SUMATRAN and SULAWESI COFFEES
BRAZILIAN COFFEES
Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world. Brazilian coffees are known for their use as a base for espresso blends, but they are also wonderful as single origin coffees using drip, French Press, vacuum and other methods. When talking about Brazilian coffees it's very important to talk about the processing. Dry-process, also known as "natural", is the most prevalent method. This is when the coffee is dried in the cherry. Dry process Brazils are generally heavier bodied, sweet and smooth. Pulped Natural is a method where the skin of the cherry is removed, but the pulp is left to dry on the bean before its removal. Pulped natural coffees tend to have some charcteristics of each of the other two methods. They have good body, sweetness and tend to be more fruity. The majority of award-winning coffees coming out of Brazil use this method. Finally, wet-processed coffees, which are fairly rare in Brazil, removes the layer of silverskin covering the bean. These coffees tend to be a bit brighter and more defined.
In general, processing methods aside, Brazilian coffees have nutty, dark/bittersweet cocoa characteristics and good body. Being lower-grown coffees, the beans aren't as dense and tend to roast up a bit faster.
Currently stocked Brazils are the complex and exceptionally balanced Fazenda Natural 17/18, the crisp, yet earthy Ipanema Natural, the very nutty (our nuttiest) Mogiana, The balanced, slightly fruity, quintessentially Brazilian Cerrado Santos and the exceptionally balanced, bright and nutty Fazenda Mirante de Boa Vista.
New Brazilian arrivals include Pedra Grande which is a caramelly sweet Bourbon, with overtones of nuts and chocolate, the rich, lush and complex Alvorada. Back for a successful return engagement is the Prima Quality, a sweet, buttery and slightly floral blend of three of the finest coffees Brazil has to offer. Our decaf offering is the sweet and nutty Royal Select Decaf.
Organic Brazilians include the sweet and balanced Sul de Minais, and an organically certified Fazenda Natural
COLOMBIAN COFFEES
Colombian coffees are generally medium-bodied, sparking and rich, with a winey
characteristic and good complexity. The words 'supremo' and 'excelso', so common in many
descriptions are merely Colombia's designations for bean/screen size: Supremo is the larger
size (17+ screen); Excelso designates the smaller (15 - 16 screen) beans; smaller (than
Excelso) beans are rarely seen in specialty grades.
The many growing regions in the north-central and southern districts provide the
majority of the premium specialty coffees available. The north-central growing regions such
as Bucaramanga and Antioquia tend to produce deeper, earthier coffees, while coffees from
southern regions such as Narino, Cauca and Huila tend to be brighter and fruitier.
For fans of organic coffees, and everyone else I might add, our organic
Colombian offerings are the deep, earthy Bucamaranga Mesa de los
Santos, and the sparkling, winey,
buttery Tierradentro.
On the non-organic side we offer the exceptionally well-balanced, rich and buttery full natural Palestina and the classic big bean (Supremo) Huila. This is the coffee that Goldilocks would have chosen with
her "just-right" porridge. A quintessential Columbian coffee. The Quindio is a deep, earthy coffee, rich, with a currant note on the finish. If you like your Colombian coffee on the fruity side, look no further than the Guayata Typica, a rich, fruity and sparkling new arrival. Another surprisingly excellent Colombian is the high-toned, almost Kenya-like (but definitely Columbian) Huila Zephyr Special. Lastly, but certainly not least, as it's one of our most popular, if not THE most popular coffee we have, is the Supremo Bucamaranga. If you're looking for a deep, rich, well-rounded and balanced Columbian, look no further.Decaf drinkers have the
choice of the smoother, refined Royal Select and the heavier, more
chocolatey Huila Natural decafs.
Pick your pleasure; there's a Colombian for everyone!
COSTA RICAN Coffees
I like to describe Costa Rican coffee as a "coffee's coffee"; smooth, rich, subtly fruited
and well-balanced. "Crowd pleaser" coffees, if you will. If I needed to describe the taste
of coffee to someone who had never tasted coffee before, I would more than likely, although
unknowingly, be describing Costa Rican coffee.
It would be amiss to start a comparative of Costa Rican coffee with anything but Tarrazu,
and arguably the best Tarrazu, LaMinita.
For many, it is the benchmark Costa Rican. Our other Tarrazu coffees are the slightly nutty, and ever so yummy
El Conquistador, and the rich, smooth, fruity La Magnolia Tres Rios, both of which are also brought to you by the folks at La Minita. We also have the earthy Horqueta, and the fruity AND earthy Finca Tonia Miel pulped natural. New Costa Rican offerings include two micro-lots, the balanced and fruity Finca Cedral and the complex, crowd-pleasing high-grown Vera Blanca.
Our organic offering is the
Las Lajas, similar to the Finca Tonia, but earthier and with a slight bit more body. Last, but NEVER least, is our decaf, the Cattleya Royal Select, one of the new generation water-process decafs with the richness, flavor, body and brightness previously reserved for their caffeinated brothers. A truly outstanding decaf.
ETHIOPIAN and YEMENI Coffees
Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. The story goes that a goatherder by the Name of Kaldi noticed that his goats were becoming restless, agitated and would sleep very little. After investigation, he noticed that they were eating the fruit of some bushes that he had never seen before. Kaldi tried some of this fruit himself and came to the conclusion that it was the red berries from these bushes that were the cause of it. You guessed it; Kaldi had discovered coffee, and aren't we glad he found them??
Ethiopian and Yemeni coffees are arguably the most complex in the world. Size designations for Ethiopian coffees are Mocca (peaberry), shortberry (small bean) and longberry (large bean). Major growing regions are Harar, Ghimbi, and Sidamo (Coffees labeled Yergacheffe are actually produced within the Sidamo region and may be labeled as either, although there are other distinctions - read on). Harars are dry-processed coffees that are intensely fruited, intoxicatingly aromatic and have a great complexity of flavors.
Sidamos/Yergacheffes are washed coffees and have a heavier body than Harars and a honeyed sweetness. Ghimbis, rarely seen these days, are a bit heavier, less fruity and subsequently more balanced than Harrars.
Yemeni coffees are similar in complexity to Ethiopians. They are also intensely fruited, with flavors running from banana to berry. Yemens can also exhibit a musky earthiness that adds a nice balance to the cup. Major designations for Yemen coffees are Sanani and Mattari. Sanani coffee tends to be fruitier than Mattari with Mattari coffees being a bit heavier with more earthiness and chocolate notes, although these notes can be present in all Yemeni coffee. In my experience, a lighter roast (short of or just a few snaps into second crack) helps to preserve all of the complexity and fruitiness of these coffees. They will also benefit from a bit of extended rest time after roasting.
Our Ethiopian selections include two Harars. The benchmark Harar Horse, fruity, chocolatey and complex, with an incredible aroma from the grinder to the cup, and a sweet, fruity Organic Fair Trade Harar. Our two Yergacheffes are an organic Yergacheffe, fruity, with a honeyed sweetness, and our regular Yergacheffe, which adds a floral/black tea note to the mix. Both outstanding examples of this origin.
Our three Yemen offerings show both the similarities and the differences in this origin. The Ismaili, the rarest of Yemen origins, is a spicy and complex coffee with berry and banana fruitiness. The ORGANIC Matari is a BIG chocolate, nutty and outstandingly complex coffee, and a rare certified organic Yemen as well. Our third Yemen offering is the most fruited and complex of our Yemens, the Sanani. An amazing coffee.
GUATEMALAN Coffees
When many people think of Guatemalan coffee, they immediately think Antigua, and rightly so. Antiguas are complex, and can run the gamut from subtly fruited to intensely bright. Among the other growing regions are Huehuetenango, who's coffees can tend to have a floral note to compliment their fruitiness, and the deeper, well- balanced coffees from Coban.
Our Guatemalan selections are diverse, coming from 4 distinct growing regions. The Antiguas include one of our most popular coffees, the subtle, complex, chocolaty and fruity (just ran out of adjectives) La Flor del Cafe and the BIG chocolate, earthy Pastoral. Huehuetenango offerings are the nutty, chocolaty Palo Alto Azul, fruity, chocolaty and slightly floral Huehuetenango SHB; from the award winning El Injerto farm, the rich, fruity and carmelly sweet El Injerto and the sweet, floral Palhu.
Our organics include, from the Quiche region, the tropically-fruited, soft and balanced, fair-trade Chajulense Maya Ixil, the high-grown, sweet, complex and extremely well-balanced San Marcos Tajumulco and the floral, bright and chocolaty Huehuetenango SHB.
Our Guat decaf selections are the bright, citrus and chocolate Guatemala SHB Decaf, the well-balanced, lightly floral Huehuetenanago Decaf
HAWAIIAN and CARIBBEAN Coffees
Hawaiian and Caribbean coffees are known for being soft, smooth, rich and complex, yet subtle; in a word "fragile". Careful though, it's very easy to over-roast these coffees and roast out the subtlties and complexities, especially the larger Typica varietals, i.e. Konas & Jamaican Blue Mountain.
In general, these coffees are very well-balanced, with delicate fruity or red wine brightness and subtle notes of nuts, chocolate and spice. Brightness is key to a great Hawaiian/Caribbean. Brightness in a coffee is what is responsible for, or what "carries" the flavors. As these coffees are delicate and subtle, if there isn't enough brightness, they can taste "flat". Lighter roasts tend to preserve the the brightness, hence the varietal subtleties well. As previously stated, it's very easy to over-roast Hawaiian/Cribbean coffees, destroying the subtle flavors that make them so wonderful.
First off is our Jamaican Blue Mountain Grade 1 from Mavis Bank. Arguably the world's most balanced coffee, it's smooth and rich, with delicate brightness. Fruity and chocolaty with a hint of nuts on the finish, all in subtle measure. Unfortunately, we are out of stock at the moment, but expect it in again in the very near future. Please continue to check the website.
Our Puerto Rican Yauco Selecto AA is a bit deeper than most, with a red wine brightness, dark chocolate overtones and a hint of earthiness. A soft cup, yet with some heft to it.
The Kauai Estate Reserve Peaberry is a mellow, understated coffee at lighter roasts, yet heavy and full-bodied when you "oil it up". Elegant describes it well; nicely balanced, with nutty and floral notes.
We (almost) always have a good selection of absolutely excellent Kona coffees, but this year we could not find a Kona that lived up to our own personal standards...at a price that was even halfway reasonable. Perhaps this is our "example", but we would rather not carry a popular coffee at all if we can't carry one that meets our standards. This is not to say there are no good Konas out there, just that we didn't find what we were looking for until it was too late. Not going to make that mistake again! What were we looking for? Simply a perfectly balanced, sweet, fruity, nutty cup with chocolatey floral notes; subtly elegant and very satisfying.
KENYAN Coffees
Kenyan coffees have long been known for their intense (albeit fairly thin-bodied), bright, complex, fruity/red wine character. This fruity character can show up in a wide range of flavors from citrus to apricot to berry, depending on the particular lot. If you're a fan of bright, bold, in-your-face coffees, then Kenyans can be right up your alley.
We're pleased to say that our current Kenyan offerings show the great diversity of this origin. On the bright, citrus end of the spectrum we have the intensely lemon Gakuyuini Peaberry, brightly citrus yet well-balanced Gakuyuini AA and a bit lower-toned Maywal. New, and a bit different, we offer the unique, peachy Gichi. Kenyan fans will really want to try this one. It's also perfect for ANYONE who wants a really nice, bright, wonderfully fruited coffee. The Karurumo is a uniquely balanced, lower-toned, darkly fruited Kenyan with a wonderfully long finish. Lastly, but certainly not least is the the Muburi-Kiriniaga. Currant fruitiness with a nice lower end for balance.
Our decaf offering is the AA Royal Select Auction Lot. Starting life off as a good auction lot coffee is a good thing for this decaf. Normally pretty much removed by the decaf process, this coffee retains much of its brightness, therefore more of its flavor. A really nice decaf.
MEXICAN COFFEES
Typically, Mexican coffees are soft and smooth, yet bright, with a light to medium body. The vast majority of good, specialty-grade Mexican coffees comes from the Oaxaca and Chiapas regions in the very southern end of the country, although we will occasionally run into good coffees from Coatepec in central Mexico as well. Chiapas borders Guatemala on the south, with Oaxaca bordering Chiapas on the north.
We currently have 6 Mexican offerings, breaking down to 4 from Chiapas (all Fair Trade Organics, btw), one Oaxacan and one decaf. The organic Chiapas offerings are the excellent, well-balanced, classic, PROISH, the slightly brighter, slightly deeper FTO Chiapas, the nutty and floral Peaberry and the elegantly simple, chocolate and floral
El Triunfo. Our Oaxaca offering is the clean, brightly fruited, typically Oaxacan,
Altura Pluma Don Eduardo. The Mexican Royal Select decaf is a soft, gentle decaf, nutty, with a hint of florals on the finish.
NICARAGUAN Coffees
Nicaraguan coffees are typically Central American, smooth, and well-rounded, with nice
brightness; medium-bodied with a trademark floral quality. As our
Coffee Matrix© numbers bear out, they are complex, yet well balanced.
While Nicaraguan
coffees have been around a long time, it appears many Nicaraguan coffee farmers responded to
our (yours and ours) cry for quality over quantity - for more on that, read this
article; look for them to become everyday words in coffee conversations.
Our most complex and well-balanced Nicaraguan coffee is the Finca San Jose. Red wine and chocolate
overtones and a long, complex finish. We are proud to offer the outstanding 2007 5th Place COE Winner, Santa Isabel, sweet, carmelly and complex, yet delicate. Truly worthy of its high showing.
For our organic Nicaragua offering we have the Cinco de Junio FTO, a simple, elegant
coffee with floral and chocolate flavors in perfect balance.
PANAMANIAN Coffees
Panamanian coffees, for me (this is Jerry writing), are the hidden gems of Central America. They can range from subtly fruity to sparkling and winey. They are complex and smooth, well-rounded, rich and satisfying.
To a coffee, I believe that ALL of our Panama offerings are a cut above, starting with the sparkling, bright, fruity and complex La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain from the same folks who produced the multiple-record price setting Panama auction lot coffees of the last few years. Next, soft and fruity Carmen Boquette. It's the coffee you see the cowpoke in our logo savoring (for a real experience, get real close to your screen and do the scratch 'n' sniff). The Berlina is soft, well-rounded and fruity, with a pronounced honeyed sweetness.
The Panama Royal Select Decaf is an ususually bright and balanced decaf; chocolaty, nutty and smooth.
SUMATRAN and SULAWESI Coffees
Sumatran coffees are known for their heavy, almost syrupy body, pronounced earthiness, trademark "funk"* (not as a defect though, as a good thing!), and despite the brighter, winey character of many Lintong coffees, low acidity. Many people who shy away from coffee because of the acidity can actually drink Sumatran coffees without the unpleasant "acid stomach".
Sulawesi coffees, though very similar in characteristics to Sumatrans, are a bit lighter, mellower and more balanced.
The recent Sumatran offerings have been outstanding, which will explain why we carry so many of them. It's hard to pass up a really good coffee and our current Sumatran coffees are all that, starting with the Retro Mandheling, probably our boldest and earthiest Sumatran. A really BIG coffee, even by Sumatran standards. The Grade 1 Mandehling, while a bit less bold and earthy, adds a spicy note to the finish. The organic Triple Pick is almost identical to the regular Triple Pick, except for being about a thousand times bolder, but it is less earthy.
Our Lake Tawar are beans from the Aceh and Lintong regions. It is (dare I use these words to describe a Sumatran coffee?), clean and refreshing with a white wine acidity/brightness. It's still an earthy coffee, pronounced, but in more subdued measure. A real gem of a coffee that doesn't come around very often. The Grade 1 Lintong is an old-favorite classic. Not overly earthy, with a chocolate note and a winey brightness that brings it all together so bold and not so bright, with a chocolate note that reminds you of what you are drinking. A rare, unusual offering is the Tabarita Peaberry. This coffee is separated peaberries from the outstanding Lake Tawar and Blue Batak Lintongs. What more need be said? We're very pleased to have back a wonderfully complex and intense Aged Lintong. This is a unique coffee and well worth sampling. Off the beaten path a bit, we have the heavy, bold, spicy and intense, yet surprisingly clean ACEH Gold. A real find. We are also happy to offer another outstanding aged Sumatran coffee, the Aged Mandehling from the 2004 crop. It's heavy and sweet, low in acidity, and with a twist of Sumatran funk.
We currently offer two coffees from SULAWESI. The Toraja, full-bodied, funky, spicy and complex, with a really nice nutty note in the background (I have to talk this one up or I'm cooked; it's the boss's favorite) Not so!! Jerry can like any coffee he wants...as long as he doesn't make me drink it :~)
The Kalossi (actually the old Dutch name for the Toraja region) is a bit earthier and with more pronounced spice on the finish. Same region, different mill - everything makes a difference in coffee.
For decaf drinkers, the Sumatra Royal Select decaf is true to its origin: heavy-bodied and sweet, and with a nice spice. The Sulawesi Toraja Royal select is not quite as heavy, but it is complex, with fruity and chocolate notes.
Our wide range of Sumatrans and Sulawesi coffees should offer something for everyone.