2024 Q3 LTO: Honey Process Tarrazú

Flavor notes: Sweet brown sugar notes, followed by dried fruit flavors, all wrapped up in a milk chocolate acidity.

Beneficio San Diego is the most modern mill in Costa Rica. It was established in 1888 and has been innovating ever since. Today Beneficio San Diego specializes in coffees from Tarrazu and Tres Rios regions. The mill takes pride in striving for ever increasing efficiency and quality standards. At the same time. it has taken a leading role in working with producers to ensure good community relations and sustainable production.

The honey process started in Costa Rica and has since spread to other countries in Central America. In this process some or all of the mucilage of the coffee cherry - or coffee honey - that coats the parchment is left on during the drying stage, giving the coffee a sweetness that resembles a natural.

This coffee was selected for its incredibly exceptional cup profile. Given the uniqueness and complexity of the honey process. no two honey coffees are alike. This craft process starts with the strict selection of perfectly ripe cherries. once the coffee is depulped the mucilage is left on allowing the natural sugars to enhance the coffees sweetness. The coffee is then dried on African beds or patios. allowing the coffee to dry in a slow and even way.

Other Notes:
Roast – Medium-Light
Area – Tarrazú, Costa Rica
Growing Altitude – 4000-5700ft
Type – Honey process dried
Variety – Caturra, Catui

2024 Q2 LTO: Sumatra Mandheling Dark

Flavor notes: Earthy, Deep Caramel, Brown Spice, hints of Tobacco

Sumatra Mandheling is grown in North Sumatra and Aceh. Between these two regions lies the Mount Leuser Range, said to be home to one of the most ancient and bio-rich ecosystems on the planet.

Mandheling coffee is named after the Mandailing people, an ethnic group that traditionally grew and processed coffee in the Tapanuli region of North Sumatra. As the coffee became popular on a global scale, Mandheling became a trade name, referencing a much broader production region (including the Gayo, Acehnese and others).

Sumatra

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and Sumatra is the second largest of these. The islands were formed by volcanic activity, and their mineral-rich soil—fortified with volcanic ash and diverse plant life—have helped to make Indonesia's coffees among the most famous and celebrated around the world. (Sulawesi and Java, which follow Sumatra in land mass, are also spectacular—and perhaps often lumped together in the public conception of "Sumatra.")

Coffee trees were originally brought to Indonesia in the early 19th century by Dutch colonizers, who sought to break the Arabic monopoly on coffee cultivation. Soon afterward, coffee from Indonesia dominated the world market. By the end of that century, however, disease had completely destroyed the crops. Coffee trees were successfully replanted and quickly gained a large share of the world market until the plantations were ravaged again during World War II.

Giling Basah

Indonesia's coffees have long been prized for a particular cup profile—a delicate acidity, creamy body and flavors from chocolate and red fruit to earthy, herbal, umami and sweet tobacco. The profile is the result of the country’s unique processing method, called wet hulled, or giling basah, in the Bahasa language.

Giling basah involves hulling the parchment at roughly 50 percent moisture content—versus 10 to 12 percent moisture, as is more common around the world). The parchment is then hulled and bagged and sent to rest—which is also unique to Indonesia. Elsewhere, hulling typically takes places just before the coffee is shipped to the port.

Roasting

We roast this Sumatra on the darker side, as it plays so well with the natural earthy and tobacco notes common in these coffees. Drink it as is, or enjoy it with some cream!

Other Notes:
Roast – Dark
Area – Batak & Aceh
Growing Altitude – 3600-5000ft
Type – Giling basah (wet hulled), sun-dried
Variety – Catimor, Typica

2024 Q1 LTO: Tanzania

Flavor notes: Dark chocolate, caramelized, soft-citrus acidity, creamy body, buttery.

This coffee comes from the Igale AMCOS (the local term for a cooperative, abbreviated from Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society) in the Mbozi district of Songwe. Specifically, 443 producers from the villages of Idiwili, Ilomba, Iyula, Idunda, Ipyana and Igale contributed cherry. This Tanzania Igale Coffee Club Limited Edition is a limited run of 30 kilogram bags of coffee from the Igale AMCOS, in celebration of the Coffee Club at their neighboring high school.

Igale Coffee Club

The Tanzania Igale Coffee Club is an after-school program at the high schools neighboring Igale AMCOS. This program is a three year intensive and hands-on training that offers youth education at all levels of the value chain. The hope is that, in providing the education and practical skills, the young community members will have a tangible and economically viable option in an area with a high rate of unemployment. “If young people want to go to university, that’s wonderful. But if they decide to stay in the area, at least they’ll have knowledge about coffee — and really, more knowledge than the average coffee farmer — and a way to earn an income,” says Christophe Brinker, a trader at NKG Ibero Kenya.

Igale AMCOS

The AMCOS purchased a Penagos eco-pulper in 2019, allowing them to transition from collecting home-processed parchment to collecting cherry. The acquisition of this important equipment is twofold. It has not only allowed for more control over the pulping and drying phases of processing, but it has also served to increase local interest and volume by offering this additional service to local producers.

During the harvest, farmers delivered cherry between 4 and 7 p.m. The pulper was usually turned on around 6 p.m. and would run until around 9 p.m. After being pulped, the parchment was graded into P1, P2, P3, P lights and pods in the washing channels. The P1 and P2 were then fermented for 24 to 48 hours before being washed. The beans then went into tanks to soak for 8 to 12 hours and finally were dried on raised beds for 7 to 14 days.

Other Notes:
Roast – Medium-Light
Area – Songwe (Mbozi district)
Growing Altitude – 5600-5900ft
Type – Washed/Sun dried on raised beds
Variety – Bourbon derivatives

2023 Q4 LTO: Los Santos Diez Pueblos

Sweet and balanced, creamy body, bright acidity, and notes of milk chocolate, citrus, and caramel.

Zona Los Santos (or, Valley of the Saints) is home to numerous small towns. However, 10 towns — San Marcos, San Lorenzo, San Carlos, Santa Maria, San Gerardo, San Pablo, San Andreas, San Isidro, Santa Cruz, and Copey — hold most of its population and define its coffee culture.

In these 10 towns, like in so much of Costa Rica, life revolves around the church, the soccer field and the town café. Coffee is also an enormous focus in these communities. It’s estimated that approximately 7,000 families in Los Santos typically produce about half a million bags of coffee each year.

This coffee was hand picked by smallholder producers and delivered, at the end of the harvest day, to either the Palmichal micromill or two other nearby mills. Throughout the night, the coffee was de-pulped and washed. It was later dried on patios and finally mechanically dried at low temperatures and with steady airflow..

Other Notes:
Roast – Medium-Light
Area – Los Santos, Costa Rica
Growing Altitude – 4200-5900ft
Type – Washed/Sun & Drum dried
Variety – Caturra, Catui

2023 Q3 LTO: Colombian Tolima

Intense, fruity aroma. Dark chocolate, dried fruit, & floral notes with a winy acidity. Silky mouthfeel and smooth finish.

Colombian coffees tend to be a crowd-pleaser, and the Tolima is no different. Boasting an extremely pleasant cup from aroma to the last sip, this coffee will have you coming back for more.

Other Notes:
Area – Tolima region of Colombia
Growing Altitude – 5500-6300ft
Type – Washed/Sun dried
Variety – Caturra, Borbon, Tipica, Castillo.

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