a sweetmarias wee-blog

Happy Thanksgiving! - We are listing two new coffees: Hawaii Kona XF Greenwell Farms, an early Kona offering just in time for the holidays that has oreo cookie, clove, and cinnamon tastes. Can take a dark roast well. Limit to 2lbs on this small lot. Also up is the return of Ethiopia FTO Oromia Yirga Cheffe, spicy and sweet with a trace of clove and allspice. To fully appreciate, keep it at a light roast!

Fwd: Photos for farmers., originally uploaded by sweetmarias.

One thing I am trying to do now is to print, frame and send photos I take on trips back to the farmers. On my trip to Kenya and Ethiopia I will bringing quite a lot of framed pictures along from previous trips so I can show and share the images , and gift them so thy can have something nice for the wall or mantle. It also makes me feel a little better about the thousands I have spent on photo equipment!!! Tom

Another big day! …We are offering two Geshas together as the Panama Garrido Gesha Collection: 1/2lb Panama Garrido Gesha Traditional Wet-Process and 1/2lb Panama Garrido Gesha Pulp Natural Process … look for effervescent jasmine in the Wet Process and a fuller body with stone fruit in the Pulp Natural. Check out Tom’s full write-up on this very limited offering. We are also happy to re-stock our Mandheling standard Sumatra Takengon Classic, as most of you know is a heavy-bodied chocolate and spiced cup, good for darker roasting too. Maria

It’s a big day! We are listing El Salvador Peaberry “Aida’s Grand Reserve” (1lb limit)! Please click through to Tom’s full review. Some of you remember this from previous harvest,… juicy mouthfeel with semi-sweet chocolate and Monukka raisin in the cup, this time ranking at a 93 overall score! ! Next is another special preparation coffee, Costa Rica Peaberry-Petite Bean Experiment (2lb limit), with a shifting flavor profile from cherry and plum to brown sugar and syrup. Again, don’t miss the full reviews for details. Last up is a great espresso blend component, the return of Panama Guyami Indian Robusta Rustico with baker’s chocolate in the cup. Also great in a French Press !

Three new coffees to announce: Guatemala Palo Blanco WP Decaf with apple notes, raspberry and clean and bright finish. Next up is the Peru FTO Aparm Coop Typica, a balanced cup with Dutch cocoa and almond. Lastly, we have the new Ethiopia DP Haile Selassie Sidamo, a cleanly fruited cup with cardamom hints. Check out the full review for details on a slightly different dry-process method resulting in a sweet profile with peach, vanilla and mango sweetness.

I am very happy to announce the availability of Sweet Maria’s Coffee Unofficial 2010 Dogs of Coffee Calender!! Tom and I had the idea to print a calendar of all the great dog photos he has taken at origin, but alas, that great idea occurred to us last March. Not a good time to sell a calendar. But November is! The calendar has 15 full color images of dogs from all parts of the coffee producing world. (We even slipped in a photo of our old dog Francy under one of the Typica trees in our backyard in Oakland.) The price is $6 and $2 of that will be donated to a number of charities active in coffee producing countries, including Coffee Kids, Grounds for Health, Doctors without Borders, etc. Check it out! (Can you tell I am excited about it?)- Maria

Three more coffees… ! ! ! Check out the reviews, here’s the rundown: Brazil Cerrado DP Fazenda Aurea… a straightforward Brazil profile, chocolate-laced at darker roasts. Good as a blend base or for espresso preparation. We are adding a new Nyeri coffee: Kenya AA Nyeri Tambaya with grapefruit, jasmine tea and a complexity that gives it very high marks indeed. Last but not least is Yemen Mokha Harazi, a high-grown and fairly clean coffee with rustic accents and dried fruit. This is sweet and for fans of the Ismaili especially. Try it dark as espresso too!

We’re adding an exciting coffee that we had decaffeinated ourselves: Kenya Nyeri Ndiaini-Kiagundo WP Decaf. Read Tom’s blurb for the full review. It’s a combination of Kiagundo and Ndia-ini farm coffees, an effervescent cup with a great fruit aroma and changing fruit tastes in the cup. We’re very excited about this offering and Tom ranks it as the highest point score given to a decaf: above 90!