Dear coffee subscriber,
It is the end of the year and to celebrate the Christmas holiday, we are sending out some of our best tasting coffees from the 2025 harvest.
We would also like to thank you for your loyalty throughout the year and from all of us at Tim Wendelboe we wish you a great holiday and we hope you will enjoy this month’s coffees.
Gachatha - Christmas Edition (1st & 4th bag)
Flavour notes
Blackcurrants, blackberries & raisins
Producer
Several smallholder farmers
Harvest
December 2024
Origin
Nyeri, Kenya
Process
Washed
Cultivar
SL28, SL34, Batian & Ruiru 11
I have visited the Gachatha wet mill several times, and even though it looks like most wet mills in Nyeri, it has proven to be one of the best producers of high-quality coffees in the area over many years — at least in my opinion. Although the wet mill mainly takes care of the processing and drying of the coffees delivered by its members/farmers, a well-run wet mill is fundamental in producing high-quality coffee year after year. Apart from processing and drying the coffees well, the co-operative provides extensive training to its farmers. There is even a small demonstration plot at the wet mill where the members receive training in good agricultural practices. The co-operative also grows seedlings of both coffee trees and shade trees that are distributed to its members.
Although most members are still growing the traditional SL28 and SL34 cultivars, we know that they have been planting the new hybrid cultivars Ruiru 11 and a lot of Batian in recent years. Still, the coffee from Gachatha has the recognisable, intense fruity flavours you can expect from the traditional SL cultivars.
This lot from the 2024/2025 harvest was among the best I tasted in Kenya while I was there to purchase coffees in February. Expect very intense fruity flavours ranging from ripe blackberries, blackcurrants, raisins, and rhubarb to sometimes even raspberries. I love drinking this refreshing Kenyan coffee after heavy Christmas dinners.
As always, I do not really have any particular criteria for selecting Christmas Edition coffees other than that the coffee itself needs to be among the best we have in stock. It is no secret that everyone in our team loves a great Kenyan coffee, myself included. As this was one of the best lots we bought from Kenya this year, I believe it makes a perfect coffee for the holidays and also a nice gift for someone who loves coffee.
A little brewing tip is to grind this coffee slightly coarser than normal, as it is very easy to extract. If you feel that the coffee is a bit strong or even tastes a bit savoury, try diluting it ever so slightly with a dash of clean, soft water.
Nacimiento Pacas - Christmas Edition (2nd & 5th bag)
Flavour notes
Winey, forest berries & cacao nibs
Producer
Jobneel Caceres Dios
Harvest
April – May 2025
Origin
El Cielito, Santa Barbara, Honduras
Process
Washed
Cultivar
Pacas
For a long time, we have asked Jobneel to separate his coffees by cultivar and harvest date. As a result, we have not only gotten coffees with different flavour profiles due to the variations in cultivars, but we have also noticed that the flavour intensity tends to increase from the start of the harvest in January/February towards the end of the harvest in June. This is most likely because the later pickings are harvested from the higher altitudes on the farm.
This lot consists of pickings from the later part of the harvest at Nacimiento in 2025. Most of the coffee comes from the higher part of the farm, which means it has more intense ripe and fruity flavours. This is probably because the higher elevations translate into longer ripening times for the coffee cherries. I also believe that the cherries from the higher part contain more mucilage, which changes the fermentation dynamics; hence, you might get some positive winey flavours from prolonged fermentations.
This is a great example of a washed Pacas cultivar from the Santa Barbara mountains in Honduras, a region famous for its many Cup of Excellence winning Pacas coffees. It is a very clean coffee with medium intense notes of sweet, ripe berries and a long finish of cacao nibs.
I don’t have any particular criteria for selecting Christmas Edition coffees other than that the coffee itself needs to be among the best we have in stock. The late-harvest coffees from Nacimiento are always among my favourites, and this coffee has everything I love about the Pacas coffees from Jobneel. That is why I believe it is a perfect coffee for the holidays and also a nice gift for someone who loves coffee.
Finca el Puente Geisha (3rd & 6th bag)
Flavour notes
Sweet mandarin, jasmine & honey
Producer
Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest
March 2025
Origin
Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process
Washed
Cultivar
Geisha
The Geisha cultivar is famous for its floral and citric cup profile, and this award-winning coffee from Marysabel and Moises is no exception. Unlike the Panamanian Geishas, which typically have a light-bodied cup, this Honduran grown Geisha has a heavier mouthfeel, slightly lower acidity intensity, and a subtle herbal finish. As with last year, Moises separated all pickings from his Geisha trees, and I was fortunate to be able to select my favourite lots. This particular lot is from the end of their 2025 picking period and has a bit more intensity than the earlier pickings.
Despite extremely challenging weather conditions, with excessive rain and even some nights of frost during the harvest, Marysabel and Moises were able to produce clean and aromatic Geisha this year as well. Moises said that almost 50% of the beans had frost damage and had to be sorted out. Fortunately, they have their own dry mill, so they were able to run the coffee through the different sorting stages several times until it met both their and our quality standards.
When I am brewing this coffee with a V60 or filter coffee method, I sometimes experience a bit slow drawdown time during brewing (time for water to filter through the coffee). If you have the same experience , I recommend that you do not grind coarser to compensate for this but rather let it take some more time to make sure the coffee is extracted well. Since this coffee is lightly roasted, you will get a more balanced brew even if you have longer brew times. In fact I personally would grind this coffee slight finer than for example the Catuaí from Finca el Puente to make sure I get the most sweetness, fruity and floral flavours out of this coffee.