Starting March 1, 2008 you will be able to purchase this incredible Direct Trade coffee from Fratello Coffee Co. We haven’t been this excited about offering our clients a coffee since the first lot of Cup of Excellence we won.
This coffee cupped out at a 89.5, but if you were to include the look of the beans when scoring, this coffee would have been well into the 90’s. These giant beans give this coffee a very unique look. We found that this coffee gave us a spicy orange and fresh pine aroma which was complimented by the thick & syrupy mouth feel. Flavor notes of black-bing cherry, candied cloves and apple pie are brightened with the delicate grapefruit acidity.
Finca El Limoncillo - General farm information
This farm got its name from the unusual growth of lemon trees that were originally found here. This is arguably their most beautiful farm (out of 5).
Wow….I just came from another amazing supping table, and this time it was samples of Nicaraguan’s. 2008 is going to be an amazing year for coffee qualities available through Fratello. It has been a while since I’ve cupped consistently good coffees from all origins in Central and South America.
The most unique cup so far was what I tasted today. A Nicaraguan Pacamara Peaberry….A GIANT peaberry.?.?..I have never heard of this variety before today.
I gave this coffee an 89.5. The aroma on this gave hints of cinnamon, pine and a spiced orange. The cup was clean and sweet and had flavors of black bing cherry, candied cloves, licorice and molasses. Amazing. It reminded me of a really good Ethiopian or Kenyan. I’m going to do my best to get some of this for next year. Wish me luck.
Check out the size of these beans compared to the penny:
Look for this coffee in 2008. You will not regret trying this estate.
Russ & I had the pleasure of taking some of our staff down to Brazil last month on an educational buying trip. We met farmers committed to more then just quality coffee, but also who were committed to making a difference in the environment and to the lives of people who worked for them on their farms.
We look forward to bringing to Calgary some of these special coffees and the stories of the families who put so much heart into producing them. I want to give a special thanks to Schieder and the good people of Tristao Trading for hosting our Fratello family while in Brazil. It was a fantastic trip!
Gallery Series, refers to those one-of-a-kind coffees with extremely special or exciting flavor qualities, that when we cup them, we recognize as extraordinary. Like other organic food products, the flavor qualities of Gallery Series coffee reflect not just a particular geography, altitude, farm or varietal–they also reflect less fixed factors like weather and terroir–which is never exactly the same anywhere in the world from year to year. Because of this, Gallery Series coffees are limited edition coffees, so make sure to enjoy them when they are available…
My brother and I just got back from a green coffee buying trip to Brazil. While we were there we had the pleasure of enjoying a coffee at an amazing cafe in Sao Paolo! We met the owner, totally hard core & “3rd Wave” in his approach. He is not able to import coffees from outside Brazil, so he has learned to source & brew amazing single estate brazilian espressos. If ever you find yourself in Sao Paolo… you will want to check this crazy place out! Cheers.
Bolivian coffee is truly a hidden gem of specialty coffee. I was very surprised at the quality of coffee being produced, in these small farms high in the Andes Mountains. Growing conditions reach as high as 2500 meters above sea level. Almost every farm is organic; however, not all are certified. Typically these farms also grow other crops amongst their coffee trees such as orange, banana, and other tropical fruits. Walking through these farms gives you a lot of history as many have been handed down for many generations. Their farms and processes methods are very small as most farms are never more than 10 hectares. The growing conditions and processing methods are very typical of what would be found in Africa. You will find a lot of naturals, and semi-washed coffee on these farms.
Check out this link: “Fifth Avenue Club - Belo Auction”It is an on-line auction that one of our coffee customers has organized. Darren from Fifth Avenue Club & Juice & Java coffee bar is totally renovating their fitness club, and they have put a ton of commercial fitness equipment and all kinds of other things on the auction in order to raise money for the small village of Belo Ethiopia. This is the same village that we at Fratello Coffee have been sponsoring for the last 4+ years! In addition to the proceeds of this auction, Darren has committed to donating $3.00 per membership per month to support the development work in Belo! Very cool!So, check it out. Auction ends Oct 17. “Fifth Avenue Club - Belo Auction”(Read the rest of this post)
VARGINHA, Brazil — Rafael de Paiva was skeptical at first. If he wanted a “fair trade” certification for his coffee crop, the Brazilian farmer would have to adhere to a long list of rules on pesticides, farming techniques, recycling and other matters. He even had to show that his children were enrolled in school.“I thought, ‘This is difficult,’” recalled the humble farmer. But the 20 percent premium he recently received for his first fair trade harvest made the effort worthwhile, Mr. Paiva said, adding, it “helped us create a decent living.”More farmers are likely to receive such offers, as importers and retailers rush to meet a growing demand from consumers and activists to adhere to stricter environmental and social standards. Mr. Paiva’s beans will be in the store-brand coffee sold by Sam’s Club, the warehouse chain of
Wal-Mart Stores. Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s and Starbucks already sell some fair trade coffee.“We see a real momentum now with big companies and institutions switching to fair trade,” said Paul Rice, president and chief executive of TransFair USA, the only independent fair trade certifier in the United States. (Read the rest of this post)
We recently had the pleasure of touring Brazil, and one of our main objectives was to visit Renato Farhat Brito and his father Marcelo Renato Brito who own and operate the Sete Cachoeiras Estate Coffee farm in Sul De Minas Brazil (Sul De Minas is one of the largest coffee growing areas in Brazil).
The reason we wanted to visit this farm in particular is because it is one of approximately 15 farms in Brazil that are certified Rainforest Alliance. What makes Sete Cachoeiras unique over the other Rainforest Alliance farms is that they go well beyond their requirements for certification, and when they originally applied for this certification, it took very little effort to accomplish this goal as Renato and Marcelo already believed and practiced the philosophy’s of protecting the environment and treating their employees with the respect and compensation that they deserved. This farm is also Utz Kapeh Certified.
Check out this link: 
