September 2018 Coffee Articles

Coffee Rosè – Honey Process

Published: September 27, 2018

Café Rosè uses two fermentation stages: an initial fermentation involving naturally occurring yeast from the farm environment, followed by an aerobic honey-process stage.

• Roast: City Plus
• Process: Honey, semi-washed
• Varieties: Bourbon, Red Catuai, and Caturra Arabica
• Origin: Apante, Matagalpa, Nicaragua
• Lot: Single farm lot
• Flavor and finish: Roses, jasmine, dried berries, and black tea

Coffee Viena – Vienna Roast

Published: September 21, 2018

Café Viena is made from selectively harvested red coffee cherries that are dried whole in the sun. The coffee is roasted to a Vienna profile and graded again after roasting to screen size 15 or larger.

• Roast: Vienna
• Process: Natural, unwashed, and sun-dried in the fruit
• Varieties: Red Catuai and Caturra Arabica
• Origin: Arenal, Matagalpa, Nicaragua
• Lot: Single farm lot
• Flavor and finish: Prunes, dried fruit, almonds, chocolate, and raisins
• Profile: Pronounced sweetness and acidity

Harvest selection

Only ripe cherries are picked by hand. Harvesters revisit the trees every eight to ten days and select cherries at peak ripeness, a labor-intensive method commonly associated with higher-grade Arabica coffee.

Coffee Blumen – Honey Process

Published: September 18, 2018

Café Blumen is a semi-washed coffee developed to emphasize floral and fruit characteristics. After the cherry skin is removed, mucilage remains around the parchment during fermentation and sun drying.

• Roast: Full City
• Process: Honey or semi-washed, with fermentation followed by sun drying
• Varieties: Red Catuai and Caturra Arabica
• Origin: Apante, Matagalpa, Nicaragua
• Lot: Single farm lot
• Flavor: Strawberry, almonds, and flowers
• Finish: Strawberry, almonds, caramel, chocolate, and flowers

Café Torino

Published: September 16, 2018

Café Torino is a natural-process coffee roasted in Matagalpa. The whole coffee fruit undergoes fermentation and sun drying with its skin and pulp intact.

• Roast: Italian
• Process: Natural and unwashed, fermented and dried in the fruit
• Varieties: Red Catuai and Caturra Arabica
• Origin: Arenal, Matagalpa, Nicaragua
• Altitude: 1,450 meters
• Lot: Single farm lot
• Flavor: Syrup and dark chocolate
• Finish: Dark chocolate, caramel, and honey

Specialty Coffee Information

Published: September 16, 2018

Specialty coffee is distinguished through both physical assessment, including grading and classification, and sensory evaluation through cupping. The article describes coffee scoring 80 points or higher on a 100-point scale as specialty coffee.

Bean-grade criteria described

• No primary defects
• Zero to three full defects
• No more than 5% of beans above or below the specified screen-size range
• A distinct quality in taste, acidity, body, or aroma

Coffee Quality, Distinctive Notes, and Density

Published: September 1, 2018

The article presents bean density as an important contributor to coffee quality and identifies several related influences.

1. Variety: Examples include Java, Bourbon, and Maragogype.
2. Altitude: The elevation associated with hard-bean classifications varies with latitude; the article compares approximately 1,200 meters in Costa Rica with 1,000 meters in Nicaragua.
3. Seed chemistry: The article associates chlorogenic-acid concentration with bean density.
4. Soil composition: Soil and leaf analysis can help identify nutrient deficiencies and guide corrective treatment.
5. Water: Rainfall and irrigation affect seed, endocarp, fruit, and plant development.