Klatch Coffee - Colombia La Falda S.O. Espresso

Photo courtesy of Klatch Coffee.

Placed #2 in Taza de Antioquia out of 2,500 crops and #7 in COE and #3 at the Antioquia Microlot Competition SALGAR


This outstanding crop offers a blast of sweet and bright flavors of red wine and cranberries, adding notes of creamy caramel along with a subtle rum finish.

This year’s Colombian Cup of Excellence saw a turn of events with two of the thirteen lots coming from Antioquia: La Falda from the municipality of Urrao and Montero from the village of la Sierra achieved #7 and #11 respectively. Joining forces with three local roasters plus customers from Poland and USA, Mercanta were lucky enough to be able purchase Jose Arcadio Rueda’s La Falda. With some strong contest, this lot managed to achieve the fourth highest price of all thirteen coffee 

Born and brought up in Urrao, Anitoquia by coffee producing parents, Jose Arcadio Rueda’s passion for coffee was encouraged from a young age. Today this passion is shared by his wife and teenage son, who both work on the farm. Over the 16 years since buying the lot, they have together built up a plantation of 9500 trees. 

Their interest in specialty coffee was ignited five years ago when they won the first regional coffee contest they participated in. The success of being recognized as one of the best coffees in Antioquia as well as their desire to continue producing high quality coffee gave them the motivation to continue competing. Their long-term goal of planting more coffee, striving for greater quality and spreading the word to the rest of the world is one shared by the Department of Antioquia. 

Currently 72,000 of the 132,000 hectares cultivated with coffee in Antioquia produce specialty coffee. Having recognized the potential this provides farmers, the ‘Antioquia: Origin of specialty coffees’ was set up. Started in August 2012, this strategy aims to increase rural development through education, training, technical assistance to improve quality and the development of market access.


EXTRACTION RECOMMENDATIONS
DOSE: 20 grams [ double ]
TEMPERATURE: 203 degrees
TIME: 26 - 28 seconds
VOLUME: 1.7 - 2.0 oz

REGION: Antioquia, La Sierra
VARIETAL: Caturra
FARM: Taza Cafe de Antioquia
ALTITUDE: 1500 M
FARMER: Jose Arcadio Rueda
ROAST: Medium
NOTES: Espresso Roast, Single Origin, Hand picked, pulped, sun-dried, Placed #2 in Taza de Antioquia out of 2,500 crops and #7 in COE and #3 at the Antioquia Microlot Competition SALGAR

Victrola Coffee - Kenya Embu Kiviuvi Peaberry

Photo courtesy of Victrola Coffee.

Roaster’s Notes: 
This beautiful peaberry coffee comes from the Kiviuvi Mill which borders the Mt. Kenya forest on the southeast edge of Mount Kenya. The 4000 member cooperative society was founded in 2001 and operates one wet mill in Embu County. 

Take note of the unusual shape of these beans. Usually, two seeds develop inside the coffee cherry resulting in seeds with a rounded side and a flat side. In about 5% of coffee crops, one side of the seed never fully develops and the remaining seed grows into an ovoid shape leaving what you see here. These seeds, called peaberries, are occasionally sorted out of the rest of the lot making them especially rare. We are very pleased to offer two different peaberry lots from Kenya this year, this one from the Kiviuvi Mill and another from the Gura mill. 

In the cup, Victrola’s Kenya Kiviuvi exhibits some classic Kenyan aromatics and flavors: sweet tomato notes cooling into ruby red grapefruit, sparkling acidity and pleasing mouthfeel. 

Facts 
Factory: Kiviuvi 
County: Embu 
Elevation: 5512 
Process: Washed 
Varietals: SL 28, SL 34, Ruiru 11 
Producer: Kiviuvi FCS 

Tasting Notes 
Fragrance/Aroma: Strawberry, Floral
Flavor: Tomato jam, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Honeydew Melon 
Body: Medium 
Finish: Clean 
Acidity: Sparkling

Click here to purchase this coffee.

Klatch Coffee - Panama Kotowa Duncan Organic Mirco-Lot

Photo courtesy of Klatch Coffee. 

This highly anticipated coffee, provides a superb aromatic and taste profile! Our new crop (2013) offers honeysuckle and caramel on the nose, turning to toffee, mild citrus and honey dew melon along with subtle hints of chocolate and berries in the cup. 

Ken Davids from Coffee Review recently scored our Kotowa Duncan 92 points! Blind Assessment: Complex, spicy floral notes, tangerine-like citrus, sweet dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Brisk acidity; smooth, velvety mouthfeel. Rich, balanced, flower-saturated finish. Who Should Drink It: The complex floral notes, which include spicy florals like aromatic tea rose and bitterish florals like lavender, are one good reason for aficionados to seek out this unusual coffee. 

Kotowa meaning "mountain" comes from the native language of the Ngobe Indians. Alexander Duncan Maclntyre came to Panama in 1913 from Canada, where he fell in love with the land, the people and the magic. Four generations of Alexander's family have cultivated and processed quality coffee. Today, the estate is being managed by Alexander's great grandson, Ricardo Koyner. 

Kotowa Estate sits on the green mountain highlands of Panama near Volcán Barú with a distant view of the Pacific Ocean. The estate is naturally blessed with a consistently cool climate, creating coffee that holds great tasting characteristics. 

Sustainability efforts at Duncan Estate are embedded into production and processes profoundly. Their ecological mill uses only one liter per pound of green coffee, lower then 10-20 liter used by many other mills around the world. All the by-products from milling activity (pulp and waste water) are used to produce the organic fertilizer, which is used in combination with other fertilizers. 

Protection of the virgin forests in the surrounding areas of the estate a major principle, ensuring there's no hazard fires in the dry season nor hunting or degradation of the environment. In addition, 500 acres of untouched virgin rainforest considered to be wildlife sanctuary, which is currently a natural habitat to both local and migratory birds. In order to ensure the lively hood of wildlife, they have planted over 500 indigenous trees that produce fruits and nuts for feeding. In 2006 The National Environmental Agency presented Kotowa as the winner of The Panama National Award for The Years Environmentally Cleanest Industry. 

In addition to environmental efforts, Kotowa has implemented many social programs for the children of Kotowa and their families who work on the estate. Proving free medical care, day care and after school programs. Earning recognition from UNICEF for nine consecutive years. 

REGION: El Salto, Boquete 
VARIETAL: Caturra, Typica 
FARM: Kotowa Estate 
ALTITUDE: 1700 M 
FARMER: Richard Koyner 
ROAST: Medium 
NOTE: Washed, Organic, Micro-Lot, 92 Points from Coffee Review

Click here to purchase this coffee.

Rusty's Hawaiian Coffee - Ka‘u Classic Peaberry

Photo courtesy of Rusty's Hawaiian Coffee

Distinguished by their rounded shape, peaberries account for only 5% of our harvest. They are the rarest of our classic Ka‘u coffees.

Consider these beans a riff on the quintessential Ka‘u coffee. Like our Classic Medium and Classic Dark roasts, these peaberries are of the Typica variety, grown in the rich soil and cool climate of the Mauna Loa volcano’s southern slope.

We sort the unroasted coffee to separate the peaberries from the more typical flat beans.
Now comes the fun part. We roast, taste and evaluate individual peaberry lots in a procedure called cupping. Our goal: Choose peaberries that show off the classic Ka‘u profile of sweetness, balanced acidity and flavors of caramel, citrus and chocolate.

Taste: Caramel and chocolate, with citrus and floral notes

Roast: Medium

Varieties and Processing Methods: Typica, washed and sun dried

Altitude: 1,600-2,100 feet (500-650 meters)