ABANDON COFFEE

Since this coming weekend is Mother’s Day, I will be sharing some photos with you all through the week with a bit about my amazing wife, the mother of my two kids. I was contacted by GroVia, the company who’s cloth diapers we use on both of our kids, to do a cross promotion giveaway. It turned into a fun group of shoots with my beautiful wife and my two gorgeous kids, and I was able to bring Seattle Coffee Gear on board to sweeten the (vac) pot!

So here we have it, the essential Moms Need Coffee Mother’s Day package.

A GroVia Part Time Package (6 Shells, 12 Soaker Pads), 2 lbs. Red Bird Coffee Beans, and a Mom’s Dream Coffee Gift Set courtesy of Seattle Coffee Gear (6-cup Chemex, coffee bean grinder, and filters).

What you’ll need to enter can be found at the Rafflecopter thingy below, but please stay tuned and interact with us through the week, and share with us who is amazing in your life. Also, keep in mind Seattle Coffee Gear is running some promo coupons for a mom in your life, but they end TODAY! (So go buy her an entire cabinet of Acme Cups)

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Not everyone is an uber coffee nerd, and that is completely okay.  One of the best things you can get someone you know would be a gift card to their local coffee shop or coffee place.  It could be anywhere from Dunkin Donuts to Tim Hortons to Onyx Coffee Lab.  It promotes local, and allows them to get what they want, and what they will drink.  One word of caution, try and make sure it is a shop they have or would visit, as no one wants to admit it when they see wasted money to a shop they’d never frequent.

If you want to step it up a bit, again don’t feel like you need to get them some crazy chemistry set.  For the coffee drinker on the go, I’d suggest the Keep Cup Brew ($24 - 8oz, $26 - 12oz), or even a Klean Kanteen ($~25).  Various roasters even brand their own, like the pictured Stumptown one, so feel free to explore.

If you want something a bit more homey but still think drinkware is the way to go,  I can think of no better than a set of mugs from Acme and Co ($30 for a pair of cappuccino sized).  In my experience, these have been some of the most comfortable mugs to drink out of, however I know sometimes finding a distributor of them can be a bit problematic.  Second in line would be a set of Not Neutral mugs ($36 for a pair of cappuccino sized), and conveniently they are sold in sets.  

Want to go even more handmade than that?  A Ben Medansky hand thrown handleless mug ($50) is sure to catch their eye.  A few other designs can even be found at Go Get Em Tiger in LA.  

  For the exploring coffee drinker, I may even suggest an inexpensive 33 Cups of Coffee journal ($5).  They can keep track of what they are drinking and brewing, and start picking out trends of what it is they enjoy in various coffees.

  If your coffee drinking friend or family member definitely is a home brewer, figure out what device or devices they have, and grab a new set of filters.  Filters are the one thing a home brewer never gets tired of having, especially if they run into one of those moments when they have their heart set on a V60 to find out they are out of filters. (check out prima-coffee.com)

  If you want to surprise your loved one with a new brewer, it could be best to gauge what level of coffee geekery they are.

  For someone just getting into coffee, I’d suggest the Clever Coffee Dripper ($19).  You can pick up filters at any store, it takes no special kettle to prep, and is incredibly simple to use.

  For someone who is into pourover, I’d suggest the NotNeutral Gino Dripper ($24).  Continuously brewing with this guy through the year, I’ve loved it’s consistent results from cup to cup (both measured and tasted) and it also has a great tolerance for user error.

  If you really want to step up the cost, you could go with the new Wilfa Precision Coffee Maker ($250-330), something I was wanting to pick up for the guys at my office.  This would be a good “pot” brewer for someone who wants a better machine to brew better coffee for a Keurig, but isn’t really looking to dive into manual brewing.

  For someone head over into manual brewing, I’m fairly certain you’d shock them if they opened up The Dragon Brewer from La Colombe ($395).  It’s a manual siphon, something incredibly unique albeit a bit like drug paraphernalia, yet produces some of the best cups I’ve ever made.  This does come with a travel case, Hario Scale, Filters, and sleeves of La Colombe coffee as well.    

So let’s say your coffee drinking friend is definitely in this whole world of science coffee.  What then?  Well, if they are the artsy type, you might settle for one of these prints by Department of Brewology (~$35).  Several different brews beautiful described and designed, one sure to suit that special coffee guru.

  To take their geekery to the next level, I might suggest a Thermapen ($96).  The pro to this is it isn’t just for coffee.  I initially bought one to easily take the temperature when brewing a siphon, but it’s quick response has been just as handy for kettle temp checks to checking the chicken while I’m grilling.  

For a lower cost option, the ThemoPop ($29) would also do the trick, but with the display not forming a right angle like the Thermapen, some uses are a little less than ideal, but it’s 1/3 the cost, so there’s that.

  If your coffee drinking friend is in need of a scale for proper dosing and brewing, I have absolutely loved the minimal design of the Acaia Pearl Coffee Scale ($129).  

On a budget, I’d look no further than the AWS SC-2KG ($15).  Small, portable, quick reading.  I use both of these scales every single day.  

  If your coffee drinking friend brews on a pourover device like a melitta, bonmac, hario V60, or kalita wave, you can go no wrong with this beautiful Hario Olive Wood Server ($50).  It’s an attractive range server, but the lid also sits recessed a bit, allowing less heat to escape.

  If your coffee drinker does regularly use a Chemex, think about one of these inexpensive Heat Lids from Able Brewing ($10).

  For the coffee drinker that uses an Aeropress, also look to Able Brewing for a Travel Cap ($10) to contain filters and such inside while transporting.  

  There are is whole slew of coffee and roaster related clothing to choose from, so it’s hard for me specifically to select, especially if your coffee drinker has never heard of the company.  Regardless, I figured I’d plug some of my favorites for this particular season:

Able Brewing

Tanager Coffee

Novel Coffee Roasters

Finally, I want to say that buying coffee beans is a double edge sword.  On one hand it’s awesome to surprise someone with a set of beans, the downside is a lot of coffee nerds might get hung up on roast date.  Solution? Well, depending on how much you want to spend you could consider starting a subscription for someone.  

Some quick names that easily come to mind would be Counter Culture, Mistobox, Ruby Roasters, Heart Roasters here in the US.  Want to give your coffee nerd a real treat?  Kaffebox or Budin NYC give you access to Nordic/Scandinavian style of roasting, something not as easily accessed here in the States.  If you aren’t from the States, Kaffebox is still probably my top favorite right now.  

  So, maybe this helps or maybe this doesn’t help, and I’d love to discuss more of anything in detail if anyone else wants help deciding for a particular person, but in my realm of coffee consumption any of these suggestions would be welcomed and enjoyed.

(this excerpt was taken from the offering by Velton's Coffee)

What's interesting is that it is very rare to see a natural, or dry processed coffee come out of Kenya. The natural processing gives what is already a fruit-forward coffee an even "fruitier-yet" overall taste profile. As if the interesting nature of the processing wasn't enough, the uniqueness of this particular varietal itself lends more to the story.

This unique varietal is a look back into the past. French Mission is an original Bourbon varietal that was introduced by French Missionaries in the late 1800's. Over 76 centimeters of rain a year, combined with the deep red volcanic soil and temperatures of 22 to 28 degrees Celsius, come together to provide the perfect conditions for this coffee to express its genetic treasures.

The Harries family has been growing coffee for almost a century. The family has donated more than 50 acres of land to the Thika Municipal Council and co-founded the Wabeni Technical Institute. This institute seeks to teach underprivileged children practical skills that can help them make a living; e.g. dress making, motor mechanics, and carpentry.

  Details:

Roaster: Topeca Coffee Roasters

Region: Central Province, Thika, Kenya

Farm: Chania Estate

Process: Natural

Varietal: French Mission

Elevation: 1525m

I’m going to preface this by saying I don’t know how much weight to put into the extractions of this cup.  When talking with Mitchell at Topeca, I’m fairly certain he mentioned readings tend to be wonky.  Let us continue.  

  The Dragon | 20g (c) to 310g (w) | 1:15 add outer water |  3:15 begin plunge | 4:00 end time  | 207 degrees | 1.45 TDS | 23.80% Ext. (Immersion mode)

To be quite honest, the first sips are almost offensive on the palate.  You have to take a step back and start to digest everything that is being thrown at you, because there is a ton.

On one side, you have a cup layered with rich and winey characteristics- blackberry compote, strawberry preserves, huckleberry, sour cherry, dark honey and dark chocolate.   Then, the Hyde to your Jekyll, on the other you have this green apple acidity lighting the cup on fire with dense grape jam sweetness.   To be honest, it sort of reminds me of hot pepper jelly, giving both radically savory and slightly vegetal moments and brief, brief moments of sanity.  

This can be said- it is immensely clean, lively, round, and voluptuous.  It dances on elements of earthiness, woodiness, tartness and sweetness. The cooler moments, while brandy-soaked fruits still come to mind, it begins to leave syrupy caramel notes on the tongue.

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 3:50 total time | 202 degrees | 1.45 TDS | 21.33% Ext.

Gosh, what a crazy, crazy coffee.  It arrives with one of the brightest green apple notes I've ever come across- like a green apple loaded with warheads, and almost a pungent and complex following that is hard to distinguish but is winey, slightly juicy, and a bit drying on the finish. To break that down a bit more specifically, it is intensely sweet on the front, a palpable sweetness reminiscent of cotton candy, with blackberry wine, dense strawberry reduction, and a slightly drying mouthfeel that is both characteristic of that wine note but also exists more specifically like grape skin.

The body is interesting. It seems to arrive a bit juicy, thinner than you would think for a natural, but then it just slathers it on and creates this blanket of soft syrupy goodness across the palate.

It still seems to carry vegetal characteristics underneath, this time I seem to pick up fire roasted corn most prominently.  It's such an interesting cup. If you drink this one too fast, or too quickly between sips, you'll easily gloss over its most interesting notes and only get those most forward.  Leaving the sips to linger on the palate, at least for me mid-cup, is giving these interesting drifts of vanilla bean, cedar, and hops.  Later those notes also give up molasses, juicy ribeye steak, and caramel malt.

The notes slightly release in their intensity and create a really captivating and syrupy finish in the end of the cup, drenched in flavor, effortlessly soaking the palate and sweetly lingering.  Final sips are grape jelly, strawberry, and molasses.

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Brew Method:

Clever | 24g (c) to 340g (w) | 2:40 then drop | 204 degrees | 1.47 TDS | 22.06% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Initial sips are hot, hot, hot on the palate.  They are lightly syrupy, really comfortable really, with caramel sweetness and green apple brightness, and dense blackberry jam as well as other dark fruit sweetness lingering.  It is really sweet, not too much to handle sweet, but intense would definitely describe it.  As it cools more of a lightly sour grape candy sweetness comes out that is equally intriguing, saturating, and pleasing.  

The body is similar to the previous make, juicy as the fruit sweetness arrives then layered with syrupiness as it lingers on the palate.  The TDS readings don't seem to make a difference in this cup in terms of over extraction qualities, but it is an intense cup.  In fact, the cup remains really clean, as it seems to bring out the flavors of green apple, cherry, grape, raspberry, and watermelon jolly ranchers all at once.  Cooling more the ending is plush, like a soft chocolate mousse.

Layers of strawberry jelly come out more as it cools, rich and suave as it slides around the mouth, but underlying there is always a tart, slightly souring cherry note that seems slightly distracting initially but then meshes with the profile through the sip.

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 2:30 total time | 201 degrees | 1.41 TDS | 21.05% Ext.

A lot different of a cup than the previous makes, and I assume that is because of the age.

This one is juicy with green apple, but more reserved that the previous makes.  That being said, it still tingles and dances on the tongue with each sip.  With that, there is also sweet grape sweetness and a creamy berry (strawberry and blueberry) lingering.  I would have assumed that this would carry notes of age, but it still just stays flavorful, sweet, and plump.

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The coffee was ridiculous, as was prefaced to me before I ordered it.  It is offensive on the palate, yet something about it is so intriguing that you want to keep sipping to see what you might find.  

While this is a crazy coffee, there isn't a whole lot that, on a cupping table, would most likely set it apart from a natural Ethiopian except for its unusually bright profile that I haven't really noticed in a lot of other naturals.  While the profile doesn't do a ton of changing, what keeps me interested in a coffee like this is how dense and syrupy the mouthfeel is, yet how clean and flavorful the mouthfeel is.

Planted only five years prior, the Gesha trees from Ninety Plus have produced their first mature harvest this year. Lot 10, tucked away off the eastern coast of Panama, is grown on forested volcanic soil, providing temperature stability and plentiful nutrition, resulting in an astoundingly complex coffee.

Details:

Roaster: Slate Coffee Roasters

Producer: Ninety Plus Gesha Estates

Region: Silla Del Pando, Volcan, Panama

Estate: Lycello, Lot 10

Process: Washed

Varietal: Gesha

Elevation: 1,250 - 1,600m

  Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 1:40 total time | 197 degrees | 1.25 TDS | 18.63% Ext.

This is a really interesting coffee. Sweet and crisp, but very soft. (lower extraction and TDS most likely)

Lychee and other tropical notes seem to exist, as well as grape and melon notes.  Floral weaves through everything with a honey sweetness, but it isn’t a syrupy body.  It has a darker cocoa note than I’m used to in the finish, but not quite dark chocolate.  With that in the finish there are slight nutty tones. Very pleasing, well balanced.

Lemon and tangerine-like citrusy acidity as well as some citrus squeezes too of lime and grapefruit juice.  Very long finish.

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Brew Method:

Gino Dripper | 36g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:35 total time | 197 degrees | 1.32 TDS | 18.58 % Ext.

Crisp off the bat reminiscent of raspberries.  Sweeter and a little more vivacious than previous make. A lime-like acidity with citrusy squeezes still, and a soft light body.

Still has a honey-like sweetness but also has a bit of tea in the finish, otherwise cocoa notes as indicated before.

Cooling, a nice juiciness begins to develop with flavors of mint and sage showing up, a powdery floral lychee sweetness and a complex array of sweet and slightly tangy tropical fruits flesh out underneath.  Still carries sweet nutty tones in the long finish, creamy and soft.

Coming back to the cup, more sweetness comes out but so do the tangy fruit notes and the finish ever so lingering.  It has juiced quite significantly, with cranberry and tangerine seeming to take the lead, with honey and floral infused tea finishing.

The final stage of the cup are the most impressive: with raspberry, peach, apple and lemon pops tickling the first thoughts, changing to a cherry-like sweetness and strands of caramel, finishing with the slight hints of thyme and milk chocolate.

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Brew Method:

V60 with stir | 14g (c) to 233g (w) | 1:55 total time | 197 degrees | 1.38TDS | 21.22% Ext.

Gorgeous aroma. Cinnamon and rose, cherry and honeysuckle.

Delicate profile with the initial sips taste of lychee, caramel, and chocolate mousse. Soft and silky, with whispery finish.  Not as tart or crisp, definitely carries more sweetness and mousse.

More melon pops seem to come out in this method - juicy and sweet.  Really great clarity, a lot clearer than other gesha offerings I’ve had - reminds me if jello in that regard (fruit flavors but still a nice refreshing clarity).  Quite surprised the flavor isn’t jumping out at me with this being a higher extraction.

Cooling more is quite alive, quite complex, it’s just so incredibly soft in that.  I honestly wish I could speak just everything that I taste, I just can’t.  The aroma is as mesmerizing as the flavors- flavors of lemon and peach, apple and honeysuckle, rose water and honey.  Lightly syrupy, with smaller notes of cranberry than the previous make but I still find that slight tartness in the finish right before notes of cocoa, hops, and sandalwood come in.  (It makes me think that this is what John Varvatos drank as inspiration for his cologne line)

It still has a sweet, long finish complemented with honeydew, lemongrass, mint and honey, with the last drops leaving notes of tea leaves as well.  It’s hard to exactly pinpoint a flavor, as the highlighted notes shift the more it cools. Fascinating.

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 2:50 total time | 197 degrees | 1.25 TDS | 18.35% Ext. (preferred method)

Oh yea… This is it.  Light to medium bodied, really great syrupiness, incredibly aromatics (seriously, it fills the entire room with notes of lime and honeysuckle), a delicately effervescent acidity and lingering finish.  And these are only the first sips!

There are delightful herbal hints at play underneath a honey-sweet bed with notes of basil, bergamot, rose water, jasmine and an incredibly dense complexity of other fruit notes, specifically finding stone fruits like cherry and peach and apricot but also tropical notes of mango, lychee, and passion fruit.

Cooling further lightly crisp notes of various berries appear, as well as this soft chocolate mousse finish. Final sips still sing of floral and honey infused tea notes, still with a delicate density and complexity lingering on. 

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Brew Method:

Woodneck | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 4:10 total time | 196 degrees | 1.39 TDS | 20.44% Ext.

Aroma of fruit loops and orange creamsicle - so tantalizing.  Basil, jasmine and honeysuckle too come out. Honestly; this is probably the most aromatic cup of coffee I’ve ever had - herbaceous yet fruited and immensely floral.  Beautiful.

Immensely crisp off the bat with long, long notes of honey, melon, passion fruit, honeysuckle, wild berry…. it’s quite ridiculous.  Tea-like in flavor but a little more body to it.  It’s so tasty - there’s pineapple and mango tropical fruits greeting the cup, transitioning you to a cherry-limeade flavor and acidity, closing out with basil and tea.  Raspberry, peach, apple, cantaloupe and honeydew, it’s nearly intoxicating, all wrapped up with floral notes of jasmine, lavender, honeysuckle, and rose water galore.

The floral-infused tea notes only grow sweeter and more lingering the further you dive in the cup. Cooling, the notes soften up but are still a bit more intense than the previous makes.

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 18g (c) to 230g (w) | 1:30 then plunge by 2:00 total time | 198 degrees | 1.37 TDS | 18.53% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Honey tea notes.  Really lacking the sparkle of other brew methods.  A bit of raspberry and apple seems to arrive with hints of mint I’m pretty sure we’re found in a previous method too.

Floral notes are found, but not as lingering, sweeping, or pleasant.  Still completely a gesha, but there isn’t the same clarity and beauty of flavors as in other makes.

The cooler it got, the more flavor came up from the cup and it ended more similarly to other makes: fruitied, floral, hints of lime, and a lingering sweet and tea-like finish.

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Brew Method:

Shaken Iced V60 | 28g (c) to 280g (w) | 140g ice | 2:10 total time | 198 degrees

Tea leaf, lychee, grapple, mango, honey.  Incredibly soft and airy - mousse-like.  Tangibly tastes of taking honeysuckle as a kid off the plant, pulling out the stem, and giving it a lick. Juicy and delectable.  Sweet, floral, and fruited, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it was a lot more reserved than say an iced Yirgacheffe. It is more like a porcelain doll in comparison, not as fun and playful.  It’s more than enjoyable, don’t get me wrong, just something I wanted to mention.

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At the time of drinking this coffee, it was all I could think about.  I had the Ruby Chelelektu come in shortly after that time, and two things were constantly on my mind.  The first being, this is the best coffee I’ve ever had.  Before the Chemex and Woodneck make, my summary looked something like this:

It’s quite simple really - no frills, no over the top fragrances or flavors…it’s just immensely dense in the softest way, with an ever changing flavor profile to constantly tease your brain while you attempt to find the root of your palate’s curiosity.  If I had to put it into one word, I’d say dazzling.  However, I will say it was a difficult coffee for me to sit with, as I still found myself (even in a ‘strong’ cup) wanting more from it. A little more oomph.  

Once the other methods gave up that oomph, I knew this coffee was very special.  It was simple, but it was incredibly complex and always left you thinking about what you were experiencing.  The second thing I kept thinking about, and I’m pretty sure I’ve brought it up in previous write-ups, is that now I look at washed Ethiopians in comparison to this coffee.  The processing of washed Ethiopians has been so good this year, that when considering amount and cost of the coffee, that as amazing as this coffee was, and I did side-by-side comparisons and agreed this one definitely stood out above, but given the cost and amount I have found some stand-out Ethiopian offerings as well that remind me of the experience I had with this coffee.

This still might be the best geisha I’ve had this year, even in light of new grinders, brewing parameters, devices, and a slew of other geshas I’ve had in.  However, we’ll have to wait for those write-ups to be certain.  

Koke is a small district in the northeastern part of the Yirgacheffe region, and one of the most mountainous areas of the region as well, with heights reach up to 6,000 feet.  It joined the cooperatives in 2002. Currently, it has 828 Members.  Indigenous coffee varietals, elevation and soil composition contribute to the sweetness, acidity and complex flavors found in Koke coffee.  After picking at the perfect stage of ripeness, the cherries are milled at the Koke washing station owned by the YCFCU.

Details:

Roaster: Compelling & Rich

Region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

Farm: Koke Cooperative

Process: Honey Process, Sorted for defects to ECX Grade-1 standards

Varietal: Heirloom

Elevation: 1,700 - 2,000m

Brew Method:

Clever | 24g (c) to 340g (w) | 2:40 then drop | 203 degrees | 1.35 TDS | 20.25% Ext. (Immersion mode)

This is quite a robust intro the the cup.  It carries the floral characteristics of the washed Ethiopians we’ve had this year, but then also several other distinct aspects: crisp yet light sprays of tangerine citrus in the highs, palpable honey sweetness coating the tongue, pear, huckleberry, blueberry, and guava coulis drizzled over a moist chocolate cake, and an incredibly long, creamy finish splashing into an ending that bounced between dulche de leche and tea.

The mouthfeel is the highlight of the cup. Through most of the various sweetness you find, be it berry or caramel or cookies and cream, you always come back to this sensation of melting over the tongue and saturating with flavor, with a lingering that seems to never stop.

I think what you gain from the washed is slight delicacy, balance, florals, and lingering finish and the natural some berry, denseness, and a plush lower end.  The sum of these parts will absolutely take your breath away.  

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The Dragon | 20g (c) to 310g (w) | 1:15 add outer water |  3:15 begin plunge | 4:00 end time  | 207 degrees | 1.12 TDS | 18.35% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Really light impressions off the bat.  It carries that nice strawberry jam flavor on the front, with floral notes seeming to come after and then wham. Mango.  Really nice, vivid note yet delicate and soft in the cup, with more of a grape juice and clover honey finishing, and as it cools some tickling blackberry notes as well.  Short notes as I had company over, and may prepare a bit tighter on the grind.

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 228g (w) | 2:00 total time | 205 degrees | 1.28 TDS | 19.30% Ext.

Despite the lower readings, but as can be expected with a v60, this method really pulls out that jammy sweetness and juicy body more than the other methods.  It does maintain a slight amount of florals in the tail ends, but mainly sits on strawberry, guava, passionfruit, and huckleberry.

The finish is a bit more tropical, but not as luscious as the clever was.  It starts growing more tea-like, still splashing with star fruit, mango, and that dulche de leche note coming back.

Cooling further you have these smooth strawberry syrup notes just slowly dripping down the tongue.  All the while this is this tickling like blackberry that is always lightly dancing on the center of the tongue, and traces of orange citrus lying in the long finish.

The final sips in this cup though are quite interesting.  It reminds me most of Applejacks cereal, and while I have used that before, this cup definitely carries an apple/mango sweetness with a confectioners sugar element, perfectly combined with a creaminess that all I can think of is sitting down with a bowl of Applejacks.

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Brew Method:

Gino Dripper | 34g (c) to 556g (w) | 3:45 total time | 203 degrees | 1.30 TDS | 19.70% Ext.

A banana and winey aroma float through the preparation and brewing, and make a landing in the cup.  I’m not sure if it is age off roast, or this just being slightly light, but I feel like I’m chasing after that delicious cup I first had.

Soft but dense strawberry, blueberry, and light tickling of blackberry and cranberry dancing around the tongue and walls of the mouth.  It is lightly syrupy, luscious in sweetness, and the more it cools the more it reminds me of pink- raspberry and strawberry and cream candies, clean, and slightly floral like a washed may be.  The interesting thing about this versus the clever make is the clever seemed washed transitioning to natural, and this method seems to articulate reversed to some degree.

I guess all this to say the cup shifts a lot. It remains sweet but flows from dense to wispy, syrupy to dainty.  Blueberry remains the main focus on the cup, with a bottom of soft mango light florals, guava and ripe tomato.  It melts over the palate lighter than previously and instead stays a bit more tingly.

Final sips are still soft blueberry syrup, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, slightly drying grape and apple skin, pear, and tickling blackberry.

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Brew Method:

Able Kone | 30g (c) to 435g (w) | 3:15 total time | 200 degrees | 1.19 TDS | 18.24% Ext. (Immersion mode)

So luscious.  While it reminds me first off of pink and red fruits, it carries soft florals and light but exotic citrus acidity leading the cup.  While it keeps that natural processed density and weight, it isn’t berry forward. In fact, the that comes to mind is gushy.  It’s poetic and lightly juicy, complex with light and fresh fruits including raspberry, kiwi, lychee, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, watermelon, honeydew and mango finishing.

A slightly more tickling sweetness grows in the cup, and it also grows a bit more strawberry jammy on the tongue, with a smooth, plump mouthfeel.  A bit more blueberry and blackberry starts to come out too, still more silky and sweet than a typical natural with a mousse-like texture and florals, sweet stone fruit, and tropicals around the edges.

The final sips are most similar to blueberry rooibos tea, soft and lightly lingering.

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This coffee did more than exceed my expectations, it took me by surprise and swept me off my feet.  This coffee is absolutely gorgeous, with a more balanced approach than a lot of straight up natural processed coffees (which makes sense as it isn’t a straight up natural.)  However, I’d still probably say this was my favorite honey-processed coffee I’ve had, and one of the best coffees I’ve had all year.  It melts over the palate, impresses and alerts every tastebud, and gives you so much experience from cup to cup.  I think I said it properly back in the first make of this: what you gain from the washed is slight delicacy, balance, florals, and lingering finish and the natural some berry, denseness, and a plush lower end.  The sum of these parts will absolutely take your breath away.  

In the cool misty mountains neighbouring the Dota valley in famed Tarrazu, the San Martín community mainly farms coffee of the Caturra cultivar. Up until the last 20 years or so, residents had to reach their town by horseback. Our San Martín lot consists of 25 smallholder families, each delivering cherry to a central mill, where ripe coffee fruit is milled, more specifically, aquapulped with a Colombian PANAGOS machine, a good machine to use when fresh clean water is scarce. Then, the parchment is left overnight with the fruit and pulp removed, and sundried on raised african beds for 10 days or so prior to being delivered to the dry mill at Rio Jorco.

Due to a perfect storm of a particular micro climate and altitude, the process of ripening takes quite a bit of time. So much time in fact, that prior to this wet mill project, farmers from this area were forced by neighbouring mills to either deliver underripe cherry to fulfill the schedules of the lower grown farms, or sell to the local market. The fact that this mill exists means these families can achieve much higher prices paid to them, and can fulfill the very high potential to produce what we have tasted as the sweetest specialty coffee coming out of this region.

Details:

Roaster: Forty Ninth Parallel

Region: San Martín de León Cortés, Tarrazu

Farm: 25 Smallholder farms

Process: Aquapulped and Sun Dried

Varietal: Caturra

Elevation: 1,700 -1,950m

  Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 3:25 total time | 201 degrees | 1.29 TDS | 19.10% Ext.

 Brewing aroma of chocolate and spice, with the cup giving up aromas of vanilla and cherry.

The cup starts sweet and syrupy, but comfortably so.  Vanilla cream notes are fronted, with nods to dried fruits and honey, maybe a bit of caramel. The acidity isn't too intense, think apple or cherry, but it is refreshing given the body of the cup.  It sits a bit more on the medium side, smooth in body and carrying toasted nuts into the finish. 

Cooling, the sweetness condense a bit and notes of apple, pomegranate, blackberry, pear, and black cherry begin to emerge.  It's a relatively clear cup, but still carries a bit of a smoky finish.  As it opens, floral notes seem to flutter around, but they aren't the most highlighted element.  

It's an incredibly balanced cup, with the sweetness saturating without becoming overly sweet, the nuttiness staying prevalent but losing it's smoky front, and the acidity becoming a bit more brisk with notes of orange sticking around into the long finish.  In the later stages pineapple seems to be showcased clearly, which adds to the natural sweetness.  Praline and caramel seem to cover the tongue in the later moments, leaving a a smooth and sweet finish.

A refined and solid offering.

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Brew Method:

Kalita Wave | 34g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:45 total time | 200 degrees | 1.27 TDS | 19.10% Ext.

The initial sips carry a clean juiciness on the top end, moving into a dense berry sweetness and then transitioning into a more savory, nutty finish.  The aftertaste gives more nods to dried fruits like raisin and date and even tropical fruit sweetness.

As it begins to open you notice just how clean this coffee is, and you get more caramel and toffee sweetness starting to emerge in it's smooth body.  It seems to have qualities of raspberry, blackberry, apple, pear, and black cherry, with a bright but not very intense apple meets tangerine acidity.

Once the cup cools (110) you find a more delicate cup, more a sugary fruits in to the cup like dried pineapple, apricot, and grape, with some moments reminiscent of flan.  It's balanced, still very clean, and really enjoyable in the cooler moments with drips of caramel, vanilla, and a lingering sweetness with pops of floral.

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 17g (c) to 240g (w) | 2:00 then plunge by 2:30 total time | 199 degrees | 1.32 TDS | 19.75% Ext. (Immersion mode)

 Brewing aroma of brown sugar, spice, and orange. 

Nose sweet bowl of cherries and floral.  

The initial sips are comfortably rich with a deep flavor that reminds me a bit of french toast.  It remains dense for the first few minutes, and is a bit syrupy with notes like brown sugar and molasses in an otherwise creamy body with a nutty finish.

 Diving further it begins to grow more sweetness, both dried fruits and also in a more caramel smooth body, cleaning up along the way.  There is a nice brightness on the front, balanced and lifting from the more dense beginning.

The aromas in the cup also open to caramel, vanilla, and brown sugar.

Cherry, blackberry, apple, currant, date, and raisin grow in the cup, a bit more sugary in sweetness with vanilla and a little maple syrup too, still ending with a nutty finish.

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 228g (w) | 2:05 total time | 198 degrees | 1.37 TDS | 20.70% Ext. (preferred method)

 Oh yea- this is the cup I've been missing.

 Right off the bat has a buttery and syrupy body with dense apricot and pineapple sweetness.  It carries a creamy and clean finish with a nice sweet lemon leaning toward orange acidity and linger notes of spice and tea-leaves. 

Opening up is like and onslaught of sweetness, the likes of which we didn't find in the previous makes.  Sugary sweet notes of peach, apricot, cherry, mango and pineapple stir around with vanilla

cream and palpable drips of caramel down the sides of my tongue.  The finish carries some prickly notes of blackberry along with grapes dipped in a marshmallow cream fruit dip, tea spice and floral notes too detected again in the lingering sweetness.  Still clean, sweet, and wonderfully presented.

  This was a great cup.

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This coffee is produced by around 700 smallholder farmers, delivering coffee cherry to the owner of the Kebel Dumerso Cheleba coffee mill, Surafel Birhanu Coffee Supplier.

Known as the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia is provided with coffee for export from around 1.1 million farmers. Most are smallholders, growing varieties known as indigenous Ethiopian heirloom: a myriad of Typica hybrids, and some newer varieties based on old Typica strains. Farmers deliver coffee cherry to the coffee mill, where they are hand sorted before undergoing the meticulous process of producing clean coffee for sale.

Ripe cherry is processed using depulpers to remove some of the outer layers of the cherry (skin and some of the fruit). It is then fermented in clean water overnight before the remaining mucilage is washed off and the coffee is dried on raised beds - tables with a mesh bottom to allow for air circulation during drying process.

Details:

Roaster: Forty Ninth Parallel

Region: Gedeo, Yirgacheffe

Farm: Around 700 smallholder farmers

Process: Washed

Varietal: Ethiopian Heirloom

Elevation: 1,800 - 2,000m

Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 3:25 total time | 201 degrees | 1.41 TDS | 20.85% Ext. (preferred method)

Sweet aroma, floral throughout the brewing process, honey and floral in the cup.

Diving in is wonderfully floral, carrying a buttery mouthfeel with great density.  It has a really defined sugarcane sweetness to the finish, with lime, lemon and bergamot filling the acidity space, and growing a complexity of dried, stone, and tropical fruits.  Date, raisin, peach, apricot, mango, passion fruit and lychee fruits dance in a complex and plush body, a bit juicy but always ending buttery.  It remains clean and incredibly sweet in the lingering finish, floral notes of jasmine, hibiscus, and rose surrounding every sip.

 As it settles in, boy does it remain saturated with flavor - buttery, tea-like, floral and citrus.  A vanilla-peach-tropical combination singing in the lingering and oh, so delicious finish.  Those tea notes also dissect a bit further, with hints of spices and these herbal elements that seem to be noticed here and there through the cup.  Notes of lemongrass, mint, basil, and lemon verbena may play off the floral or fruited notes, and also seem more detected in the cooler stages of the cup.

 Overall, a really delightful cup, a great amount of floral, densely sweet body with good complexity and lingering finish.  While not the most showy Yirgacheffe we've visited, it was completely solid and completely enjoyable.

  (Very similar to Aricha, looks in location and in flavor)

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Brew Method:

Kalita Wave | 34g (c) to 554g (w) | 3:35 total time | 200 degrees | 1.32 TDS | 19.95% Ext.

This cup is a grower.  It begins very quiet, and over time begins to piece itself together.  A growing juiciness and butteriness to the body.  Hints of tea and whiffs of fruit.  

It's a clean cup, with sugary sweetness, lingering candied notes, delicate fruits, a creaminess like nutter butters, and lemon verbena in the finish.  It is crisp, refreshing, bright and light in presentation.  

 It does continue to open up with more saturated sweetness, delicately complex peach and apricot entangle with mango and date as vanilla, tropical nectar and floral infused honey linger, while other herbal elements teasing the palate as well.

(Doesn't offer that same experience as the first cup did.)

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Brew Method:

Woodneck | 29g (c) to 480g (w) | 5:00 total time | 201 degrees | 1.38 TDS | 21.22% Ext.

Really floral aromas through the brewing and into the cup, along with sour patch kids sweetness.

Immediately diving offers you a nice sugary sweetness, a full spread of tantalizing floral notes, and a complexity of herbal-tea notes off the bat.  It has a comfortable weight, lightly syrupy but otherwise buttery leaning towards velvety.  Lingering sweetness and citrus as well in the finish.

Man, it really condenses here.  It still has that syrupy/buttery mouthfeel, but such a condensed and complex ball of fruit notes, it seems like a gusher just waiting to be bitten into and have that flavor explode.  

Clean and aromatic, with sweet peach, cantaloupe, sweet honeydew, mango, grape, grapefruit, and lychee notes surrounded by jasmine and rose with a citrus and herbal lingering.  Balanced and endlessly enjoyable.  The more it cools the more dreamy it grows.  So good.

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 2:15 total time | 199 degrees | 1.40 TDS | 21.00% Ext.

Really floral aromatics.

Similar to the Woodneck cup.  A buttery body with intense apricot sweetness and florals through to the finish, dense and immersed with flavor.  Very clean, very vibrant.

You'll find nods to apricot, peach, currant, pear, passion fruit, and raspberry most forward here, oozing out into the palate and saturating every taste bud. It carries a cocktail of lemon, lime, and berry filling the acidity space.  Herbal notes are at play as mentioned in previous methods, complex, condensed, and sugary sweetness lingering into finish with tea-spice and whiffs of cocoa remaining.

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 17g (c) to 240g (w) | 2:00 then plunge by 2:30 total time | 200 degrees | 1.39 TDS | 20.75% Ext. (Immersion mode) (preferred method // one of best aeropresses in a long time)

Intense aromas, like a good Yirgacheffe would- bergamot, vanilla, florals, honey butter, caramel.

First sips of this cup are out of this world.  An intense tropical sweetness with lemon and orange candy acidity quickly moving into a creamy and sugary sweet body, perfumed and tickling with pops of fruit before a silky floral finish. Wowza.

It's hard to describe exactly how candy-like the flavor is, intense sweetness yet buttery and complex, rich on the tongue but like a bottle rocket of fruit notes exploding on the palate- apricot, strawberries and cream, peach, caramel apple cider, mango, lychee, cantaloupe covered in fruit dip, kiwi, grape soda, lemon and raspberry cotton candy, all ending in lingering floral and tea-like finish.  

 Caramel aroma remains in the cup, as it stays rich but grows more delicate in it's sweetness, blanketing the tongue and settling in sweet flavors, dense and sugary.  It finishes with those herbal tea notes we've noticed previously, a good mark that says, "good job, bud. We made it through another delicious cup. Hope to see you 'round these parts again."

  And he rides off into the sun.

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Brew Method:

Iced Chemex | 40g (c) to 350g (w) | 300g ice | 3:15 total time | 200 degrees  

Mmm. Honey body really sticks out here. Feels a bit buttery but carries some nice lemon, orange, raspberry, and peach candy-like sweetness and ends with vanilla cream and tea.

After sitting a bit the floral notes jump out and really mingle with that honey.  Sweet, sexy, and welcomed with the stone fruit and icing sweetness that follows.  Creamy, buttery, clean and a bit sparklingly lemon and bergamot on the front, and birthday cake in the finish.

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Highlights: clean, aromatic, buttery body.

Several makes reminded me of the Aricha and Chelelektu, so this was a good one.

I liked the lower extraction. I like a quiet cup that slowly builds intensity, but I also really enjoy a flavorful cup from the beginning, and the other two cups provided that.  I did prefer the chemex a bit more, I think the Woodneck was a little too extracted for this brew, even though it settled out into a delicious cup.  

That Aeropress though- man that was banging.  It’s hard to say things different about these coffees that give up similar profiles since I’ve had so many washed Ethiopians, but just know that this was up there with the best, of the best, of the best, sir.  If I had to note one particular thing, I'd say more than other offerings this one had a particularly round buttery body, something the others didn't really demonstrate.

This coffee is grown by the 3,000 member Gondo Farmers Cooperative Society, based in Murang'a County, north of Nairobi.  The cooperative grows SL-28, Kenya's most prized coffee variety, which, combined with the cooperatives high base altitude of 1500 meters above sea level, contributes to the coffee's bright complexity.  The cooperative also carries out traditional Kenyan washed processing with painstaking attention to detail.  While most Latin American producers wash their coffee, then dry it immediately, Gondo and other Kenyan producers soak the coffee for an additional 24 hours before drying, a step that helps the coffee build amino acids and develop savory flavors and creamy complexity.

Beyond Gondo's general excellence, Huckleberry is excited to work with Elephant Coffee Importers, another Denver-based coffee business founded by Jackson Kanampiu.  Jackson is a native Kenya, with extensive experience working in the Kenyan exporting industry and greater East African specialty coffee community, and is focused on working with grower-owned cooperatives.  He and Elephant have been able to source some amazing cooperative-grown coffees, and it's been wonderful for them to work with an importer this knowledgable, transparent, and close to home.

  Details:

Roaster: Huckleberry Roasters

Region: Murang’a County, Kenya

Farm: Gondo Farmer’s Cooperative Society

Process: Washed

Varietal: SL-28

Elevation: 1,500m

  Brew Method:

Kalita Wave | 34g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:45 total time | 201 degrees | 1.33 TDS | 20.00% Ext.

Mmm. Moderately syrupy off the bat.  Cranberry, orange, and grapefruit initially, but balanced by a nice sweetness and trails of cinnamon spice.   The acidity enters as cranberry most specifically, and the lingering citrus hits grapefruit as it trails.

Aside from the acidity, what is most impressive in the cup are these toasted coconut notes right on the front of each sip, and the end of each sip is plush, leaving a creamy finish.  The whole experience is reminiscent  of coconut cream pie, but even further in the complexity you find flavors that recall french toast, fresh cherry tomatoes, and brown sugar glazed steak gristle.

Brown sugar, vanilla, and honey continue to grow as the cup settles, dense, sweet, savory and a bit spiced. Nicely balanced and easy to drink.  Kiwi, honeydew, currant, raisin, cranberry, and apricot grow sweeter.  Aromas of raspberry and grapefruit still fill the cup, while the cup slides effortless over the palate, silky, sweet, and ending with just the right about of spice, lingering citrus, dried fruits, and honey butter in a slowly drying finish.

This one seems better to finish before it gets too cold, as coldest moments leave a lingering flavor of latex balloon.  

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 3:50 total time | 201 degrees | 1.34 TDS | 19.85% Ext.

First sips are lightly tingly but juicy, syrupy, and ending a bit spiced with a really plush creamy sweet ending.

Currant, blackberry, cranberry, pomegranate, apple, caramel, pumpkin pie all come to mind, with a syrupy, sweet, and saturating finish with slightly savory elements like pepperoni stick spiciness.  That being said, the final thoughts always come back to creamy, and plush cream. Tea-like spices grow in the cup, with a brown sugar-like sweetness.  Sadly, I didn't find the toasted coconut at all, when it was very prominent in the front of the previous make.

I lied, it just seems to have come a bit further in the cup this time.  The cup grows very creamy, and the fruits are portrayed again like a lovely slice of coconut cream pie (but not for long), heavy on the cream and a lingering yet balanced note of tangerine in the cup.  Still, there is just enough savory spice to keep this cup pretty interesting.  Cinnamon, cranberry, and raisin all seem to dance around in various spots.

The cup is rather dense and complex, syrupy and saturated as it bounces among sweet, spice, and savory like a game of Pong.

The final sips begin to introduce such sweet fruits like peach and raspberry into the mix- creamy, smooth, and sweet like icing.   

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 2:00 total time | 200 degrees | 1.36 TDS | 20.40% Ext.

Nice balance to the cup.  Sweetness underlying like a glazed donut, but really lets the citrus stand out a bit in this method on top.  Rounded brightness, lemon and grapefruit, and less tingling cranberry than previous makes with a bit of a salty finishing.  Nice round body, just a bit of syrupiness, and a sweet and savory finish.  Will let this open up.

Lingering on the palate you notice brown sugar sweetness growing, and in that, too, something that reminds me of eating coconut shrimp (the breaking and dip moreso than the shrimp), possibly with a nice cherry tomato side salad and a light balsamic vinaigrette.  Opening more you still have an elegantly weighted body, now a little more coating like honey with raw sweetness saturating the entire mouth.  

Cooling further the fruit develops into what I think is grilled peach, either that or peach with a bit of salt sprinkled on.  It really bounces you around that sweet and savory line- creamy and plush, or saucy, reduced, and dense.  It continues like that into the end of the cup, always dancing on sweet, salty, citrusy, savory and fruity with berries and stone fruit, even adding lighter floral notes in the finish and a lower, lingering grapefruit note.

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 17g (c) to 240g (w) | 2:00 then plunge by 2:30 total time | 200 degrees | 1.37 TDS | 20.45% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Oh my. First sips of this coffee are so silky, so creamy sweet.  This is so delicious.  Quickly you can tell it is a complex and juicy cup- lemongrass, toasted coconut shavings, red raspberry, cantaloupe, strawberry, brown sugar, and toast coat the palate initially, then more tingly notes of cranberry and lime snowcone arrive with savory elements of cherry tomato, pasta sauce, and grilled grapefruit finish the cup.   AND THESE ARE JUST THE FIRST SIPS.

Continuing to drink, the cup remains clean, juicy and splashy on the intake and syrupy as it swishes around the mouth.  It fills with notes of cream, cranberry, and a not-so-sharp but bright and sparkling floral and tangerine spray that drifts through to the finish.  On it's way it rides on a lightly tea-spiced, slightly sizzling syrupy stream into the end.  

Sparkling sweet black raspberry, cranberry, bergamot and other tea-spices silkily drift, slightly candy-like in sweetness but still kept in check by a slightly savory finish.

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Brew Method:

Clever | 24g (c) to 340g (w) | 2:40 then drop | 203 degrees | 1.41 TDS | 21.15% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Explosive off the front like the usual cups. Instead of an attacking acidity it feels more effervescent on the front with blood orange and nectarine softly in the cup, with a deeply creamy and lightly fruit juicy lingering.

Light tingly juiciness like cranberry meets a more plump cherry and peach sweetness, still carrying lightly savory notes of spice that feels more like pie crust than anything.  The acidity rides in like a wave, more candied lime, pineapple, and grapefruit.

Caramelized brown sugar, black raspberry, and toasted coconut fill the final sips, almost like honey on the tongue but particular nuances take my taste buds towards the coconut flavor, with comfortably bright grapefruit lingering on.

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Rare do I come across a coffee as dynamic and explosive as this.  While it wasn’t my favorite coffee in terms of overall flavor, it really stretches your palate, and really achieves an elevated level of experience in terms of execution in the cup.  The end of the cup, for me, is much more enjoyable than the more savory intro.  Looking back over all of my notes from various cups, it’s odd that I say it wasn’t a favorite of mine, as it seemed to really be one of the more complex offerings I’ve visited.

 (That second sentence being the take away from this cup, that it creates an elevated experience unlike any coffee I've had before)

Roaster: Kuma Coffee

Region: Boquete, Panama

Farmer: Carlos Aguilera

Process: Washed

Varietal: Geisha

Elevation: 1,800m

Brew Method:

Kalita Wave | 34g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:45 total time | 201 degrees | TDS | % Ext.

The nose is a thing of beauty.  Raspberry, melon, sugar, florals.

The cup is wonderfully articulate- soft, sweet, and intricately layered. It certainly is lively, the first flavors you come to are the complex citrus layers, a combination of lemon, tangerine, and candied lime. In that, you find lingering florals- lavender and jasmine that linger on atop a bed lightly sweetened with honey.  The finish is a bit dry, but also a bit effervescent.

The cup, while delicate, gives up some raspberry/strawberry reduction that gives depth, but isn't quite syrupy or dense in body (which is good).  As it opens further, you find a similar raspberry note as you would in the Idido or Kochere we've visited, with confectioner's sugar like Frosted Flakes.  The difference with those other offerings, is this cup gives so much balance between the citrus notes, plush creaminess, fruits, and lingering florals.  With that, there is just so much more complexity going on- butteriness, creaminess, honey-coating.  

The cup, as it cools, is such a lovely presentation.  Bright and lively citrus acidity, raspberry, kiwi, and succulent watermelon sweetness, tangled floral and herbal notes, and a finish that mingles creaminess, hints of dark chocolate, and grapefruit.

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 228g (w) | 1:55 total time | 200 degrees | 1.29 TDS | 19.50% Ext.

Mmm. This cup no doubt is geisha, but it begins a little lighter than I'd prefer.

The cup is soft, sugary, bright, and sweet.  It is poetic how it enters with candy-like orange citrus notes, then switches over to raspberry, watermelon, kiwi, and other fruit plump full of sweet juiciness, in the end, you have light cocoa notes at play with pleasant florals and a slightly drying tea-like finish, with lingering sweetness and a resurgence of citrus.  

The cup grows brighter, sharp tangerine on the front (so sharp that it almost comes across salty) and then a saturated berry center. The finish starts ending more syrupy, palpable, and melting with sweetness over the tongue- slightly wine-soaked and still as bright lingering as the front.

  Complex, sweet, tangerine brightness, lovely florals.  

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 481g (w) | 3:45 total time | 200 degrees | 1.32 TDS | 19.58% Ext.

Man, what a balanced cup.  There are bright citrus notes on the front, but they aren't as attacking as have felt in some other makes.  Delicious, succulent, dense raspberry and melon sweetness all but drips out of the mouth, plush, poetic, with sweet lemon carrying to the finish and ending with trails of florals swirling around.

It grows such a dense sweetness in the end, like nougat and caramel- chewy and lightly weight, really impressive in mouthfeel.  In the middle of the cup, if it weren't for the more prominent raspberry note, I'd almost think I was eating vanilla or banana pudding, that's the mouthfeel and sweetness you find.

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The Dragon | 20g (c) to 310g (w) | 1:15 add outer water |  3:15 begin plunge | 4:00 end time  | 207 degrees | 1.35 TDS | 22.15% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Incredible aromatics.

Whoa. What a cup. Where the geishas normally come across to me as floral forward and fruit underneath, the dragon really brings forward the fruits- probably the first and most noticeable aspect of the cup.  Crisp off the front, insanely silky, possibly one of the cleanest cups I've ever had, but still carries rich raspberry sweetness, wholesome and juicy bites of  honeydew and watermelon, and then the florals coming after, long and lingering.   The tangerine is present in the cup, but immaculately portrayed as far as balance in the cup, really, really attractive.

While the cup is almost so silky that it feels like nothing in the mouth, it carries a delicous richness, both to the fruits and these creamy and lightly cocoa notes in the finish that remind me if a soft cookies and cream ice cream.  More berry sweetness seems to draw out as it cools, at times more similar to a natural processed coffee, with this beautiful, sweet lemon note lingering on past the florals.  This really is an excellent portrait of this coffee.

Continuing sips are balanced, luscious- a perfect marriage of tropical punch sweetness (now with mango, peach, lychee) and elegant florals, all with a maple syrup finish down the center of the tongue.

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 17g (c) to 240g (w) | 2:00 then plunge by 2:30 total time | 198 degrees | 1.31 TDS | 19.55% Ext. (Immersion mode)

(I actually tried preparing this via Aeropress twice before, and still with no good results.  I decided instead of continuing to waste beans I'd leave it here and move on to better performing methods)

Tastes like a watered down version of the real thing.  Crisp tangerine, lingering fruit sweetness, jasmine and tea-like ending. Enough that I'd remember the profile if I never got another good make of it, but sad that it misses that body and saturation of flavor.  

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 1:50 total time | 200 degrees | 1.33 TDS | 20.00% Ext.

So, it isn't the coffee.  Here it still sings and in fact, might be one of the more flavorful makes.  That tangerine is bright on the front but perfectly comfortable, smashing head-first into that raspberry sweetness, splashing every inch of the mouth with fruit juiciness and a slick, candy-like lingering. 

It is clean, brimming with orange and lemon citrus notes, berry density, and a floral and herbal tea-like ending and lasts forever.  Without lessening in flavor, this coffee grows a bit more settled in, a bit more balanced in the cup, and remains immensely enjoyable.  I understand this is a poor description of the coffee, but this is so insanely good.  

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I think it is hard to accurately describe a cup like this.  To be completely honest, I run into this issue quite often with the coffees that I’ve found the most enjoyable.  It is hard enough for me to pull away from the cup to jot down a note or two, let alone put that experience into words, even more how to describe the summation of the coffee.  Every single moment of this cup is an absolutely exhilaration of flavor.  This was one of the most flavorful geishas (also read coffees) I’ve had- vivid and balanced, nuanced in its aroma and complex in its flavors.  Jasmine and tangerine create such a lovely backdrop for the dense sweetness to melt over the palate and the body presents itself in several forms that will comfort and please- it really is one of the most exceptional coffees I've had the pleasure of enjoying.   

The Karatina factory sits in east Nyeri county, named after the surrounding Karatina town. It's another member of the Barichu Farmer's Cooperative Society ("FCS"), where we've purchased many lots in the past - Gatomboya, Gaturiri, etc - whose name to us is synonymous with quality and consistency. The society has topped 1000 members, all of whom grow varietals SL-28, SL-34, and Ruiri-11. These individual factories are responsible for wet milling - pulping, fermenting, washing, and raised bed drying. Sorting through cherry first, as well as sorting measures throughout the washing, drying, and dry-milling phases of processing, equates to a clarity in the cup rarely rivaled. The PB outturn from Karatina cupped with exceptional sweetness, and with fruit flavors equally sweet andclean.

  Details:

Roaster: Compelling & Rich

Region: Kenya, Nyeri - Karatina Mill

Farm: Barichu Farmers Cooperative Society

Process: Washed process

Varietal: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11

Elevation: 1,700 - 1,850m

Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 1:55 total time | 201 degrees | 1.40TDS | 21.00% Ext.

The cup carries a soft intro, but in that it is cleanly syrupy.  The finish leaves trails of spice, and even lingering citrus notes that creep in brighter than how you meet them during the sips.

Most notably you find apricot, still clean almost sparkling on the front of each sip, the middle carries a raw honey body, with a drying finish that enters a but citrusy, grows a bit dusty and dense like cocoa, and the finishes with faint trails of florals.

The sips grow a bit more juicy, with guava also seeming to enter, dried kiwi, dried papaya, lemon, and finishing with hints of spice, orange, and currant.  The finish dances on this line of cherry tomato, and then caramelized brown sugar and cranberry. Those sensations go back and forth.

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 17g (c) to 240g (w) | 2:00 then plunge by 2:30 total time | 200 degrees | 1.40 TDS | 20.95% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Really nice start to the cup.  Sweetness underneath, almost a candy or glazed donut-like, with a really bright grapefruit and orange citrus note on the front with tea-leaf spice cleaning up in the finish.  Lightly syrupy, lightly juicy, creamy and delicate icing-esque rich body.

The cup continues to grow more juicy, more sweet, with those creamy notes melting silkily into brown sugar and butter in the finish, with the tails of every single note giving up floral touches on the very tips, still ending with nips of cinnamon and tea-spice in the rear of the mouth.  Fruit flavors of pear, pomegranate, apricot, peach jam, with tacky date sweetness growing through the finish continue to tickle, tease, and delicate and densely tease.

Further cooling gives up crisp, clean notes of baked apples, cream, and caramel-  sweet, spiced, comfortably bright, with a really creamy and juicy body.    

Citrus, cream, stone fruit, spice.

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The Dragon | 20g (c) to 320g (w) | 1:10 add outer water |  3:15 begin plunge | 4:30 end time  | 210 degrees | 1.37 TDS | 23.16% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Whoa. There is a LOT going on in this cup.  First, there is a spiced juiciness to the cup that is really welcomed, and that spice carries into a more creamy finish.  Peachy sweetness comes out in a cobbler-like fashion, with honey and dried fruits dancing in the finish.  Again, florals dance in the tail of every sip, sips that leave the mouth with thoughts of fresh caramels and peanut butter fudge.

The finish just carries this most unique honey/caramel syrupiness. It could be the way it interacts with the stone fruits, but is just a really big highlight of the cup.  As it cools, the citrus notes are clean, crisp, and balanced in brightness.  While the mouthfeel grows drying, there is a English Toffee sweetness that lingers on.  Final sips are peach syrup, floral and honey, with spiced, dry orange and berry preserve saturation lingering.

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Brew Method:

Gino Dripper | 34g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:45 total time | 201 degrees | 1.36 TDS | 20.45% Ext.  (preferred method)

Mmmm. This cup has a really interesting acidity. It seems like cooked pear at first, just quick but balanced in the cup with apricot, plum, and raisin growing afterwards- spiced, juicy, and then ending with a creamy sweet finish.  

It carries some neat complexity to it.  As it cools it remains juicy, creamy, and sweet, with pops of interesting flavors: olive, peach cobbler, malt, and cinnamon raisin bread most notably.  Still spiced, still crisp and clean, dessert-like with it's pie-like and brown sugar sweetness.

The latter half of the cup grows even sweeter.  Brown sugar caramelized like honey dripping down your throat, with such a clean profile, delicate saturation of fruits, vanilla, and those florals come back out, a bit more prominent than other makes and more like spring flowers than your usual Yirgacheffe florals.

The final sips lose most the spice and leave you with notes of peaches and cream candies and butter pecan ice cream- clean, sweet, lingering notes of soft orange, delicious.

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 3:45 total time | 200 degrees | 1.35 TDS | 20.00% Ext.

Mmmm. Some days I really love cups like this. This is probably the most delicate make of the coffee. Really, really clean cup.  Lightly syrupy cup, gently spiced, gently sweetened, and perfectly acidic.  Just sprinkled with brown sugar and cream, with soft apricot sweetness leading baked gala apple slices and delicately smoothed with pistachio in the finish.  Light hints of clove, cinnamon, and orange peel exist, with the acidity joining in a brisk caramel strand akin to caramel apple cider down the center of the tongue.  While not as floral as other makes, deep slurps reveal complex herbals and spring florals on the fringes of each one, buried among the lightly caramel body.

The cooling isn't my absolute favorite in this method, but continues to remain a bit lower in sweetness, with lightly spiced apple skin being the most detectible note.

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Gah, Kian was absolutely right.  Every single preparation of this coffee gave up the goods...and the goods were heavenly.  It’s hard to nail down exactly what was exceptional about the cup without going back through its entire profile.  It was clean, filled with stone fruit juiciness, incredibly sweet, carried just the right amount of spice to dance each and every taste, and it was densely pleasing as it continued to unfold sip after sip.  While the second half of the cup in some makes just let out this enormous creaminess, others would find subtle complexities that only further add to the entire picture that this coffee is able paint.  On top of that, the acidity continued to line the cup ever so beautifully through the end of the cup, never forsaking that “Kenya” profile.

This coffee comes to Kickapoo from the lush rolling hills of the Kirinyaga region near the Mount Kenya native forest of Central Kenya. About 700 small holder farmers bring their coffee cherries to the Kabingara washing station for processing. The co-op was established in 1988 on a seven-acre plot of land near the small town of Kerugoya. Their relatively small production volume allows for an increased focused on quality compared to many other factory-style stations in the area.

This lot is particularly interesting because it is entirely comprised of the SL-34 varietal. Oftentimes in Kenya we see lots that are a mix of SL-28 and SL-34, weighted more towards SL-28, but now we see how delicious SL-34 can be when it stands alone. A pretty rare treat in the Kenyan coffee world.

  Details:

Roaster: Kickapoo Coffee Roasters

Region: Kirinyaga, Central Kenya

Farm: Karithathi Cooperative

Process: Dry Fermentation, Washed, Overnight Soak, Raised Bed Drying

Varietal: SL-34

Elevation: 1,700 - 1,800m

  Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 2:10 total time | 200 degrees | 1.43 TDS | 21.50% Ext.

Dry aroma of lemon, Frosted Flakes, and candy.

The brewing aroma gives nods to passion fruit, florals, cherry, chocolate covered banana, wood, and herbal notes that linger in the air.

The nose is very aromatic, sweet, creamy.

The initial sips are a bit intense as indicated by TDS, but enjoyable.  

It is moderately viscous with bright but approachable citrus on the front and sweetness emanating from the cup most quickly arriving at toasted marshmallow followed by passion fruit, and ending on a creamy apricot and cherry coulis spread across the palate to saturate with flavor, but also slightly drying the mouthfeel in a lingering finish.

As it sits in the mouth, and continuing sip, that sugary sweetness still seems to coat those sips, sips that now reveal blackberry, peach, tomato, green apple, pomegranate, lime, floral, and honey, with the long finish bringing in elements of spice, dark chocolate, and cream.

The cooler it grows the more soft and settled it becomes, grapefruit still keeping the cup bright, but it is very comfortable, non-attacking on the palate, moving into a lavender soda sweetness on the front, a buttery and shortbread-like middle, and finishing with really pleasing chocolate notes.  All the while, candy-sweet floral and fruit notes dance all around those flavors and grapefruit lingering long after your sips are done.  

The final sips are just a more cohesive saturation of the above progression.

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Brew Method:

Kalita Wave | 34g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:45 total time | 201 degrees | 1.35 TDS | 20.30% Ext.

One of those samples where the beans themselves smell gorgeous.  Honey and sweet.

Brewing aroma is almost candy-like, caramel, apple, and spice.

The nose is dense, sweet, spiced, and citrusy.

The first sips are really something.  Syrupy, sweet, really clean and clear cranberry, spiced plum, cherry skin, candy apple sweetness with honey coating and trailing to a more grapefruit citrusy brightness, still coated in sweet, sweet honey.

Not too far after the initial sips grows vanilla wrapped apricot and passion fruit, still swimming in that saturated and syrupy body with a tart cherry finish.  Those notes continue to grow more plump, more nectary, more voluptuous in the cup.  Prickly blackberry, and pomegranate dance on those tomato notes, still sweetened in the end with peach and apricot.

It carries similarities here to the previous make: a growing grapefruit and lavender effervescence on the front like soda, a buttery and dense body full of sweetness and floral tickles, and a lingering honey finish with notes of spice and chocolate.

The final sips still sit in a sea of saturated syrupiness (say that 5 times fast), sweet, a bit splashy, bright and floral infused.

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 480g (w) | 4:00 total time | 201 degrees | 1.35 TDS | 20.00% Ext.

Nice Kenya aromas - cranberry, currant, honey, vanilla.

This cup carries a very bright intro.  Tart cranberry notes mix with what seems like bright grapefruit, spice, and a nice honey thickness in the end.

It settles in quickly, carrying a passion fruit sparkling water beginning and saturating the palate with baked apple crisps, poached pears with honey and ginger, and cranberry and rhubarb torte.  It is very coating in sweetness, but tingly tart and bright with spices abound, and finishing like grape Twizzlers pull-n-peels.  

It cools further and remains dense- sweet, splashy, and a bit refreshing, adding some melon-like notes to the sparkling front that feels more like an Italian soda, still a bit tingly but more balanced.  Notes of cranberry, raspberry, cherry, and cream finishing.

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Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and the Sidama Union of Growers, comprising of 80,000 individual farmers, put the region's traditional knowledge into practice through nearly 50 regional base co-ops.

Kickapoo has tasted coffee from many of these groups, but over time have zeroed in on the Fero Cooperative. Their coffee shines due to their particular locale, which is vaulted high in the mountains above the Rift Valley at nearly 2,000 meters. This impressive elevation causes the coffee cherries to mature slowly, developing a physically dense bean, filled with nuanced and complex flavors.

Kickapoo also loves the fact that Fero uses washed processing: immediately after harvest, the pulp of the coffee cherry fruit is removed by milling. After that, the bean is fermented, washed and then dried on raised beds. Washed processing results in a cleaner, brighter, more consistent coffee.

In a business that spans oceans and continents, relationships are important. This is their fourth year in a row working with the Fero Cooperative, and they couldn't be more excited by the commitment to quality they’ve seen with this group of dedicated farmers.

Details:

Roaster: Kickapoo Coffee Roasters

Region: Sidama, Southern Ethiopia

Farm: Fero Cooperative

Process: Washed

Varietal: Heirloom Varieties

Elevation: 1,900 - 2,010m

  Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 24g (c) to 350g (w) | 2:45 total time | 200 degrees | 1.40 TDS | 18.65% Ext.

It carries a juicy intro. A bit drying in mouthfeel with notes of raspberry, cherry, and a  smooth, slightly nutty (almond or pistachio) finish.

Splashy pops of sweet fruits jump on the tongue with each sip, lightly saturating, with apple, pear, peach, and strawberry and carrying sweet vanilla and a dash of honey in the trails.

Oh wow, not a few minutes later those notes get even sweeter, more candy-like in the cup, with citrus notes of lemon and orange adding some brightness before a flavor filled finish with slight tea-like tendencies.

While it carries a layered sweetness (grape, raspberry, and strawberry most note able) growing a bit buttery through cooling, it still always keeps tickles of those tea-like spices (and nods to dried fruits) and always ends the lingering almond-like but carrying shifty drifts of fruits that go on and on.

Gosh, it just keeps changing and changing. Creamy body and the fruits grow sweeter again.  Berries and more of a lemon and lime citrus note like a more classic Yirgacheffe profile.

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30g (c) to 482g (w) | 4:20 total time | 200 degrees | 1.29 TDS | 19.18% Ext.

Really nice brewing aroma.  

Lighter presentation than previous make.  Soft and sweet berry fruits on the front with soft cream, caramel, apple, and chocolate notes in the finish.  Elements of it remind me of green apple jolly ranchers, ultimately ending with a slightly drying finish.  

It is soft, but feels a bit dense as well.  Candy-sweet fruit notes begin to radiate as it cools- raspberry, cherry, apple, dried kiwi, and strawberry. If you were to Inception it even deeper you may find notes of red currant, orange creamsicle, and peaches and cream. Still, it sits lightly splashy and plush in the mouth, and ends with a slightly almond finish and even nips of tea-like tendencies and drifts of dried fruits arriving in the long finish.  

Brightness is a lot more reserved in this method. Candied lemon and lime may be present, but more highlighting of those sweet candy-like fruits.  It grows more and more creamy- touched with peach, apricot, honey, vanilla, and raspberry, and stays like that for the remainder of the cup.

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Brew Method:

Kalita Wave | 34g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:55 total time | 202 degrees | 1.33 TDS | 20.00% Ext.

Mmm. This coffee.  At it's hottest moments it does have a bit of a nutty drying to it, and cherry liqueur may come to mind, but it is also too hot for me to give accurate description.

Cooling a bit, you find lovely floral notes, similarly to the Idido in fact.  There are raspberry and strawberry notes there, not too sweet yet, still met with some cream in the finish leaving a slightly almond drying.

Further, you find a subtle, sweet, and juicy cup.  There is a nice brightness on the front, more lime than lemon but balanced in the cup, with more dense fruits softly saturating and a crisp but slowly juicy finish.

Cherry, apple, raspberry, swirl in the middle, with softer orange notes lingering in the finish, slightly drying but sweetly carrying on.  The more it opens the more vibrant the front is, like a honey crisp apple, with a balanced body and slight syrupiness growing in the finish.

Clean raspberry and chess pie are reminiscent in the final sips, smooth drying with cherry, juicy saturation, light chocolate notes and slight malting. 

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 17g (c) to 240g (w) | 2:00 then plunge by 2:30 total time | 201 degrees | 1.32 TDS | 19.75% Ext. (Immersion mode)

This method, while floral forward, seems to allow a sparkling lemon acidity intro the cup with notes of cherry and raspberry sweetening the cup before a smooth, slightly nutty finish.

  As it opens it remains crisp and vibrant, floral led with hints of bergamot joining with the lemon acidity to brighten the juicy body that now tastes a bit more similar to Juicy Fruit chewing gum, saturated with flavor: peach, cantaloupe, apricot, raspberry, apple, and cherry with tea-like characteristics developing.  It's silky as it glides across the mouth, luscious and beautiful.

It grows more creamy and lingering, but stays on those floral notes with complex and lightly sugary fruits melting into the background as it finishes with a honey coated, tea-like dream.

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Idido is famous in the world of Ethiopian Coffee.  Named for the village located just a few kilometers from the cooperative and mill that were among the first in the world to craft meticulously prepared natural processed coffees under the name 'Idido Misty Valley'. Like many cooperatives in Ethiopia, Idido has all of the right ingredients for turning out some of the best coffees in the world: high altitude, sound processing techniques, fertile soils, and heirloom varietals.

Idido was established in the late 1970's and joined the ranks of Yirgacheffe Farmer's Union in 2002. The cooperative has roughly 1000 active members who cultivate farms averaging 1.5 hectares. Kickapoo visited this cooperative in November of 2011 and were very pleased with the level of interest and engagement from members of the cooperative.

Our roast of last season's crop was named one of the top 15 coffees of the year by Coffee Review and was recognized nationally by the Good Food Awards this past January in San Francisco.

They've been working with Idido for the past four years and each lot has been better than the last. After tasting the first batch, they now know that this lot is no different. Enjoy.

  Details:

Roaster: Kickapoo Coffee Roasters

Region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

Farm: Idido Cooperative

Process: Wet Fermentation, Soak, 14 Day Raised Bed Drying

Varietal: Ethiopian Heirloom

Elevation: 1900-2100 meters

  Brew Method:

Kalita Wave | 34g (c) to 552g (w) | 3:45 total time | 201 degrees | 1.33 TDS | 20.00% Ext.

Lovely brewing aroma perfumed with florals, lime, and berry.

Nose of honey, strawberry candies, florals.

Whoa, really rich initial sips, comes out of the gun smoking.  It carries strawberry candy on the front, zested a bit with lemon peel, tangerine, and a bit of saturated juiciness like biting into a really flavorful cantaloupe, with vanilla, lime, cherry, honey, and almond but still those delicate florals you find in washed Yirgs.  If it is this sweet right away, I am greatly anticipating it's cooling phases, as still not but a few minutes in this vanilla cream note seems to almost jump out in the end of the sips.

Cooling a bit, it slowly and silkily covers the walls of the entire mouth.  You get some slightly sour cherry notes come out mixing (like the midway point of eating an warhead) with these really perfumed florals, adding all kinds of complexity to the cup.  It's clean, but syrupy. Delicate, but saturated.  Honey lined, citrus kissed, sweet like melon with raspberry, strawberry, plum, peach and vanilla, refined and directed.  In the end there is a bit of a savory element that hides in the florals, I can't tell if it is molasses or what it is.  Lingering on gives quiet notes of orange peel as well in a slightly drying finish.

The last 1/3 of the cup is so luscious, so lingering and sweet.  I'm so surprised how this satisfies the urge of everything I like about washed Ethiopians. The florals and herbals are perfectly at balance with the sweetness, nothing steps on any toes, the body is silky but still seems a tad richer, not coming off 'light" like some others can.  It's saturated, comfortable acidity, fruit notes that aren't too sweet. It is a perfect cup.

In the end it carries a growing acidity, still harmonious in the cup.

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Brew Method:

Chemex | 30.2g (c) to 480g (w) | 4:20 total time | 200 degrees |1.38 TDS | 20.25% Ext.

A bit on the stronger side.  Really clear and sweet aromatics, berries, cream, floral.

First sips are very detailed: apricot, peach, mango, and strawberry candies.  Lemon and lime sort of dance on the top, with a nice plush raspberry note in the center sweetening the entire cup til it's creamy sweet, floral-infused lingering finish.

Really similar to the Ruby Kochere here, balanced, delicate, silky, complex, and lovely... so lovely, in fact, that I am leaving my notes here to enjoy.

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Brew Method:

V60 no stir | 14g (c) to 227g (w) | 2:05 total time | 199 degrees | 1.37 TDS | 20.60% Ext.

The aromas brewing and in cup are still astounding.

More herbal/floral entangling in the beginning of this method than some others, still with that candy-like raspberry note.  Soft, not quite silky, lemon brightness and slightly tea-like in the finish.

Opening further, notes of apricot, strawberry, and cantaloupe seem to meet in a more honied body, delicately palpable and finishing cleanly and a bit more effervescent, while the lingering finish mid-cup seems to bring out cherry and even grape-candy sweetness a bit more.

The mouthfeel is so delicious. It slides in silky, brings that sugary sweetness, and then melts into a buttery trail of absolute bliss.

The finish balanced out nice. Plush, sugary, nice fruit juiciness, candied lime, and a flavor-filled lingering full of lovely florals.

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Brew Method:

Aeropress (Inverted) | 17g (c) to 240g (w) | 2:00 then plunge by 2:30 total time | 199 degrees | 1.38 TDS | 20.60% Ext. (Immersion mode)

Really prominent floral and lime off the front- beautiful and sweet.  Raspberry growing, and these are just the hottest sips.

Coming back the cup most similarly reminds me of Aricha on the aeropress- clean, saturated but lower lying lemon and citrus, and spread on a bouquet of florals and herbals, complex and sweetened.  I might sip this one slower than the other methods, as i'm still waiting for that sweet raspberry note to pop in the cup.  

Ah, not two minutes later does it arrive. Buttery, sweet, kiwi, melon, and raspberry. Plump, dense, and balanced.  It grows so creamy and sweet, with lemon underlying the whole cup, structured wonderfully, comfortably saturated with delicious fruits and layered sweetness that continues to unravel as it cools.

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You know, I’m not sure if I’d had coffee from Idido before this offering.  Quite possibly I had Counter Culture’s Idido last year while road tripping back from South Carolina, but I wouldn’t remember if I had.  Either way, I had no idea until recently what a gem this was in the specialty coffee world.  It wasn’t until Jonathan Bonchak of Counter Culture commented on the picture of this coffee I posted to Instagram that I learned about #TeamIdido and, in turn, realized that this coffee fared so well in competition and also in Good Food Awards.