Our current subscription coffees...
Explorer - Ricardo Vargas, Ecuador
As customer familiarity with individual farmers grows, it's exciting to be able to release the fresh harvest from the same producers year-on-year. As in wine, becoming familiar with particular coffee producers is part of the fun and appreciation. This is the third year we’re roasting Ricardo Vargas’s washed Caturra. Each year we cup it alongside other Ecuadorian coffees, and each year it’s the best.
Previously a food scientist, Ricardo Vargas shifted gears eight years ago to become a coffee farmer. His vision was to grow quality coffee and to create jobs for his local community. Vargas and his wife Miriam Vallejo named their farm Vallejito in memory of her father whose community-minded ethos has been a big influence on them.
"A vibrant coffee with fresh fruit and floral aromas, opening with blackberry when hot, shifting to tangy nectarine as it cools, caramelised sweetness rounds out the lively acidity, finishing with crisp green grape and citrus."
Basecamp - Amanda Galheri, Brazil
Amanda Galheri’s delicious coffee is back for a second year. We returned to it for its high quality, reliable flavour profile. This coffee is the perfect single-origin espresso and will especially shine in milky drinks.
"A solidly sweet, balanced Brazilian cup profile with notes of roasted hazelnut and buttery caramel complented by a full, creamy mouthfeel."
Decaf - Rwenzori Bugoye, Uganda
After several years of almost exclusively roasting Colombian washed process sugarcane decaf, we found something different for you to try. This coffee has the sweet fruitiness and creamy body that is a hallmark of its natural processing method, and because it was decaffeinated using the sugarcane method those delicious flavours come shining through in the cup.
"Exceptionally sweet with black cherry and bramble jam fruitiness alongside dark chocolate and supported by a creamy, full mouthfeel."
Basecamp and Decaf - Brewing Starter Guides
Supreme Coffees - Brewing Starter Guides
Simon Brown & Merlith Cruz - Peru
Of all the coffees we’ve tasted, this one stands out as truly exceptional. It’s a naturally processed Ethiopian heirloom variety that was fermented in a bioreactor tank using mosto as a starter culture.
We're tasting lush blueberry, elegant jasmine and cardamom aromatics. Notes of slivered almond and a generous sweetness result in a luxurious cup.
Top tip: Ludwika, our Head of Coffee, recommends grinding a little finer than you normally would to really bring out the delicate florals in the cup.
Here’s the recipe she recommends for pourover:
Dose: 16g
Grind: medium fine
Water: 96 degrees
60g bloom
At 30s up to 200g
At 1 min up to 260g.
Jose Herman Salazar - Colombia
This unique coffee is one of a host of newly “discovered” Ethiopian landrace varieties being grown in Colombia. Several years ago Salazar noticed the cherries from some plants had a distinctive chili pepper aroma. The samples cupped exceptionally well so he propagated them and named the variety Ají, which means pepper in Spanish.
We're tasting bright citrus zest and granny smith apple. Layers of blackcurrant and caramel emerge as it cools, finishing with sweet, lingering spiced biscuit.
Pourover recipe:
Dose: 17g
Grind: 20
Water: 96
40g bloom
At 45s up to 160g
At 1.30 up to 230g
At 2 min up to 290g.
Further Brewing Recipes
Carlos Alberto Portillo - Honduras
This washed process Parainema variety coffee was grown by Carlos Alberto Portillo on his family farm, Finca Don Pancho. Langdon has been buying Carlos’s coffee since he started producing microlots four years ago. This coffee stands out for its sweetness and complexity, with well balanced acidity.
We're tasting top notes of jasmine florals, bright green and red apple acidity, maple syrup sweetness and hazelnut in the finish.
Ross's Hario Switch recipe:
16g dose Medium-coarse grind
240g water 90°C
Hario Switch, Hario 02 paper
Start open switch
40g bloom
at 30s 60g pour then close switch
at 1m open switch, 50g pour
at 1m 25s 50g pour
at 1m 45s 40g pour (total 240g)
Drain by 2m35s
You can watch a YouTube video where Ross talks through his recipe here!
Tau-Rema - Timor-Leste
We’re excited to have this coffee back for the third harvest in a row. We chose it three years ago for its quality and delicious flavour profile. We’ve stuck with it because it continues to improve. The 12 smallholder farmers of Tau-Rema have conscientiously worked on caring for their coffee trees and improving the processing of their coffee.
We're tasting single-origin chocolate notes and brown sugar sweetness. Mild prune-like acidity compliments the medium body and lingering roasted hazelnut finish.
Mick's Clever Dripper recipe:
Pour 300ml boiling water into the brewer.
Set a timer for 2 minutes.
Add your coffee grounds into the water (18g) and give them a gentle fold into the water with a spoon.
At 2 minutes, disturb the surface with a spoon so the grounds sink to the bottom.
Wait 30 seconds, then place the brewer on top of your flask to open the brewer.
The coffee will pour through in about 3:30-4:00 minutes.
You can watch a YouTube video where Mick talks through his recipe here!
Roastery Team
We're a team of three in the roastery: Ludwika is our Head of Coffee, Ross covers operations and roasts, and Michael covers sales and social media.
You can find some more behind the scenes content from the roastery team on Instagram @steampunkroast.