SM Home/News/Library/Weblog/Forum/Cart/Login
Home

India Coffee Bonanza!

Sort of. Basically, we found these new, unique India lots and they call showed up on our doorstep at one time! First off is one of the oddest, most-confounding coffees I have ever tasted! It's a rare coffee, certainly a unique experience, but you had better read the review before you take a risk on this one!

orange bourbon and it tastes like... orange

obvious but true, the new El Salvador Orange Bourbon Cultivar that I posted today has orange sweetness in the cup, as well as a ton of body. It's not a firecracker of a coffee, but solid, compact, balanced. Here's the picture I took on my first encounter with this variation on the classic Bourbon varietal, back in early 2006:

2 fancy new gesha lots + chiapas, colombia, yemen

A wide range of arrivals, from big-ticket Gesha-cultivar lots to humble, mild Chiapas lot, an outstanding Colombia from a new region and a superior Yemeni lot:

guess what? new coffee arrivals ...

A variety of new coffees arriving today and tomorrow, including another Cup fo Excellence lot! It's a classic Central cup with tons of chocolate, spice and citrus hints: Nicaragua Cup of Excellence -La Esperanza . And we have another potent Auction Lot Kenya, loaded with tropical fruit, very bright and winey: Kenya Nyeri - Ruiruiru Peaberry .

great coffee from the high end and the low end

We have a very special arrival, a single-farm, single-varietal Antigua lot with great cup character: Guatemala Antigua Finca Retana Yellow Bourbon. On the other end of the spectrum, we have a pooled coffee lot with no pedigree, Colombia Supremo 15943 and I don't even know what region it is from! It's just one of those crazy things; sometimes a generic lot can be really good!

5 big ones

Again, many coffees are arriving at once, and I am trying to get packed for my flight to the Roaster's Guild Retreat tomorrow at 6:30 am. Oh well. Here they are, each one a gem in their own right.

east africa & west africa

We have two new African arrivals. Another great East African lot from the Main Crop auctions; Kenya Kirinyaga - Thimu Peaberry has a deep-toned character (for a Kenya) with berry-like fruited notes and winey hints. And for the first time we have a West African coffee!

Panama-rama

It's Panama-rama time! We received three prize-winning lots: From the 2007 Best of Panama Competition we have the #2 lot, Panama Auction Lot - Mama Cata Gesha, my favorite lot with a balanced cup and plenty of floral character from the Gesha cultivar.

costa rica + ethiopia: nothing in common

...well, the only thing they have in common is they arrived on the same day. We have 2 new offerings: A special Costa Rica Naranjo Caracol Peaberry has arrived, a lot I found (or more correctly, it found me) while cupping in the Naranjo region this February.

colombia cup of excellence, 2 fantastic kenya coffees

We have a Cup of Excellence arrival and 2 new Kenya lots! The Colombia Cup of Excellence - El Caucho is a complex and intense cup, with dark fruited notes, and a unique sweet tobacco finish. Kenya AA Nyeri - Karatina is a bright floral and citrus blossom coffee, a cup that brings the term "pristine" to mind.

kenya, ethiopia, panama, guatemala

  • Arrivals from Central America and Africa new crop:

    • two classic lots: costa rica la minita & colo reserva del patron

    We have received two of our old standby coffees. The new crop Costa Rica Tarrazu -Hacienda La Minita has arrived, and in a blind cupping it stands up well against the new costa rica coffees from naranjo and dota. It is exceptionally clean (pristine might be a better term), with delicate, bright acidity. As it cools, floral notes and vanilla emerge. The Colombia Reserva del Patron, from the Narino region in the south, is in. The main features here are remarkable balance, body, sweet chocolate at Full City to F+ roast - this is crowd-pleaser coffee.

    march of the centrals

    The award winning Panama Carmen Estate 1800+ Meters, our special selection of the highest altutude coffee from this farm, is back in stock again, as bright and dynamic as ever. And we have a new farm source for an all-Bourbon varietal: El Salvador SHB Pulp Natural -San Emilio, with dense body and excellent chocolate character with a fruited subtext.

    the ultimate bird-friendly coffee, and some amazing new lots

    Once again, we have so many new arrivals at once I can only provide a list, and links to the full reviews.

    a thin slice of hawaii

    We have a small lot of Hawaii Kona - Kowali Typica XF (1 Lb limit, sorry ... there is very little). The recommendation on the roast has changed from our earlier lot this year (FC, FC+) to a real sweet spot I found around C+.

    a new one, an old favorite, a weird one

    We have yet another Oaxaca coffee offering. As I mentioned before, this seems to be an "up" year for the region, and these two lots exemplify uniquely different Oaxaca cup character. This second arrival, Mexico Oaxaca Pluma - Don Eduardo has an interesting fruied and winey subtext to the cup, with good tangy chocolate at FC (Full City) roast.

    guatemala, nicaragua - more centrals unloaded

    The roll call for Centrals continues with two new arrivals. Guatemala Fraijanes - Finca Agua Tibia is extra nice this year, tons of spice and tangy chocolate. And we have an outstanding Nicaragua FTO Esteli - Miraflor Coop, with almond roast notes, milk chocolate and clean fruit in the finish.

    back from costa rica, brought coffee with me...

    Not really; I can't pack 8000 Lbs of Costa Rican coffee in my checked baggage and bring it back. But it so happens that while I was in Costa Rica cupping micro-lot coffees, our first two new crop arrivals from arrived. They are well-known to our regulars. Some coffees we carry each year because they consistently perform so well on the cupping table.

    a tidal wave of new coffee arrivals

    So many new arrivals at once. Some lots were delayed in shipping, but everything seemed to come in at once!

    yemen, espresso competition, and stuff.

    We are waiting on some other new coffee arrivals (and a couple new merch arrivals too) but I wanted to highlight the Yemen Mokha Sana'ani. Sometimes we switch to a new lot, and forget to underscore the fact, or even mention it! This new crop Sana'ani is quite dynamic and has some very lively bittering chocolate and spice notes. This lot exemplifies the postitive aspects of "leathery" flavors in a better way than any Yemen I can recall. Yes, leather can be good!
    Syndicate content