Sourcing the next coffee
Coffee is seasonal. Universally, with one exception, a coffee-producing country is exporting one harvest a year. Due in large part to climate, as well as farming practices, coffee harvests taste unique year after year. So when a slot in the coffee roaster’s inventory becomes vacant, and no more of a particular harvest can be procured, then the coffee is gone forever. It is during these times that a “green coffee” buyer must look into the Coffee supply chain and search for the next, special acquisition.
In most cases, green coffee samples are requested from a coffee importer, and the coffee buyer must then roast, taste, and catalog results for each procured coffee sample. A small quantity of each coffee should be roasted in a manner that, when tasted, leaves all potential DEFECTS exposed.
If a coffee harvest is overly defective, it cannot qualify as Specialty Grade, and thus would not be purchased by Peaceful Valley Coffee Company (we roast only exquisite Specialty coffees).
The sample roast should also hit a sweet spot, where the qualified coffee taster can ascertain the full spectrum of positive taste that the coffee has to offer, in terms of aromatics, acidity, body, sweetness, and aftertaste. These qualities will then help the Roasters and Quality Controllers draft the best possible roast profiles.
This tasting process is known as “coffee cupping,” and is extremely important to both coffee buying and roasted coffee production. Quality coffees are never roasted arbitrarily, but are founded upon the unique genetic properties of each green coffee specimen. In the old days, buyers just looked at the seeds for defects and size discrepancy, assigning value independent of taste.
The 2023 harvest of Cerrado Natural proved to be unforgettable, driven by compelling sweetness and complexity. Customers have loved it, on its own and blended. The Cerrado’s ability to be completely itself and delicious at any roast level was so exciting! Recently, I made a few gallons of outstanding cold brew with the Roaster’s Choice Blend, and the Cerrado was shining through with chocolate and graham cracker tones. Would it be so easy to just move on to the 2024 harvest?
The buying process should never be easy. Every update to the coffee inventory is going to mean a shift in the schemata for tasty success. It causes a person to wonder how a coffee blend or brand can taste the same, year over year, if the harvests keep evolving.
Here is where the art of coffee roasting kicks in. Sometimes, you just have to toast a single coffee responsibly, so that it matures into an awesome cup of coffee. Sometimes, you are intentionally extracting specific qualities out of coffee beans (caramelization, body, fruitiness, etc) and constructing a blend. Our coffees must respond to both callings.
I sampled three alternatives to Cerrado 2024; coffees that would embody the same qualities I desired (fat sugars, big body, inspired acidity, ability to be blended), as well as having a unique attraction:
PERU - Chonta Washed SHB
COLOMBIA - Pitalito Excelso
COLOMBIA - Pitalito Supremo
For fun and calibration, I also sample roasted the LA BASTILLA, since it is still fun to sample and will need a new partner for the Roaster’s Choice Blend.
And the taste of these coffees? Spectacular. The decision was a tough one to make. Yet, with Spring permeating everything currently, everything living and sweet intensifying, it seems appropriate to brighten the scale of tasting notes for the Spring and Summer, to capitalize on brilliance. This means a versatile coffee that can complement the high-toned sparkle of the Nicaragua La Bastilla. Which coffee is going lay a maple foundation for the La Bastilla’s elegantly sweet citrus? Which coffee is going to be a quaffable light roast, indelible City, and effulgent dark?
I eagerly introduce the Colombia El Tiple Pitalito Excelso to this season’s coffee lineup. Colombia is actually the only coffee producing country that exports year-round, due to Equatorial proximity and multiple coffee harvests.
The Colombia Excelso is sourced exclusively from small farmers in the Huila Department, from distinctive microclimates between 1500 and 1800 MASL. The flavor in the cup is emblematic to the region: milk chocolate, brown sugar, apple florality and citric glow.
This coffee will lay the foundation for superb shots of espresso. Blended with La Bastilla, lightly roasted, and extracted through a filter promises a boatload of citric, floral, and sugar complexity. Personally, I cannot wait to grab a French Press and finesse some of the finest brews for the special people in my life.
-Bryn
