Sweet Maria's Home Coffee Roasting
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Australia
Australian Mountain Top Estate XF
Country: Australia Grade: XF - Extra Fancy, Double Sorte Region: New South Wales Mark: Mountain Top Estate, Bin 431
Processing: Pulped-Natural Processed Crop: October 2007 Arrival Appearance: .6 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Bourbon-derived hybrid
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3 Notes:Mountain Top is a farm in SE Australia, about 2 hours south of Brisbane and 5 minutes west of Nimbin. This selected area is unique because of the altitude and unique volcanic red soils. The farm itself is on the slopes of the extinct volcano, Mt. Warning. The area is a lush, subtropical environment, and is unique in coffee since this is the southernmost growing area I am aware of. It's also unique in that this growing area is quite distant from where most Aussie coffees come from, at least the Skybury from Mareeba in the north, which is a fully mechanized farm akin to Kauai coffee. And this is the first time we have bought an Aussie coffee, after years of evaluating Skybury samples and finding the flavors to be somewhere between copy paper and plastic wrappers, this is such a relief. What is Bin 431? It is a special designation for a lot that was screen dried directly after the skin was removed from the coffee cherry, and then double-sorted, meaning that it was run through the density sorting table twice to remove defects. It's a very sweet and rounded cup. It has a peculiar rounded form which is somewhat like Bourbon cultivar, and somewhat like Mundo Novo. Interestingly, Mountain Top is using the new mylar bag packaging pioneered by Daterra in Brazil to preserve green coffee as it travels across the equator and through greatly varying climates (namely, varying humidities). Now the cup ... the best part ... The cup has a unique sweetness to it. If you showed this to me blind, I would guess it was a mix of a super high-quality, sweet Brasil (body, rustic sweetness) and a Central (it has more bright, liveliness than most Brazils). But there is something of the Island coffees here too, a mild roundness to the cup. It's an odd term but very appropriate here: juicy! This cup is very juicy and has a very nice sweetness to it that is almost like pine sap, rustically sweet. How many times can I use the word "sweet" in describing this coffee? It would be a great training tool to show people what "sweet" coffee is... and it has brightness, something I have never truly experienced in an Aussie coffee. Overall, the flavors exist in a compact range, and the sweet aftertaste seems to linger for an appropriate amount of time given the quality of the body; viscous.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.3
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.6
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.8
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.4
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild intensity / rustic sweet, viscous-bodied cup   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:I like true Full City, just before 2nd crack. Even a bit into 2nd is nice - at this stage it is more bittersweet than sweet. I also notice that, with rest of several days, the body is much greater than I score here in the review.
Score (Max. 100) 86.1 Compare to: Sweet Brasils in part, and Island coffee qualities in some regards, a sweet and straightforward cup that is, nonetheless, quite incomparable.
Bali 

Bali Kintamani Arabica
Country: Bali Grade: 1 Region: Kintamani Mark: Kintamani Subak Abian
Processing: Semi-wet-Processed Crop: November 2007 Arrival Appearance: 1.2 d/300gr, 18 screen Varietal: Typica Cultivar (selection 795 and USDA 762)
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.5 Notes:Bali coffees are hit and miss, usually suffering from transport damage (being held up in sweltering port cities). And they have also been, as a tradition, fully wet-processed. That means lower intensity, lighter body, and a very mild character … not things that people look for in Indonesian coffees like Sulawesi and Sumatra. There's a larger plantation, Shinzan, that has been the only mark available for some time, but there are also small-holder farms in Bali that belong to cooperative mills. These are called Subak Abian groups in Bali, and are actually a combined coffee coop and Hindu religious group, ruled democratically by a communally written set of rules called an "awig-awig." The basic guiding philosophy of the Subak Abian is called the "Three Happy Causes" (Tri Hita Karana) which stresses the importance of religion to man, to other men, and to the environment. Kintamani is basically the highlands of volcanic Bali, at the top of the island in the mountainous area. These coop groups have had trouble reaching a market for their coffee. The suggestion was, "why not do a more Sumatra-type process", something they call "wet-hulled," rather than a wet-process, to result in a cup with more Indonesia character. In this process, the coffee cherry is depulped out of it's skin, washed for a short time, then hulled when the coffee is dried to just 30-40% moisture (usually coffee is hulled out of the parchment shell only after it is dried to 12% moisture and the bean is hard). Then the green bean coffee is dried on raised beds. It is not sexactly a Sumatra process, where coffee is dried with all the mucilage on the parchment, but the effect is quite similar. And that's the Indonesia-type cup we have here. The dry fragrance has a great, rustic bittersweet chocolate character with melon fruit backdrop. The body is very heavy, and there's a very dark caramelized sugar sweetness (if you can call it that, almost carbony sugar tones.) It's pungent, with strong tobacco notes, a deep, brooding character overall. The acidity is very, very low, and along with the substantial body, gives the cup a syrupy aspect. I find that the light roasts are abit low in intensity, meaning that a heavier roast is really what gives this coffee some definition.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.4
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 7.5
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.4
Body - Movement (1-5) 4.3
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.4
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Medium-Bold intensity / Chocolate, tobacco notes, low acidity.   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:Full City+ is ideal for the cup I describe. This coffee can take darker roasts and develops a good chocolate bittersweet roast flavor. Vienna is great too!
Score (Max. 100) 85.5 Compare to: Low acidity, good body, chocolate - very Indonesian
Bolivia 
Bolivia Cup of Excellence - San Ignacio (Juana Mamani Huanca)
Country: Bolivia Grade: SHG Region: Carrasco La Reserva, Caranavi District Mark: Juana Mamani Huanca, CoE #2 Lot (Highest Price in Auction!)
Processing: Wet-Processed Crop: March 2008 Arrival Appearance: 0 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.6 Notes:Juana Mamami Huanca from the San Ignacio cooperative received the highest price in the auction from us and our bidding partner, Stumptown Coffee. (It's a very small and expensive lot: You can get this coffee in roasted form from Stumptown, or green from Sweet Maria's). It's not just the two of us that were impressed. Every cupper I spoke with found this lot simply outstanding. And to ensure it's safe arrival from Bolivia, we paid a premium to have it vacuum packaged at source. The results are great: the dry fragrance in unassuming enough, with a fruited sweetness, buttery sweetness, soft berry hints. The wet aroma has hints of the dazzling,elegant fruited flavors to come, with strong maple sweetness syrup, and (again) buttery smells. The cup has bright, candy-like fruit notes; cherry, apricot, peach. The body is fairly light, but pairs well with a honey-like sweetness in the cup. This honey-syrupy quality lingers through into the aftertaste, with rising jam and marmalade character. Overall, the cup needs a roast not too heavy, that does not eclipse these bright, sweet flavors. I went no further than City+ on my test roasts, and at this stage the bean still has a slightly wrinkley surface appearance and rough texture. s the cup cools the coffee only gets better ... I hate using these terms "refined" and "elegant" but it truly is. Such an articulate cup, approachable, not overpowering, a real joy to taste. Juana Mamami Huanca from the San Ignacio cooperative is a first generation coffee producer. She began producing coffee on her farm at the age of 16 and now at only 23 years of age she has earned second place in the Cup of Excellence in Bolivia. Juana participated in the 2005 competition but did not manage to take home a Cup of Excellence award. For the past two years she has worked to improve quality always with eye towards competing again. Her farm covers six hectares of lush hillsides in the Carrasco La Reserva region of the Caranavi province at an altitude of approximately 1500 meters above sea-level. “I always planned to participate [in the competition]” she said, “and now I plan to increase my production and my quality of life.” She is now working to establish an additional one half hectare of coffee.
Juana Mamani and sons with wood hand pulper.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.9
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 9
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 9.2
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.2
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 9
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 3 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild-Medium intensity / Elegant sweetness and fruited brightness   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:Full City to City+ for the most complex cup flavors - do not overroast this coffee! It's not for darker roast afficionados
Score (Max. 100) 90.9 Compare to: Sweet, bright and elegant cup. If you pay $200 for a dinner for 2, why don't they serve a cup like this for an extra $10 … I will never know. We did a C+ roast and vacuum brewed it yesterday: fantastic cup, especially as it cools and the intensity level rises
Bolivia FTO SHG EP Caranavi
Country: Bolivia Grade: SHG Region: Caranavi, Yungas Mark: Caranavi, Cenaproc Coop "de Montana"
Processing: Wet Processed Crop: April 2007 Arrival Appearance: .2 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.6 Notes:I have been waiting and waiting for a Bolivia coffee like this, and let me tell you, I passed up quite a few to find it. In fact, I suspected that the entire crop might be off this year, so mild and insipid where the Bolivia coffees I was cupping. And these were from the best small farms and cooperatives I had visited there. But here is a coffee that is everything a Bolivia should be, a lively, light-bodied, bright, dynamic coffee. What is up with that name? Well, I thought it would be a funny to include every proper type label that comes on the burlaps of this coffee: FTO SHG EP: Fair Trade Certified, Organic Certified, Strictly High Grown, European Preparation. The name is a mouthful - but I would rather just enjoy the cup... it's good. The Cenaproc Co-op has been doing such a good job with their coffees that it's almost unfair. They won the #1 spot in the Bolivian Coffee Competition in 2003 through 2005, and had multiple other lots in the Top 10. This co-op knows what they're doing, and while different lots have different cup characters (because they originate on the small farms of different coop members), the Cenaproc mill has nailed down the processing and preparation to maximize the cup quality for all their coffees. The "de Montaña" mill produces their best Strictly High Grown coffees. For me, a great Bolivia is not a powerhouse coffee, it's a fragile, fragrant cup that deserves the tasters attention. The dry fragrance is a little unusual here, having an unusual nutty sweetness to it. I found it a bit like Nutella, the hazelnut-chocolate spread. Evaluating the brewing coffee (i.e. wet aromatics, sniffing the crust, breaking the cup - not literally though), the floral, aspects come out, with a vanilla bean waft in there too. The cup flavors have sweet red apple, that same nut note, soft chocolate tones and vanilla. As it cooled I thought of praline and that reminded me that this flavor combination was a bit like Toblerone. Which one you ask? You know, the milk chocolate one in the tan triangular box, not the dark one.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.7
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.8
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.6
Body - Movement (1-5) 2.9
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.5
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild intensity / Delicate balance of fine floral and fruit   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:City+, seriously … the bright notes are buried at FC+
Score (Max. 100) 86.1 Compare to: Bright, Lively Cup; comparisons to Typica-derived Centrals (such as Panamas) and such are worth making.
Brazil 
Brazil Pocos de Caldas - Fazenda Barreiro
Country: Brazil Grade: Estate Grade Region: Carmo de Minas Mark: Fazenda Barreiro Farmer: Francisco Otavio Lotulfo
Processing: Pulp Natural Processed Crop: August 2008 Arrival Appearance: 3 d/300gr, 16-18 screen Varietal: 100% Yellow Bourbon varietal
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.7 Notes:This fazenda (farm) is owned by Francisco Otavio Lotulfo, but a long and storied past. Joaquim Bernardes da Costa Junqueira received uncultivated land to plant and founded Fazenda Barreiro in 1820, which became the headquarters and origin of a large number of farms in the surroundings of Poços de Caldas, in the southern region of Minas Gerais. At the end of the 19th Century, under the management of his son, Col. Agostinho José da Costa Junqueira, the first coffee fields were planted at an average altitude of 1150 m, in the fertile lands and mild climate of the São Domingos Mountain Range. This is a special micro lot from the farm, a separation of pure Yellow Bourbon varietal. Bourbon is the original seed strain from Bourbon Island (named for the French royal family), now called Reunion Island. The yellow variation of this cultivar features coffee cherry fruit that ripens to a yellow color, not red. It is somewhat more delicate, and more difficult to pick since ripeness is harder to ascertain. It has lower yields per plant and ripens slower, which can result in great cup quality. This is a very unusual and complex coffee, and has won quite a few accolades: BSCA and COE in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and Illy award in 2007. The dry fragrance is has strong nut tones, sunflower seed, and savory qualities. There are hints of fresh leather, which perhaps doesn't seem like something you want to smell in your coffee, but it is very attractive in this cup! The aromatics have hints of ripe muscat grape and a bit of banana sweetness, as well as hazelnut roast tonality. Cup flavors are so unique, with toasted almond, savory spice, honey and bee pollen sweetness. The cup is very dense, oily, thick. I get a raw sunflower seed flavor, and hints of olive oil. The overall flavor profile is concentrated in the middle ranges, without high acidic effect or (at my City+ cupping roast) dark, pungent deep tones. As it cools, it seems thicker and thicker. I start to get a single-malt scotch flavor from the coffee, with a tiny suggestion of roasted red pepper. For me, this is a unique flavor experience overall, that might have aspects of Indonesian coffee (low acidity, rustic sweetness), even Aged Sumatra (leathery hints), but is also unique when I line it up against other natural and pulp-natural Brazils on the cupping table. I can easily pick it out of the line-up every time in blind cupping.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.8
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 7.5
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.8
Body - Movement (1-5) 4.4
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.8
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1.5 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild-Medium intensity / A complex and unique flavor profile, oily body   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:City + to FC for drip type coffee brews, FC to FC+ for espresso extraction.
Score (Max. 100) 88.5 Compare to: Faz Barreiro is a complex cup, with unusual exotic / rustic flavors. It has placed well in the Cup of Excellence competitions and the BSCA events too.
Brazil FTO Poço Fundo Peaberry
Country: Brazil Grade: Non-traditional, Peaberry Scre Region: Sul de Minas Mark: Poço Fundo, FTO (Fair Trade, Organic)
Processing: Dry Processed Crop: Late June 2008 Arrival Appearance: .6 d/300gr, 16+ PB screen Varietal: Mundo Novo, Icatu, Bourbon
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.7 Notes:Poco Fundo a cooperative, the "The Associacao dos Pequenos Produtores de Poco Fundo," located in the south of the state of Minas Gerais and boasts 76 members. Annual production is relatively small; six containers of their best quality, the rest being sold off in the internal market of Brasil. The growing region, Sul de Minas, can be a challenging one to produce traditional dry-processed coffees; the main issues can be rain arriviang while the coffee is on the patio to dry, or other weather shifts that prevent uneven drying. Add to that the problems of growing organic coffee in Brasil, dealing with pests and tree nutrients on a soil that needs ammendment, and it's a miracle you can get good cup quality at all! But Poco Fundo has the potential to be a great, rustic, wild cup. At it's best it is like a dry-processed Ethiopian coffee, deeply fruited (plum and raisin) with great body, and roast taste ranging from almond to milk chocolate. But Poco Fundo is a shifty coffee, and some lots can be really defective too. Quite a few brokers handle it, and some sources have some fairly rank lots. That's why we offer it sometimes, but not that often. When the cup is good I grab as much of it as I can get! This is a late harvest peaberry lot of Poco Fundo and has a clean cup, nutty (dry-roast peanut) in the lighter roast, marked by sweet passionfruit aroma and flavor, turning to milk chocolate in FC+ roast levels. There is a clean fruitiness to the cup, something I love about natural dry-process Brasilian coffees, but something a cupper needs to be concerned about. Winey fruited notes can verge on ferment, and ferment in coffee will mean a month or two down the line the cup quality will tank! But this lot of Poco Fundo has a solid, clean berry-like fruit in it, and paired with the nut, chocolate roast tastes and creamy body, makes this one of the nicest natural Brasils as a straight roast drip coffees. You will pick up some tobacco notes and earthiness as the cup cools, in the aftertaste ... it is a rustic, natural coffee afterall. This might be the only Poco Fundo lot we have all year; last year we had one great lot and ther rest had off flavors, musty cups and such.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.8
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.4
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.7
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.8
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.5
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Medium intensity / Full body, rustic fruity notes, low acidity   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:Full City is ideal, lighter for a nuttier roast taste, or FC+ for more chocolate roast taste. Expect some unevenness in roast color, and lots of chaff.
Score (Max. 100) 86.9 Compare to: Natural, full body Brasil with rustic characteristics. This is a fruity coffee. I also do not recommend buying no more that a 4 month supply of this coffee. It tends to fade quicker than other coffees due to the process method done in Sul de Minas - can't explain but I have noticed a drop off in the fruit notes in the cup over time.
Brazil Carmo de Minas - Fazenda Esperança
Country: Brazil Grade: Estate Grade Region: Carmo de Minas Mark: Fazenda Esperanca Farmer: Cícero Viegas Cavalcanti De Albuq
Processing: Pulp Natural Process Crop: May 2008 Arrival Appearance: 3 d/300gr, 16-18 screen Varietal: Yellow Bourbon varietal
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.7 Notes:Wow ... this is a cup that really "wows" me, and confuses me too. Is this truly a Brazilian coffee? Acidity, sweetness, brightness. Are you sure it isn't a Guatemala? No it isn't, just an absolute top-tier Brazil coffee, although not one for those who require the same type of cup found in other Brazils, such as natural Cerrado, Poco Fundo-types, Pulp Naturals from sul de Minas, etc., etc. I cupped this lot on a large table of other Brazil lots, ranging from rustic naturals, to the excellent, clean, sweet Daterra Yellow Bourbon, and had only slight hints from the dry fragrance of the grounds, and the wet aroma, that this was a really extraordinary coffee. What I couldn't have known was that sample #412 (that's how it was identified since I cup these lots blind) was the #1 coffee in the last Brazil Cup of Excellence, and prior to that had placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th going back to 2002. That is simply a phenomenal track record, since many coffees that place in the higher ranks (the 90+ club is given the Presidential Award), are never heard form again. This is a 40 hectare farm (fairly small) at 1500 meters (very high altitude for Brazil). It's planted with Yellow Bourbon cultivar. It's a delicate coffee, floral, relatively bright ... it might challenge the flavors you expect from Brazils. It's cleaner, more crisp ... not fruity and nutty as you get from dry processed Brazils, not heavy in the mouthfeel. But it's a coffee of immense cup quality, a thoroughbred for sure. The theme here is sweetness. It is sweet from start to finish, from the caramel fragrance, floral aroma, tangerine and pepper flavors, and honey/bee pollen note in the finish. There are sweet tangerine notes in the cup, and it has a very long finish. As it cools, the cup becomes more and more well-defined, and more refined. It's the type of flavor profile that can be called "transparent." The preferred roast here is City +, because too much of these delicate and sweet flavors are easily eclipsed by roast taste, which has a soft milk chocolate character at Full City roast.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 4
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.4
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 9.4
Body - Movement (1-5) 3
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 9.4
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild-Medium intensity / A highly refined coffee, delicate, balanced   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:City + roast is ideal, because darker roasts eclipse all these delicate cup qualities.
Score (Max. 100) 88.9 Compare to: Top tier competition coffees, quite a different breed from rustic natural sytle Brazil coffees. In fact this farm has won numerous top 10 Cup of Excellence spots, including 2006/7 #1 Brazil coffee!
Brazil Cachoeira "Canario Bourbon"
Country: Brazil Grade: 2/3s SS FC Region: Sao Paolo, Near Minas Gerais Border Mark: Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama, Vacuum-packed
Processing: Pulp Natural Process, Raised Bed Drying Crop: May 2008 Arrival Appearance: .8 d/300gr, 17-18 screen Varietal: 100% Canario Bourbon
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.5 Notes:This is a special boutique micro-lot from Fazenda Cachoeira of the distinct Canario Bourbon cultivar. The farm has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890. They recently celebrated their 107th crop, and recently their Organic coffees have acheived some recognition in the BSCA Brazil Late Harvest Competition, among others. Fazenda Cachoeira (it means waterfall, which is why there is more than one Cachoeira farm) is located in São Paolo State 3 miles from the border with Minas Gerais State. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Sul de Minas regions that have made it the "heartland" of Brasilian coffee for amany decades. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, the owner, is also one of the leading Brazil’s leading agronomists, an example of how it takes a very edu cated approach to tackle the challenges of organic coffee production. With a total area of 417 hectares, Fazenda Cachoeira has a coffee area of 165 hectares, along with other crops, ranch, and nature preserve. On this farm everything is done manually since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanisation as you might find in the flat Cerrado savanna terrain. Most of the offerings from Cachoeira are Yellow Bourbon cultivar, now widely available, and the cup quality varies from lot-to-lot. I have been very selective with our offerings, and this year the screen-dried Yellow Bourbon was not up to par, but the dry-process was quite good. So when I received a later-crop set of samples that were raised-bed, I wasn't so interested. But this sample was totally different: a sub-species of Bourbon called Canario, available in small amounts (we bought all of this coffee that came to the US). This is also special because the green coffee is vacuum-packaged in 7.5 kilo bricks in Brazil, and imported in boxes, not jute bags. As you know, we are doing this with many of our top coffees, when it is possible, and the results have been positive from most origins (our test vacpack from Yemen was no difference from the jute - so there is not always a quality gain). This Canario Bourbon is so much more dynamic than the other Cachoeira lots, bright, lively. The dry fragrance has a nice cocoa powder and dry-roasted peanut character at C+ roast (peanut can sometimes be a bad smell in coffee, but this is excellent), and some herbal suggestions. Add water and those herbal-floral notes emerge, sage blossom and a touch of jasmine flower. There's a sweetness in the aroma you find in few Brazils. While my lightest roasts had a lemony tone, I much preferred City+ and Full City roasts: more complex, balanced. There are these sweet floral hints peeking out from behind a cocoa chocolate flavor, velvety mouthfeel, and a very elegant, sweet finish. For those cupper's in the coffee trade who avoid Brazils, this is a coffee that could change their minds, and the type of Brazil that would do very well in the Cup of Excellence.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.8
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.5
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.7
Body - Movement (1-5) 4
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.8
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 2 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild intensity / Elegant, floral, sweet finish   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:City+ to Full City. This lot benefits from a real "medium" roast; too light and it lacks the velvety body and dimension; too dark and the floral notes are eclipsed
Score (Max. 100) 89.3 Compare to: Top tier, competition quality Brazils, mild, elegant, nuanced. Those looking for Dry-processed flavors and intensity might look elsewhere - this is a sweet, refined coffee.
Brazil Cerrado WP Decaf
Country: Brazil Grade: 2/3s SS FC Region: Cerrado Region, Minas Gerais Mark: N/A
Processing: Dry-Processed, then WP Decaf Crop: June 2008 Arrival Appearance: .2 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Unknown
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3 Notes:Decaf Brazil is a fairly neutral cup, and its main use is for decaf espresso blends, but can offer an interesting straight roast if you target the right roast level. It adds body and is a good "backdrop" in terms of roast taste. A backdrop coffee fills out the background of the cup and does not interfere with your "highlight" coffees, the ones that are going to be the exclamation point of your cup character. If you want earthiness in the cup, a Sumatra or Sulawesi can do this for you and provide body. But if you are not trying to develop an earthy "wild" blend, but want a cleaner espresso cup, then Brazil is very useful. It has great espresso use to create low-CAF or decaf blends with body and depth. If you like a very soft espresso cup, you will enjoy this Brazil as a straight decaf espresso (its a bit too mild for me). This Cerrado-region coffee is a traditional Brazilian dry-process coffee. What's that mean? Dry-process means that the rip coffee cherry is picked by hand, laid out on patios to dry and then the outer pod and inner parchment layers are removed in one milling process to reveal the green coffee seed. But the old traditional Brazilian dry-process was dried on the tree, not on a patio! When a coffee is 100% tree-dried it can be too wild and have unpleasant off flavors. So before decaffeinating this coffee originates with a good lot of coffee, and the new water processor in Mexico that is producing decafs with more origin character than the previous SWP sources. Although the aromatics are low, this is an excellent "special purpose" coffee, great for a lo-caf blend base, and it's a nice low acid brewed cup at C+ roast. For espresso, it produces adequate crema, and works as a backdrop for your caffeinated grace note coffees in the blend (Yemeni, Harar, Etc). The shots I have pulled with 100% Brazil WP decaf were very nice too, but would not cut through milk in cappuccino etc very well. Of course, if you make your cap correctly (1.5 oz espresso and a maximum of 4 oz milk) it will do fine. If you need an all-decaf espresso I would recommend 60% Brazil decaf, 20% of an Indonesian decaf like Sumatra, and 20% of a Central American decaf or Ethiopia decaf.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.2
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 7.9
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.2
Body - Movement (1-5) 4
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.3
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild intensity / Full Body, low acidity
add 50 50 Roast:Full City to Full City+: works best as a lighter roast for brewed coffee.
Score (Max. 100) 84.6 Compare to: Mild, full body, low acid cup profile
Brazil Cachoeira Yellow Bourbon Dry-Process
Country: Brazil Grade: 2/3s SS FC Region: Sao Paolo, Near Minas Gerais Border Mark: Fazenda Cachoeira
Processing: Natural Dry Processed Crop: March 2008 Arrival Appearance: .8 d/300gr, 17-18 screen Varietal: 100% Yellow Bourbon
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.2 Notes:Fazenda Cachoeira has been in the Carvalho Dias family a short time, just since 1890! They recently celebrated their 106th crop, and recently their Organic coffees have acheived some recognition in the BSCA Brazil Late Harvest Competition, among others. Fazenda Cachoeira (it means waterfall, which is why their is more than one Cachoeira farm) is located in São Paolo State 3 miles from the border with Minas Gerais State. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Sul de Minas regions that have made it the "heartland" of Brasilian coffee for amany decades. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, the owner, is also one of the leading Brazil’s leading agronomists, an example of how it takes a very educated approach to tackle the challenges of organic coffee production. With a total area of 417 hectares, Fazenda Cachoeira has a coffee area of 165 hectares, along with other crops, ranch, and nature preserve. On this farm everything is done manually since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanisation as you might find in the flat Cerrado savanna terrain. The dry mill is located in the town of Pocos de Caldas. The farm has other cultivars besides the Yellow Bourbon we offer here, but this is the most well-known. Yellow Bourbon, a lower-yield traditional cultivar grown using low-yield organic methods. The Bourbon is prized for sweet balance in the cup, and rounded body; a great short description for this coffee. The dry fragrance is very chocolatey at FC roast, and more fruited at the lighter roast levels (but dry fruit tones are always lingering in this cup at any roast). There are sweet spice hints, and brown sugar aromatics. I found the level of sweetness surprising, for a natural coffee and for a Brazil coffee, which can sometimes turn ashy or minerally (salty). In the cup, the creamy, thick body dominates the first impressions. The light roast has coffee-cherry fruited notes, a bit of dried mango, as well as moderate nutty tone. With an FC to FC+ roast, the cup is dominated by bittersweetness with a fruited subtext lurking behind it. This comes out more when I pulled some SO espresso shots. At a light FC+ and light Vienna roast, I made some great great shots, and preferred the sample I had rested for 3 days over the sample that was just 12 hours old.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.5
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.2
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.4
Body - Movement (1-5) 4.2
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.4
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Medium intensity / Balance, body, rustic elements   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:Full City to FC+ is the roast I described above but this lot excels under a wide variety of roasts. The Flavor Analysis is based on FC roast
Score (Max. 100) 85.9 Compare to: Excellent balanced Brasilian cup profile, full-bodied, low acidity. Note that this year we offer full natural Cachoeira, as the screen dried pulp natural type we offered last year did not cup well this time out. This natural was much better!
Brazil Carmo - Nazareth Dias Pereira
Country: Brazil Grade: Estate Region: Carmo de Minas Gerais Mark: Nazareth Dias Pereira
Processing: Pulp Natural Process Crop: January 2008 Arrival Appearance: .4 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Acaia, Bourbon, Icatu
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.7 Notes:This is a coffee from the Fazenda of coffee matriarch Nazareth Dias Pereira in Carmo de Minas, a farm we have bought from for the past 2 seasons. This coffee has consistently scored well on my cupping table. , and the Top Sky mark coffees. In fact, it is from the same group, Aprocam, that we get those lots from, and who placed so well in the Brazil Cup of Excellence. Other than all that, I actually don't know what farm in their "group" this coffee comes from. But the cup is excellent! The dry fragrance has strong hazelnut and an interesting grain note like wheat crackers. Add water and the wet aromatics become very sweet and malty, with floral notes (wildflowers) initially, and hints of sage blossom. There is something pleasantly savory about the aromatics. In the light roast the cup has very mandarin-orange-like flavor, tea-bisquit and barley, with a very mild overall intensity of flavor. As it cools, Meyer lemon notes emerge, more as a flavor than an aspect of acidity (it's a mild and proportionate acidity overall). Darker roasts take on more bittersweet and chocolate character with some anise and herbal hints, but the lighter roasts are what distinguish the quality of this coffee.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.3
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.7
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.6
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.6
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild intensity / Nutty, floral and herbal in the light roasts   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:City + to Full City. I preferred the lighter C to C+ roast for drip, although it lacks a bit of body. For espresso, a slow-finish roast to a FC++ or Vienna is good.
Score (Max. 100) 86.5 Compare to: A Brazil with some nuance.
Brazil Coromandel - Fazenda Sao Joao
Country: Brazil Grade: 17/18 Screen, SS, FC Region: Coromandel, Cerrado, Minas Gerais Mark: Fazenda Sao Joao, Reginaldo Silvoni
Processing: Natural Dry Processed Crop: December 2007 Arrival Appearance: .8 d/300gr, 17+ Screen Varietal: Catuai (Selection 144)
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.4 Notes:Coromandel is a coffee from Minas Gerais, more speciifically from the savana-like area called the Cerrado. This Coromandel has decent altitude compared to other areas of Cerrado (1000 meters) and a very dry climate. To aid in the coffee production and help increase even ripening, Fazenda Arco Sao Joao uses an efficient drip irrigation system for their coffee. (Many farms in Cerrado, if the irrigate, use inefficient overhead spray irrigation). The farm is strictly a family operation: José Silvone is the father, working with his two sons Reginaldo Silvone and Cristiano Silvone. I was really impressed with the sweetness of this cup from the start, and floral aroma. The cup has the roast character you expect from good Brazil coffees from Cerrado, full body, nutty in the lighter roasts and good hefty chocolate in the darker roasts. But this lot also has floral aromatics, and a good rustic sweetness, honey-like at City+ roast, more bittersweet a toffee-like at FC roast. There's a hint of root beer and aromatic wood in this cup, and a mild tannin dryness in the aftertaste. It's almost a shame to use this in blends for espresso, but it does that service well. Howerver, I think the straight shots of FC+ roast are better than any blend, and I recommend you try this as unblended espresso. In fact, I had one of the most remarkable shots I can recall from an FC roast of this Sao Joao (which means Saint John, by the way). For brew methods or for extraction, it's a great Brazil lot. I like all 5 samples we were shown of this coffee, but this particular one, lot 283, was by farm my favorite, as it was with the other cuppers who evaluated them with me.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.4
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.6
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.9
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.7
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Medium intensity / Sweetness, body, floral hint   cfa
add 50 50 Roast:For brewed coffee I have best results at City+, and Full City or FC+ for SO espresso
Score (Max. 100) 86.6 Compare to: Excellent quality single-Estate Brazil, with nuanced cup profile.
Brazil Moreninha Formosa WP Decaf
Country: Brazil Grade: Estate Region: Serra do Salitre, Minas Gerais, Cerrado Mineiro Mark: Moreninha Formosa
Processing: Dry-Processed on raised screens, then WP Decaf Crop: October 2007 Arrival Appearance: .6 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Mundo Novo, Bourbon, Catuai
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.2 Notes:The Moreninha Formosa is from Serra do Salitre, a high plain in Cerrado Miniero, Minas Gerais state. It's the same micro-region where we bought the competition-winning natural dry process Fazenda Rio Paraná of Ricardo Torezan last year. At 1200 meters, the Serra do Salitre has better altitude than most of Cerrado proper, which averages 800-900 meters for coffee production. More importantly, this is a special dry-process done on raised beds ...well, screens, in the African tradition. This allows for dry air to circulate all around the coffee, evenly and thoroughly evaporating moisture from the ripe coffee cherry. And that's the second key here; ripe cherry. The owners of this mill advance 70% of the local price for coffee to growers who deliver red cherry coffee to receiving stations. The reason for receiving coffee in the form of ripe cherry is to ensure uniform processing, and to avoid the defects that usually end up on the patios in typical dry-processing. Therefore, expertise in coffee preparation is offered to the growers, and guarantees the best coffee quality. Your average decaf Brazil is a fairly neutral cup, and its main use is for decaf espresso blends, but can offer an interesting straight roast if you target the right roast level. It adds body and is a good "backdrop" in terms of roast taste. A backdrop coffee fills out the background of the cup and does not interfere with your "highlight" coffees, the ones that are going to be the exclamation point of your cup character. I think this cup is much better than a basic Brazil decaf! It holds up well to a little more roast than most decafs (I recommend FC to FC+) and has such good body and chocolate notes, with low acidity. may Brazil decafs are best saves for espresso, and mediocre as a brewed cup. But here there is a dark brown sugar sweetness lingering with mild chocolate notes.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.3
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.4
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.8
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.2
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Mild intensity / Full Body, low acidity
add 50 50 Roast:Full City to Full City+: works best as a lighter roast for brewed coffee.
Score (Max. 100) 84.9 Compare to: Mild, full body, low acid cup profile, and a rare lot in that it is a single-farm Brazil decaf lot.
Brazil Pedra Grande -Bourbon Cultivar
Country: Brazil Grade: Estate Region: Monte Santo, Sul de Minas Gerais Mark: Fazenda Pedra Grande
Processing: Dry Processed Crop: January 2008 Arrival Appearance: .6 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: 100% Bourbon Cultivar
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.6 Notes:This lot is a pure Bourbon cultivar coffee from Fazenda Pedra Grande from Monte Santo in Minas Gerais state. More specifically, it is in Sul de Minas and this farm looks nothing like what one expects a Brazilian farm to look like. I have not been to the farm yet, but my pal Scott wrote, "Pedra Grande looks more like a Central American finca with steep slopes, shade trees and tracts of untouched forest. It is small by Brazilian standards, producing some 3000 bags a year. It is a small paradise. The worker’s houses actually have carports with cars in them. There is a small lake filled with tilapia. A chicken farm not only produces food, but also that most joyous of coffee fertilizers, chicken poop". The farm has a small plot of old Bourbon, the traditional cultivar named for the island where it was grown, which was in turn named for the French royalty, the Bourbons. The ground coffee has a strong malted milk ball fragrance; sweet, milky chocolate. Add hot water and the aromatics have an herbals aspect, a touch of sasparilla and raw honey. The cup has good heavy density. The flavors are milk chocoalte (actually a bit like cocoa), finishing with a honeyed sweetness. The acidity is very low, but there's enugh to balance out the cup. As it cools the chocolate takes over once again. I cupped this coffee with a lot of full natural Brazil lots that always had some unpleasant edge in the cup; a bitter woody note, weedy herbal flavors; cups that started off strong but some barb stuck out as it cooled. It makes me appreicate this Pedra Grande Bourbon even more, the consistently sweet chocolate and honey sweetness from start to finish, from hot to cold. And of course, it makes great espresso.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.5
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.2
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.7
Body - Movement (1-5) 4.2
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.7
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute:Bold intensity / fruited, rustic, nutty, full-body
add 50 50 Roast:Full City to Full City+
Score (Max. 100) 86.9 Compare to: Great, fruited, natural dry-process Brazil - has Yemeni hints in respect to the fruit that results from this processing.
Brazil Cerrado Screen-Dried Moreninha Formosa
Country: Brazil Grade: Estate Re