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.
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
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 3rd generation coffee family that currently evolves 2 generations, with a 3rd (or the 4th 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.
After 16 hours of traveling from Calgary to Guatemala, Nan, Gerry (of Good Earth Cafes), Chris and myself arrived in the San Marcos region where Neuva Granada Estate is located. At the highest elevation of 5200 feet, you will find a micro lot of 100% Bourbon coffee called Montecristo. This small lot of coffee is exclusively prepared for Fratello Coffee in the North American market.
After spending a few days with Johann and his wife Holly Nottebohm I come away with a renewed energy towards supporting there coffee. Johann is a 3rd generation coffee farmer who has been committed to the quality of not only the coffee they grow, but also the life styles of their workers and community around them. This farm is meticulously keeping up with, and surpassing the standards of Rainforest Alliance certification.
When we last visited this estate, we saw first hand the activities and investments Johann was doing to improve the lives of their workers, but this time, we got to see how far his progress has come. Not only does he have free health care and school for the 60 children that live full time on the estate (grades 1-6 as well as computer class), he is almost ready to open his 3rd class room which will host grades 7-9. What excites us the most is that he is now going to open these classes up to the families that do not live on the farm. This proves his commitment to continually improve the community which lives around the estate.
Our new Kenyan is now available and ready to purchase. This is an upgrade on our preview Kenyan Giathuga Nyeri; however you will notice a similar thick/syrupy body that you loved in our last offering.
Fully washed blend of SL28/SL34. Aromas of chocolate raisins with a syrupy mouth feel, mild pink grapefruit acidity and clean flavors of brown sugar/graham cracker.
Cupping Score 91.0
Region: Thika
Varietal: SL28 / SL 34
Processing: Fully Washed / Sun Dried
Altitude: 5280 feet
Roast Profile: Agtron 42
Harvesting Season: January – March
Wamuguma is one of two washing stations associated with the Ritho Coop in the Thika region of Kenya. This Coop is located on the slopes of the Aberdare Mountains, which form the eastern border of the Great Rift Valley.
The Coop has a membership of approximately 2,000 farmers, and half of the members deliver cherry to the Wamuguma washing station.
Fratello Coffee is going to be holding a public cupping of the top 10 Cup of Excellence coffees from the Brazilian 2009 competition. If you are interested in tasting these coffees, please come to Fratello Coffee on January 12th @ 1:30.
The auction for these coffees will be on January 19th. 26 lots of coffee were awarded the prestigious Cup of Excellence award this year; however, Fratello Coffee will only be focusing on the top 10 coffees.
Good day all you coffee lovers. I’d like to invite you to come to Fratello Coffee this Thursday at 2:30 for another free public cupping. This week we will be sampling 16 different Sumatran & Indonesian coffee. Each of these are from different cooperatives, each processed differently and each to deliver a different profile in the cup.
Sumatrans are typically known for their Earthy flavor profiles and often described as woody, dirty and inconsistent in their roasting profile. Our goal is to bring you a coffee which still offers these classic cup characteristics, at the same time as bringing something much cleaner, sweeter and syrupy to the table.
What we’ll be tasting is:
Sumatra Permata – Organic Fair Trade
Sumatra Sidikalang Tabu Jamu – Natural, double pick
5 x Sumatra Mandheling Grade 1
Indonesian Flores Grade 1 Organic “Green Dragon”
Indonesian Flores Bajawa Ngura Organic
Indonesian Java Sagulins
Sumatra Sidikalang Estate – Fully Washed
Sumatra Aceh Tengah Organic
Sumatra Takengon, Aceh – Pulped Natural
Bali Kintimani Organic – Natural
Sulawesi Toraja Sapan Minanga
We hope that you can make it to this event. This will be a fun and casual atmosphere to taste some of the nicest coffees available from these regions.
I’m sure you are like everyone else and have been wanting to taste our coffee at home.
NOW YOU CAN!! We have finally updated our website to include a selection of the coffee which WE are most excited about. This selection will continually change to offer our fresh crop and auction lot/award winning arrivals. We will also be including merchandise and other “stuff” down the road.
We accept the following payments: Visa, Mastercard & Paypal
Shipping costs are flat rate feed based on each bag of coffee and all coffee will be shipped via Canada Post and USPS.
Visit our store now by following this link or clicking the Online Store button above.
We’re currently only shipping to Canada & the US. If you live elsewhere and are interested in purchasing, please contact us at: russ(at)fratellocoffee.com
