t work for making this subscription service seamless.

– Dylan