Our current subscription coffees...
Explorer - La Luisa, Costa Rica
This smooth and sweet Villa Sarchi is one half of a pair of Costa Rican coffees we have selected from this season's harvest. This lot was processed as a washed and its counterpart from El Refugio as a natural, highlighting the spectrum of flavours Costa Rican cultivar Villa Sarchi can express. Same country, same cultivar, yet two very different results in the cup.
Hacienda La Luisa holds 223 hectares of land high up on the hillsides of the West Valley, overlooking the towns of Los Angeles, La Luisa, Pueblo Nuevo and Sarchi. It takes great care of the settlement’s water sources and environment while also providing jobs for many locals.
"Smooth butterscotch and floral honey sweetness lead the cup, backed up with notes of yellow stone fruit and milk chocolate. Finishing with an almost buttery, pastry-like quality."
Basecamp - Marco A. Guardabaxo, Brazil
From the São José do Rio Pardo region comes the first coffee we have sourced through Brazil based importer Ocafi. This lot was produced by Marco A.Guardabaxo and Maria Silva, who have owned Fazenda Pinheiro since 2003. Having started with only 9.5 hectares of coffee trees they now support 11 families on the farm who cover 140 hectares of crops.
We selected a natural process Obatá variety from Marco, a rarer cultivar that delivers not only the rich chocolate and nutty notes we expect from Brazil but also a more fruity profile that reminds us of dried figs and raisins, which leads to a more complex and delicious espresso.
"Rich and chocolatey, a classic Brazilian profile. We're tasting hazelnut, milk chocolate wafer and dried figs, with a creamy mouthfeel and smooth texture."
Decaf - La Serranía, Colombia
Back for a fourth time, this regional lot is among our favourite decafs. Naturally sweet and smooth with rich flavours of toasted nuts and dried figs. Sugarcane process decaf is scarce these days - only one Colombian plant, Descaefecol, produces it, and demand is outpacing supply. We'll keep sourcing the best-tasting decaf we can. For now, enjoy this lot whilst it lasts!
"Reminding us of toasted walnuts, dried figs and brown sugar every cup is balanced and sweet with a smooth luxurious finish like bakers chocolate."
Basecamp and Decaf - Brewing Starter Guides
Supreme Coffee - Brewing Starter Guide
Hermanos Burbano, Colombia - Gesha
We're very excited to have our first coffee sourced from Semilla joining our supreme lineup - a Colombian Gesha from Hermanos Burbano. This coffee impressed us for its complex acidity and juicy fruit character. It's the perfect coffee for a summer pour over, hot or iced!
We're getting bright florals, peach, tangerine and lemon verbena with a silky texture throughout. Scotty's been brewing it up on our Hoop Brewer to great success - here's his recipe for you to try yourself:
Scotty's Hoop Brewer Recipe
Dose: 17g coffee
Grind: medium
265ml of water at 93 degrees.
Pour all the water round the edge of the hoop brewer in one long pour.
Leave it to brew for a few minutes, and you should have a perfect brew at the end. It's that simple!
You can watch a YouTube video where Scotty talks through his recipe here!
Further Brewing Recipes
Finca El Refugio, Costa Rica
We recently launched our latest Discovery Set which showcases the Costa Rican variety Villa Sarchi through two distinct lots. As a result of their processing, both lots allow for distinct expressions of the flavours that can come out of Villa Sarchi, and demonstrate how processing can impact the final cup.
Here's Ross's brew recipe for Finca El Refugio...
Ross's Orea O2 Recipe:
20g coffee (ground medium-coarse)
93 degrees water
70g bloom
At 40s, pour up to 130g.
At 1.20, pour up to 220g.
At 2mins, pour up to 315g.
2:30-3:20 Enjoy!
You can watch a YouTube video where Ross talks through his recipe here!