Fresh from the Cupping Table

1 October, 2009

Several new and interesting coffees have recently become available. Perhaps the most anticipated of these is Yemen Mocha Sanani. The first thing that stands out about this coffee is its potent and pleasing aroma. If you can, grind this coffee yourself to make the most of that. When drinking the coffee you'll taste a distinct walnut and a subtle chocolate note which occurs naturally in the small, irregular beans from this origin. This coffee, along with our new Java Pancoer Estate coffee allows us to once again offer Mocha Java Blend.

Good Ethiopian coffee has been in short supply this year. I have been warning customers since my last visit to Ethiopia earlier this year that we might not be able to find anything this year, but we were recently able to acquire a fine example of the classic washed Yirgacheffe character. Our new Ethiopian Yirgacheffe has vibrant acidity, a fruity and citric flavor, and good body. It is everything I expect from a fine Yirgacheffe coffee. There were some rather drastic changes in the Ethiopian coffee market this year which contributed to the poor availability of specialty coffee from the birthplace of coffee, however I remain optimistic that the issues which affected availability this year are temporary.

Java Pancoer Estate replaces our Java Jampit Estate. This coffee is not roasted as dark as the previous coffee from this island, but it is still a smooth, rich coffee.

Just in time for Fair Trade Month (that's this month), we have a new Fair Trade Certified Mexican coffee. Mexican Chiapas Majomut comes from La Unión de Ejidos y Comunidades de Cafeticultores del Beneficio Majomut or Unión Majomut for short. While this coffee is roasted darker than we normally roast a Mexican coffee, it does not taste like a dark roast. Instead, the coffee is smooth and sweet. Unión Majomut consists of 1700 coffee producers in 29 communities in the highlands of Chiapas. The Fair Trade premium has allowed the cooperative to invest in a variety of social and productive programs including an education program, a micro-credit program, and a technical assistance team.

A few new decaffeinated coffees are also available. The new decaffeinated Sumatran coffee is a little sweeter than prior lots, but it still has the deep, full bodied character expected of coffee from this island. The decaffeinated coffee from Brazil is rich and flavorful while the decaffeinated coffee from Nicaragua is mild and well balanced. All of these are decaffeinated by the Mountain Water Process, a chemical-free water only decaffeination method.