Tasting Notes: May 2022 Coffees

 Tasting Notes: May 2022 Coffees

Parlor Five Elephant Cafe Velvet Hasbean Curve Tasting Notes

A specialty coffee roastery, artisanal bakery and small café chain located in the heart of Germany’s capital - Berlin - Five Elephant strive for high standards of quality in both their products and services. With their speciality coffee roastery sourceing and roasting some of the best coffee in the world, their cafés serve some of those best in Berlin. In addition, everything is done in a way that is mindful of their environmental impact and thoughtful of the social impact on the communities who produce our coffees.

Five Elephant Coffees  |  Germany

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Sitio Joaninha Mundo, Brazil Joaninha is the Portuguese word for a ladybug, which is exactly why our friend Valdir José Ferreira named his ancestral farm that. When Mr. Ferreira’s mother was a young girl, playing in the fields of her parents' vast coffee farm, she used to play with her red-and-black friends every day. But once widespread commercial farming took over the region, the chemicals that were used everywhere made all of the ladybugs disappear.

Decades later, when her son took over as manager of the family farm, he decided to move away from mass production of low-quality products, and focus on cultivating higher quality coffees. With the help of our beloved partners from Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza, Mr. Ferreira has built a sustainable, healthy system of coffee cultivation, improving soil and water throughout the region. And as a reward for his effort - even the ladybugs are back!
Coconut, pear and oolong tea

Altitude: 1250 masl, Process: natural
Plus 87, Single / Light
Sitio Joaninha Catuai, Brazil Joaninha is the Portuguese word for a ladybug, which is exactly why our friend Valdir José Ferreira named his ancestral farm that. When Mr. Ferreira’s mother was a young girl, playing in the fields of her parents' vast coffee farm, she used to play with her red-and-black friends every day. But once widespread commercial farming took over the region, the chemicals that were used everywhere made all of the ladybugs disappear.

Decades later, when her son took over as manager of the family farm, he decided to move away from mass production of low-quality products, and focus on cultivating higher quality coffees. With the help of our beloved partners from Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza, Mr. Ferreira has built a sustainable, healthy system of coffee cultivation, improving soil and water throughout the region. And as a reward for his effort - even the ladybugs are back!
Yellow apple, nougat and strawberry

Altitude: 1250 masl, Process: natural
Plus 87
Shyira, Rwanda Coming soon Gooseberry, chocolate truffle and green tea

Process: washed
Plus 87
Finca Majahual, El Salvador Our relationship with the team at Finca El Majahual is one of our longest-running partnerships, and it's quite remarkable for us to consider how strong this cooperation has become over the years. Patrick Murray, the manager of the farm, constantly seeks to improve the farm's output, quality, innovation, and social leadership.

Each year, the coffees produced at Finca El Majahual are not only really good, but also inspiring - with new processing techniques involved, and new social initiatives launched and supported by the premiums paid for the farm's lots. This Red Bourbon lot is a classic El Salvador espresso cup, with clearly defined tartness and a gentle nutty sweetness.
Dried apple, hazelnut and grapefruit zest

Altitude: 1350 - 1700 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87, Rest of World
House Blend, El Salvador House Blend is a user-friendly, approachable espresso which is meant to provide customers with a reliable and easy to brew coffee. It has a rich mouthfeel, with notes of cocoa and hazelnut, packed with sweetness, high in body, and mild acidity. The coffees we use for our House Blend espresso are from our long-term partners. We pay a high premium for these coffees, which is essential for increasing coffee quality and creating an independent sustainable future for coffee producers. Hazelnut, almonds and Earl Grey

Altitude: various, Process: natural and washed
Selected Mix, Blend / Darker
Decaf, Colombia We’ve searched long and hard for these beans that will have you shouting, “I can’t believe it’s decaf!” Breaking the norm and picked prior to decaffeination, this coffee is processed using the highest quality water and E.A. (Ethyl Acetate, a natural solvent derived from fermented sugar or molasses products) products available. The resulting coffee is not only decaffeinated, to be enjoyed any time of day (or night), but is full of sweetness and just delicious with no trace of that distinctive “decaf ickiness.” Gala apple, fresh hazelnut and white grape

Altitude: 1000 - 1100 masl, Process: washed EA decaf
Decaf

Founded in 2012 as an underground roastery and pocket square-sized espresso bar, Parlor's first location was in the back of the Persons of Interest barbershop in Williamsburg. Baristas, chefs, and restaurateurs who stumbled across its neon sign quickly became regulars, and soon it's founder found himself supplying cafés, restaurants, and hotels throughout New York City with Parlor coffee.

Today, from their repurposed carriage house on the edge of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Parlor roasts coffee for shops and home brewers across the globe. With a team of well-rounded coffee professionals who share the founder's vision and ambitions, Parlor advocates for producers and pursues transparent relationships with their network of partners all along a supply chain - all done with the same spirit and commitment that drives their pursuit of consistency in roasting excellence.

Parlor Coffees  |  USA

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
La Quebrada, Colombia La Quebrada presents exceptional microlot selections from two Huila producers, each with over fifteen years’ experience farming specialty coffee. The collaboration yields an ample, satisfying cup brimming with citrus and tropical fruit flavors over a sugary base.

Many of the producers we meet from Huila are second, if not third generation coffee farmers. Specialty coffee growing, while relatively newer to the scene, has been adopted by only the most dedicated producers. La Quebrada presents coffee from two long-standing independent specialty coffee producers: Alexander Vargas Osorio of Finca La Piragua and Jesus Arbey Romero Sanchez of Finca La Esmeralda.

Together with their respective partners, Lidia Majin Papamija and Blanca Judith Ariza, these farmers each ensure that the cultivation of their coffee is impeccable from growing to picking, processing to drying. We’ve consistently sought out coffees from Huila for their comforting sweetness, balanced acidity, and complex, fruit-forward flavor profiles—and this coffee offers a beautiful representation of just that.
Pineapple, honey and citrus pomelo

Altitude: 1730 - 1870 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87
Pulcal, Guatemala Pulcal is the top selection from Finca Carmona, a renowned family estate overseen by Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora, an esteemed exporter in the Antigua region. Crisp and comforting, Pulcal provides a rich coffee experience redolent of marzipan and cacao nibs in each cup.

We’ve been buying quality lots from Finca Carmona since 2017, but this farm has been around since the 1900s. The active volcanoes nearby contribute to the complex composition of its soils, and heirloom bourbon varietal trees are propagated across the sprawling estate. The quality of cherry selection there is nothing short of extraordinary.

Coffee trees are planted in well-spaced rows on this estate: one row in three is stumped every few years to make room for more light and air to nourish the remaining trees. This proactive program is part of a dedicated three-year pruning cycle that keeps root systems intact while integrating young plants into production for a healthy balance each harvest.
Milk chocolate, caramel and marzipan

Altitude: 1750 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87
Kii, Kenya Named for the nearby river that serves as a freshwater source, the Kii factory is known both regionally and internationally for its exacting standards and consistently high-quality coffee. Our roast brings forward flavors of sweet orange and strawberry, cradled by a creamy undertone.

To the south of Mt. Kenya, along the foothills that roll well below its majestic peak, lie the regions where some of our favorite coffees in all of Kenya are grown and processed. These lands are fertile with vibrant volcanic red-clay soils, enriched by a network of freshwater streams.

The Kii factory, a member of the Rungeto Farmers Cooperative Society, is nestled in Kirinyaga County, just west of Nyeri. Over eight hundred smallholder farmers bring their freshly handpicked cherry to Kii, where it’s pulped, fermented, and washed in clean water from the river. The factory’s sophistication is noteworthy: newly installed tiles in the washing channels help preserve the quality of both the coffee and the water, which is filtered through earthen pits before being reintroduced into local waterways.
Cara cara, strawberry and fresh cream

Altitude: 1310 - 1900 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87, Single / Light
Worka Sakaro, Ethiopia Season after season, we see extraordinary coffees from the Worka Sakaro washing station, brought in by a tight-knit community of four hundred smallholder farmers. This harvest, presenting elegant flavors of black tea, lime, and pomegranate, is no exception.

Coffees from Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region are famous for their elegant character, a floral and citric flavor due in large part to a terroir of soaring altitudes and lush forestlands. The washing station at Worka Sakaro, a small locality close to Yirgacheffe, helps ensure that these stunning traits reach their fullest potential.

Farmers in the area are supported by pre-financing loans and taught how to preserve the local forests with homemade organic compost. This ultimately benefits the entire supply chain and ensures that the taste of Worka Sakaro coffee remains clear and unique.
Black tea, lime and pomegranate

Altitude: 2000 - 2200 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87
Sandia Valley, Peru Puno Province hugs the Andean landscape of Peru’s southeastern edge. On the road to Sandia Valley, barren plains high above the clouds wind down to verdant mountains. Our selection has a classic Puno profile, with flavors of dark chocolate and honey and a brisk, refreshing acidity.

Sandia Valley is a municipality in the Puno region of southeastern Peru, not far from Lake Titicaca. Within this massive expanse lie many smaller valleys, each hosting unique communities of coffee-producing smallholder farmers. Much of Sandia Valley grows Bourbon-variety coffee thanks to a replanting project led by the United Nations in the 1980s, lending the landscape’s crops a distinct flavor profile. Typical of the region, our selection presents a deeply sweet, full-bodied coffee with a clean and elegant acidity.

Despite the UN’s efforts and our exporting partners’ work in the region, coffee farming continues to dwindle in Sandia Valley. We’re grateful to be able to savor the flavors from this region for another season.
Dark chocolate, honey and hazelnut

Altitude: 1500 - 1800 masl, Process: washed
Plus 87, Rest of World
Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia The community of Chelbessa is in Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region, an origin known for its ethereal, floral-tasting coffee. Our roast of this fully washed lot brews a silken cup laden with notes of honey and bergamot.

Many consider Ethiopia the true origin of coffea arabica; some even claim coffee is “Ethiopia’s gift to the world.” The crop is a part of daily life for much of Ethiopian society, and appreciation of its significance is evidenced by frequent and widespread coffee ceremonies.

Yirgacheffe is one of the first regions in Ethiopia to begin washing coffee with the traditional method used today by many high-quality producers. As such, the people there have developed expertise in managing the wet processing of harvests over the last five decades.
Honey, bergamot and raspberry

Altitude: 1900 - 2200 masl, Process: washed
Rest of World
Prospect, Guatemala / Ethiopia Prospect is a blend for coffee lovers seeking a balance of adventure and comfort. For this edition, we paired a bright coffee from Ethiopia's Nansebo district with an intensely sweet crop from Guatemala's Chimaltenango region to create a cup rich with caramel and tropical fruit flavors.

Our original blend, Prospect holds a special place in our heart. This roast doesn’t follow any firm formula; rather, its flavor shifts with the seasonal coffees we source from our partners at origin. We’re constantly chasing our ideal, and the evolving outcome is characterized by fresh, fragrant florals and crisp caramel sweetness.

Prospect embodies our aspiration for the future of coffee culture—a future we believe will be founded on new ideas and flavors that are as adventurous as they are articulated.
Caramel, lime and sarsaparilla

Altitude: various, Process: washed
Selected Mix
Wallabout, Americas We set out to elevate the classic coffee experience by sourcing and roasting coffees of the highest caliber for our flagship blend. A product of longstanding relationships in Latin America, Wallabout delivers a satisfyingly sweet cup anchored in timeless toffee and chocolate flavors.

This blend pays homage to our city’s storied coffee history. The streets of Wallabout—named for the early-sixteenth-century Dutch settlers from Wallonia—spawned a marketplace for seafaring merchants where the Brooklyn Navy Yard sits today. During the American Industrial Revolution, coffee roasteries dotted the banks of the East River in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. At its peak in the early twentieth century, Wallabout Market was the second largest wholesale market in the world.

Wallabout exemplifies our uncompromising sourcing practices and our tailored approach to roasting, which highlights a coffee’s inherent sweetness. It has something to appeal to every coffee drinker and is especially suited to espresso preparation. Wallabout is anchored year-round in rich chocolate and accented with molasses, toffee, and brown sugar. Those seeking a cup with saturated sweetness, look no further: this is an ideal blend for every day of the year.
Toffee and chocolate

Altitude: various, Process: washed
Single / Light

Our first ever South American roastery, Café Velvet was born out of the idea that (Colombian) coffees taste best in the country where they are produced and that there is an entire nation waiting to become brewing and tasting experts. It is their belief that the best coffees should be readily available to those that for generations worked so hard to give the world these delicious brews.

With this spirit in mind, Café Velvet are from El Poblado district in Medellin and has become one of South America's leading third wave coffee roasters. Today with a second roastery in Brussels, Belgium, Café Velvet reinvest all their proceeds of their Colombian operation to purchasing coffee directly from farmers, prepaying 100% of their Colombian coffees and paying all their farmers directly in their own currency - we truly support such novel ideas, in particular with GUSTATORY's own ethical priorities and encouragements.

Velvet Coffees  |  Colombia / Belgium

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Fuerza, Colombia (Washed) Our Fuerza coffee at this moment has been produced organically by the cooperative ASOPEP in Planadas, Tolima. This region has been plagued by the armed conflict in the past. It is a remote region, hard to reach - as we could experience ourselves. Of the more than 300 associated members, more than 90 are organically certified. ASOPEP is the only cooperative in the region with a complete coffee infrastructure to control the entirety of the processing, quality control, transportation, and commercialization.

Of its more than 300 associated producers 28% are mothers head of families with an average age of 35. Through the initiative COMITE DE MUJERES, founded by 154 women, women engage in crafts, home gardening and grow medicinal plants. With the initiative AVA, ASOPEP women together with indigenous women learn professional cooking skills. In the coffee school CONSTRUYENDO FUTURO, children from associated producers learn barista and sensorial skills. ASOPEP was selected in March 2022 by RAP EJE CAFETERO (organization regrouping the Coffee Triangle) as the highest quality producer of the region and as such to represent the region at the SCA Boston Expo.

Of its more than 300 associated producers 28% are mothers head of families with an average age of 35. Through the initiative COMITE DE MUJERES, founded by 154 women, women engage in crafts, home gardening and grow medicinal plants. With the initiative AVA, ASOPEP women together with indigenous women learn professional cooking skills. In the coffee school CONSTRUYENDO FUTURO, children from associated producers learn barista and sensorial skills.
Chocolate, walnut, stone fruit and cherries

Altitude: 1500 masl, Process: washed
Selected Mix, Plus 87
Manifesto, Colombia We called this coffee Manifiesto, to honor the way Colombians respond to hardship. No matter how hard life can be, they keep singing and dancing and being incredibly friendly. Resilience is what strikes us in Colombia. A Manifiesto coffee will be a coffee produced by farmers who in one way or the other have been victims of the armed conflict.

This coffee has been produced organically by the cooperative ASOPEP in Planadas, Tolima. In the past, this region has been plagued by the armed conflict. The region is hard to reach - as we could experience ourselves travelling there and for years nobody visited the region because it was dangerous and remote, which partly explains why there is so much organic coffee in the area. People had to work with what they had.

ASOPEP is the only cooperative in the region with complete coffee infrastructure to control the entirety of the processing, quality control, transportation, and commercialization and through the initiative CANUMA is constantly working on improving the commercialization of high-quality coffees. More than 300 small producers (between 23 and 79 years old) are associated with ASOPEP. More than 90 hereof are organic. As such more than 2000 ha is cultivated of which 300 ha is a nature reserve and more than 1300 ha is organically certified. ASOPEP counts as well with experts in bird watching. ASOPEP members formed a group with former guerilla and indigenous people to participate in Sabirdfair, a big bird fair which took place in November 2021. Reunions of this nature are big steps in the peace process.

ASOPEP was selected in March 2022 by RAP EJE CAFETERO (organization regrouping the Coffee Triangle) as the highest quality producer of the region and as such to represent the region at the SCA Boston Expo.
Chocolate, nougat and maple syrup

Altitude: 1600 - 1800 masl, Process: washed
Rest of World
Puro Velvet, Colombia Puro Velvet are our "coup de cœur" coffees. In these bags we present coffees with which we have a special bond. A coffee we really like to share with you. The first Puro Velvet coffee is from San Carlos in Antioquia. The village is not that easy to reach, the road is small with obstacles - as we could experience driving there. Because it is so remote, it also unfortunately has been a target for the guerilla and paramilitary and it still bears marks and scars from that violent past.

When we visited, we parked our motorcycle at the ruins of a school destroyed by fire to walk the rest of our way to the plantation. The plantation is beautiful, meticulously maintained. We see passion fruit, avocados, mandarines growing amid the coffee trees.

In choosing our coffees we look at the “terroir”, this means that we look at the weather conditions, the quality of the soil, the altitude because these determine our cup profile. In San Carlos the soil is very fertile because of an ideal mix of rain and sunshine resulting in many sweet notes such as butter, chocolate, nougat, and roasted nuts, all quite balanced.

The producer is Edwin Giraldo and he is a meticulous man. He takes a lot of pride into roasting his beans himself in his oven and when you visit, he prepares you a delicious filter coffee from his own crop. This may sound obvious but we can assure you this does not happen too often. Edwin operates a small finca, only 1 hectare which produces a few hundred kilos at one time so he talked to his neighbors - the ones whom he knows also put quite some effort into diligently producing coffee.
Dark chocolate, buttersweet and roasted almonds

Altitude: 1500 - 1600 masl, Process: washed
Selected Mix

Unapologetically obsessed with coffee and the range of flavours that speciality coffee can offer, Hasbean are a long-standing figurehead of UK's speciality coffee industry. With a very highly experienced coffee team who travel the world in search of the best coffee on the planet, Hasbean source from world-class producers who are paving the way for more sustainable and ethical coffee production.

Hasbean Coffees  |  UK

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Kiriga 22.024, Kenya Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Administratively, Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river.

Because Kenya is on the equator, coffee behaves a little differently here than in most other places. Rather than a single crop each year, it’s usual in Kenya to get both the Main Crop (harvested around December-January) and what is called the Fly (or Early) Crop (harvested around July-August). The Fly Crop is typically smaller than the Main Crop overall, but still adds up to a significant minority of the country’s total production. There’s a reputation that the coffees from the Fly Crop aren’t as good as from the Main Crop, but like a lot of commonly held opinions on coffee, that might not be correct.

We’ve always bought coffee from Kiriga Estate’s Main Crop, but whilst talk to the owner Dr Brian Gakunga, he mentioned that he’d seen the farm begin to produce more in the Fly Crop and less in the Main Crop. With the majority of his production now in the Fly Crop, it only made sense to taste the samples of that ourselves and we were really happy to find they taste identical to the Main Crop quality from the farm. We’re sure you’ll agree they’re delicious!

As to why the farm is shifting to produce more Fly Crop than Main Crop, there are a couple of possibilities. Climate change could be a factor and it certainly has shifted times of harvest and extended harvest periods in many countries. However, Brian also noted that he’d heard of farms shifting from Main Crop to Fly Crop and back again in the past and it could also be to do with the plants – their age, the way they’re being managed and so on. So we’re not certain why the shift has happened – we’re just really glad we could take this opportunity to have great coffee from the farm and to understand a little more about the amazing coffees it produces. Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean.

Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s it’s size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right?

Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through the holes of a screen easily.

This year we have the AA, AB, C and Peaberry from Kiriga - so big beans, medium beans, little beans and even littler beans! Traditionally, the AA has got the highest prices (they’re about 15-20% of the crop), with AB being a bit cheaper and C going into commodity coffee. However, Brian from Kiriga sent us his C to try a few years ago and we were wowed - it’s really sweet and nice - so we began buying it and are super excited to have it again for another year. The Peaberry had been included in with the C in previous years due to the similar size and smaller harvests, however the two have now been separated out and there's enough of it to stand alone!
Blackcurrant, brown sugar, digestive biscuit and greengage

Altitude: 1500 - 1600 masl, Process: washed
Single / Light, Plus 87
Kiriga 22.025, Kenya Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Administratively, Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river.

Because Kenya is on the equator, coffee behaves a little differently here than in most other places. Rather than a single crop each year, it’s usual in Kenya to get both the Main Crop (harvested around December-January) and what is called the Fly (or Early) Crop (harvested around July-August). The Fly Crop is typically smaller than the Main Crop overall, but still adds up to a significant minority of the country’s total production. There’s a reputation that the coffees from the Fly Crop aren’t as good as from the Main Crop, but like a lot of commonly held opinions on coffee, that might not be correct.

We’ve always bought coffee from Kiriga Estate’s Main Crop, but whilst talk to the owner Dr Brian Gakunga, he mentioned that he’d seen the farm begin to produce more in the Fly Crop and less in the Main Crop. With the majority of his production now in the Fly Crop, it only made sense to taste the samples of that ourselves and we were really happy to find they taste identical to the Main Crop quality from the farm. We’re sure you’ll agree they’re delicious!

As to why the farm is shifting to produce more Fly Crop than Main Crop, there are a couple of possibilities. Climate change could be a factor and it certainly has shifted times of harvest and extended harvest periods in many countries. However, Brian also noted that he’d heard of farms shifting from Main Crop to Fly Crop and back again in the past and it could also be to do with the plants – their age, the way they’re being managed and so on. So we’re not certain why the shift has happened – we’re just really glad we could take this opportunity to have great coffee from the farm and to understand a little more about the amazing coffees it produces. Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean.

Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s it’s size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right?

Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through the holes of a screen easily.

This year we have the AA, AB, C and Peaberry from Kiriga - so big beans, medium beans, little beans and even littler beans! Traditionally, the AA has got the highest prices (they’re about 15-20% of the crop), with AB being a bit cheaper and C going into commodity coffee. However, Brian from Kiriga sent us his C to try a few years ago and we were wowed - it’s really sweet and nice - so we began buying it and are super excited to have it again for another year. The Peaberry had been included in with the C in previous years due to the similar size and smaller harvests, however the two have now been separated out and there's enough of it to stand alone!
Fruit cocktail, white sugar and green apple

Altitude: 1500 - 1600 masl, Process: washed
Selected Mix
Nejapa 22.005, El Salvador Coming soon Milk chocolate, orange and raspberry

Process: washed
Selected Mix, Single / Light
Grama 21.097, Brazil The Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama farm has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890, and we've been sourcing from them for nearly twenty years. We remember the first time we visited the farm and cupped this Brazilian coffee - it really opened our minds to what great coffee can be. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias doesn’t just consistently produce great coffee, he also considers social and environmental sustainability at the core of Brazilian coffee production.

Gabriel is one of Brazil’s leading agronomists, and his family owns several farms that border one another. Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama is 417 hectares, and 64 are planted with coffee. The coffee is picked and maintained by hand, and the mill is located 45 minutes away near Poços de Caldas.

This farm has a school, a club, a full-sized soccer field for employees, and 47 houses with modern facilities. The family invests heavily in the farm's coffee processing facilities. Wastewater is treated to avoid polluting their stream, and the farm has a small hydroelectric plant used during the peak harvest. Gabriel and family grow mostly Yellow Bourbon, Canario and Mundo Novo varietals, but also invest in planting new ones and experimenting with new techniques. The family is trialling fermentation experiments with the support of experts from the nearby University of Lavras.

The Carvalho Dias family's dedication to preserving the land and supporting their communities has allowed them to produce one of the most consistent and delicious coffees that holds a special signifance for us.
Milk chocolate, hazelnut, red apple and toffee

Altitude: 1100 - 1250 masl, Process: natural
Selected Mix, Plus 87
El Yalcon Decaf, Colombia Here at Hasbean, we're always on the lookout for tasty and delicious decaf. It can sometimes be a little tricky to get our hands on, but we aim to always have at least 1 decaffeinated coffee available at all times. As crops come and go during the year, our decaf offering changes and rolls with the seasons - right now it is a washed Caturra from El Yalcon in Colombia that has been decaffeinated using sugar cane. Please note - if you sign up for a recurring subscription to this coffee, you will always be sent our current decaf offering.

El Yalcon decaf is grown along an isolated set of mountains within the central cordillera of the Andes that go through Pitalito, Acevedo, Palestina, Timaná, and Suaza. This coffee represents the work of 24 different individual producers from the municipalities of La Plata, Nataga, Paez, Pital, and Tesalia. The producers are committed to quality and excellence.

Coffee is carefully hand-sorted and processed at each individual farm, with special attention paid to the drying process to ensure consistency, uniformity, and a clean cup profile.

It was decaffeinated in Colombia. This might not sound remarkable, but most coffee is decaffeinated in either Canada or Germany. This adds food miles to the coffee, which is not good. What decaffeination in a coffee’s producing country does is add value at the place where I’m very happy to add value; that is, around 40km from the warehouse where the shipments are collated.
Brown sugar, milk chocolate and orange zest

Altitude: 1500 - 1750 masl, Process: EA decaf
Decaf
Blake, Americas This is Blake, our black blend. It celebrates a more syrupy, Natural process-led espresso and was created to deliver a slightly more punchy 'old school' experience. Our range of coffees here at Hasbean changes with the seasons, so throughout the year different coffees come and go. As this happens, we update our blends to reflect that seasonality. The coffees in this season’s Blake are: 50% India Balmaadi Estate Natural, 30% El Salvador Finca Argentina Estate Natural, 20% Brazil Fazenda Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Natural Canario. Fig roll, light syrup, currants and overripe strawberry

Altitude: various, Process: natural
Blend / Darker
Jabberwocky, Various This is Jabberwocky, our white blend. It has a great balance of sweetness and acidity. As blends go, this one's a little more challenging to tame than our red or black blends – but it's full of amazing results when you get it right. Our range of coffees here at Hasbean change with the seasons, so throughout the year different coffees come and go. We update our blends as this happens to reflect that seasonality. The coffees in this season’s Jabberwocky are: 60% Costa Rica ARBAR La Isla White Honey Catuai, 40% Kenya Kiriga Estate Washed AB Brown sugar, blackcurrant and lemon

Altitude: various, Process: washed
Blend / Darker

A quality-driven small-business coffee roastery based in Kent, Curve exist to bring you delicious coffees in a way that benefits producers and is kinder to the planet. Curve believe that businesses can and should be forces for positive change and there is plenty to improve within the coffee industry; this is why Curve's company culture is built on one idea: Small Business. Big Impact.

Seasonally led, Curve offer a range of fresh crop speciality-grade coffee from various origins and with different flavour profiles. Their roasting style allows for a coffee's sweetness, vibrancy, body and flavour to shine. Rather than blending coffees, Curve prefers to focus on refining their roasts to bring out the potential each coffee holds within and showcase the range of coffees whether they are regional group lots or individual producers' microlots.

Curve Coffees  |  UK

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Elmer Mendoza, Peru Coming soon Juicy, pineapple and Turkish delight

Process: natural
Selected Mix, Single / Light, Plus 87
Maribel Torres, Peru Maribel Herrera Torres is a producer from the village of San Antonio in the Huabal district within Jaen province in Cajamarca. She owns a 2 hectare plot of land that is planted with Caturra & Catuaí varieties.

Having produced mostly washed coffees with some naturals in the past, after seeing the potential for cup quality of natural processed coffees Maribel has decided to process all of her coffee this way this year. Maribel and her family pick the ripe cherries and then thoroughly wash them before placing them on lined patios to dry for 25 days.
Jammy body, papaya and brown sugar

Altitude: 1650 - 1700 masl, Process: natural
Selected Mix, Single / Light
Gitesi, Rwanda Alexis and Aime Gahizi are a father and son team who own and run the Gitesi washing station, established in 2005 in the Karongi region, Western Rwanda. Alexis is originally from Karongi, and his family have been growing coffee here for generations. This particular lot is a selection of cherry grown and picked at their own farm and processed at Gitesi station where cherry from many local small farmers deliver their coffee for processing too.

Gitesi has very strong relationships with farmers in the local community. There are over 1800 coffee farmers who deliver cherry to Gitesi. The washing station implemented a bonus system based on performance, which is paid out to the farmers at the end of the year. The washing station also has a development programme in place to support the farmers and members of their community. Some of the benefits of the program include access to new plants from Gitesi’s coffee nursery at no extra cost, distribution of cows (for additional income and a source of organic fertiliser), and training in agricultural and financial management. They also have a pilot program where farmers can learn about growing different vegetables, ensuring that they have income outside of coffee season.

Aime is a member of the younger generation of producers and the driving force behind many new initiatives. For example, he has created a comprehensive water purification system for the washing station. This has been so successful that it will be the model for future water purification systems at other washing stations. They also produce natural fertiliser from coffee pulp.

Gitesi carries the Rainforest Alliance certification - seal awarded to farms, forests, and businesses that meet rigorous environmental and social standards.
Juicy body, white grapes and blackberry jam

Altitude: 1800 masl, Process: washed
Selected Mix
Alexander Sancho, Colombia Alexander Sancho is an experienced coffee grower from Inza in Cauca, Central Colombia. Alexander has been growing coffee for 25 years and has been a member of the ASORCAFE group for the last 14 years. This delicious and elegant coffee is a microlot selection of a single variety - Caturra - grown at Alexander’s farm La Victoria. The farm is about 3ha in size and it is situated at the high altitude of around 1860 masl.

ASORCAFE is a coffee producers’ association based in the town of Pedregal in Cauca region, Central Colombia. The association was set up in 2003 by producers for producers. The goal was to become more organised and able to connect growers with high quality coffee buyers. It now has over 290 members and also provides further education and training, with the intention to improve living conditions of producers, and their communities.

Siruma Coffee (Falcon’s and now also our exporter partner in Colombia through whom all our Colombian coffee is currently purchased) started working with ASORCAFE in 2021 after establishing initial connection with them. During harvest Asorcafe deliver samples to Siruma where they are cupped and assessed for their cup quality, making sure the physical specifications meet standards for moisture, yield and cup quality. After this the coffee is delivered to Siruma’s warehouse in Manizales and Asorcafe are paid immediately for the coffees. From Manizales the coffee is prepared for dry milling and export.
Jammy body, cherry and golden syrup

Altitude: 1860 masl, Process: washed
Selected Mix, Single / Light
El Carmen, Colombia Also known as E.A. - “ethyl acetate” decaffeination is a natural process that not only maintains great integrity of green-coffee flavour, but also allows us to offer a decaffeinated coffee that best supports a vertical supply chain. This is due to the fact that the growing, processing, and even the full decaffeination process all happens at the source in Colombia, meaning all value added by these processes stays within the country of origin and its communities. Creamy body, caramel and raisins

Altitude: 1400 - 2100 masl, Process: washed, sugarcane
Decaf
Pedregal, Colombia This lot is a regional selection of coffees produced by small growers who are members of the ASORCAFE association based in the town of Pedregal in Cauca region, Central Colombia. The association was set up in 2003 by producers for producers, to become more organised and able to connect growers with high quality coffee buyers. It now has over 290 members and also provides further education and training, with the intention to improve living conditions of producers, and their communities.

The small producers in the area typically work on plots of land of 2 ha in size average and farm coffee up to altitudes of 2100 masl. The farms are planted with Caturra, Typica, Bourbon, Tabi, Castillo and even some Pink Bourbon. Traditionally the coffee is fully washed. Once harvested the coffee is de-pulped and fermented for around 20-40 hours depending on the local environment and weather conditions. After this the coffee is washed with clean water and any immatures removed. Finally it is dried for between 8 – 15 days (weather depending) in parabolic driers.

Siruma Coffee (Falcon’s and now also our exporter partner in Colombia through whom all our Colombian coffee is currently purchased) started working with ASORCAFE in 2021 after establishing initial connection with them. During harvest Asorcafe deliver samples to Siruma where they are cupped and assessed for their cup quality, making sure the physical specifications meet standards for moisture, yield and cup quality. After this the coffee is delivered to Siruma’s warehouse in Manizales and Asorcafe are paid immediately for the coffees. From Manizales the coffee is prepared for dry milling and export.
Creamy, caramel and purple plums

Altitude: 1800 - 2100 masl, Process: washed
Selected Mix, Single / Light
San Lorenzo, Colombia Our coffee offering is all about showcasing fresh in-season single-origin coffees of varied favour profiles while sharing stories of their origins and producers. With our house espresso, we looked for a coffee with a full body, coating, syrupy mouthfeel, notes of chocolate, caramel and a mellow stone-fruit acidity. They will present plenty of sweetness and character to stand alone as an espresso or long black whilst pairing beautifully with milk for a silky comforting flat white.

To maintain a consistency of flavour throughout the year without compromising on the coffee’s quality and freshness we have chosen Colombia to be the origin for our house espresso. The country’s size, geographical position and hilly terrain with a variety of micro-climates provides perfect conditions for growing high-quality coffees; it also allows for harvesting multiple times throughout the year, meaning that we can receive fresh shipments throughout the year.
Syrupy body, dark chocolate and plums

Altitude: 1700 masl, Process: washed
Blend / Dark

Halo exists because compromise shouldn’t. Because when given the choice between what is best for us and what is best for the world, Halo didn’t see a choice at all. Halo capsules are designed to provide consumers with a sustainable capsule alternative filled with specialty grade coffees of the highest quality; hence their promise to deliver the 'World’s Best Coffees, In a Way That’s Best For The World.'

In 2018 alone, the coffee capsule industry produced 60 billion capsules. A considerable amount of plastic and aluminium waste adding to the billions of capsules that already exist in the world and will continue to do so for the next 500 years. Faced with the vast amounts of waste being produced by the capsule industry in light of a growing ecological crisis, it would have been irresponsible to sit idly by. This is why Halo set out to combat the wastefulness of the capsule industry and challenge conventional methods of pod production by producing a sustainable alternative.

Halo capsules address the negative environmental effects of capsule production by utilising waste sugar cane, a by-product of the sugar cane industry, to create a fully home compostable pod. With the ability to degrade in as little as 28 days in home compost conditions, Halo capsules provide consumers with the convenience of a pod coffee without costing the world.

HALO Coffees  |  UK

Coffee Story Notes & Essentials Packages
Daterra Coffee from Brazil. A sweet and creamy blend, suited to cold brews. Conditioned two ways for a complex cup, with a mix of dried-on-tree and pulped cherries. Yellow fruits are added to balance the acidity. A sweet and creamy blend, from the first farm in the world to be awarded a Rainforest Alliance Sustainability A Grade. Caramel, pecan, dried cherries and spicy chocolate Capsules
Noir A blend of full-body coffee from South America and Asia. Columbian soil is rich in nitrogen, making it ideal for cultivating beans with a fruity acidity and notes of chocolate and almond while the Vietnamese bean creates a creamy finish that is perfect for espresso roasts. The finish is clean and round with a delicate taste of caramel making it ideal for milk-based drinks. Halo’s darkest selection yet is a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans from South America and Asia.The high grown Honduras, Brazilian Mogiana and Colombian Huila deliver citric acidity and soft body while the Vietnamese and Indian Robustas provide notes of fruit and chocolate with a smooth finish. Chocolate, caramel, molasses, berry and citrus Capsules
Honduras From the rich dark soils of rainforests to mountain ranges of pine and oak, to intercropping cocoa and coffee estates. These coffees are grown by communities bordering Guatamela and El Salvador, delivering fine complexities in each cup. A fragrant, full-bodied single origin coffee with sweet tasting notes of walnuts, malt and milk chocolate. A full-bodied coffee with notes of walnut, delivered with subtle creamy sweetness. Walnuts, malt and milk chocolate Capsules

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GUSTATORY (adjective): curating excellence in taste.

GUSTATORY Curation TeamMay 06, 2022