I’m afraid it’s just me this month sitting in front of the camera in the latest “Tasting with Friends” subscription video. Or should I say: “Tasting *without* Friends” this month. I’ve been so busy travelling around Colombia the last few weeks I did not have time to invite anyone to join me. Hope that is alright with you. Anyway, luckily I know quite a fair bit about the coffees in your package this month – some from Colombia and some from Honduras. Watch the video here to find out things like:
– what’s more important – seasonality or freshness?
– what do we do with our coffee that is not 100% perfect?
– what does “screen size” mean?
– why separate coffees by screen size?
As always, feel free to leave any comments or questions on youtube/instagram/facebook if you want to know more about these coffees or our monthly subscription service.
Filter & Espresso
Finca Tamana Caturra Screen 17+ (Big), Colombia 1 bag, 2 bags, 3 bags
Producer: Elias Roa
Harvest: July-August 2018
Origin: El Pital, Huila, Colombia
Cultivar: Caturra
Process: Washed
Flavour notes: Stone fruit, brown sugar & red berries
Elias still has some Caturra planted at Finca Tamana. Caturra is the traditional variety that used to be grown by almost every farmer in Colombia until the country started getting severe attacks by the pathogenic fungus leaf rust that basically eats away the coffee tree’s leaves. This lead to most farmers re-planting with resistant varieties like the Variedad Colombia and Castillo, which in my opinion still taste really good, but different from the Caturra. Elias also had severe leaf rust attacks on his Caturra over the last few years and the trees have finally recovered from several years of misery. Last year we finally had great tasting Caturras again on the farm and although we are helping Elias re-plant with other rare and interesting varieties, we have decided to keep some Caturra in order to preserve what used to be. This coffee is quite subtle with fruity berry and stone fruit notes and loads of sweetness like you find in brown sugar and molasses or the Colombian «panela» which basically is reduced, solidified and sometimes caramelised sugar cane juice. We have decided to send out two versions of this coffee to our subscribers this month. Everyone will get the large screen size (big beans) which has slight more acidity and fruity character than the smaller screen size (smaller beans) which we are sending out to the 3 bag subscribers. For more info about this coffee, check out our subscription video of the month.
Caballero <<Los Cipreses>>, Honduras 2 bags, 3 bags
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: March 2018
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Cultivar: Catuaí
Process: Washed
Flavour notes: Plums, chocolate & bell pepper
This is yet another one of the very sweet Catuaí coffees from Moises Herrera and Marysabel Caballero. This particular coffee was grown on one of their highest elevated farms named «Cipreses» because of all the Cypress trees planted as wind breakers on that farm. What is interesting with this coffee is that they have experimented with growing the coffee with no pesticides and with little use of mineral fertilizer and instead use compost cow manure and coffee pulp to improve the soil on the farm. It is not certified organic but you can say that it is grown with inspiration from organic practices. I am not sure we can taste the difference but the coffee is for sure as sweet as their other Catuaí coffees and hopefully we will be able to help Moises and Marysabel convert into even more organic-like farming in the future.
Finca Tamana Screen 15+16 (Small), Colombia 3 bags
Producer: Elias Roa
Harvest: July-August 2018
Origin: El Pital, Huila, Colombia
Cultivar: Caturra
Process: Washed
Flavour notes:
Stone fruit, brown sugar & herbal
This is the same coffee as above but a smaller screen size (smaller beans).
As always, we hope you enjoy these coffees as much as we have had sourcing and roasting them for you. In the meantime, feel free to check out our website for more brewing tips and techniques.
Cheers,
Tim