We have a wide-ranging and eclectic mix of new arrivals today. From South America we have a new lot of Colombia Tolima -Finca Las Florestales a family farm of Maximino Gutierrez and his brothers. (I am headed to Colombia next week, but visiting Florestales is impossible - the area has too many FARC guerilla camps!) We have yet another great Kenya, and this is the first-ever Fair Trade lot we have been able to buy with a fantastic cup: Kenya FT Peaberry - Kiawamururu from the Nyeri District. We bought Kiawamururu (what a tongue twister of a name) in the past, and this lot rates with the best. Our last Kona of the year is in, Hawaii Kona -Moki’s Farm. We chose to run out of Kona in summer, and the Moki’s is running a bit late this year since there were drying problems early in the crop. We have a nice, new crop Mexico FTO Oaxaca WP Decaf. And you really need to read the story behind Panama Guyami Indian Robusta Rustico. It’s the only coffee I have known to be sent to the coffee mill on a public bus! It’s the only coffee I know that is “river-processed” in canvas bags. Not for everyone, but it can actually be brewed in a French Press and make a potent cup.
Two new Centrals: Two new Kenyas. We have our perrenial favorite Guatemala Fraijanes -Finca Agua Tibia and a new lot from our favorite Honduran growing region: Honduras Organic SHG Marcala (full cupping review coming). Our first Kenya auction lots have arrived and they are amazing! Kenya Pebaerry Kirinyaga - Gakuyuini is a potent lot, darkly sweet with black currant. Kenya AA Nyeri - Kiamaina is a refined cup with peach-like flavors and brightness. Both lots are so different, both wonderful in their own right.
Tom, Josh and Derek are back from the SCAA show. This whole “cupper vs. barista” thing was really on everyone’s minds. Also, our Rwanda roast did quite well in the Roaster’s Choice competition despite some very, very beautiful coffees we were up against. We were just hoping to make the top 10! Oddly, I had misread it as “Taster’s Choice competition”, and was at Costco looking for 30 Lbs of Taster’s Choice to enter … which wouldn’t have done quite as well as the Rwanda.
We have received our 2 exotic Nicaragua lots featured in seasons past: Nicaragua Pacamara Peaberry is the ovoid version of the huge bean crops between Pacas and Maragogype cultivars. We also have the unusual Nicaragua Limoncillo Java Longberry Cultivar back, with a unique distinction that (under a different name) it placed #2 in the Cup of Excellence this year! We already have lots of super fancy Brazils, but this one is in a league of it’s own: Brazil Carmo de Minas -Fazenda Esperança has been a top 10 lot in Brazil Cup of Excellence several times, including #1 top spot in the last one! The review explains my feelings about this incredible lot. And Sumatra Lake Tawar 19+ Extra Bold is back, bolder than ever, super-premium coffee with incredible size and preparation, and a real powerhouse cup this season.
We just received the new crop lot of Rwanda Duhingekawa Women’s Cooperative coffee from this Fair Trade group, and it has the same balanced, slightly citric profile as last year’s great delivery. Read more about their unique group here. We also have the classic Sulawesi Grade One Toraja, a traditional semi-washed Indonesia with great bean preparation (few defects, and oddly, almost no chaff when roasting). And I am off to the SCAA conference in Minneapolis. Actually, Josh and Derek are coming too, so watch out Minnesota! Maria and the crew are holding down the fort and keeping the orders rolling.
New crop Central American lots are starting to come in. The first new crop Guatemala is from Fraijanes: Guatemala Finca La Florencia 100% Bourbon, a classic, balanced old-cultivar cup with surprisingly dense body. We also have a very limited amount of Jamaica Blue Mountain. Okay, not really. The JBM from Jamaica has cupped out flat as a board this year, but we have Hawaii Kowali Blue Mountain (JBM Cultivar) grown by this excellent small family farm in Kona.
this is pretty much the highest level of hand-sorting, when coffee is visually sorted at a desk, not a conveyor, and not just machine color-sorting. You see this a lot in Guatemala. In one day, a person might do just 50 Lbs. of green coffee. It’s another of the behind-the-scenes tasks between the tree and the cup that is too often taken for granted.
Yemen Coffee Bonanza! It’s a first; we currently have 4 distinct Yemeni coffee selections at Sweet Maria’s, and one tea. Yes, tea … coffee tea … made from the dried skins of the coffee fruit! It’s called Yemen Qishr Tea and is a very unique experience. These Yemeni coffee lots are clean and balanced compared to selections from the past, and at least 2 (Ismaili and Sharasi) result in some of the best Single Origin Espresso I have had this year! Yemen Mokha Ismaili is spicy, lush, velvety, and a bit more earthy than the others. It’s the best Ismaili in 2 years. Yemen Mokha Mattari has winey fruit and chocolate, my favorite brewed cup. Yemen Mokha Sharasi is a lot I found in Yemen last November, delicate, fruited, refined, and an incredible SO espresso. We have other arrivals too: Indonesia Flores “Jade” is unlike the previous offers from this tiny island, rustic, intense, more Sumatra-like. Speaking of Sumatra, we have a great Sumatra Organic Mandheling that cups better than the numbers indicate. Read the review. And here’s robusta you can drink as a French Press brew! (Although we still recommend it chiefly for espresso blend use: India Robusta- Jeelan Estate Sitara.
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