The Future - Tequila Sunrise

Description

ROAST | LIGHT MEDIUM

ORIGINS | ETHIOPIA & COLOMBIA

NOTES | FRESH CITRUS, RED RASPBERRY, PINK BUBBLEGUM, TROPICAL

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 fourth in this flavor-forward series. With it, we wanted to celebrate the impending change of season and the promise of longer, warmer days (nevermind that it snowed in Raleigh on March 12...) by re-creating the flavors of a cocktail beloved by everyone from the Rolling Stones to Panama City spring breakers since the early 1970's. Created by two bartenders in Sausalito, California, the modern-day Tequila Sunrise rose to near-instant notoriety when members of the Rolling Stones started ordering it all across the country during their 1972 tour - which they later affectionately named, "The Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise Tour." That, combined with a song bearing its name on the Eagles' 1973 Desperado album, propelled the Tequila Sunrise into mainstream pop culture, and it has been a staple in the cocktail canon ever since. 

Processing: To recreate its refreshing and ubiquitous spirit, we blended a whopping FIVE coffees from two countries: two anaerobically fermented coffees from Ethiopia, and three different co-fermented coffees from a couple of fermentation masterminds in Colombia. Both Ethiopian coffees came from our friends at SNAP Specialty Coffees - an Anaerobic Natural lot from the Danche Washing Station in Gedeb, and an Anaerobic Washed lot from the Yabitu Koba village in Uraga. Both coffees contribute the fresh, fruity vibes we needed to construct this tropical cup. Two of the co-fermented coffees (one fermented with passionfruit, and the other with lychee) were grown and processed by Jairo Arcila, and the third, a lot co-fermented with lemons, was produced by Wilder Lasso. These three co-fermented coffees are really intense on their own, but incorporating them into special blends like this one offers a really fun expression of their unique fermentation impact and helps contribute to the more nuanced flavors for which we are searching.

In the cup: There's a lot to love about the Tequila Sunrise cocktail - it's refreshing, it's fruity, it's tropical, and it's lovely to look at. While we couldn't manage to re-create the sunrise effect in a cup of black coffee, we're confident that we've otherwise captured the spirit and crushability of that iconic cocktail in this bag of coffee. Notes of fresh citrus, red raspberry, and pink bubblegum combine their powers capture something very reminiscent of fresh-squeezed orange juice that's been layered with sweet grenadine and spiked with good tequila. Cheers.

Producers | SNAP Specialty Coffees, Jairo Arcila, and Wilder Lasso

Processes | Mixed

Varieties | Various