Autumn has arrived, and as we start wearing more layers during our early mornings at the roastery, we’re also kept warm by the excitement and the slightly stressful process of timing the arrival, test roasting and recipe development of a new version of Red Brick.
This time we’re enjoying and celebrating the last arrivals of our Central American coffees by combining a Costa Rican and Guatemalan coffee in a straight up half and half blend. This approach lets the two coffees complement each other in perfect balance while also allowing baristas to play with their brew recipe to highlight one or the other if they so wish.
The first of the coffees is a blend unto itself, from a group of producers in Huehuetenango. Huehuetenango is one of our favourite regions of Guatemala for coffee, and we have a selection of lots from small, beautiful farms from the area to share with you as filters and single origin espressos over the next few months.
While we love celebrating individual farms we also have a lot of appreciation for a good co-op blend, hence this collaborative mix from a group of 11 producers around San Pedro Necta; a small municipality where farmers have seen their access to market and better prices improve by working together.
The farms involved in this project are: Chalumnados, Chejoj, El Cumbre (The Summit), El Limonar (Land of Limes), Granadilla (Passion fruit), La Esperancita (Little Hope), La Esperanza (The Hope), La Fortuna (The Fortune), La Joya (The Jewel), La Montañita (Little Mountain) and La Ruta (The Way or Route). They’re all situated at an altitude of around 1,600m, growing varieties such as Caturra, Bourbon and Pache.
Excitingly, this is a fully naturally processed coffee. This marks a break from tradition for Red Brick, which is typically a blend of washed or pulped natural coffees, so we’re very excited to see what everyone thinks! We felt that this natural worked however as it has a subtlety about it that we see from time to time with Natural Huehues. We fell for the soft fruity sweetness of this lot and thought it would be perfect as we go into a season where harvest is bountiful and the weather calls for comfort and warmth.
We hope you enjoy!
BUY SOME HERE
Red Brick
£10.50tasting notes
The second coffee is from a farm that is new to us, but from an area that we’re very fond of and return to every year. The Santa Anita Estate in the West Valley of Costa Rica is known for being innovative and forward thinking and we’re very excited to have started another great relationship with producers who are pushing for progress and education.
The five-generation family operation is managed by Juan Manuel Sanchez Benavidez, and it has farms in both the Central and West Valleys, with a mill located in Naranjo de Alajuela. Tradition and innovation go hand in hand for the Sanchez’ family. Costa Rica as a country has a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2021, and one of the things Santa Anita mill are doing as their part of the work towards this is running their whole milling facility on solar energy.
Says the family of their work and mission: “We promote respect, hard-work, transparency, health, progress, vision, conservation of the environment, protection of wildlife, social wellness and a bright future for our planet. Surely last but certainly not least, the best coffee beans mother earth can yield!” This white honey processed lot of Caturra and Catuai varieties proves how their dedication to these ideals really come through in the cup. When I tasted it in Costa Rica in February I was instantly charmed by the sweet, rich chocolate, nut and malty profile that hinted over into cinnamon, and by the streak of clean citric acidity.
The density of the cup was impressive from a farm that sits at what would be a relatively low altitude in the West Valley, but the skilful growing, harvesting and processing at Santa Anita elevates the coffee to be a great component for our espresso.