Papua New Guinea Nebilyer Valley Peaberry

This is some incredibly good coffee. Cultivated in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea, where several small farms are situated up along the hilltops, this gorgeous New Guinea Peaberry from Nebilyer Valley Estate is a sun-dried coffee with a bright, clean body and a dark caramel sweetness that makes it stand out among other Indonesian varietals.

I expected this coffee to be more fruit-forward than it ultimately proved to be. The dry fragrance possesses a saturated plum sweetness with what almost smells like a slight hint of rose pedals. Once brewed, these brisk aromatics are overpowered by salted caramel and cinnamon bark, a genuinely spicy quality accented by a touch of soothing sandalwood. This is bold, to be certain, but with a disarming sweetness that's quite unusual, intense without being overpowering or overly sharp.

Received 07/30/2013

Papua New Guinea
Nebilyer Valley Peaberry

Roast Color: Medium-Dark
Prep: Wet-Hulled, Sun-Dried
Body: Heavy-Bodied, Creamy Texture
Flavor Profile: Subtle Earthiness, Dark Caramel, Cinnamon Bark
Cupping Notes: In this smooth, deep cup, expect a heavy, dark caramel quality in the sweet end, with the kind of body typical of most Indonesian varietals. This is a wet-processed coffee, washing away the extreme earthiness associated with Sumatras. This is a clean, balanced coffee with just a hint of those rustic qualities celebrated in Indonesian coffee.

Costa Rican CoopePalmares Monte Crisol

Over the past few years, I've served a wide variety of coffees from Costa Rica. Coffee cultivation here is a generational affair, and the crop itself is so valuable that locals have come to refer to coffee beans as "grains of gold." Cherished for their calm character and restrained cup quality, the truly beautiful thing about the Costa Rican Monte Crisol from CoopePalmares is the cleanliness and consistency of the beans.

The dry grounds have an aroma of raw sugar and baking spices, with a citrus accent that blossoms when water is introduced. This cup is incredibly mature, with elements of black walnut and a sweet, ebullient acidity that rounds-out the clove, blood-orange, and berry sweetness. This is a soft-spoken, mild, "any-time" coffee with a lovely note of English Breakfast tea. There's also cane sugar and cocoa powder, with a light body that accentuates the gentle nature of this coffee's profile.

This is one of the very few coffee varietals I would prefer to drink as brewed coffee rather than espresso, and it makes one heck of an excellent iced coffee during these warm summer months. Enjoy!

Costa Rican CoopePalmares Monte Crisol Micro Lot

Received 07/23/2013

Roast Color: Medium
Prep: Washed and kiln-dried
Body: Light-Medium
Flavor Profile: Bright, substantial milk chocolate sweetness, caramelized sugar and toasted almonds
Cupping Notes: The dry fragrance is exceptionally mellow with a milk chocolate quality, alongside a faint, almost indiscernible hint of sassafras and spice. Once brewed, the bright and snappy cup reveals the washed, sorted, first-world coffee that it is.

India Mysore Nuggets Arabide Estate

Some coffees are common, others exceptional, some easy to come by, others quite rare. The last time I roasted this hugely popular coffee from India was a year ago. Your estate-grown Indian Mysore Nuggets is impeccably balanced, a wonderful expression of several complimentary qualities. These coffee seeds, cultivated in the exhausted gold fields of Mysore, are exposed to monsoon winds and rain, which pump the beans with moisture and smooth-out their flavor. If you haven't had this coffee, now's the time!

This is the best wet-process Indian coffee I've ever had, without a doubt. The aromatics form a compelling and intricate, sensual tapestry. The dry fragrance has a clean nutty quality, with subtle hints of white cedar and cinnamon shavings. When brewed, there's a fruited element to the cup that reminds me of baked granny smith apples, made crisp and clean with a wonderful brightness. The body of this coffee is thick, finishing with complex sweetness and a rustic hint of cedar. There is the slightest amount of woody, campfire flavor in the aftertaste reminiscent of burned marshmallows. This is an exciting experience for the professional cupper and the casual taster alike. Enjoy!

Received 07/16/2013

India Mysore Nuggets Arabide Estate
Rainforest Alliance Certified

Roast Color: Dark
Prep: Washed
Body: Deep, heavy
Flavor Profile: Crisp and bright, thick and syrupy
Cupping Notes: The body of this coffee is thick with a fruited element to the cup that reminds me of baked granny smith apples. It finishes with complex sweetness and a rustic hint of cedar.

El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas

It's been more than a year, but I'm finally roasting this insanely satisfying bourbon varietal, cultivated along the peaks of the Apaneca Ilamatepec mountain range. Your El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas is in the roasting drum, and I can't wait to share. Honey-processed coffees like this are the most exciting coffees to drink, with an "old world" milling style that allows for unexpected, delicious nuances in your brew. The beans are sorted by hand, stripped of the fruit skin, and sun-dried with the fruit pulp still on the seed. The result is a wilder cup, with apple and berry aromas, milk-chocolate creaminess, and a clean, snappy finish.

The dry grounds put out fragrances of malted milk and hazelnut, along with caramelized sugarcane and mulling spices. Once brewed, softer aromas of red apple and cinnamon emerge. The is an incredibly round, balanced cup of coffee, with a great, heavier-than-expected body that allow for the cocoa and almond flavors to mingle nicely. The flavors are clean and distinct as drip or press coffee, but your Cerro Las Ranas is an intense and wonderful espresso, as well. I love this coffee!

Received 07/09/2013

El Salvador Cerro Las Ranas
Rainforest Alliance Certified

Roast Color: Medium/Dark Roast Color
Prep: Dry-Process, Pulped Natural, Sun-Dried
Body: Smooth, Medium-Bodied
Flavor Profile: Bright, balanced acidity
Cupping Notes: A shop favorite, this honey-processed varietal delivers a rich and sophisticated cup that we've been waiting for for over a year. It begins with a sweet start, followed-up by creamy milk chocolate and cherry flavors, a fully-developed body and a lemony-orange finish.

Papupa New Guinea Korgua Estate Peaberry

Flavor profiles are often assigned by region, but I find there are always those unusual outliers to remind us how unique and varied each seed actually is. Indonesian coffees are typically known for being dark, strong, and earthy. Your Korgua Estate Peaberry from Papua New Guinea is infinitely more round, with a subdued creamy quality to it. Derived from trimmings from the famous Blue Mountain coffee trees of Jamaica, this coffee is a fantastic origin with an exceptional history.

The dry fragrance delivers a polished note of raw honey and bittersweet chocolate with very little sweetness. Once brewed, I've discovered that I'm really enjoying the velvety mouth-feel of this coffee. The wet aroma lifts out a touch of burned cane sugar and forest mushrooms, revealing genuine, old-world flavors, wild and rustic, reminiscent of hand-pounded Mexican cacao, salted caramel, and ginger. I also recommend pouring this over a bed of crushed ice to make the perfect summertime iced coffee. This is some seriously good stuff.

Received 07/02/2013

Papua New Guinea Nebilyer Valley

Roast Color: Medium-Dark
Prep: Wet-Hulled, Sun-Dried
Body: Heavy-Bodied, Creamy Texture
Flavor Profile: Subtle Earthiness, Dark Caramel, Cinnamon Bark
Cupping Notes: In this smooth, deep cup, expect a heavy, dark caramel quality in the sweet end, with the kind of body typical of most Indonesian varietals. This is a wet-processed coffee, washing away the extreme earthiness associated with Sumatras. This is a clean, balanced coffee with just a hint of those rustic qualities celebrated in Indonesian coffee.