MEET THE PRODUCER | This coffee is one of three releases this week, and you may notice a common thread in each of their stories: family. In the case of this stunning Sidra lot, it was produced by Felipe Arcila, son of renown Colombian producer Jairo Arcila (who is also featured on our menu this week!). Felipe is a fourth generation coffee producer and also the co-founder of Cofinet alongside his brother, Carlos. Cofinet is dedicated to growing, sourcing, and distributing delicious specialty coffee throughout Colombia and exporting it around the world, and we are so grateful for their partnership with us. 

On the advice of their father, Felipe Arcila and his brother initially sought careers in civil engineering, traveling all the way to Australia to pursue masters degrees in the field. Felipe fell in love with the coffee culture he experienced while in Australia and eventually convinced his brother to move back to Colombia with him and carry on the family business. They purchased their farm, Jardines Del Eden, in 2015, and the rest - as they say - is history.

TRUST THE PROCESS | In this unique adaptation of anaerobic processing, the coffee cherries are exposed to dry anaerobic fermentation for 24 hours before being placed in Grainpro bags for an additional 90 hours at a temperature at or below 22 degrees Celsius. During this extended time of fermentation in the Grainpro bags, bacteria slowly feeds on the carbohydrates from the still-intact mucilage, leading to a higher concentration of lactic acid development (hence the name of the process). Finally, the cherries are placed on raised beds to dry until 11% moisture content is achieved. 

TAKE A SIP | When hot, this coffee is primarily two things: super sweet, and very tropical (think mangoes, passionfruit, and pineapple). The body is big and round, as is the tactile, and there's an unexpected florality in the cup, which is uncommon in a variety that tends to lean more herbal in nature. As the coffee approaches a pleasantly warm temperature, it manages to get even fruitier, ramping up the pineapple flavor and adding a new raspberry note. At this temperature, it takes on more boozy characteristics, reminding us of sangria and tiki cocktails. When cool, this coffee really cleans itself up and becomes more structured. The tactile experience is still big and round, but new, brighter flavors of peaches, pear, gummy bears, and white wine emerge, showcasing the fullest expression of this coffee's acidity. In a world where Sidra coffees can be off-putting to some flavor palates, this one stands out as a true delight.

___________________________________________________________________________

Origin | Pijao, Quindio, Colombia

Producer | Felipe Arcila

Farm | Jardines Del Eden

Process | Lactic Natural

Variety |  Sidra

Elevation | 1700 - 1900 masl

The first thing you should know about this coffee is: it's really special to us. Our retail manager, Jake McFarland, showcased this stunning Yemeni lot at the US Barista Championship in Portland last month, and he used the story of its producer to draw really poignant parallels between it and Jake's own lived experience, and among all of us who call ourselves human. 

MEET THE PRODUCER | Ghalib Al Hammashi lives in the Wadi Seil Village in Sana'a, Yemen, where he oversees a multi-generational coffee farm that's been in operation for over 300 years. Three centuries of family history, combined with the historical significance of Yemen as part of coffee's origin story in general, means that a big part of Ghalib's identity, story, and coffee is steeped in the past. For example, the coffee variety in this lot has historically been referred to as Mocha, a nod to the Yemeni port city of Mokha, famous for having made international coffee trade possible as far back at the 15th century! BUT. Ghalib's coffee is not only a product of the past; it is also an ode to the present of specialty coffee in general and to the future of Yemeni coffee in particular. By opting to process this lot in a way that breaks with Yemeni coffee tradition, Ghalib managed to bring together the old world and the new school of coffee, and the result is spectacular. 

TRUST THE PROCESS | Mocha variety coffees typically have very distinct flavors, such as apricot, dried fruit, and sandalwood. Working with Mocha Origins Coffee, Ghalib decided to break with traditional Yemeni processing methods and instead subjected this lot to 96 hours of anaerobic fermentation. The result is a coffee that maintains the spirit of its origins while simultaneously being elevated to a flavor experience worthy of the barista competition stage. This duality in the coffee is a point to which Jake regularly returned during his time on that stage, and we love the way he put it when he said, "Ghalib honored his past, but he didn't stay there. He chose to embrace a change that led to growth."

TAKE A SIP | By choosing to use an extended fermentation style much more common in places like Panama and Colombia, Ghalib has managed to produce a coffee that is both true to its terroir in flavor and brimming with vibrant acidity and well-rounded sweetness. When hot, this coffee has notes of black grape, black raspberry, dark rum, brown sugar, cinnamon, and Oud. As it approaches a pleasantly warm temperature, that vibrant acidity starts to ramp up, and new flavors of red raspberry, cooked peaches, and pineapple are introduced. At this temperature, the coffee still has a rum-like character, and here it melds with the brown sugar and cinnamon notes to give us something reminiscent of tiki spice. Finally, when cool, the big acidity remains while the flavors simplify, leaving us with a silky body, lots of sweetness, and non-descript red fruit notes. Meanwhile, those rum and spice notes prevail to the last sip. 

___________________________________________________________________________

Origin | Wadi Seil Village, Haraz Area, Manakha, Sana'a, Yemen

Producer | Ghalib Al Hammashi

Process | 96-hr Anaerobic Natural

Variety |  Ja'adi, Old Typica

Elevation | 1700-2240 masl

Meet the Producer | Coffee enthusiasts and barista competitors will likely need no introduction to at least one of the names on this remarkable black label release. Hacienda La Papaya is a renown farm in the Loja Province of Ecuador, famed for its coffees as well as for its owner, Juan Peña. Together, they are responsible for many of the innovative processes coming out of Ecuador today, as well as for bringing Ecuadorian coffee to the competition stage. Today's producer, Jaime Cartuche, has been employed and mentored by Juan Peña for over twelve years, and he currently works as the team leader for coffee processing at Hacienda La Papaya. A few years ago, with Juan's help, Jaime was able to purchase three acres of nearby land on which to manage his own farm, and this lot (which we purchased in its entirety!) comes from his third year of harvest. Today, Jaime works closely with his wife, Hilda, and three of his six kids (Erika, Darwin, and Boris) to operate the farm, and he remains eager to learn more about coffee and processing so that he can one day have "the best coffee in the region." Watch out, Juan Peña - your Padawan is off to a pretty promising start!

Trust the Process | Freshly harvested cherries are placed in spent rum barrels to ferment for five days in a closed, anaerobic environment. During this time, the coffee cherries are basically micro-managed, being kept in dark, temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms to to promote the movement of microorganisms and absorption of the aromas and flavors of the oak barrel in which they are kept. Afterward, the whole cherries spend 28-30 days in drying rooms, until optimal moisture content is achieved.

Take a Sip | So many descriptors were used as we discussed this coffee around the cupping table, it honestly got a little dizzying. Words like: intense, complex, vibrant, juicy, fruity, and beautiful, were all part of the conversation. Whew! It shouldn't be surprising, then, that the tasting notes get a little complicated (But, try to stay with us! It's a lovely journey.) When hot, this coffee shows off its darker side. It transitions quickly from flavors like pineapple and mixed gummy bears to those which are more saturated and dense and ripe, reminding us of raspberry liqueur, purple grapes, and red wine. At a pleasantly warm temperature, the cup shifts to something fresh, complex, and more acidic, with loads of fleshy yellow fruit notes, pineapple, and white wine. As the coffee cools, that now-vibrant acidity reminds us of fresh citrus, and the cup as a whole is boozy and complex. That gummy bear note is back for an encore, but this time it almost reminds us of the "drunken gummy bears" we once made in college - juicy, boozy, and delicious.

___________________________________________________________________________

Origin | Saraguro, Loja, Ecuador

Producer | Jaime Cartuche

Farm | Hacienda La Papaya

Process | Anaerobic Natural

Variety |  Typica

Elevation | 1800 masl