Your Coffee Subscription – June 2022

Flavour notes: Winey, red fruits & mango
Producer: Jobneel Caceres Dios
Harvest: May 2021
Origin: El Cielito, Santa Barbara, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Pacas

This is the last harvest lot from Nacimiento in 2021 which means it is harvested from the higher part of Jobneel’s farm. Because of the higher altitude on the farm, the cherries ripen slower as there is less sun due to the clouds gathering and cooler climate at the top of the mountain where this coffee is grown.

In our experience the coffees from the highest part and latest pickings are always the most flavour-intense from Nacimiento. This coffee is very expressive and open with loads of stone fruit and winey red berry flavours.

Flavour notes: Rose hips, hibiscus & blackcurrants
Producer: Several smallholder farmers 
Harvest: December 2020
Origin: Nyeri, Kenya
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28, SL34, Batian & Ruiru 11

The coffees from Karogoto are always super clean and have an intense fruity and floral flavour. This is most likely because most of the members / farmers are still growing the SL28 cultivar and have received a lot of agricultural training over the years.

The climatic conditions also contribute to the coffees intensity. The cool nights and moderately hot days slow down the ripening process and gives a very sweet, intense and unique coffee.

The 2020 harvest from Karogoto is very similar to the 2019 harvest with a vibrant acidity and a distinct flavour profile reminiscent of rose hips and hibiscus. The consistent quality of this coffee year after year shows that Karogoto is a very well managed wet mill much thanks to Ephraim, the wet-mill manager, who has been in charge of processing this coffee for many years.

Ephraim has a great attention to detail which I think contributes to this coffee’s remarkable cleanliness and refreshing acidity which are some of the attributes I love about this coffee. We thought it would be fun to send this out so that you can compare it to the fresh crop Kenyan coffees that we will most likely be sending out next month.

Flavour notes: Sweet mandarin, jasmine and honey
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: February 2021
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process: Honey
Cultivar: Geisha 

Four years ago Moises decided to do a small batch of honey processed Geisha for us. For those of you who are not familiar with this process, Honey process is where the coffee cherries are de-pulped and the parchment coffee is taken directly to be dried on raised drying beds with the mucilage still on the parchment coffee. It is sort of a process in between Natural process (coffee cherries are dried with the parchment coffee inside)  and washed coffees (cherries are de-pulped and the mucilage is removed from the parchment coffee either through fermentation and washing or with a mechanical mucilage remover before it is dried.) 

Normally we are not the biggest fan of this way of processing because when it is not done with special care you tend to get a slightly more rough cup and with off-flavours from uncontrolled fermentation during drying. But when I blind tasted a test batch of honey processed Geisha among the washed processed lots while visiting in Marcala in March 2018, I was surprised to learn that it was a honey processed coffee. It was so vibrant and clean with even more intense acidity and flavours than the washed lots. Expect an intense mandarin flavour with floral notes and a herbal finish. 

Please note that when brewing this coffee with a filter method like V60, Kalita or Wilfa, the drawdown time (time for the water to pass through the coffee) can be a bit longer than what you are used to. A big mistake is to then grind a lot coarser as this will make the coffee taste thin, sour and bitter.
For best results make sure your brew water is as hot as possible, straight from the boil from your kettle. I also recommend not stirring a lot in the slurry as this makes the fine particles fall down faster and clog up the filter. Also make sure you grind the coffee like you would with the other coffees we are sending out or even better – slightly finer. Good luck and hope you will enjoy this coffee.

Flavour notes: Oolong tea & floral
Producer: Elias Roa
Harvest: June – July 2021
Origin: El Pital, Huila, Colombia
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Java

This is the first harvest we have of the Java cultivar from Finca Tamana. I brought some Java seeds from the Caballero family in Honduras and planted them together with Elias at Finca Tamana in 2016.

Since then we have been waiting patiently for the trees to produce enough coffee for us to be able to buy and import to Norway. This is the first year we have enough to be able to sell and I am quite pleased with the results of this coffee. I find it even more distinct than the Java from the Caballeros, so for those of you who love that coffee, this will be a real treat. Expect distinct flavours of oolong tea with floral notes and a sweet malty finish.

Flavour notes: Dark chocolate, red apples & orange peel
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: February 2021
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Pacamara

This is another Pacamara cultivar, but grown across the boarder from El Salvador in Chinacla, la Paz, Honduras by our dear friends Marysabel and Moises Caballero.

In 2018 we won the Pacamara category in the Nordic Roaster Competition with the Pacamara coffee from the Caballeros and it helped us win the overall competition. I believe it was because of the exceptional sweetness that this coffee displays along with the interesting Pacamara flavours that helped us win.

The 2021 harvest of the Pacamara from Marysabel and Moises was a bit more subtle in the flavour profile. I find it to have a sweet flavour of orange peel with subtle notes of red apples. It also has a rich mouthfeel with chocolaty notes similar to the Catuaí cultivars that they are so well known for.