a sweetmarias weblog

We have new lots that just arrived and a few that arrive Friday the 25th. I am excited about an out-of-season offering… why? Because we had it vacuum packaged in Ethiopia to preserve freshness, and the cup is outstanding: Ethiopia FTO Yirga Cheffe Konga cooperative. I am recommending very light roasts for a floral, sweet. It’s a syrupy Yirga Cheffe with remarkable clarity in the cup flavors, that is best with a very light roast. And it’s the first Vacuum-packed Ethiopia we have offered. (BTW, that means we receive it in vacuum bags, then we pack it and ship it in our normal zip bags. PS: Starting with this lot, we will be spelling Yirga Cheffe as two words, as it is in Ethiopia. )

We have a new lot of Colombia Los Naranjos de Huila, bright and multi-fruited. This is from a group of Huila farmers with average production around 10 bags, and the total group less than 100  growers. They are at altitudes ranging from 1600 to 1900 meters,  and all lots are wet-processed and sun-dried, then cupped, classified and combined based on the cup flavors.

We have been holding back on a Guatemala offering because we had so many, but now is the time to launch Guatemala Huehuetenango -Finca San Vicente, a remarkable, dense 100% Bourbon like our other Guats, that cups like the day it got here. It’s so classic, crips, well structured

We have another Colombia Huila Valencia, a pooled coffee of many farmers, but we just happened to find a really nice lot here, balanced and sweet. It’s a crowd-pleaser.

And Sumatra Classic Mandheling is back with a vengeance, and excellent cup from a particular locale with old-growth Sumatra Typica cultivar plantings. This lot has nice preparation with much less percentage of defects than we have seen in recent seasons. Yes, it has that aggressive, woody, wet-earth character. But it also has a sweetness, mild fruitiness, a caramel roast taste that has a creamy, chocolate dimension to it as well. The finish goes toward the bittersweet, with a pungent (peppery spice) quality emerging, reminding you of the deep, heavy-handed cup character that epitomizes Sumatra. It has a bit of all the defining Sumatra flavors wrapped together in one coffee, and maintains a balance between them. Most people might taste this and just say, “Boy, that’s nice Sumatra”. �

1/29: Tuesday arrivals include a great Brazil we have had for 3 seasons now, from the matriarch of Minas! Brazil Carmo- Nazareth Dias Pereira deserves a light roast to bring out the sweet citrus and mild malty notes, but makes great espresso at FC+ too. 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. �

So that’s the run-down …I am listing the Brazil days in advance because I am off to India early tomorrow. looking for that oddball Liberica coffee. -Tom

We have some interesting arrivals, including a really stellar Sumatra Lintong Special Preparation, one of the best Lintongs in a few years. We also have the splended small-farm Hawaii Kona Kowali Farm Fancy and Extra Fancy. It’s been our favorite and has that great floral aromatic note that sets it apart. We also received Costa Rica Tarrazu - La Minita back in stock (from the same lot as before), as well as a new lot of India Monsooned Malabar AA. We have 2 other arrivals coming in a few days: a unique, fully dry-processed Mexican coffee (something we have never had before), nd a new all Bourbon cultivar Brazil from the Sul de Minas area.