Sourcing coffee is one of the most exciting parts about roasting. It is exciting because the location and work of a coffee farmer creates the potential of a roasted coffee. It is important to understand the entire process to recognize what makes memorable coffee. Memorable coffee was what got us fascinated by coffee years ago and why we started this business. To us, memorable coffee is a coffee that etches itself in your memory, like a good meal or a fine wine.
What creates a “good” green bean? I often compare coffee to wine, because great wine is created with meticulous growing standards and then aged and fermented in such a way as to highlight the flavor potential the fruit...
What is "Gesha"? Great question! Gesha (or Geisha) is a varietal (or plant type) of coffee bean, discovered on a global stage in 2004 during a coffee competition in Panama. The Gesha varietal, originally from Ethiopia, made its way to Panama and was discovered by a farmer who separated the coffee out from the other lots and took a risk by entering the extremely unique coffee in the competition. That Gesha lot won the competition and created instant demand. The coffee created huge waves in the coffee scene and was quickly recognized as one of the most unique and special varietals within coffee. The story above led to record breaking prices for the Gesha Varietal within coffee (some lots have...
I've had a few conversations lately about "blends vs. single origin" coffee. This might seem like an odd starting topic but shapes a lot of what we do. It is also important to note that both have their place. A "blend" is a blend of beans from different growing locations or with different growing practices. A single origin is coffee from one source. A blend might include coffees from different countries, different farms within the same country or even differently processed beans from the same farm. Single origin and blend might take on different meanings depending on who is using the words, so I will just talk to what "single origin" means to us. The majority of what we...
