Tasting Notes: June 2023 Coffees

 Tasting Notes: June 2023 Coffees

Suedhang Bonanza Small Batch Cloud Picker Ride And Grind Midnight Bean Club Tasting Notes

Two years ago Robin and Martin opened Suedhang coffee roasters' doors. Firstly Suedhang are a third wave speciality coffee café in the heart of Tübingen - they love their open plan open windows, they love hosting for everyone.

Secondly, Suedhang are a roastery, one with a passion to light roast coffee. The roasters are keen to experiment, breaking new ground, for example with Canephora coffee or drinks they have developed ourselves. Suedhang like to write articles and books on a wide variety of topics related to coffee, and they are overly happy when they offer coffees that make a difference. A difference, that is, which consists in the fact that drinking coffee is not an automatic act, but a conscious consumption - even if that's a big word, it's about quality of life.

Suedhang also seem themselves as activists by, for example, initiating a protest against the higher VAT on vegan milk alternatives - they don't give up and try to develop a regional solution for oat milk in reusable containers. For responsible consumption, Suedhang don't just do all this for themselves, they do it so that other companies can build on their ideas.

Suedhang Coffees  |  Germany

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Shakisso, Ethiopia We have a soft spot for coffee from Ethiopia, and especially for Shakisso, thanks to its unique and elegant flavors. The old heirloom varieties are found nowhere else in the world and express themselves in a bouquet of tea-like aromas with hints of stone fruit and citrus. White tea, peach and lime

Altitude: 1950 - 2150 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87, Rest of World
Kamoini, Kenya Unavailable Strawberry, pineapple and vanilla

Process: natural
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light
Los Placeres, Nicaragua Which filter coffee would we brew for a party? Los Placeres. This bourbon is naturally blessed with everyone's favorite flavors. The intact flora and fauna of the Nicaraguan coffee farm together with the expertise and care in harvesting and processing of the Mierisch family and a mature roasting profile give the timeless coffee its pleasant sweetness. Hazelnut, cocoa and plum

Altitude: 840 - 970 masl, Process: natural
Plus 87, Selected Mix
Muyu, Peru Our classic espresso is the result of the friendly collaboration between Jimmy from the Aproeco cooperative, the importers Daniel and Lukas, and us. Together we came up with the name Muyu. That means round in Quichua. Muyupampa (round plain) is what the indigenous people of the Amazon called the region of the mountain rainforest where this premium coffee is now sustainably grown. And our well-balanced espresso is also round: chocolaty dark notes harmonize with strong spiciness and natural sweetness. Dark Chocolate, Almond, Blueberry

Altitude: 1380 - 1700 masl, Process: washed
Selected Mix,
El Carmen, Colombia Honest? Really? Yes. It doesn't taste like a decaffeinated one. Did you bag something wrong? No. It's without. Really! And why doesn't it have the typical sticky decaf taste? Three reasons: First, really good green coffee. Second, decaffeinated with ethyl acetate derived from sugar cane. And third, we didn't fall asleep while roasting. And, uh, fourth, we really wanted a decent decaf that rivaled an MIT. For being able to sleep and for all mums. Macadamia, caramel cream and pear

Altitude: 1700 - 2100 masl, Process: sugar cane decaf
Decaf

GUSTATORY returns to Berlin once more following our recent features of The Barn and Five Elephant, and this time say hello to Bonanza coffee roasters. Their coffee is not average; it’s not standard; or normal. From the moment coffee is planted until it is served, their coffee has gone through the hands of countless individuals who are all remarkable within their field. All critical efforts along the journey result in coffees that are a sum of choices made with the single goal in mind: how does the final product taste in your cup.

Established in 2006, Bonanza could be deemed as one of the 'originals' in popularising speciality coffee, least mention their gravitas within their home Berlin speciality coffee scene. Bonanza coffee doesn't have to taste the way it does, but it does. It's not your typical, it's unnecessarily good. But, maybe that's because they're unnecessarily driven...

Bonanza Coffees  |  Germany

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Gitesi, Rwanda The Gitesi washing station, located in the Western Province of Rwanda, is home to one of the most consistent and transparent coffees we have tasted from this wonderful origin. The unique flavor profile that can come from these coffees astounds us each year we taste them and we are happy to offer this lot with you. The washing station also provides so much for the local community, with In-depth farm training, a coffee nursery, distribution of cattle and farming equipment and also the production of their own fertilizer. The cup profile offers a balanced and fruity cup that works well for all styles of coffee. Physalis fruit, chamomile flower and tonka bean

Process: natural
Plus 87, Single / Light, Selected Mix
Gogogu, Ethiopia We finally introduce a new lot to replace the stalwart coffee that is Sasaba. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we were in need of a replacement at least for this season, and we could not be happier with where we have ended up! Gogogu is a wonderfully deep and complex natural lot from the Uraga region of East Guji, where the producers focus on Quality over Quantity. The coffee cherries are delivered to one of our closest partners Tesfaye Bekele’s washing stations where it is sorted and dried on raised African beds. The result is a balanced but luxurious cup profile, with smooth chocolate notes and gentle stone fruit acidity, brought together with a syrupy mouthfeel, perfect for espresso or filter. Chocolate, sugar and nectarine

Process: natural
Plus 87, Rest of World
Blend, Brazil / Colombia We are always looking to improve our Blend with each new season, using more sustainable and traceable components. The latest version of our blend is our proudest one yet. Our new relationship with Sitio Santa Clara in Brazil gives us a coffee with high quality sweetness and a rich, creamy body. This is balanced out with our favourite Colombian coffee, El Carmen. The result is a well rounded cup, with notes of dark chocolate, shortbread and berry jam. Chocolate truffle and dark cherry

Process: natural
Selected Mix, Blend / Darker
Corazon De Jesus, Costa Rica The growing region of Brunca, located in the southernmost part of Costa Rica, was previously known for its mediocre coffees, but recently, thanks to some incredibly motivated producers, some of the coffees out of this region are blowing us away. This particular naturally processed lot goes through a 3 day ‘reposado’ or ‘resting’ period to begin an initial, controlled fermentation. The cherries are only moved a couple of times for the first 3 days whilst drying allowing more fermentation to impact the final cup profile. As the cherries dry more, they are spread out over the drying beds to ensure a cleaner profile and even moisture content before export. Apple, strawberry and sugar

Process: natural
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light
Puerto Arturo Pacamara, El Salvador For the second year, we offer another incredible Pacamara from Alvaro Moises and his family. To reduce the chemical use at the farm, Alvaro recently started planting Liberica trees to attract the Broca insects, known for destroying coffee trees. As Liberica harvests before the Arabica, he is able to negate the damage caused to his coffee production. This particular lot is stored for 48hrs in a low-oxygen environment in bags that are constantly moved to ensure even maceration of the fruit flesh. Together with the low-oxygen environment this allows the unique aromas of the fermentation to penetrate the beans, resulting in a wonderfully intense and fruity flavor profile, with a syrupy texture and balanced acidity. Cola, tangerine and cocoa

Process: natural
Plus 87
Gasper Diaz, Guatemala Unavailable Raspberry, lemon and jasmine

Process: washed
Plus 87
Abdullah al Kuhali Tufahi, Yemen Bonanza are honored to share this fantastic coffee from the first ever National Yemen Coffee Auction. Yemen is home to a very unique microclimate, incredibly high altitudes and a wide of range of varieties rarely seen in European roasteries. As opposed to the private Yemeni auctions of the past few years, the National Auction aimed to allow farmers and exporters to directly submit their coffees to undergo blind tastings to choose the coffees to be placed into the auction, meaning the winnings go directly to the farmer.

Although coffee's birthplace was Ethiopia, it was first cultivated in Yemen. The uniqueness of Yemen coffee can be attributed to the uniqueness of Yemen itself - Yemen coffee developed through the centuries isolated from the offspring of those smuggled beans that gave birth to coffee in the rest of the world. In Yemen, coffee is traditionally grown at high elevations in harsh environments receiving little rainfall. As a result, the varietals that developed in Yemen had to survive a harsh climate. They are the result of centuries of adaptation to these unique conditions - thus the varietals themselves are unique to Yemen. In addition, the added stress of these conditions on the plants increases the number of nutrients and sugars pushed to the cherries which ultimately increases cup complexity.
Nashi pear, strawberry and coconut jam

Process: natural
Stories Special Guest Coffee

A returning favourite of GUSTATORY’s, Cloud Picker coffee roasters was established in 2013 by Frank Kavanagh and Peter Sztal. Cloud Picker's coffee isn’t just 'roasted in Dublin', it’s beans chosen for their personality which means going beyond the usual origins. The name 'Cloud Picker' came from their trip to Northern Thailand where they visited a coffee farm in the Doi Chang area on the Thai and Burma border, going up through the clouds to see the coffee pickers! Thailand wasn't known for it's speciality coffee back then so it's interesting to see how far it's journeyed since.

Born from passion, curiosity and the quest to create a unique coffee product for the Irish market, Cloud Picker make an effort for the planet. As we wholly agree, sustainability is an overused word that is often an under-used concept, whereas for Cloud Picker it is at the top of their core values. From their compostable packaging to specially designed Irish made reusable drums or goods being delivered in our 100% electric van, Cloud Picker aren't perfect but they do try and care.

Cloud Picker Coffees  |  Ireland

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Halo Beriti, Ethiopia It is a huge joy to have the floral bouquet of an Ethiopian washed coffee back on our offering! The Halo Beriti washing and drying station has been producing some top Yirgacheffes for years and they have narrowly missed out on our selection in recent years. This time we really had to go for this one!

The station processes the cherries of 520 local smallholder farmers. The station itself is quite small at just over half a hectare of land and lies 2040 metres above sea level. The average plot contributing to this station is no larger than a hectare and farmers typically grow soya beans, avocado, enset and sugarcane alongside their coffee plants. The water from the Worka river is used for washing the cherries at the station. They are fermented for anywhere between 45 and 65 hours, weather dependent. They are then dried for 7-10 days.
Camomile, peach and honeydew melon

Altitude: 1900 - 2150 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87, Rest of World
Eratoi, Timor Leste This is our third year getting in the delicious and delicate coffee of one of the world's youngest countries, Timor-Leste. This year's coffee comes from the Eratoi co-operative, a group of 24 smallholder farmers located not far from last year's Rotutu co-operative in Letefoho. In this case, the cherries are processed on each farm. After initial hand sorting and sieving with a pinjera to remove smaller cherries, they are floated in a tank. Underripe and damaged cherries come to the surface and are removed.

The cherries are fermented in a "baldi" bucket with fresh mountain water, 20 kilos at a time for 40-44 hours. They are then washed 8-10 times to ensure the cleanliness of flavour we love about this origin. Following this, they are sun-dried on raised beds for 7-10 days with regular turning and sorting.
Toasted walnut, candied cherry and white tea

Altitude: 1800 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87, Selected Mix
San José de Lourdes, Peru This coffee hails from the San Ignacio province of Cajamarca, not too far from our recent Peruvian favourite, the Frontera San Ignacio. It shares with the Frontera coffee that magic combo of sweet chocolate notes mixed with citrus orangey acidity. San José de Lourdes is a bit further in from the Ecuador border but the whole province has a great reputation for coffee as well as for its natural forests. We hope you enjoy as much as we have! Chocolate mousse, macadamia and marmalade

Altitude: 1500 - 1900 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light
Fazenda Cruz Alta, Brazil This is our second year to get in the Cruz Alta - this was a 2023 must-have after proving so popular last year! Fazenda Cruz Alta had its first planting in 1923 when Ladário Deodoro da Silva took on the land and turned to coffee to support his family. Many years on, his grandson, Enison Lopes Ferreira, is continuing in the family footsteps on the Cruz Alta farm with help from his younger brother and three children.

In 2016, the family began a quality project to guide the planting of speciality coffee over the next ten years. The initiative has seen the farm move to particularly focus on soil characteristics, altitude, sun position and varieties before new crops are planted. They have also invested in improved post-harvest production including suspended terraces to get the best out of their top lots.

Ibiraci means the the "tree mother" in the Tupi language, one of the few regions to keep its indigenous name. The village and region of the same name are located on a plateau, giving it a higher altitude and thus an advantage in growing quality coffee compared to neighbouring areas.
Chocolate mousse, pecan pie and butterscotch

Altitude: 1100 masl, Process: natural
Plus 87
Bombe, Ethiopia We tried some really great coffees from Bombe in the last year by various top roasters around Europe. It was no major surprise then to find the new crop fared really well in our blind cupping of Ethiopian samples. As is normal in Ethiopia, the processing station at Bombe village serves the smallholder farmers in the region surrounding it. The station in managed by DWD, a company which also manages a number of other stations in the Sidama region.

Dukale Wakayo runs the station, a man well known in the area for his sparkling volleyball career. He was born in the Bensa District to coffee farmer parents and began his career as a sugarcane trader before moving into the world of coffee.
Peach, lavender and strawberry jam

Altitude: 1950 masl, Process: natural
Plus 87, Rest of World
Worka Chelbessa, Ethiopia Hailing from the south of Yirgacheffe, the Worka Chelbessa washing station is operated by producer Negusse Debela, whose SNAP Speciality Coffee company began operating in 2008. After taking on this operation in 2017, the company began to expand to managing a number of washing stations in the area and in 2019, they finished building an export dry mill. This gives the company much more control over the quality of their product from producer to export.

The cherries are dried on raised beds for 15 to 21 days with regular turning, sorting and moisture measurement. They are then sent for Swiss Water processing - generally considered the king of Decaf processing methods for its cleanliness and clarity of flavour.
Fig jam, chocolate malt and honey

Altitude: 1900 - 2200 masl, Process: swiss water decaf
Decaf
Sao Francisco, Brazil It is a few years now since we've had a Sugar Cane Process decaf - after a run of Swiss Water Process coffees we just couldn't ignore this one - it really had a different level of complexity to its rivals on the cupping table. Fazenda Sao Francisco da Bela Vista has been owned by Tarcízio Aldo Zugliani since 1993. He has since been able to put in additional resources to improve quality and consistency. As well as the construction of a new drying terrace and the addition of improved processing equipment and rotary driers, the farm has put some work into soil analysis to get the most out of the land.

The sugar cane process uses a solvent (Ethyl Acetate) derived naturally from fermentation of sugar cane. It produces clean and bright coffee and can be operated at origin in countries where sugar cane is abundant. Enjoy your coffee well into the night!
Chocolate raisin, almond and golden syrup

Altitude: 1100 masl, Process: sugar cane decaf
Decaf
Henry, Various A blend of 3 coffees, beautiful as an espresso. Works well with milk or as a filter coffee. This blend has a healthy acidity.

50% Brazil - Daterra, 25% Nicaragua - Las Nubes, 25% Ethiopia - Manciti
Rocky road, cherry and brown sugar

Process: washed
Selected Mix, Blend / Darker, PERCENT, Coffee Capsules
Sam, Various A blend of 3 coffees, Sam is a well balanced coffee... a crowd pleaser if you like! Beautiful as an espresso. Works well with milk or as a filter coffee.

50% Brazil - Daterra, 25% Nicaragua - Las Nubes, 25% Honduras - Las Capucas
Dark chocolate, walnut and burnt sugar

Process: washed
Blend / Darker, PERCENT

Small Batch coffee roasters are a nice little speciality coffee roasters, hailing from the Brighton area with cafes in Wellington House and Goldstone Villas. Passionate about bringing you the best quality coffee every time, Small Batch source coffee from a wide range of origins rather than focus on just a few, featuring coffees from 4 continents and over 20 countries - because where the coffee is grown greatly affects the taste.

Small Batch regularly travel to meet their producers and aim to work with the same farms year after year to create long standing and mutually beneficial relationships.

Small Batch Coffees  |  United Kingdom

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Wote Kongo, Ethiopia Unavailable Mango, pineapple and chocolate

Process: natural
Plus 87
Muyinga, Burundi Unavailable Citrus, yellow fruit and milk chocolate

Process: washed
Plus 87, Selected Mix
Bujuku Valley, Uganda Unavailable Blackcurrant, blueberry and chocolate

Process: natural
Selected Mix, Single / Light
Tutku, Peru Unavailable Cherry, currant, caramel and chocolate

Process: washed
Blend / Darker, PERCENT

A mobile pop up coffee bar on a 1974 Ural motorcycle, Ride & Grind can be found in various locations and events in and around Edinburgh. After a period of events since starting, Ride & Grind then launched their own coffees all hand roasted by thmeselves in Edinburgh.

A packaging design to be enjoyed, Ride & Grind thought a vintage motorcycle coffee bar deserves vintage style coffee cans - plus, being tins and not plastic, all packaging has been designed to stay here and be reused for years to come.

Ride & Grind Coffees  |  United Kingdom

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Motor Oil, Brazil Otherwise known as Fazenda Zaroca, Topazio. Red grape, toffee and hazelnut

Altitude: 1150 masl, Process: natural
Bloom
Kiamabara PB, Kenya The Nyeri County is excellently situated between the Aberdare Range’s eastern base and Mt. Kenya’s western slopes. The county has mild weather and excellent land due to its elevation of 2,100 metres above sea level. These traits, when combined with seasonal rainfall, create an ideal coffee-growing climate. This region’s coffee is recognised for its strong acidity, ripe fruit flavours, and full-bodied flavour; development is slow, resulting in a firm, dense bean. The ripe coffee cherries are graded and washed in full using conventional procedures. After that, the cherries are fermented in fresh river water to break down the sticky mucilage. The coffee cherries are sun-dried on raised beds for 3-5 weeks after the 6-day process, before being sorted by size and quality. Black Currant, juicy and ripe mango

Altitude: 2100 masl, Process: washed
Bloom

Created for the doodlers, the misfits, the radicals, the innovators, the creatives. The Midnight Bean Club hope their beans are the rocketful you need to chase your dreams and be your radical self.

Founded by Ross and Rebecca (and Ralph, the dog), both are roasters behind the banging bag of beans you're soon to hold in your hands. What began as a lockdown coffee obsession has become a milk-carton shaped reality and they couldn't be happier to be supplying coffee that will make your tastebuds tingle to The Midnight Bean Club (thats you).

The Midnight Bean Club Coffees  |  United Kingdom

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Day Dreamers, Uganda This ones for the innovators, the rule breakers, the big thinkers. The ones who had too much to dream the night before and can't stop until them huge plans come to life. We hope this brew helps you make them big dreams happen. go get em tiger. Strawberry, mango and ripe papaya

Process: natural
Bloom

Coffee Subscriptions. Enjoy

GUSTATORY (adjective): curating excellence in taste.

GUSTATORY Curation TeamJune 05, 2023