Sweet Maria's Weblog

New Coffee: 2 Guats and 2 Hawaiians

Guatemala Antigua Hacienda Carmona Pulcal a silky cup with effervescent quality, and grape-like sweetness. Guatemala Antigua Retana Red Bourbon with fig, prune, muscovado sugar and molasses. These are both rather small lots so we have to limit the offerings to allow everyone a chance to try them. Hawaii Ka'anapali Dry Process Maui Mokha a unique small, round-form 14 screen size bean with an interesting profile: honey and melted butter (NOT ideal for Behmor roasters). And finally, Hawaii Kona - Kowali Farm Typica is light and silky with a brightness not often found in mild island coffees, vanilla-laced honey lasts through the crystal clear flavors. Enjoy these four great new arrivals.

The Maker Faire

It's that time of year again. If you plan on attending this year's Bay Area Maker Faire on May 19th, come check out our live coffee roasting presentation at the Maker Square stage. We won't have a booth this year so this will be the only chance for you to see us live at the Maker Faire. If this will be your first time coming to the Maker Faire, prepare for exhibits (aside from our roasting demo) that will keep you entertained all day. Expect craziness like man-made lightning, fire breathing robots, prototype musical instruments, steam punks, geeks, DIY'ers, techies, etc...and it's all family-friendly

Five New Additions

Ethiopia Grade 1 Chelelektu Yirga Cheffe an amazingly delicate cup with jasmine notes, honey, and vanilla. Kenya Nyeri AA Tegu with currant, bright cherry and hard candy sweetness, really benefits from proper rest. Yemen Mokha Sharasi with dark fruits and rustic chocolate, also needs at least 3 days rest. Espresso Workshop #23 - Sundae, Java Sunday a sweet and tangy shot that is also clean. Finally, Honduras Carruchil FTO WP Decaf a crowd pleasing decaf with mild intensity, nut roast tones, and caramel sweetness.

Back in stock: Behmor roasters

We are pretty excited about the Behmor roasters being back in stock. It's been a while since Behmor has been able to export them, so in observance of their arrival, we did a live webcast focusing on how to take apart these trusty machines for deep cleaning. A while back (when Josh's hair was short and his beard was not-existent) we shot this video with some basics on how to use it. These videos are great for Behmor-beginners and experts alike. Interested in getting one? Click here.

New Coffee: El Salvador Majahual - Tablon Tempisque

The dry fragrance ranges from malted milk to praline and cocoa. The wet aroma has caramel and butter scents, slight red apple notes and mulling spice. The cup taste stays true to the aromatics; rounded and balanced, with a thick and syrupy body, cocoa chocolate notes combine well with almond roast tones to give a confection-like character. There's a very mild red apple sweetness lurking behind the roast notes, and fading to cocoa-dusted nut tones in the finish. While balanced as drip or press coffee, Tablon Tempisque is really intense and wonderful as espresso. Classic espresso flavors of chocolate bittersweets have a nice bright note, gingerbread spice flavors, and a long finish. We recommend City+ roast level through Full City +. This can hold up to darker roasts too. Read more about this coffee and the unique farm it comes from by clicking here.