ROAST | LIGHT

TOLIMA, COLOMBIA

NOTES: FLORAL, COMPLEX CITRUS, BLUE RASPBERRY CANDY

BLACK LABEL RELEASE #9

Black Label #9 is more "back to normal" for our Black Label coffees.  This coffee is a huge floral fruit bomb. It is a naturally processed Anaerobic Gesha from our friend Mauricio Shattah of Finca La Negrita.

We are so excited about how this lot turned out. Finca La Negrita does things quite differently. They won't create a specific coffee until the order for it is placed. This is an incredibly low waste strategy for coffee production (supply always meets demand) but is quite unique in the world of specialty coffee. To be frank, this system isn't possible for most producers for a number of reasons, including financial and organizational issues.

I (Kyle) was able to meet Mauricio at the "Best of Panama" cupping competition back in 2017. Even then he was pushing the boundaries on fermentation and processing experimentation. We chatted through varieties, acid additions, and all kinds of fermentation. I am so excited to share one of his flagship coffees with y'all!

This is another barista and brewers cup competition coffee shipped to your door - exactly what we hope to deliver with our Black Label coffees. We first tasted intense florals, and complex Gesha citrus before moving directly into huge huge fruit flavors. This coffee has all kinds of red fruits and berries, with a juicy acidity and round mouthfeel. 

Origin: Tolima Colombia 

Producers: Mauricio Shattah of Finca La Negrita 

Process: Anaerobic Natural 

Variety: Red Gesha

Elevation: 1780-2100 masl

ROAST | MEDIUM

ALTO DEL CARMEN, CAUCA, COLOMBIA

NOTES | HIBISCUS, TOFFEE, PLUM

We have worked on an off with the Martir Group in La Plata, Huila for the last two and half years, and we even had a chance to visit them back in 2019 along with Kyle from Osito Coffee. Kyle of Osito has been the facilitator of this relationship and works closely with the members of this group. We are so excited to have another spectacular producer from this coffee group.

Robert is not a common name in Colombia, however Roberto is quite popular. Interestingly He goes by Robert, and you pronounce his last name as Pee-yee-mway.  We were told by Kyle Bellinger (Osito Coffee) that those who are indigenous to Cauca have names that are in this similar style. We have never run across a name quite like his.  

Robert also is the only member of the Martir Group who is from Cauca which is another Department (State) in Colombia. His is just across the line but cooperates with the Martir Group based in Huila.  Also, his coffees are very rarely blended into the main lot that we sell as Martir as they regularly score high enough to separate as a single producer micro lot.

We enjoy this coffee for it notes of Hibiscus, toffee, and plum like fruitiness. These notes are not common in Colombian coffees but are present in this coffee adding to a complex aroma and densely sweet body. We are so happy to continue to work with the talented producers of Martir and showcase interesting and dynamic coffees from Colombia with the help of Osito.

Producers: Edin Robert Pillimue Ivito

Farm: La Reforma

Process: washed

Variety: Colombia | Castillo

Altitude: 1750 masl

ROAST | LIGHT MEDIUM

KAPCHORWA, SIPI FALLS, UGANDA

NOTES: GRAPE CANDY, APRICOT, MILK CHOCOLATE

We are excited to welcome back a crowd favorite. This coffee comes from the Gamatui Community by Kawacom. Kawacom was started in Uganda in 1999. It helped build the Sipi Falls Washing station in the Eastern Part of the country, on Mt Elgon. Kawacom has been producing super high-quality naturally processed coffee for three years now. With a precise focus on the quality of their natural and honey processed coffees, they have been getting better and better each year.

This particular coffee shows an amazingly clean, clear fruit character with a lovely medium plus acidity. Every step along the way we have been encouraged by the amazing flavors and willingness to innovate with this project. We hope to continue with this project long-term. This natural processed coffee is dried on raised beds (but in a much thinner layer than is typical). The dried coffee is then hand-sorted for quality. This coffee has a soft, velvety body with notes of strawberry, grape candy, and apricot. 

We are in love with this year's standard natural process lot. We also have two experimental processing lots we collaborated on this year - we can't wait to share them! Each experimental lot is over two years in the making and we are crazy excited to see them come to life. Special thanks to Tim Hill and the team at Atlantic Specialty and Kawacom for helping us with these three lots.

Producer: Gamatui Community, Sipi Falls Washing Station

Region: Kapchorwa, Mt. Elgon, Uganda

Process: Natural

Variety: SL28

Elevation: 1900 masl

ROAST | MEDIUM

NGOZI PROVINCE, BURUNDI

NOTES: CITRUS, MEDJOOL DATES, SWEET

In 2012, Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian founded JNP Coffee with the goal of encouraging transformational change in local coffee by promoting gender equality, supporting financial literacy education and developing leadership skills. Today JNP Coffee continues to be driven by quality coffee based on strong producer partnerships and shared knowledge in sustainability practices. JNP coffee is known for award winning specialty coffees and gender sensitive development strategies. 

This coffee has a special place with Jeanine as it is grown in the Ngozi province of Burundi which is where her mother grew up. Stories of her mother helping the family harvest coffee cherries to cover school fees stand behind the name for this coffee. In Kirundi, “Bavyeyi” means “parents.”  JNP Coffee is working with an experienced woman-owned cooperative there in Ngozi Province, which has more than 600 members, many of them Muslim women. Currently Jeanine has traveled to the washing stations located around this Province to help strengthen best practices for quality coffee. 

Producers: JNP Coffee

Process: Washed

Variety: Bourbon

Elevation: 1800 masl