Fratello Coffee Roasters recently visited Erwin Mierisch and his family in Nicaragua to tour their coffee estates in order to choose the next Lot of coffee to bring to Calgary.

As you will see, Finca Los Placeres is a beautifully run estate which ensures every detail is managed to perfection.  You can taste this dedication when drinking their coffees. 

Nicaraguan Coffee Estate tour 2010 from Russ Prefontaine on Vimeo.

If you would like to try this coffee please go here.

This is an interesting question, and one that does not have a quick answer.  I often compare coffee to wine as there are many comparables.  All bottles of red wine from Italy do not taste the same.  It is dependant on the vineyard, the grape (Merlot, etc..), the harvest, soil conditions, altitude, weather conditions of that particular harvest in that particular year, in that particular region.  All of this is also true with coffee.

Nicaragua, for example typically has farms with lots of gain in elevation.  You can have a single farm which grows coffee from 800 meters all the way up to 1800 meters. Elevation plays a significant part in the quality of coffee.  Soil conditions & make up, the varietal of coffee cherry (Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, etc…), weather conditions, region with in the country (or the country itself) are some variables that make up the flavors found in a coffee.  As important, is the way the coffee cherries are harvested. Selectively picking only the ripest red cherries develops a sweeter and more balanced acidity in the cup. 

However, what I wanted to talk about was what happens AFTER the coffee cherries are picked.  Once a coffee cherry has been picked, it must be processed, dried, rested and then exported.  EVERY step along the life cycle of coffee affects the end result in your cup of coffee.  Today, I wanted to explain a little bit about processing of coffee cherries at the Wet Mill. 

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Fratello Coffee is proud to introduce an exclusive new coffee available from the Tarrazu Valley in Costa Rica.  Last month, we wrote about a Micro Mill Revolution happening in this region, this is one of those special micro-lots we wrote about.  

The Rio Jorco Micro-Mill employees between 4-6 people & has 65 pickers during harvest season.   Rio Jorco is situated at an altitude of 4600 feet, and like many farms in Tarrazu faces the Pacific Coast.  The strong winds from the Pacific are important as they create a defined dry season.  This dryness causes a stress on trees creating extra sweetness in Tarrazu coffees, and especially in the 100% Caturra lots we chose from Rio Jorco. 

Rio Jorco which was once known as Hacienda Jorco, is rich in history and has played a key role in the development of excellent coffee within the Tarrazu region. The Rio Jorco Micro-Mill processes all of the coffee from their own estate. unlike in their early history of 1910, when the coffee had to be taken from Jorco to San Jose using Oxen or on horseback. Though the distance was only 15 miles it was a long trip up winding muddy roads. This required oxen to be changed 2 or three times and a one day trip was considered fast.

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At the moment, everyone at Fratello Coffee seems excited about brewing coffee on a Chemex.  I’m loving the body and cleanliness that the Chemex produces.  It seems to extract a syrupy mouth-feel that I always love in coffee.

As you will see, a Chemex is easy to use and is also inexpensive to buy.

Fratello has just begun selling two new coffee brewing devices which are now available on our on-line store.    The Chemex & Aeropress aren’t new to the industry; however, are new to us. 

Both of these devices brew coffee extremely well.  At the moment I’m really enjoying the Chemex.

I find that the extraction of this method brings out a syrup body and sweetness in the cup that is hard to match with other brewing methods.

This Aeropress is also very interesting. 

This will certainly be my brew method of choice for when I’m traveling & camping.  It is fast, easy to use and requires very little clean up.  I get a very clean cup with this method of brewing and find it great with coffee that has a pronounced acidity.  (Read the rest of this post)

Its time for another free public cupping event which will be help this Friday March 12th at 1:30.

We are going to be tasting 13 different varieties of African’s from 5 different countries:

• 4 x Ethiopians
• 4 x Tanazanias
• 3 x Burundis
• 1 x Rwanda
• 1 x Kenya

I hope that many of you can make it as we are sure to discover some amazing flavors.  Our office is located at:

4021 – 9th Street SE in Calgary.

I guess I’m a slow learner because it took me 4 days of visiting16 micro mills (and 1 mega mill), cupping 48 individual lots of coffee and traveling through the Tarrazu, West Valley and Central Valley regions with Jason to fully understand & appreciate the phenomenon in Costa Rica.

This phenomenon is being called “The Micro-mill Revolution” by Francisco Mena of Exclusive Coffees.   He has personally visited all 150 micro-mills that now operate through out Costa Rica and works with many of them to increase quality through proper growing, harvesting and processing techniques.

A micro-mill is small coffee farm (typically producing 1000 bags or less, or 152,000 lbs of coffee) that also has its own wet mill and processing on its farm. What this allows a farm to do is process their own cherries to ensure the absolute best quality and taste.  This also allows the farmer to separate varietals (Typica from Caturra, etc…) for micro-lots as well as introduce unique processing methods for individual coffee roasters needs (washed, honey, red-honey, naturals).  What this really means is complete traceability and a totally individual identity for each lot of coffee we bring in.

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Fratello coffee is going to be holding a casual public cupping of 10 fantastic coffees that we offer. We invite the public to come to Fratello on Feb 10th at 1:30 to taste a wide variety of offerings.

If you have not come out to one of our last cupping sessions this is a great way to learn about the distinctions amoung different coffee regions. You don’t have to be an expert to join us, just an interest in learning about some great coffee!

Here are the coffees we will be cupping on Feb 10th at 1:30

Guatemalan Montecristo, Single Estate, Rainforest Alliance, Direct Trade

• Cupping Score: 88.5
• Varietal: 100% Bourbon
• Processing: Fully Washed / Sun Dried

Nicaraguan Finca Limoncillo, Single Estate, Direct Trade

• Cupping Score: 88.00
• Varietal: 25% Bourbon, 20% Caturra, 15% Java
• Processing: Fully Washed / Sun Dried

Panama Hacienda la Esmeralda – Diamond Mountain, Single Estate, RFA

• Cupping Score: 89.50
• Varietal: A blend of Typica, Bourbon and Catuai
• Processing: Fully Washed / Sun Dried

Colombian Tolima Tierra, Direct Trade

• Cupping Score: 89.0
• Varietal: 70% Caturra & 30 % Colombia
• Processing: European Prep – Fully Washed / Sun Dried

Bolivian Caranavi Villa Oriente, Organic Fair Trade

• Cupping Score: 86.00
• Varieties: Typica (80%), Catuai (both red and yellow) and 20 % Caturra
• Processing: Fully Washed / Sun Dried

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Here is a new video we just shot while touring our Direct Trade Partners in Guatemala

Guatemala Montecristo Estate – Micro Lot from Russ Prefontaine on Vimeo.

Chris and myself along with Nan & Gerry (of Good Earth Cafes) just finished visiting the Meirsch family in Nicaragua.  Together we toured Matagalpa and Jinotega to see their 5 unique coffee estates, each show casing a different cup characteristic that stand out from one another.

The Merisch family is a 3^rd generation coffee family that currently evolves 2 generations, with a 3^rd (or the 4^th in total) not far behind.  It was easy to see how close this family is to one another and how important family is to them.  When staying at Erwin Merisch’s Seniors home, you were always in the company of his siblings and wives, their children as well as cousins.  We certainly didn’t feel like outsiders either, as we were welcomed with open arms.

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