New Red Brick Blend (September ’17)

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

£10.50

tasting notes

MILK CHOCOLATE / COLA / CITRUS

Anette Moldvaer

Anette Moldvaer is the co-founder and green coffee buyer of Square Mile Coffee Roasters. Since starting as a barista in Norway 18 years ago she has worked in imports, education, training, cupping and roasting. She is a World Cup Tasting Champion, an international coffee judge and the author of "Coffee Obsession”.

Anette Moldvaer

Anette Moldvaer is the co-founder and green coffee buyer of Square Mile Coffee Roasters. Since starting as a barista in Norway 18 years ago she has worked in imports, education, training, cupping and roasting. She is a World Cup Tasting Champion, an international coffee judge and the author of "Coffee Obsession”.