ROAST | LIGHT

ORIGIN | EL SAUCE, SANTA BARBARA, HONDURAS

NOTES | MAGNOLIA, CANDIED LEMON, RAINER CHERRY, DARK HONEY

Pedro Sagastume has been in the coffee business for a long time - he's a third generation producer with over thirty years of experience under his belt. But, his tenure at the Honduras Cup of Excellence is a much shorter one, and he started placing at COE as early as last year. He's also buddies with another acclaimed Honduran producer on our menu this week, Benjamin Paz. Benjamin described this lot from Pedro's farm as "one of the best Honduran Geshas of the season," and that's pretty high praise coming from the guy who actually won the Honduras Cup of Excellence with his own Gesha earlier this year!

Processing: The coffee cherries are harvested at pike ripeness and floated to remove lower-density beans. Then, they are de-pulped before undergoing 24 hours of a dry fermentation. After being thoroughly washed, the cherries are finally laid out to dry on raised beds for about 16 days.

In the cup: As you'd expect from any good Gesha lot, this coffee is floral, acidic, bright, and sweet. Both in the cup and on the nose, that floral character shines as magnolia. The sweetness has a depth to it that reaches its way into that light, bright acidity, reminding us of candied lemons and dark honey. A stone fruit note, like rainer cherry, is also predictably present. The whole experience is an ode to everything we love about the Gesha variety, and with it, we say Cheers! to producers like Pedro and Benjamin, both of whom are playing a crucial role in solidifying Honduran Geshas' place on the proverbial map. 

Producer | Pedro Sagastume

Process | Washed

Variety | Gesha

Elevation | 1600 masl

ROAST | LIGHT MEDIUM

ORIGIN | CHALATENANGO, EL SALVADOR

NOTES | SPICED ORANGE, APRICOT, DRIED CHERRY, MERLOT

We are pretty big fans of Jorge Raul Rivera and his stunning Pacamara coffees - as evidenced by his regular appearance on our menu throughout the year. This time around, we thought to ourselves: What could be better than a new Jorge Raul Rivera release? And the answer, of course, is TWO Jorge Raul Rivera releases! We're offering two coffees from this incomparable producer in tandem so that you folks at home have the opportunity to taste them side-by-side, developing a better understanding of how processing methods influence flavor profile.

These two coffees are the same variety, were grown at the same elevation on the same farm, and were each tended by the same careful set of hands - but they taste remarkably different from one another! This coffee, a blend of Lots #22 and #23 from the latest harvest, underwent Jorge's protocol for natural processing, and it is full of orchard fruit flavors and red wine characteristics. The other underwent the ever-meticulous honey processing method, and it is vibrant, tropical, and clean. While this natural release is warming our souls in the midst of winter, its honey counterpart makes us long for summer.

We invite you to join us here at the cupping table and interact with both of these coffees together - not pitting them against one another, but appreciating them each more fully because of their unique differences in spite of so many similarities. Kind of like siblings, actually...

Processing: Before undergoing the traditional drying process for natural coffees, this lot underwent 23 hours of aerobic fermentation in a tile-lined tank. After this short fermentation, the coffee cherries were laid out in thin layers on raised drying beds until they achieved a moisture content below 20% - usually 2-4 weeks, depending on the weather. 

In the cup: Winter citrus and orchard fruit flavors abound in this cup - we taste seasonally savvy spiced oranges, apricots, and dried cherries as we sip. It finishes like a soul-warming red wine, such as Merlot - and that wine-y characteristic serves to showcase the effects of that aforementioned fermentation protocol. This coffee warms us from the inside out and is best sipped while curled up next to a fireplace, novel in hand.

Producer | Jorge Raul Rivera

Farm | Finca Santa Rosa

Process | Natural

Variety | Pacamara

Elevation | 1700 masl

ROAST | LIGHT

ORIGIN | CHALATENANGO, EL SALVADOR

NOTES | MEYER LEMON, TROPICAL, PEACH, BLACK TEA

We are pretty big fans of Jorge Raul Rivera and his stunning Pacamara coffees - as evidenced by his regular appearance on our menu throughout the year. This time around, we thought to ourselves: What could be better than a new Jorge Raul Rivera release? And the answer, of course, is TWO Jorge Raul Rivera releases! We're offering two coffees from this incomparable producer in tandem so that you folks at home have the opportunity to taste them side-by-side, developing a better understanding of how processing methods influence flavor profile.

These two coffees are the same variety, were grown at the same elevation on the same farm, and were each tended by the same careful set of hands - but they taste remarkably different from one another! This coffee, which underwent the ever-meticulous honey processing method, is vibrant, tropical, and clean. The other underwent Jorge's protocol for natural processing, and it is full of orchard fruit flavors and red wine characteristics. While this honey lot makes us long for summer, the natural counterpart is warming our souls in the midst of winter.

We invite you to join us here at the cupping table and interact with both of these coffees together - not pitting them against one another, but appreciating them each more fully because of their unique differences in spite of so many similarities. Kind of like siblings, actually...

Processing: The honey processing method can be thought of as an "in-between" method of processing, compared to washed and naturally processed coffees. Using this method, the coffee is picked and sorted as red cherries before being pulped (removing the skin of the coffee cherry), but the small layer of fruit underneath the skin is left behind. The seeds - with their sticky fruit intact - are set out to dry, either on raised beds or patios. It is this added contact time between the fruit and the seed that, when done well, adds a characteristic sweetness to honey processed coffees. 

In the cup: As a variety, Pacamara is known for its propensity toward the savory, often possessing herbaceous or even onion-y flavor characteristics. This coffee is certainly none of those things. Instead, this honey lot is vibrant, clean, and tropical, reminding us of some of our favorite Ethiopian coffees. Meyer lemon and peaches are the predominant fruit characteristics, and the overall tasting experience reminds us of sweet black tea. This coffee has us dreaming of summer and is best sipped from the comfort of a front porch swing. 

Producer | Jorge Raul Rivera

Farm | Finca Santa Rosa

Process | Natural

Variety | Pacamara

Elevation | 1700 masl

ROAST | LIGHT MEDIUM

ORIGINS | ACEVEDO, HUILA, COLOMBIA | PALMIRA ARRIBA, BOQUETE, PANAMA

NOTES | STRAWBERRY JAM, RED WINE, CRAFT CHOCOLATE

The Future has been a beloved staple on our year-round menu for quite awhile now. With it, we have been able to showcase excellence in processing techniques, particularly in regard to anaerobic fermentation. In the past, we have predominately featured coffees from Colombia in this blend, though lots from Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and Peru have played a part in its conception as well. This year, however, we are shifting our focus away from the individual components of the blend and instead elevating flavor as the guiding principle for each creation.

You'll see several installments of this concept throughout the year, and today's release is the second in this flavor-forward series. At the risk of coming off a little "on the nose," we've named this delightful blend: Chocolate-Covered Strawberries ...just in time for Valentine's Day.

 In our efforts to re-imagine this iconic Valentine treat in coffee form, we blended two distinctly beautiful coffees from Colombia and Panama, respectively. Both lots underwent intense and interesting methods of processing which contribute to their uniquely wonderful flavor profiles, and their collective journey made them the perfect components for this cup.

The first is a blended lot produced by Brayan Alvear (Huila, Colombia) and imported by our friends at Forest Coffee. Affectionally named Juicy Strawberry, this lot underwent both aerobic and anaerobic fermentation wherein the coffee cherries were depulped and fermented with ground, freeze-dried strawberries. The result is a heavily fruited coffee that reminds us of strawberry jam. The second component, produced by Edwin Ferrenbach (Boquete, Panama), is another science experiment from the ever-innovative lab at Creativa Coffee District. This Natural lot underwent their Intrinsic Cherry process, resulting in a boozy, wine-y cup that reminds us of all things dark - well, dark fruits and dark chocolate, anyway.

In the cup: In terms of flavor, this coffee is bookended by the components of its namesake. On the nose, you'll immediately experience a pronounced strawberry aroma, and the first sip is full of red fruit and sweetness, reminding us of strawberry jam. The finish is sweet and silky, reminding us of craft chocolate - the special kind you can only get at bean-to-bar operations, like Videri Chocolate Factory here in Raleigh. Together with that boozy component from Edwin's high-fermentation Natural, this coffee also reminds of something we love to enjoy with chocolate-covered strawberries: a red fruit-forward wine with a chocolatey finish, like Malbec. Cheers, loves. 

Producers | Bryan Alvear | Edwin Ferrenbach

Processes | Juicy Strawberry |  Intrinsic Natural

Varieties | Various