ROAST | LIGHT

JURATUNGO, PANAMA

NOTES: FLOWERS, PINEAPPLE, MANGO, RASPBERRY CANDY

BLACK LABEL RELEASE #7

I am so excited for this release from the Famous Jose Gallardo (Pocho), and the super small team at Nuguo.  

This year we worked directly with Jose himself to negotiate prices for all the lots we were able to show you all. I (Kyle) am a sucker for an amazing blend, and sometimes on the cupping table we will make small blends form the coffees we are tasting in other small cups, letting you see what kind of flavors are possible with different blends. This year we have all three processes from Jose, and when you get the blend just right of washed, natural, and honey magic happens. In this particular blend it is 1/4 Washed 1/4 Honey 1/2 Natural

I also love that with this blend you basically get to taste all the flavors possible at finca nuguo. Tons of flowers and fruit present throughout the experience with a light, vibrant cup, and an amazing sweet clean finish even with the natural component.  

We sent this pre-release blend out to a few of our closest customers and got their feedback on flavor notes. It was amazing to see all the notes that came back, but the fruity character showed through in every evaluation of this beautiful coffee.

Get it while you can, because this limited release blend will not last long.

Origin: Juratungo, Panama

Farm: Finca Nuguo 

Producer: Jose Gallardo

Process: Full Spectrum - Washed, Honey, Natural

Variety: Gesha

Altitude: 1980

ROAST | LIGHT

GUJI, OROMIA, ETHIOPIA

NOTES: FLORAL, LEMONADE, RED FRUITS

We are excited to showcase another amazing Carbonic Natural from the team at Unravel Coffee/Ardent Coffee.  Just like Anthony and Tyler's Comp coffee last year this coffee was overseen by Ashenafi Agraw and Steve Holt. This natural stood out for us, even though it became available a bit late it still showcased some amazing flavors, and we couldn't pass up on such an amazing coffee during what we consider the coffee dry period.  

Big fruits, Florals, and Citrus mark this amazing natural coffee.  To process this they took red ripe cherries and placed into a Stainless Steel container before being flushed with CO2 to lower/control fermentation temperature, and therefore control the speed along with what specific bacteria do the bulk of the fermentation and therefore flavor creation.

Another comp coffee directly to your door for a reasonable price.  We can't wait to hear what you all think.

Process: Carbonic Maceration - Natural

Location: Gerbicho, Rogicha, Ethiopia

Altitude: 1800 - 2100 masl

ROAST | MEDIUM

APONTE, NARIÑO, COLOMBIA

NOTES: BAKED APPLE, COLA, DARK HONEY

Honey processed coffees have a sweet spot here at Black & White and this year's selection of honey processed coffees from Colombia are no different. Notes of apple, honey, nectarine, and citrus are balanced with an amazing sweetness.

Honey Process is almost an "in-between" process when compared to Washed and Natural Process coffee, and depending on the specifics of the processing these coffees can taste for like one or the other. This is how the timeline goes.

Coffees are picked and sorted as red cherries, before being pulped (removing the skin of the coffee cherry). Under that skin is a small layer of fruit, which is left on the large seed that is in the middle.  This seed with its sticky fruit is set out to dry either on raised beds or on patios.  

This added contact with the fruit tends to add intense sweetness to the coffee, but if done poorly can dull the coffee's flavor immensely.  Honey Coffees are quite rare in Colombia and really only appear regularly in and around the Aponte Community in Narino.  They are useful in that they require much less water to produce, but do have some risks as well. Needless to say, this group has it down to a science.

We would classify this as a low processing impact as these coffees taste very similar to their washed counterparts. They are super sweet with tons of dried fruit, and dark sugar notes, which makes them a fan favorite all around the specialty community for the last 4-5 years.

We are excited to see it back and to showcase the work of this community to give you an approachable peak at this relatively rare processing method.

Variety: mixed

Process: Honey processed

Elevation: 2100 masl

ROAST | LIGHT  MEDIUM

QUILANGA, LOJA, ECUADOR

NOTES: RED APPLE, FRESH CHERRY, MILK CHOCOLATE

Our friends at The Coffee Quest has some amazing coffees, but we haven't always needed coffees when they have amazing coffees to offer. This year we purchased 2 Ecuadorian coffees and we are so happy to be able to show this Natural Typica with classic Natural Flavors and a complex acidity from that amazing elevation.

Just outside of Loja, Ecuador, Karla Garcia and her coffee partner runs a the coffee farm, Finca Bruhwer. This 3 hectare farm sits around 1900 meters above sea level and consists solely of Typica variety coffee trees. Karla and her partner not only produce their own coffee but buy local coffee cherries from their neighbors near Zamora for a local roasted brand they run in Ecuador. They seek to give back to their own community and continue to improve the quality of coffee production in their own farms. 

This beautiful and sweet natural processed coffee depending on the climate is dried for 20 days by either the sun or parabolic dryers.  Lending itself to a controlled drying process of the natural coffees they produce. 

FARM: Finca Bruhwer

VARIEITY: Typica

PROCESS: Natural

ELEVATION: 1,900 masl

ROAST | LIGHT 

GEDEB, ETHIOPIA

NOTES: INTENSE FLORALS, CANDIED LEMON, BLACKBERRY, WILDFLOWER HONEY

It is quite interesting to see how certain washing stations simply "have a great year" This season the coffees that continue to score highest in blind flights (where the coffee origin details are not known to the cupper/taster) have been coffees form Worka Chelbesa. This coffee came to us though an interesting way.  

Every year roasters like ourselves do our best to estimate the amount of coffee we will need for the coming year. I (Kyle) often underestimate as I don't want to have excess coffee.  This excess is called going "LONG"  COVID has thrown a complete wrench into almost everyones plans this year, but oddly enough we were still quite "SHORT" on our washed Ethiopia purchases this year.

So when a roaster goes "Long" occasionally they will offer coffee to other roasters from their own contracts. Thankfully, someone had a bit of extra Worka Chelbesa Lot 8 for us to pick up.  It is an interesting system, but similar to most other industries.

We are so thankful for our relationships that made this coffee possible, and for the people all along the supply chain. We have been in communication about this coffee and coffees like it for almost a year with the Atlantic Specialty team. Tim Hill, helped us line up this project. We are so excited to see the Future of this relationship. 

Farm: Smallholder farmers organized around the Chelbesa coffee mill

Process: Washed 

Altitude: 1800 - 1900 masl

ROAST | LIGHT MEDIUM 

PAEZ, CAUCA, COLOMBIA

NOTES: ROSE, CANDIED CITRUS, HONEY

It is such a pleasure to work with our friends. We met the team from Azahar a few years back, and their dedication to connecting small producers with smaller roasters. This is what has drawn us together and when keeps us working together over the years.

This year we were able to purchase 2 separate variety separation lots from Jose Sanchez. This first one is a low impact anaerobic Pink Bourbon Variety. This coffee showcases exactly what pink bourbon is supposed to be.  Vibrant aromatics that are similar to washed Ethiopian coffees, coupled with that amazing sweetness that is present in high grown Colombian coffees.  

We are so happy to have Jose's coffee again, and we think you will love this beautiful expression of Pink Bourbon. 

Producer: Jose Sanchez

Farm:  Finca San Martin

Process: Washed

Variety: Pink Bourbon

Elevation: 1827 masl

ROAST | LIGHT

PIENDAMO, CAUCA, COLOMBIA

NOTES | ORCHID, LYCHEE, JUICY PEAR

Every harvest the coffees from "El Paraiso" are some of the most anticipated by our staff and those in the know about this project's flavor packed coffees. This years Red Plum is the most balanced and nuanced we have ever tasted. This coffee has a complex fruit character and a creamy texture followed by flowers, red fruit, and a dynamic acidity. These coffees are special and we are happy to share them with you.

El Paraiso Farm is located in the municipality of Piendamó, with a mild-humid climate at 1,930 meters above sea level, focused on specialty coffees. 

Mr Diego Bermudez, owner of Finca El Paraiso, founded, with his family, the company INDESTEC focused on producing an innovative technology for coffee
drying named ECO-Enigma. This machine allows them to fully control the
drying process which is critical in their production of specialty coffee with
standardized times and temperature. With his company, Mr Diego and his
family are building an inclusive social program, allowing their neighbors to
process their coffee with the infrastructure and know how of controlled
fermentation process. This will help their neighbors receive better prices for their coffee.

This coffee is a precisely controlled Anaerobic Process with every variable documented and rigorously maintained. It goes through 28 hours cool whole cherry anaerobic fermentation, before pulping and another 80 hours of anaerobic fermentation in mucilage, producing a distinct and interesting cup. We are excited to see what else comes out of this Santuario Project. 

Farm: Finca El Paraiso

Variety: Castillo and Colombia

Process: Anaerobic

Altitude: 1930 masl

ROAST | MEDIUM

TOLIMA, COLOMBIA

NOTES: RED FRUIT, ORANGE, BLACKBERRY JAM

Mid way through last year James from Caravela Coffee brought us a coffee sample he wanted us to taste. It was from a long time Caravela Producer who had been working on doing some Natural Coffees. Caravela Coffee does not usually work with these coffees but knew that we at Black and White Coffee do. So James asked if we could give feedback on the coffee sample for the producer, Milton Monroy and Caravela.

This was our very first introduction to Milton Monroy. We roasted and evaluated 4-5 of his coffees with one being a smash hit! Sadly that coffee made its way to the Cup of Excellence Colombia coffee competition and took 6th place! It was auctioned for the 3rd Highest price in the Competition.  Although we did not get that coffee, however we were able to contract a medium sized lot of Natural Castillo that was honestly our favorite of his traditional varieties.  

Big Red Fruit, a nice citrus like acidity, with a jammy finish, medium tactile, and a long sweet fruity finish makes this coffee delicious. This is exactly the coffee profile we like for our "Red Label" offerings. If you are like naturally processed coffees Milton's coffee will not disappoint.

Milton Monroy was born surrounded by coffee trees, he likes to say. He comes from a traditional coffee producing family and inherited his farm, Finca San Cayetano Alto from his father. Since the time he took over the farm, he has fully dedicated himself to coffee production, however in 2012, Milton noticed that in order to be sustainable he would need to make the switch to specialty coffee production. He knew that this change would help get better prices for his coffee and allow more jobs on his farm. 

Additionally Milton has changed and improved his infrastructure with the focus of improving the quality of his coffee. 

Farm: San Cayetano Alto

Producer: Milton Monroy

Variety: Castillo

Process: Natural

Elevation: 1800 MASL

ROAST | LIGHT 

CARMO DE MINAS, BRAZIL

NOTES: CITRUS, RED PLUM, TROPICAL, ETHIOPIA LIKE

When given the chance to taste varieties especially african varieties cultivated in other regions I always jump on it.  This particular coffee was a surprise to myself and the team here at B&W.  Typically we shy away from coffee from Brazil, but this was is an anaerobic Natural utilizing seeds from Yirgicheffe. Of course it is amazing a a mind bender of a coffee. This coffee packs tons of citrus and vibrant acidity, but is crazy sweet and approachable.  This coffee might just change your mind about Brazil.

I consider this coffee to be a "moderate impact" meaning that the anaerobic processing that it went through is coming alongside the variety characteristics and origin characteristics and adding complexity without being overpowering.

Fazenda Santuario Sul was started with a vision to be more than just a coffee farm that strives for quality. Santuario Sul was established in 2015 with a mission to make quality that redefines the flavors possible from Brazil, and to constantly stay ahead of innovations in the industry.

Now, it is one thing to say you are going to revolutionize something, and another to do it. To make the vision for the farm a reality, owner Luiz Paulo and his partners knew they had to do things different. Like anything, they started with the foundation- the land itself.

Santuario Sul was establish in the higher elevations of Carmo de Minas at around 1,400 m.a.s.l next to some of the most famous estates in the area known for their quality. (Like the famous Fazenda Irmas Periera.). They knew the elevations on the land here would be a key to helping the coffee express the flavors they would be crafting.

In addition to the right terroir, Luiz Pablo and his partners knew that to push flavors in a new direction, they had to have unique coffee varieties that would exhibit exciting flavor profiles. For this they decided to establish some of the farm with traditional varieties like Yellow Bourbon, but also sought out rarer coffee varieties from around the world to plant. As of the 2020 crop, Santuario Sul had over 30 different coffee varieties growing, some of them even under unique condition, like shade coverage, to make sure these unique varieties could thrive.

Producer: Luiz Pablo

Farm: Fazenda Santario Sul 

Variety: Yirgacheffe Types

PROCESS: Anaerobic Natural

ELEVATION: 1,380 - 1430 masl

ROAST | LIGHT 

BENCH MAJI, GESHA, ETHIOPIA

NOTES: BERGAMOT, DRIED MANGO, RIPE PAPAYA, WILDFLOWER HONEY

Gesha Village has always had a special place with us here at Black & White Coffee. We are excited to offer our first 100% direct trade coffee. The Gesha Village is a project with a clear and distinct vision to produce the most amazing coffees possible, and have been wildly popular in the competition circuit.

It started as a coffee documentary project from Rachel Samuel and Adam Overton, who after gaining permission from the local Meanit Shasha Woreda people to plant wild seeds harvested from the Gori Gesha Forest. The farm is home to more than 30,000 native shade trees and 700,000 coffee trees with half descended from the Gori Gesha forest seeds. The lot we were able to obtain through last year from our friends at Genuine Origin was the highest scoring coffee we have brought into the Black and White Coffee family.

We are excited to offer this amazingly complex honey processed coffee, that we were able to work directly with Adam at Gesha Village to buy direct with help from Trabocca. Kyle and Adam have cultivated a friendship of sharing information and chatting about the possibilities of the speciality coffee market. Both of them share an amazing love for Ethiopian coffee along with the Gesha Variety that they both love so very much.

FARM: Gesha Village, Chaka Selection

VARIEITY: Gori Gesha Forest, Gesha 1931, Illubabor Forest 1974

PROCESS: Honey

ELEVATION: 1,909-2,069 masl

SINGLE ORIGIN

NEW - CONCEPT SERIES INSTANT - We took some of our favorite higher end coffees and made them into instant coffee! We cant wait for you to try them. 

We put as much care into our instant coffee as we do our roasting. Take our instant and add hot water for instant coffee or even milk for an instant latte.  

This item comes with 6 pouches that make 1 - 8oz cup each

YEAR ROUND

COLOMBIA (Jose Sanchez Pink Bourbon)  | Brazil  (Luiz Paulo-Ethiopia Type)

NOTES: JUICY, TROPICAL, COMPLEX

Anaerobic coffees have rewritten the rules for Barista Competition's around the world. In the last two years the top 6 Competitors at both the USBC (United States Barista Championship) and the WBC (World Barista Championship) have utilized coffees with this style of fermentation.

As a result, this new method of processing has inspired us to create our own product that focuses on highlighting the complex acidity and vibrant fruit flavors found in these coffees. Not simply concerned with cupping scores and competition points, we believe for a number of reasons that this style of fermentation truly is the future.  

In a time when the Commodity Market value for coffee is dropping lower and lower, producers are always looking for ways to maximize their earnings on a given crop. However, in order to do so they are forced to produce high scoring coffees in order to make these premiums. This is made even harder when a lot of these coffee farms do not have the high elevation required to produce the complex flavors and  boutique varieties found in specialty coffee (such as Gesha, Pink Bourbon, Java).

However, in the last few years many more farms have had access to anaerobic processing, which done simply can add acidity, and complex fruit character to the cup. Anaerobic processing, in its most basic form is holding the coffee (either in cherry, or pulped) in an oxygen free environment (which can be achieved a number of ways) for an extended time in order to promote the growth of bacteria, Lactobacillus. Where, Lactobacillus is the agent that promotes acidity by producing lactic acid. The result of this is the acidification of the coffee pulp, which translates to a more vibrant coffee both on the cupping table and in the cafe. 

This main benefit of this unique style of processing is that it can make coffees that are grown at low elevations taste very similar to coffees grown at higher elevations. As the global climate warms, farmers must go higher and higher up the mountain in order to achieve the same results, but for most producers this simply is not possible.

Now, however farmers can add acidity and complexity through processing and thus combat the effects of climate change, at least in the cup.

This Blend will showcase these coffees and their varying profiles from around the world. Most of these coffees that we are currently sourcing are coming from Colombia, but we are also sourcing some from Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and Peru. With some being washed, some natural and some honey.  

This version is a blend of an Anaerobic Process from Huila, Colombia; blended with the ever vibrant El Eden Washed Java from Tolima, Colombia.  This is a juicy and clean cup represented by the blue corner on the label. This corner will change as the flavor profile and blend components shift throughout the year.

We hope you all enjoy this adventure into what we believe to be the future of specialty coffee.

 - Kyle Ramage (Co-owner | Green Coffee Buyer)

Regions:  Colombia | Brazil

Process:  Anaerobic Natural and Washed

Elevation: 1350 - 1800

 SINGLE ORIGIN

NARIÑO, COLOMBIA

NOTES OF CARAMEL, MILK CHOCOLATE AND SUBTLE CHERRY

The Sugar Cane Decaffeination process is a natural process that not only maintains the integrity of the coffee flavor, but allows complete traceability with our coffee since both the growing/ processing and decaffeination all occurs in Colombia, the coffee’s source. Colombian Coffees are commonly known to be big, rich, chocolaty coffees with exceptional fragrance and often great acidity. Since Colombia has many diverse growing regions, the coffee varies mildly from region to region.

Origin: Caldas, Colombia

Process: Sugar Cane/ EA