Sweet Maria's Small Batch, Craft-Roasted Coffee Selections
A new direction for our roasted coffee offerings! In the time we have offered roasted coffee, our weekly selection became quite popular. The only problem was that it became too popular! Our primary focus is to offer green coffee and home roasters. With our subscription service in particular, we were becoming a regular roasted coffee source. We love roasting, but we want to do this in our own way, for each roast session to highlight unique differences in our greater green coffee offerings.
We are now offering "coffee pairings": one pound each of two coffees chosen to highlight differences in origin, processing, or roast; to provide our customers the ability to study the flavor profiles of two coffees. This sort of comparison is what we do all the time. Tom does this formally
when he cups a number of different coffee lots at the cupping table. In the warehouse we make a different coffee each time we brew a pot. Such a practice helps us focus on the flavor of the cup, to appreciate each coffee's uniqueness.
We are roasting less frequently now, roughly every two weeks, and picking two "regular"coffees each time. No decaf. No espresso blends. (We might offer single origin darker roasts for dual use as brewed coffee and espresso in the future). But in general, it's regular coffee to brew up however you choose. You may want to brew them and taste them side by side, or alternate making one coffee and then the next. Taste the coffees hot, warm and cold. Taste them the same time everyday or different times, and try to notice if they seem the same. (I tend to taste coffee better in the morning, when I am less distracted).
(Update: If you're interested specifically in roasted coffee for espresso, see our Roasted Espresso Page.)
If
you roast your own, you might want to cup your roasts versus those done
on the gas-fired German Probat roaster, and compare the "degree
of roast"
we have chosen for the specific coffees to your own. If you don't roast
at home, well ... here's the next best thing!
We have a new Sweet
Maria's Roasted Coffee Weblog where we discuss the why and
how of each week's selection ... and you can make comments too. It serves as an archive for previous roast sessions, so you can go back to review our comments, versus your findings.
Next Roast Date?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Pairing?
4th Generation Centrals
Why?
In this pairing we are using coffees from two farms that have been around a long long time, a Peaberry lot from the Matalapa Estate in El Salvador, and a Bourbon lot from the Puerta Verde estate, Antigua, Guatemala. I am not sure if the fact that the farms have been around so long contributes to their "classic cup" profile or not, but that is the case with both of these coffees. Both are truly classic Central American coffees. With the Matalapa Peaberry lot, the cup is vividly bright, with bracing orange acidity, laced with slight floral bits. As it cools my lighter roasts (City+) became more and more bright and dynamic, lemony with a cinnamon note. The Puerte Verde Bourbon is a classic Bourbon cup, dense mouthfeel, restrained flavors, classic brightness and balance. When lined up with other Antigua lots in particular, traces of fruit are evident; apple notes at City+ and dark berry at Full City roast levels.
This coffee pairing is $30, and includes one pound each of the two coffees listed above (2 Lbs. total) and the price of Priority Mail shipping is included as well! (Please be sure that the USPS can deliver to the address you give us.)
$30.00 Order by 4 pm on Tuesday (the roasting date) to have
the coffee roasted and shipped Wednesday (the next morning!) Prices include 2#s of coffee and shipping. Choose "Free Shipping $0.00" when you check out.
If you want other items, PLEASE place a separate order for just the roasted coffee.
If you can pick the order up at our warehouse - we do now offer the roasted coffee pairings at a discounted rate $24.00
Our Menu of Upcoming Roast Sessions:
December 16, 2009: African Coffee for the Holidays
January 6, 2010: Micro Lot Comparison
El Salvador Finca Matalapa Peaberry
Finca Matalapa is a classic estate coffee, long before there were mini-mills and micro-lots. It has a complete independent mill to service the farm, from the tree through wet-processing, patio drying, hulling and preparation, to loading the coffee in jute bags and packing the shipping container. The mill is filled with fantastic, classic coffee equipment painted in bold colors. And it's the passion of the owner, Vickie Ann Dalton de Diaz, and the love of archaic machinery on the part of her husband that keeps the mill running and the coffee tasting so wonderful! Finca Matalapa is in the Libertad area, not far from the capital of San Salvador, on a west-facing slop ranging from 1200 meters up to the ridge top at 1350 meters. It's a 4th generation coffee estate totaling 120 hectares and was founded in the late 1800's by Fidelia Lima, great grandmother of the Vickie. She maintains 14 acres of virgin tropical forest and keeps her coffee plants shaded with over forty varieties of larger trees. The cup has the character I aspire to find in El Salvador Bourbon-type coffees, though because of the strong winds in the area they find the native Salvador Pacas varietal to fare better in this region. Pacas is a natural mutation of the Bourbon varietal. The coffee has great balance and sweet accent notes. The dry fragrance has sweet citrus, praline and floral notes at City+, and a syrupy molasses sweetness at FC roast. You can find the same sweet, mild citrus in the wet aroma, with syrupy malty notes. The cup is vividly bright, with bracing orange acidity, laced with slight floral bits. As it cools my lighter roasts (City+) became more and more bright and dynamic, lemony with a cinnamon note. Light roasts have a correspondingly light body, but it fits the high-toned, refreshing flavor profile overall. I preferred this roast level for brewed coffee; the finish is high-toned and sweet. But this coffee works with a wide range of roasts and Full City roasts produce a great bittersweet cup at darker levels. It's the brighter, livelier version of the Matalapa flat bean coffee, and excellent brewed in a vacuum pot, dripper or Technivorm.
This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate
pricing transparency program.
Compare to:Classic peaberry coffee with orange and cinnamon highlights, and bracing acidity. A competition-winning espresso and #10 in the 2008 El Salvador Cup of Excellence.
Puerta Verde is a 4th generation family-run coffee farm in the Ciudad Vieja (Old City) Antigua, Guatemala. It is named for the green door that marks the entrance to the coffee farm. It's a medium-sized farm at 41 hectares, and like all Antigua coffees has great altitude (1539 meters). Since they don't have a wet mill, the coffee is processed by the respected Zelaya family nearby (Bella Carmona estate). It was also graced with 7th place for a lot entered in the '09 Guatemala Cup of Excellence. I haven't been thrilled with Antigua coffees as of late, although there are certainly some nice ones. The Finca Retana Yellow Bourbon did not come through last year, and many of the large lots sold via brokers are pooled coffees that, honestly, are not truly Antiguas. When the mills in the area buy coffee cherry, it might be Antigua, or it might be from Acatenango or Chimaltenango or elsewhere. They have attempted to certify Antigua appellation coffees, but it's another fee that adds to the cost, and many aren't willing to bear it. The best way to get a great Antigua is to buy from a known small farm, and that's the case here. Puerta Verde is a really nice cup this year, and lined up against other Antiguas, has a very nice sweet fruit quality. The dry fragrance at optimal roast levels (City+) has a remarkable sweet - bittersweet balance. There's an intense chocolate scent, as well as butter and caramel soft hints, along with a slight trace of cedar. To this, the wet aroma adds a touch of sandalwood, hop flower and malt stout beer. In the cup, intense bittersweet notes are balanced by creamy body. It's a classic Bourbon cup, dense mouthfeel, restrained flavors, classic Central America brightness and balance. When lined up with other Antigua lots in particular, traces of fruit are evident; apple notes at City+ and dark berry at Full City roast levels.
A new direction for our roasted coffee offerings! In the time we have offered roasted coffee, our weekly selection became quite popular. The only problem was that it became too popular! Our primary focus is to offer green coffee and home roasters. With our subscription service in particular, we were becoming a regular roasted coffee source. We love roasting, but we want to do this in our own way, for each roast session to highlight unique differences in our greater green coffee offerings.
