In My Mug Audio

There's an upfront punch of blackcurrant acidity here, which softens out into ripe nectarines. That lingers through towards the finish, where a sweet, golden sugar note hangs through into the aftertaste.

Finca San Ramon sits within the Dipilto mountain range, a Nicaraguan nature reserve located close to the border with Honduras. The farm is run by Donald Efrain Roque, who is the third generation of coffee producers in the Roque Family. Both his grandfather and father were dedicated to coffee, and he is continuing with this beautiful legacy. For his entire life, he has worked with coffee and over this time he has acquired a very special affection and passion for it. In 2006, Donald Efrain found out about the Cup of Excellence in Nicaragua and he decided to participate in the contest to see how much potential his coffee had. After performing well, he became more motivated than ever to continue improving the quality of his coffee and participated again in COE in 2009 and 2011, where he achieved great results. For him, the biggest change from being a conventional farmer to a specialty coffee farmer was having to train and educate his workers to change their harvesting and processing practices. Donald has been working with our sourcing partners Caravela for five years now and his point of view on coffee has completely changed since he started producing specialty coffee. Now he is consistently seeking to improve and to become a better farmer. He strongly believes in the potential of specialty coffee in Dipilto, Nueva Segovia and he recommends every single farmer in the region to focus solely on producing a high-quality product. This coffee is all about the sweetness - think brown sugar and malted milk biscuits crumbled together. There's a fresh red apple which comes along on the finish and lingers into the aftertaste for a lovely easy drinking cup. Country: Nicaragua Municipality: Dipilto Department: Nueva Segovia Farm name: San Ramón Producers: Donald Efrain Roque López Farm size: 40 manzanas (hectares) Coffee growing area: 20 hectares Altitude: 1,300-1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Pacamara, Catuai + Maragogype Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Brown sugar, malted milk biscuit, red apple Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 86 Roast InformationMedium-dark - through first and then slow it down a little to get the sweetness nicely developed, finishing the roast just as you approach second crack.

A few years back we had a lot that was produced by various smallholder farmers from the small town of Copacabana, which lies about 180 kilometres from La Paz in the heart of the Caranavi coffee-producing region. Then in 2016 things changed a little, and the lot came from just one producer in the area. His name is Vincent Paye. That year we described him as a beacon of hope in a tough growing region, and that beacon has continued to shine brightly. Caranavi is a lush and fertile region. It has steep slopes and valleys that provide excellent conditions for growing high-quality coffee, and they also support a diverse range of native flora and fauna. The area has rich volcanic soils and regular rainfall. Coffee growing heaven! The colony of Copacabana has a collection of small farms that are each around five hectares in size (although Vincent has ten hectares). The farms range over an altitude of 1,300 to 1,700 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.), and they benefit from an average annual temperature between 15 and 26°C. This lot comes from Vincent's farm, which is very similar to neighbouring farms and is at an altitude of around 1,550 m.a.s.l. These traditional farms use no chemicals or pesticides and follow the principles of organic farming not because of certification but because they want to look after their farms and land in the best way they possibly can. The main harvest runs from May to September, peaking around July and August. The cherries are handpicked when they're fully ripe, and they're then delivered to the central mill, called Buena Vista, where they are fully washed. Bolivia is a challenging origin and is going through some tough times: dwindling crops, ageing plants, lack of varietal diversity, and ageing producers with children who have little to no interest in carrying on the family business. But then there are people like Vincent who are doing wonderful work to buck that trend. He's been planting new stock, working hard alongside his family, and increasing his yield – as well as increasing the quality of his coffee. A gentle red apple kicks things off, but it's followed up with a really interesting sweetness like a Caramac bar - kind of creamy and caramel. On the aftertaste is clean dark chocolate which rounds it out and balances it nicely. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Municipality: Caranavi Town: Copacabana Farm: Vincent Paye Altitude: 1,550 m.a.s.l. Producer: Vincent Paye Varietal: Red and Yellow Caturra Processing: Washed CUPPING NOTES Red apple, Caramac, dark chocolate Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium-dark – keep the pace steady through first crack and through the gap, looking to finish the roast just before 2nd gets going.

The first coffee bush at Kiriga Estate was planted in approximately 1954 by colonial settlers. At about the same time, less than ten kilometres away along the same Kigio road, a young boy (Aloysius Gakunga, son of the chief for the larger Murang'a county) helped his father – Senior Chief Ndungíu Kagori – plant the first coffee seedling in the area. The area was known as Gaitegi village, Muranga Location 1 (Loco One). A love affair with coffee had been born! Several years went by and the young boy grew up. He was riding his bicycle along Kigio road and, as he rode past the vast – by now well-established – coffee estates, he promised himself that he would one day own one of them. He realized this dream in 1976. The boy, or Mr A. N. Gakunga, sadly passed away in July 2014. By the time of his death, Mr Gakunga had passed his love of coffee and the mantle of Kiriga coffee estate on to Dr Brian Ndungíu Gakunga. Brian was his second child, and the eldest son out of his six children. According to Kikuyu cultural naming systems, Brian is named after Mr Gakunga's father, who was both his grandfather and his pioneer coffee farmer. Dr Brian Gakunga is a coffee farmer who is well known in Kenyan coffee circles. He is a founding member and a former long-serving Honorary Secretary of the Kenya Coffee Producers Association, which is a national farmers' organisation that works to promote the economic and social interests of the coffee farmers through active participation in the national and international arena. Brian is also a former Board Member and Chairman of Transitional Exchange Committee (operationally, he was the then-Chairman of Nairobi Coffee Exchange), where over 90% of all of Kenya's coffee is currently sold. He's also currently the Founding Chairman of Africa Coffee Farmers' Network. Africa Coffee Farmers' Network represents the interests of coffee farmers, as spelt out in the organisation's core objective of improving the earnings of poor coffee farmers in order to break the vicious cycle of poverty. One way of doing this is by getting direct sales for the farmers. Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Administratively, Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river. Kiriga coffee is predominantly SL28 variety (notable for its world-renowned cup quality). The farm has an estimated two hectares of Ruiru 11 variety (which has improved resistance to coffee berry disease and leaf rust); some K7 variety (similar characteristics as SL28, but with better resistance to leaf rust compared to SL28); and a field of the newest Batian variety. About 60% of the coffee that the estate produces is AA/AB. Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean. Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s it’s size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right? Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through the holes of a screen easily. This

We first encountered Teodocio Mamani back in 2012. Long story short: he's an amazing guy doing great things with coffee! Teodocio's farm sits in the municipality of Canton Uyunense in Caranavi, and this coffee is a mixed lot of red and yellow Catuai. Teodocio has one hectare of land on his farm that is a natural forest reserve, in which he owns a house where he lives with his wife and two children. Teodocio processes the majority of his coffee on his own farm. He uses a depulper that removes the cherry, then leaves the cherry to go through a dry fermentation process (anaerobic) for sixteen hours, and then runs it through the scrubber section of the pulper to remove the final remains of the mucilage. He then transfers the coffee to raised African beds, where it dries in around twelve days (depending on local weather conditions). We were talking to the exporter about Teodocio's picking methods, and he was explaining that the family uses a method called 'Ayne'. With this method the most mature fruits are harvested each day by hand, demanding the labour of 8–10 people (who are all Mamani family members) to pick selectively and correctly. But because of this he gets more coffee that he can sell as specialty grade, and the cup profile improves too. Teodocio is super passionate about improving the cup quality! Starting with brown sugar, this swings quickly into honeycomb. It's definitely sweet, but a gentle hint of mango alongside it and then a bit of lime zest on the finish adds a softly fruity edge. The aftertaste keeps that going with juicy raisin, tempting you back for another sip. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Province: Caranavi Municipality: Canton Uyunense Farm: Teodocio Mamani Varietals: Caturra and Catuai Ripe cherry colour: Red and yellow Altitude: 1,600–1,750 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Mechanically washed Fermentation method: Dry (anaerobic) Fermentation time: 16 hours Drying method: Raised African beds Drying time: 12 days CUPPING NOTES Brown sugar, honeycomb, mango, lime zest, raisin. Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87.5 Roast InformationMedium-dark - reduce the heat during first crack and let them run through to the end of the gap. Drop just before second crack begins.

El Fuerte was named in honour of the 'Fort of Samaipata', which is a unique ruin in Bolivia. El Fuerte de Samaipata (Fort Samaipata), also known simply as 'El Fuerte', is a pre-Columbian archaeological site. It's unique in that it represents the legacies of Inca, Spanish, and Chanè cultures, and it's one of Samaipata's main attractions. Situated in the eastern foothills of the Bolivian Andes, in the Santa Cruz department of Florida province, the archaeological site is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. El Fuerte de Samaipata is not a military fortification. It is generally considered to be a pre-Columbian religious site built by the Chané people, who were a pre-Inca culture of Arawak origin. There are also ruins of an Inca city built near the temple; the city was built during the Inca expansion to the southeast. Both Incas and Chanés suffered several raids from Guarani warriors, who invaded the region from time to time. Eventually, the Guarani warriors conquered the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz and destroyed Samaipata. The Guaranis dominated the region well into the Spanish colonial period. The Spaniards also built a settlement near the temple, and there are remains of buildings of typical Andalusi Arabic architecture. The Spaniards abandoned the settlement and moved to the nearby valley, where the town of Samaipata is currently located. The archaeological site at El Fuerte is unique, and it encompasses buildings of three different cultures: Chanés, Incas, and Spaniards. El Fuerte was a first experiment in developing coffee in a region with excellent characteristics for producing amazing quality coffee (good soil conditions and high altitude), but with traditionally little coffee production and no specialty coffee. After consulting with a specialised agronomist, the region of Agua Rica at the edge of the Amboró National Park – some 20 KM east of Samaipata was chosen as the ideal location. Initially, several different varietals were tried, including Red Bourbon and Yellow and Red Caturra (although nowadays Agricafe, which runs the farm, has ventured into growing other varietals). Caturra and Typica are both traditionally grown in Bolivia and are commonly seen, but alongside other, slightly rarer varietals like Java and Geisha. Although there is little need for trees for shade because the altitude keeps the temperature down, trees were planted to protect the coffee trees from the strong winds that are common in the region. Deciding to go ahead and plant coffee at El Fuerte was something of a risk, but it's one that has undoubtedly paid off. The location has proved to be strategic and the weather is ideal; so much so that a second wet mill has been established at the site, meaning all coffee produced in the Samaipata farms can be processed at El Fuerte. The team at Agricafe have been carefully experimenting at their wet mill with new ways of processing their coffee. This brought us their wonderful Naturals, but now they've turned their attention to their washed coffees! In particular, they've focused on the stage before the freshly picked coffee cherries are depulped, adding an Anaerobic resting phase. This basically means putting the coffee cherries into large, sealed barrels along with water. This can create very unique and distinctive flavours, but using the same attention to detail and careful control of the processes that we see in their Naturals, the Agricafe team monitor and manage the process to get the best out of it. They do this by keeping the temperature low, which keeps the flavours crisp and clean, and by carefully judging the right moment to move the process on and remove the pulp. Juicy pear fills the mouth with the first sip, with a milk chocolate sweetness following on its heels. As it cools, there's a malty but fruity sweetness, rather like malt loaf, before it finishes with a glacé cherry (on top). Country: Bolivia Province: Florida Department: Santa Cruz Farm: El Fuerte Altitude: 1,550–1,700 ;

In the Kirundo Province of North East Burundi, sits the Kirundo Mill and the Cafex washing station. CAFEX was launched by a Belgian-Burundian couple who wanted to combine the local tradition of coffee production with positively and sustainably developing the local area and have worked hard to develop a mutually beneficial business model for local coffee growers. Running a washing station is a huge challenge. Farmers work throughout the day to handpick their coffee cherries and at sunset, the coffee arrives at the CAFEX washing station. The processing takes place at night, while the reception of the cherries takes place from sunrise until the early hours of the night, allowing farmers to focus on providing the highest quality coffee. The CAFEX station has had a really positive impact on families in the region. The town where the washing station is located has been historically underdeveloped and the implementation of the Cafex station provides valuable work for the men and women of the town and helps to improve their quality of life. Families who have a seasonal job have the opportunity to receive an extra income which gives them access to medical care or allows them to buy books in order to send their children to school. On top of this, Cafex has introduced a weekly payment programme for growers, while many coffee producers have to wait many months to receive payment for their harvest, this weekly payment gives them a regular income throughout the coffee harvesting season. Ripe cherries are selected from daily pickings, and sun-dried on raised African beds, being turned every 2 hours to give even fermentation, and covered during the midday heat to prevent sun damage. Once optimum moisture levels have been reached, the coffee is transported for milling at Ikawa Nziza’s drymill in Gashoho commune between the towns of Ngozi & Muyinga. The mill is designed to cater to small, traceable microlots. Its location in a high altitude (1,730 m.a.s.l.) and low humidity environment provides the optimal environment to preserve the quality of the coffee and therefore demand higher prices for farmers. A very sweet and rounded coffee, there's sweet lime curd and brown sugar up front before it finishes with creamy milk chocolate that lingers into the aftertaste. Country: Burundi Region: North East Burundi Location: Kirundo county Mill: CAFEX Kirundo Drymill: Gashoho Producers: 365 Altitude: 1,450-1,600 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Washed Varietal: Bourbon Soil type: Red non-hydromorphic spodosols, iron-rich Rainfall: 848mm average per year CUPPING NOTES Brown sugar, lime curd, milk chocolate. Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roasting Information:Medium-dark - through first crack and push it to the cusp of second. Lighter roasts will highlight the sugary sweetness, but push it through to highlight the citrus and milk chocolate elements.

Due to complications within the Bolivian coffee industry, many of the smaller Bolivian farms we have worked with in the past are sadly no longer producing coffee. Whilst this has created some challenges for us, it has had a much more significant impact on our exporting partners Agricafe, who have been working with these growers for many years. As a result, Agricafe have decided to begin farming for themselves, in an effort to demonstrate what can be achieved with the application of more modern techniques and a scientific farming approach. Agricafe now manage seven farms, and these are collectively known as the Buena Vista project. Finca Don Carlos is the project's second farm, and it was planted in Caranavi in 2014. The farm is named in honour of Carlos Mariaca, the oldest and most unconditionally awesome employee of Agricafe. He was there at the start of the specialty coffee trend and, together with Pedro, helped to build the wet mill in Caranavi. To show their gratitude for all his good work, the company decided to give him partnership of the farm. This farm, along with the other Buena Vista project farms, is run by Pedro Pablo Rodriguez, son of Agricafe owner Pedro Rodriguez. Agricafe first bought their farms in 2012, when it became clear they were facing rapidly decreasing coffee production across the country. They have twelve farms in total, and this is one of eight in the Caranavi region (the traditional coffee producing area of Bolivia). Pedro Pablo studied agronomy in Honduras and brought techniques he had learnt there to the Buena Vista farms. In 2016, farms surrounding Don Carlos suffered badly with leaf rust (also called Roya). This caused a substantial drop in production, but the farmers developed a strong program to combat the disease, and they can now use that on other farms when they're affected. This is a washed Caturra lot containing both red and yellow fruit. The cherries are left for fifteen hours to allow the fruit to begin to break down before it goes through the mechanical washing process. This is luxury chocolate mousse through and through! Cream and cocoa deliver that rich, deep flavour which lingers on right through into the finish, all held together by the silky smooth body. There’s a tiny nod to green apple in there too, which helps the chocolate sing all the louder. Country: Bolivia Region: Bolinda – Caranavi Producer: Agricafe Farm: Don Carlos Producer: Carlos Mariaca Elevation: 1,550 – 1,650 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Red and Yellow Caturra Shade plants : Native species Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Chocolate mousse, cream, green apple. Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 8Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction (+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 88 Roast InformationMedium-dark – through first and push this up to the first pops of second, no more. There's lots of creamy sweetness here, so it doesn't need to be slowed down too much during the gap, keep a steady pace up.

Fazenda Inglaterra is a farm we've been buying from for over ten years, and it's one that we are very proud to be working with and linked with. The owner is our very good friend, Stephen Hurst. To tell the story of Inglaterra, we'll hand this over to Stephen to tell you how he came to own 'Inglaterra': “Maybe it had always been an idea in the back of my mind – so a couple of years ago when some friends in Brazil mentioned that a small coffee farm was for sale, I had a look. The farm's name (Fazenda Toca Da Onca) means 'hiding place of a small wildcat'. The locals now call the farm 'Inglaterra'. The previous owners had abandoned Toca Da Onca/Inglaterra. So we had to start again, almost from scratch. Some surviving coffee trees were pruned right back and the coffee that you are now drinking is that re-growth from the original old trees. The farm is located near the lovely spa town of Poços de Caldas in the coffee-growing heartlands of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The farm's elevation is 950–1,300 metres, and it has rich soil. It's on the edge of an ancient caldera/super volcano, whose outline can be seen on satellite images. 50% of the farm is virgin Mata Atlantica forest and as long as I own it, it will stay that way. I am replanting some areas with the help of my local friends Gabriel and Cristiano, without whose assistance this project would never have started." This is the only Pulped Natural lot we have from Inglaterra this year, whereas in the past, we've enjoyed single lots of Acaia, Bourbon and Canario. Inglaterra isn't a big farm by any standards and is tiny by the overall standards of Brazil. What that means for their processing is that they don't get to pick and choose much. We buy the entire coffee production of the farm, and the weather (and amount of free space they have) decides for them which lots will be Naturally processed and which will be Pulped Natural. Nuts! It's a moreish medley of hazelnut, pecan and Brazil nuts, but with a dark caramel sweetness which makes it all rather like a nut brittle. Country: Brazil Region: Minas Gerias City: Poços de Caldas Farm: Fazenda Inglaterra Farmer: Stephen Hurst Farm size: 10 hectares Coffee growing area: 5 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietals: Catuai, Icatu and Acaia Processing system: Pulped Natural CUPPING NOTES Hazelnut, Brazil nut, pecan, dark caramel Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 86 Roasting InformationMedium to medium-dark - through first and give it some time in the gap, but no more than the very first pops of second crack on the drop. Beware that there's not so much noise from this coffee, so spotting cracks will be tricky.

In the Kirundo Province of North East Burundi, sits the Kirundo Mill and the Cafex washing station. CAFEX was launched by a Belgian-Burundian couple who wanted to combine the local tradition of coffee production with positively and sustainably developing the local area and have worked hard to develop a mutually beneficial business model for local coffee growers. Running a washing station is a huge challenge. Farmers work throughout the day to handpick their coffee cherries and at sunset, the coffee arrives at the CAFEX washing station. The processing takes place at night, while the reception of the cherries takes place from sunrise until the early hours of the night, allowing farmers to focus on providing the highest quality coffee. The CAFEX station has had a really positive impact on families in the region. The town where the washing station is located has been historically underdeveloped and the implementation of the Cafex station provides valuable work for the men and women of the town and helps to improve their quality of life. Families who have a seasonal job have the opportunity to receive an extra income which gives them access to medical care or allows them to buy books in order to send their children to school. On top of this, Cafex has introduced a weekly payment programme for growers, while many coffee producers have to wait many months to receive payment for their harvest, this weekly payment gives them a regular income throughout the coffee harvesting season. Ripe cherries are selected from daily pickings, and sun-dried on raised African beds, being turned every 2 hours to give even fermentation, and covered during the midday heat to prevent sun damage. Once optimum moisture levels have been reached, the coffee is transported for milling at Ikawa Nziza’s drymill in Gashoho commune between the towns of Ngozi & Muyinga. The mill is designed to cater to small, traceable microlots. Its location in a high altitude (1,730 m.a.s.l.) and low humidity environment provides the optimal environment to preserve the quality of the coffee and therefore demand higher prices for farmers. Sticky, sweet pear juice fills the cup here, but there are layers of other fruit behind that too, with golden raisins, plum and candied lemon peel all slipping past. Country: Burundi Region: North East Burundi Location: Kirundo county Mill: CAFEX Kirundo Drymill: Gashoho Producers: 365 Altitude: 1,450-1,600 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Natural Varietal: Bourbon Soil type: Red non-hydromorphic spodosols, iron-rich Rainfall: 848mm average per year CUPPING NOTES Pear juice, golden raisin, plum, candied lemon peel Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 7Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roasting Information:Medium-dark - nice and steady and middle of the road - push the roast through the gap and finish with no more than the first pops of second as it cools.

One of our all-time favourite farms returns once more! We often get asked what our favourite coffee of all time is, but we will never say exactly (although our friends know the true answer). However, we do narrow it to three coffees, and this is one of them. We went to El Salvador on a buying trip in 2008, and were visiting some of the farms that we buy from. We actually arrived the evening of the Cup of Excellence awards, and after the ceremony we were walking around when this guy who seemed very popular came over and introduced himself. He was Ernesto or, as we would come to know him, Neto. He'd just won the Cup of Excellence competition with his 'La Ilusión' farm, the sister farm of 'Alaska'. Alaska is a farm we had bought from via the Cup of Excellence the year before. Ernesto invited us to visit La Ilusión the next day, and it was so great to finally meet someone we had communicated with so many times via email! Neto bought La Ilusión many years ago. The farm has coffee trees averaging 20+ years of age and is growing 95% Bourbon (70% is Red Bourbon and 25% is Orange Bourbon). The remaining 5% is a combination of other varietals, and it's possible to spot some Typica and Kenya trees too. The farm is run using environmentally friendly practices because the farmers are trying to maintain a balance with the surrounding ecosystem, which is part of a natural fauna corridor crucial to migratory and native birds. This is very important for Ernesto because La Ilusión neighbours one of the most important national parks in El Salvador, known as 'Los Andes'. It is nestled on the Santa Ana volcano and delineates his farm with dense pine and cypress forest, which itself provides a special micro-climate for La Ilusión. The 2011 version of this naturally processed lot was used by the 2011 World Barista champion, Alejandro Mendez. He caused a bit of a stir in the World of Barista Championships by using a naturally processed lot in his milk drinks and his signature drink, and then using the washed version as his espresso. He caused such a stir that he won! That year we had roasted the coffee for Alejandro, and it had been grown by Neto. There was a magical moment backstage in which we were stood, polishing glass, with Alejandro and Neto; the grower, roaster and barista all stood together, preparing for the presentation. It's not too often you get such wonderful things happening! Aah, the wonders of barista competition. :) The intense sweetness of strawberry jam runs throughout the coffee. There's a bit of peach too, adding a little complexity, and a shoulder of orange on the finish. Country: El Salvador Region: Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range City: Santa Ana Farm: La Ilusión Farmer: Juan Jose Ernesto Menéndez Argüello Altitude: 1,750–1,850 m.a.s.l. Variety: Bourbon Processing system: Natural CUPPING NOTES Strawberry jam, peach, orange Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roasting InformationMedium to medium-dark - through first and slow it a little, pushing it towards the second but finishing the roast before second gets going.

This farm and its coffee sparked a massive change in what I thought we knew about coffee. We remember the first time we ever cupped this coffee: time stood still as the cup opened our minds to what great coffee is and can be. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, the farmer, continues to produce great coffee year on year, and this coffee still holds a very special place in our hearts. Gabriel is one of Brazil’s leading agronomists. His family owns several farms, all of which border one another. Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama is 417 hectares in size – that’s 4 square kilometres! That sounds huge, but it’s not uncommon for farms to be more than 1,000 hectares. Because of the mountainous terrain, however, only 64 hectares are planted with coffee, and it's all picked and maintained by hand. The mill is located close to the spa town of Poços de Caldas, which is 45 minutes away from the farm. Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890. It's located in São Paolo state, just three miles from the border with Minas Gerais state. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Mogiana and Sul de Minas regions, and it's located at an altitude of 1,100–1,250 metres above sea level. Their farm has a school, a club and a full-sized soccer field for the employees and workers, and 47 houses – all with modern facilities. The wastewater is treated in order to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm. The farm has a small hydroelectric plant, and the farmers only buy energy during the peak harvest. As well as providing support to the workers, the family have also invested in the farm's coffee processing facilities. This has allowed them to produce one of the most consistent and delicious coffees. They grow mostly Yellow Bourbon, but also Canario and Mundo Novo. It's well-established plant stock, and some of the original Bourbon varietal trees are as much as 108 years old. They’ve also invested in trying new things, including planting some new varietals and trialling new fermentation experiments with the involvement of experts from the University of Lavras (UFLA) in Minas Gerais. The Carvalho Dias family consider social and environmental sustainability to be very important. The farm has a programme of planting native species of trees to maintain a better ecological balance. This comes from the rare Canario varietal, which is a Bourbon mutation that originated in Brazil. You can find out more about it here, but what you will notice in the cup is that it adds complexity and a little acidity when compared to the Bourbon varietal. Fit for the ambassador's dinner, there's the classic Brazil hazelnut and chocolate flavours, but extra refined. There's a sweetness and silky texture of single cream alongside chocolate spread, whilst the sprinkle of hazelnuts gets a twist with roasted chestnut in there too. Country: Brazil State: São Paulo Municipality: São Sebastião da Grama Farm: Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Producers: Lidolpho de Carvalho Dias and family Processing: Natural Varietal: Canario Altitude: 1,100–1,250 m.a.s.l. CUPPING NOTES Hazelnut chocolate spread, single cream, roasted chestnut Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction (+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87.5 Roast InformationMedium to medium-dark - through first and give it some time in the gap, but no more than the very first pops of second crack on the drop. Beware that there's not so much noise from this coffee, so spotting cracks will be tricky.

Fazenda Inglaterra is a farm we've been buying from for over ten years, and it's one that we are very proud to be working with and linked with. The owner is a very good friend of Hasbean, Stephen Hurst.To tell the story of Inglaterra, we asked Stephen to explain how he came to own 'Inglaterra':“Maybe it had always been an idea in the back of my mind – so a couple of years ago when some friends in Brazil mentioned that a small coffee farm was for sale, I had a look.The farm's name (Fazenda Toca Da Onca) means 'hiding place of a small wildcat'. The locals now call the farm 'Inglaterra'. The previous owners had abandoned Toca Da Onca/Inglaterra. So we had to start again, almost from scratch. Some surviving coffee trees were pruned right back and the coffee that you are now drinking is that re-growth from the original old trees.For the coffee people, the varietals are Icatu, Acaia and Catucai. In future I expect coffee cherry varietals to become as well known as wine grape varietals, and to a much wider audience. The farm is located near the lovely spa town of Poços De Caldas in the coffee-growing heartlands of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The farm's elevation is 950–1,300 metres, and it has rich soil. It's on the edge of an ancient caldera/super volcano, whose outline can be seen on satellite images. 50% of the farm is virgin Mata Atlantica forest and as long as I own it, it will stay that way. I am replanting some areas with the help of my local friends Gabriel and Cristiano, without whose assistance this project would never have started." Sweet as you like, this kicks off with a big hit of Brazil nuts and brown sugar. Those flavours carry all the way through, with a full texture in the mouth, before swinging in to walnut on the aftertaste. Country: Brazil Region: Minas Gerais City: Poços de Caldas Farm: Fazenda Inglaterra Owner: Stephen Hurst Farm size: 10 hectares Coffee growing area: 5 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Canario Processing system: Natural CUPPING NOTES Brazil nut, brown sugar, walnut. Clean Cup: (1-8): 6Sweetness: (1-8): 7Acidity: (1-8): 6Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5Flavour: (1-8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1-8): 6.5Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 6Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium to medium-dark - don't expect a lot of noise from these Brazilian coffees, but they need to be pushed steadily through the gap and towards second, but we don't want to hear second get going.

Juan Jose Ernesto 'Neto' Menéndez Argüello belongs to the fourth generation of coffee farmers in his family. After completing his studies at university, Neto had the opportunity to start working in the coffee industry at J. Hill & Cia in 2000. He left J. Hill & Cia after five years and began his second coffee experience at Jasal Café El Salvador. Both companies gave him the opportunity to meet 'Grano de Oro' from another perspective, allowing him to learn the art and passion of cupping. He says those are very important in his life, and that they give him the opportunity to apply the coffee knowledge and experience he's gained through the years. During his time in the coffee world, he has participated in various events like the Cup of Excellence (National Jury from 2003 to 2011), Q Auction, Q Grader, and the Star Cupper program organised by SCAA and CQI. When Neto bought the Los Andes farm, he discovered that the previous owner of the farm had planted SL28 trees on the land which they had brought home with them after a hunting trip in Kenya around 60 years ago! In amongst the SL28 plants grows Bourbon too, and some of those trees are even older still, at around 80 years. Similar to the Wild Forest Project area of Las Brumas (another of Neto's farms that we've nabbed coffee from in the past) at Los Andes everything is left to grow "wild". Instead of clearing the land to give him a blank canvas for a new coffee growing area, he's working with the forest which not only means super special and tasty coffee but also helps to protect the local flora and fauna. There's a lovely toffee sweetness to this coffee, with delicate mixed fruit notes coming through as it cools. That starts as a delicate mandarin, then moves into dried apricot pieces before finishing with a little shoulder of grapefruit. Country: El Salvador Department: Sonsonate Nearest City: Santa Ana Farm: Los Andes Producer: Ernesto Menéndez Altitude: 1,720 m.a.s.l. Variety Bourbon Processing System: Washed CUPPING NOTES Toffee, mandarin, dried apricot, grapefruit Clean Cup: (1-8): 6.5Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5Acidity: (1-8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6Flavour: (1-8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1-8): 6Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max 100): 87 Roasting InformationMedium to medium-dark - through first and give it time to develop that toffee sweetness, but keep it a little lighter than most Salvadorian coffees and only just up to the edge of 2nd before it's dropped, so it keeps that delicate fruit.

Located in the Gakenke region of Rwanda and founded in 2005, the Mbilima Washing Station is part of the well known Dekundekawa Musasa Cooperative and is the second washing station to be built by them, to support farmers who were further away from the Cooperative’s first Washing Station at Ruli. Much of the success of Musasa Dukunde Kawa can be attributed to the transformational PEARL programme of which it was a part. The project switched the focus in the Rwandan coffee sector from an historic emphasis on quantity to one of quality, thus opening Rwanda up to the much more highly-valued specialty coffee market. The programme and its successor, SPREAD, have been invaluable in helping Rwanda’s small-scale coffee farmers rebuild their production in the wake of the devastating 1994 genocide and the 1990s world coffee crash. ‘Musasa’ means ‘a place to make a bed’, and ‘Dukunde Kawa’ means ‘let’s love coffee’ in Kinyarwanda; it is a reference to the power of coffee to improve the lives of those in rural communities. And that it certainly does! Farmers who work with Musasa Dukunde Kawa have been able to buy their own livestock, have access to long term credit without interest and many now have health insurance for the first time. The Cooperative has also built two schools and contributes 10% of its profits to the construction of new washing stations in other areas. Roughly 459 smallholders deliver coffee cherries to the Mbilima Washing Station, with about 80% of them being women and the Washing Station itself is mostly staffed by women. The level of care that Musasa Dukunde Kawa takes over the processing is impressive too. Cherries are hand-picked only when fully ripe and then delivered to the washing station on the day of harvest, they are then hand-sorted based on quality. The cherries are then pulped and dry-fermented before being washed with high-pressure water and then graded once again using flotation channels that sort the coffee by weight (the heaviest – or A1 – usually being the best). Next, the beans are moved onto the washing station’s extensive drying tables for around 14 days (depending on the weather), where they are sorted again for defects, turned regularly, and protected from rain and the midday sun by covers until they reach around 11% humidity. This ensures both even drying and the removal of any damaged or ‘funny looking’ beans. They then move to final dry-milling and hand-sorting at the cooperative’s dry mill in Kigali. Lots are usually separated out by days. Upon delivery as cherry, the coffee receives a paper ‘ticket’ that follows the lot through all its processing. This ticket bears the date of harvest and the grade (A1, A2, etc.) of the coffee. For instance, if a coffee lot is called ‘Lot 1-06/04 -A1’, this means it was the first lot processed on 4th April and the grade is A1. This simple but effective practice is a crucial tool in controlling quality and ensuring the traceability of lots. With a lovely balance of sweet and bright, this coffee brings juicy clementines backed up by silky butterscotch and milk chocolate. Finishing with sweet lemon, that citrus hit keeps going with a lingering lime. Country: Rwanda District: Gakenke Washing station: Musasa Mbilima Owner: Musasa Dukunde Kawa Cooperative (459 smallholder farmers) Varietal: Bourbon Processing method: Fully washed Drying method: sun-dried on raised beds Grade: A1 Altitude of farms: 1,800 to 2,100 m.a.s.l. CUPPING NOTES Clementine, butterscotch, milk chocolate, lemon, lime. Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 7Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - keep it fairly quick, through first crack and push towards second but drop it before 2nd gets going.

Gloria Mercedes Rodríguez Fontan is a name you will probably recognise from a coffee we've had every year for many years, the always awesome Finca San José, check out this year's crop here. She's a fourth-generation coffee grower and owns + personally supervises six small farms located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range: San José, Mamatita, El Porvenir, Nejapa, Nueva Granada and La Lagunita. This coffee comes from the specific Roma tablón of Nejapa, we last had coffee this farm way back in 2015 and are really excited to see it back in 2021. Finca Nejapa was inherited by Gloria’s father, José María Rodríguez Herrera, in the 50s. At that time the property was only devoted to cattle for milking purposes, and it was José Maria who started growing coffee of the Bourbon variety. Little by little, he noticed coffee was extremely productive in that area. The farm has 18.2 hectares of land in total, of which 6.3 hectares are dedicated to growing coffee. The coffee-growing area is divided into three separate plots or 'tablóns'; Los Vientos (2.1 hectares), Santa Marta (1.4 hectares), and Roma (2.8 hectares). The latter is where this coffee comes from. Nejapa has also 7 hectares of land that was reforested with cedar trees and a diverse range of shade trees, which helps maintain and preserve both the soil conditions and a wide variety of birds and small mammals that can be seen in the region. This farm is on the slopes of the Laguna de Las Ninfas (which translates as “water lilies lagoon”). It has a spectacular sight over the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, including the impressive Itzalco volcano, and even over the Pacific Ocean and the port of Acajutla. Tablón Roma is located on the western side of Finca Nejapa. It has belonged to the family over four generations but was left unplanted until relatively recently. That's when Gloria obtained a loan through a local investment bank to redevelop and re-plant this area. The variety chosen for this plot was Caturra; in those days it was in vogue to plant this short-size producing tree with good yields, and it was needed to repay the loan. Happily, variety and terroir combined to result in great quality coffee. The name ROMA was chosen by combining the first two letters of the names of her children, Roberto and María Jose. This farm was awarded in the El Salvador Cup of Excellence in 2008 and 2009. Each year Gloria employs around 35 people during the harvesting season, and all year round she manages a permanent "winter works" team of 15 people. The idea is to have a solid trained and skilled working group that receive better wages and working conditions. Gloria pays during harvest around 90% above the legal minimum wage to give workers incentive and assure the best coffee cherries possible. After every production cycle, she gives a proportional bonus according to every week of labour of her “winter workers” that normally derives into 1.2 months extra of income for them. Gloria works under strict specialty coffee standards. These include fully ripe cherries harvest, careful milling, appreciative pruning, etc. She is blessed with amazing coffee terroir conditions such as altitude and sandy loam soils rich in organic matter, among others. Coffee pickers are selected from her staff based on their experience and passion, and their understanding of the requirements to obtain high-quality coffee. She supervises the whole process directly with the support of Antonio Avelino, her farm foreman. Super moreish, this reminds me of a pear coated in milk chocolate. There's just a little lime zest on the finish too, but that delicate pear acidity and sweet milk chocolate is the star here. Country: El Salvador Region: Ahuachapán Nearest City: Ataco Farm: Finca Nejapa Tablón: Roma Producer: Gloria Rodriguez Farm size: 18.2 hectares Coffee growing area: 6.3 hectares Tablon size: 2.8 hectare Altitude: 1,470-1,570 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Red Caturra Processing system: Washed CUPPING NOTES Pear,

Another Ethiopian delight from our very good friend Israel Degfa (who you may know from Ana Sora)! This is our fifth year of buying from him, and we're really excited to have a new coffee from him for 2021. For those of you who may not be familiar with Israel, he's a second-generation coffee farmer who grew up immersed in various aspects of the coffee industry. His father was a mill manager and his mum sold coffee in the local bus station to commuters.  My last visit to Ethiopia was in December 2019 and I'm so pleased I was able to potter by and catch up with Israel before all this pandemic hoo-hah kicked off. Stevie Storytime 📕🙌 during my most recent trip we were driving together down a rough road that was part-way through being built when we blew out two tires at the same time. We had been travelling for 12 hours in the car and there wasn't a tyre shop anywhere nearby - so we got stuck in the middle of nowhere in the dark for three hours 😱 Thankfully one of the farm managers kindly drove out to us with a car which we took back to the house, and he slept in our car all night to keep an eye on it until the tyre shop opened. What a top bloke, he was our knight in shining armour! Ethiopian coffee farms are high in general compared to other producing countries (mostly between 1,700 - 2,100 masl) but Uraga is on the higher side still, reaching as high as 2300 masl. The altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry (owing in part to the generally lower temperatures and cooler nights) and allows more time for the plant to develop, which contributes to the super unique cup profile we see in coffees from Ethiopia. Coffee growing is popular locally, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area. Each washing station has around 1,000-2,000 members, each with one of the small home coffee plots typical of Ethiopia producing very small quantities. The area is populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. Israel believes in helping these farmers through both education in husbandry, and financial assistance. Uraga is located in the Guji zone, due East of Yirgacheffe, bordering Sidamo in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Over a number of years, the region has developed a distinguished reputation for amazing coffees, producing some of the most sought-after micro-lots in world. The combination of high altitude (up to 2,300m in some areas), fertile soil, consistent & plentiful rains, and an abundance of local knowledge are all contributing factors to the high status of coffees from this area. The indigenous ‘heirloom’ varietals - which grow wild in Ethiopia - are heavily responsible for the unique flavour notes which make Ethiopian coffees a major customer favourite. This starts with juicy and fresh yellow plums. That fruit is joined by a floral edge on the finish, like hibiscus. On the aftertaste that yellow fruit keeps going, but with the clean and delicate flavour of cloudberry lingering. Country: Ethiopia Zone: Guji Region: Oromia Mill: Uruga Mill Location: Uraga Solemo Owner: Israel Degfa Altitude: 2,300 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals Processing method: Natural CUPPING NOTES Yellow plum, cloudberry, hibiscus Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 7Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium - this needs to go a little hotter than you might expect, but you're still looking for a medium roast, through first crack, steadily pushed through the gap and finishing the roast before second gets going.

El Bosque sits on a hillside that runs parallel to the main road to Guatemala City. Due to its proximity to the capital, it faces threats from ever-expanding urban development. However, during the time we have been working with El Bosque, prices and returns for the farm have made it a much higher concern for the brothers, and they are very motivated. Before I'd tried this coffee at El Bosque, it was love at first taste, I was absolutely blown away by how good it was! However, my first visit to the farm in January 2007 really cemented this, because I got to learn more about the awesome people behind the coffee. Julian Flores founded the farm in 1932. The fourteen-hectare extension of land was planted out with Bourbon varietal coffee, which was cultivated and sold in cherry form only. Over the next few years, with the acquisition of more land, the farm continued to grow. Julian Flores passed away in 1947, and his son, José Eladio Flores, inherited the farm and continued his father’s legacy of growth. By 1970, José had bought another 23 hectares and continued to grow and sell the same Bourbon coffee varietal. After his death in 1996, a third-generation has taken the farm on under the direction of José’s widow, Martha Stalla, and their sons Julio, José, Francisco and Mario. This third-generation, headed up by Don Roberto, has focused on innovation, and they have built a plant for processing the cherries in line with strict environmental guidelines. They have also branched into cultivating other plants for local consumption. These include plants such as avocados, roses and lemons, and they're also growing a new grass innovation. A perfect quaffing coffee, there's a caramelised sweetness of Lotus speculoos biscuits, but with a drizzle of chocolate on top. There's also a roasted hazelnut edge before it finishes on the caramel, with just a little red apple creeping in. Country: Guatemala Department: Guatemala department Municipality: Villa Canales Town: Amatitlán Farm: El Bosque Farmer: Flores family Farm size: 37 hectares Coffee growing area: 14 hectares Altitude: 1,400–1,645 m.a.s.l. Variety: Bourbon Processing system: Washed CUPPING NOTES Lotus biscuit, chocolate, roasted hazelnut, caramel, red apple Clean cup (1–8): 6Sweetness (1–8): 6.5Acidity (1–8): 6Mouthfeel (1–8): 6.5Flavour (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste (1–8): 6Balance (1–8): 6.5Overall (1–8): 6.5Correction (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 86.5 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - through first and let it slow down a little to develop the caramelised flavours, dropping just as you get to the start of second crack.

Fazenda Inglaterra is a farm we've been buying from for over ten years, and it's one that I am very proud to be working with and linked with. The owner is my very good friend, Stephen Hurst. To tell the story of Inglaterra, I'll hand this over to Stephen of the Hurst variety to tell you how he came to own 'Inglaterra': “Maybe it had always been an idea in the back of my mind – so a couple of years ago when some friends in Brazil mentioned that a small coffee farm was for sale, I had a look. The farm's name (Fazenda Toca Da Onca) means 'hiding place of a small wildcat'. The locals now call the farm 'Inglaterra'. The previous owners had abandoned Toca Da Onca/Inglaterra. So we had to start again, almost from scratch. Some surviving coffee trees were pruned right back and the coffee that you are now drinking is that re-growth from the original old trees. The farm is located near the lovely spa town of Poços de Caldas in the coffee-growing heartlands of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The farm's elevation is 950–1,300 metres, and it has rich soil. It's on the edge of an ancient caldera/super volcano, whose outline can be seen on satellite images. 50% of the farm is virgin Mata Atlantica forest and as long as I own it, it will stay that way. I am replanting some areas with the help of my local friends Gabriel and Cristiano, without whose assistance this project would never have started." This is a naturally processed Bourbon lot. To find out more about what this means, please make sure to have a look at our natural processing video and also our article on the Bourbon varietal. When this is really hot, it's all about dark chocolate but as soon as it begins to cool slightly walnut and hazelnut come to the fore. Then a little hit of caramel and a delicious almond finish. If you can resist finishing the mug and it cools down a little more again, a delicate rum and raisin will creep in too. Country: Brazil Region: Minas Gerais City: Poços de Caldas Farm: Fazenda Inglaterra Owner: Stephen Hurst Farm size: 10 hectares Coffee growing area: 5 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing method: Natural CUPPING NOTES Dark chocolate, walnut, almond, caramel Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 88 Roast InformationMedium-dark – through first crack and keep a steady development up to the edge of second before you finish the roast.

This farm was brand new to us not all that many years ago, and we're really happy to have been able to continue getting coffee from Las Delicias every year since. Although the farm itself is still relatively new to us in the grand scheme of things, the people behind it most certainly aren't. In fact, we've been working with them for well over ten years now. The Mierisch family (whom you may know from such farms as Cerro Azul, Limoncillo, Mama Mina, Escondida and Milligros) have worked with us over that time to bring us delicious coffee, and continue to do so year after year 😊 Much of that deliciousness is thanks to their amazing processing, and Eleane Mierisch is in charge of that. She works in the family business, but she's never owned her own farm. Never, that is, until she acquired Las Delicias all for herself a few years ago. The farm is located in the region of Jinotega at an average altitude of 1,450 metres above sea level. It's located next to another Mierisch farm that you might have heard of, which is called San José. We've had coffee from there a few times; we're definitely hoping to see more in the future, too. Eleane knows the area very well, and she knows the land and what it's capable of producing. Add to this her passion for coffee, and you can start to understand why she wanted to produce coffee on a farm of her own. The Longberry varietal is the fruit of some of the amazing experimental work that's taking place at Limoncillo, another Mierisch farm (as if I even need to tell you that!) To explain a little bit of the story behind it, I'll hand over to another Mierisch that I just so happen to know. Oh hi there, Erwin! Here my 'story' begins back in mid-2001. I sound like a grandfather ...My father and I were coming back from visiting some top farms in Nicaragua, as we sometimes did – and do – in order to learn from our neighbours. If we discover anything worthwhile, we then implement those things to improve efficiency and quality on our own farms.As we drove past the UNICAFE experiment station Juanetillo, which had gone under, a man on the side of the road flagged us down and explained to us how the experiment station had closed down and that his 'severance' was tools and coffee seeds since they did not have the cash to pay him. He asked if we would be interested in helping him out by purchasing these items off of him. In all honesty, I was not very happy that my father forced me to stop to see what this man wanted; therefore, I was not very receptive to his offer, but I purchased a bag of seeds and old beaten up shovels. I gave no immediate thought to the 20 lb bag of coffee seeds that was labelled as JAVA.My father later showed these seeds to our then-supervising agronomist Ing. Patricia Contreras, who had worked at that research station, and she was ecstatic. She told us about how great this coffee was, but also that it was not very productive nor resistant to disease, as she recalled from running this study at Juanetillo back in the '80s. She also said that the real name for it is Longberry, and that it has its roots in Ethiopia.We began to run some more experiments – various altitudes and processing methods – and have been learning how to manage it since. As far as we can tell the Longberry varietal is a Typica-type coffee because of its bean shape, as is the Geisha. Its physical appearance is a uniform seed that is elongated and has been described by several of our customers as an 'Ethiopian Long Berry type'. This reminds me of a chocolate and lime sweet - it's got that zingy, zesty lime but backed up with dark chocolate and a silky texture. On the aftertaste, there's a little kick of red apple too. Country: Nicaragua Municipality: Lipululu Region: Jinotega Farm name: Las Delicias Producer: Eleane Mierisch Farm size: 20 manzanas (hectares) Coffee growing area: 20 hectares Altitude: 1,450 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Longberry Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Lime, dark chocolate, red apple Clean

This coffee first came to my attention in 2008 when I got to try a small sample of the new farm whilst travelling in Nicaragua and visiting the sister farm, Limoncillo. The year before we had bought the amazing Limoncillo coffee for the first time and we needed to follow that up with something equally spectacular. There was one coffee that really shone through that table, and it was from this newly formed farm. At the time the farm was called La Minita, and because they had just taken over the production, it was next to nothing. I never forgot this cup and every year I sent repeated requests to the family to be allowed to buy it. But again, because the farm was so newly formed and because of many many new plantings, there just was not enough of it to go around. For those in the know, La Minita is also the name of a very very famous farm in Costa Rica, and the family was worried this would cause confusion. So the following year it was renamed, and they changed it to something very fitting: Finca Mama Mina. Owned by the Miresh family, this farm is affectionately named after Erwin, Stephen, and Eleane's grandmother, Mina McEwan. Mina passed away in 2008 and it was seen as a fitting tribute to this amazing lady who gave so much to the coffee industry. The farm is surrounded by trees and mountains, and in every direction you can look at the vastness of the forest that covers each of the high mountain ranges. It also has a huge amount of flowers planted around the farm, which, as far as I can tell, is because they wanted to make it the most beautiful farm they could. The smell when you're there is amazing, and it's something the Mierisch family have also started to do on some of the other farms they own, like Los Miligros. I like this, as when something looks amazing it means that the workers on the farm take huge pride in their surroundings, and this is the cleanest and most organised farm I have visited in a long time. Despite Mama Mina being one of the younger farms, I think it produces one of the best coffees; partly down to its altitude and its soil, which is rich in nutrients, but mostly down to the care and attention that's taken during the whole picking to processing stage. A well balanced and easy drinking coffee, it’s milk chocolate up front, but as it cools you’ll find a little sweet peach juiciness coming through. On the finish is sultanas and a little sweet maltiness.  Farm: Finca Mama Mina Farmer: The Mierisch family Region: Jinotega Altitude: 1250-1375 masl Varietal: Orange Bourbon Processing System: Washed CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, peach, sultana, malt Clean Cup: (1-8): 6 Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5 Acidity: (1-8): 6 Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6 Flavour: (1-8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1-8): 6 Balance: (1-8): 7 Overall: (1-8): 6.5 Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max 100): 86.5   Roasting Information: Medium Dark - keep it steadily developing, through first and steadily through the gap to finish the roast just as you reach 2nd.

This farm and its coffee sparked a massive change in what I thought I knew about coffee. I remember the first time I ever cupped this coffee: time stood still as the cup opened my mind to what great coffee is and can be. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, the farmer, continues to produce great coffee year on year, and this coffee still holds a very special place in my heart. Gabriel is one of Brazil’s leading agronomists. His family owns several farms, all of which border one another. Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama is 417 hectares in size – that’s 4 square kilometres! That sounds huge, but it’s not uncommon for farms to be more than 1,000 hectares. Because of the mountainous terrain, however, only 64 hectares are planted with coffee, and it's all picked and maintained by hand. The mill is located close to the spa town of Poços de Caldas, which is 45 minutes away from the farm. Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890. It's located in São Paolo state, just three miles from the border with Minas Gerais state. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Mogiana and Sul de Minas regions, and it's located at an altitude of 1,100–1,250 metres above sea level. Their farm has a school, a club and a full-sized soccer field for the employees and workers, and 47 houses – all with modern facilities. The wastewater is treated in order to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm. The farm has a small hydroelectric plant, and the farmers only buy energy during the peak harvest. As well as providing support to the workers, the family have also invested in the farm's coffee processing facilities. This has allowed them to produce one of the most consistent and delicious coffees. They grow mostly Yellow Bourbon, but also Canario and Mundo Novo. It's well-established plant stock, and some of the original Bourbon varietal trees are as much as 108 years old. They’ve also invested in trying new things, including planting some new varietals and trialling new fermentation experiments with the involvement of experts from the University of Lavras (UFLA) in Minas Gerais. The Carvalho Dias family consider social and environmental sustainability to be very important. The farm has a programme of planting native species of trees to maintain a better ecological balance. This one is super sweet and velvety - it’s all milk chocolate and hazelnuts, for the classic Brazilian coffee. There’s a little twist with some sweet red apple in there, but it’s classic again on the aftertaste with a gentle toffee. Country: Brazil State: São Paulo Municipality: São Sebastião da Grama Farm: Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Owner: Lidolpho de Carvalho Dias and family Altitude: 1,100–1,250 m.a.s.l. Processing: Pulped Natural Varietal: Yellow Bourbon CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, hazelnut, red apple, toffee Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - don't rush this, through first and push through the gap, dropping just as you're approaching second.

It's Christmas, It's Christmas at Hasbean! Hip hip, oh hip hip hoorray, it's Christmas Day! (nearly!)This year we wanted to treat all you lovely In My Mug subscribers with your very own, very exclusive (oooooh!) Christmas Blend! This special blend started with the wonderful San Jose Elefante, which gives it a crisp Champagne-like note. Then we added El Limon Washed Pacamara, for a sweet creamy base and citrus notes, and then a little Ana Sora Washed to accentuate the lemon and bring it all together. The perfect coffee to enjoy whilst you unwrap your Christmas gifts.  40% El Salvador San Jose Washed Elefante 40% Guatemala El Limon Washed Pacamara 20% Ethiopia Ana Sora Washed CUPPING NOTES Champagne, lemon, cream Resting RecommendationWe recommend a 5-7 day rest after the date of roasting before brewing this coffee as espresso, but there's a lot of personal preference in that so, by all means, please brew whenever you like! Roasting InformationMedium Dark - Although the flavours are light and bright here, the roast needs to be pushed up to the edge of second before it's dropped out, but keeping a fairly quick pace.

Juan Jose Ernesto 'Neto' Menéndez Argüello belongs to the fourth generation of coffee farmers in his family. His father died in 1995. After completing his studies at university, Neto had the opportunity to start working in the coffee industry at J. Hill & Cia in 2000. He left J. Hill & Cia after five years and began his second coffee experience at JASAL. Both companies gave him the opportunity to meet 'Grano de Oro' from another perspective, allowing him to learn the art and passion of cupping. He says those are very important in his life, and that they give him the opportunity to apply the coffee knowledge and experience he's gained through the years. During his time in the coffee world, he has participated in various events like the Cup of Excellence (National Jury from 2003 to 2011), Q Auction, Q Grader, and the Star Cupper program organised by SCAA and CQI. Las Brumas is located between 45 to 60 minutes from Santa Ana city. It has a cultivated area of 60 hectares' worth of coffee yield, all of which is at an altitude ranging from 1,450 to 1,700 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.). It produces around 600 bags of coffee each year, and has an area of 35 hectares of virgin mountain at an altitude from 1,700 to 2,000 m.a.s.l. The farm is located in the Sonsonate department near the area known as San Blas. Las Brumas has very rich volcanic soil; it's deep and very fertile, and has been generated by different Ilamatepec and Izalco volcanic eruptions throughout history. One of the most important elements is the microclimate. It's very misty at the farm for most of the year, and that's why Neto decided to name the farm Finca Las Brumas. This amazing microclimate is generated when the warm air from the Pacific Ocean collides with the high peaks of Los Volcanes National Park (which comprises of the Santa Ana, Cerro Verde and Izalco volcanoes). Due to its location between these three famous volcanoes in El Salvador, this unique microclimate reduces the amount of daylight that the coffee trees receive. This helps the coffee trees have a very slow photosynthesis, improving the maturation process; this, in turn, improves some attributes that are closely related to maturity, like the aroma, sweetness, acidity and flavour. This is a medley of citrus and sugar. Up front it’s like lemon icing, before shifting into sweet clementines with a little hint of brown sugar in the background. The fruit keeps going on the aftertaste with passionfruit and orange. Country: El Salvador Department: Sonsonate Nearest city: Santa Ana Farm: Finca Las Brumas Producer: Juan Jose Ernesto 'Neto' Menéndez Argüello Varietal: SL28 Processing system: Washed Altitude: 1,450–1,700 m.a.s.l. Type of soil: Sandy loam Average rainfall: 2,400 mm Types of shade: Ingas, sunk, cipers and belloto Flora and fauna present: Mountain trees, wildflowers, deer, squirrels, armadillos and snakes CUPPING NOTES Lemon icing, clementines, brown sugar, passionfruit, orange Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 7Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Roasting InformationMedium - keep this one before second gets going, to highlight the simple but intense sweetness and the citrus.

Buying coffee is simple, right? A farmer has coffee, you have money...easy! Well, not so much. One of the realities of coffee farming is unscrupulous coffee buyers turning up, promising the world and then not honouring their promises. For this reason, we never ask too much of the producers we work with for the first few years - you have to earn trust. Eventually, they trust us to be reliable and keep coming back. In the case of the Aguileras...well, it took them 8 years or so to warm to us. That’s just how it goes sometimes. Here at Hasbean, we love to celebrate the awesome things that happen when strong relationships are built between roasters and producers, and Finca Licho is a shining example of that ethos. We first bought from this farm way back in 2007 when it was awarded 4th place in the Cup of Excellence. Fast forward thirteen years (gosh I feel old now), and Licho has become a firm favourite – both with customers and our little Hasbean team. The arrival of coffees from Finca Licho is greatly anticipated every year. The farm is owned and run by Los Hermanos Aguilera. It's often translated as 'The Aguilera Brothers', but everyone is involved, not just the boys! The family of twelve brothers and sisters inherited the business from their parents, who started their coffee-growing career over 50 years ago. With the help of the third generation, the family work the farm with basically no hired labour except for during the harvest. They manage the mill and drying patios, fertilise, prune the coffee trees, and so on. They do it all themselves, and all year round. The Aguileras have a reputation for their deep understanding of quality at the farm and mill level, and this is why we are excited about working with them. Situated 1,500 metres above sea level in the region of Naranjo, the farm is located in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, which is an area famous for its excellent coffee production. The majority of the coffee grown at Finca Licho is Villa Sarchi variety, but there's a smidge of Caturra too (they're about 65% and 25% of production respectively). The remainder of coffee production is made up of a mixture of more unusual varieties, some of which (this Geisha lot!) we've been able to snag this year now that they're established enough to provide a crop. This coffee is yellow honey processed, which is just like the Pulped Natural method. The fruit is removed from the seed of the coffee bush and left to dry. The main difference is that there is no water involved when the cherry is removed, so mucilage sticks to the bean. This can be dangerous, but it's necessary in these parts of Costa Rica where water is limited: water is a precious commodity in this area of Naranjo, so this method suits the location very well. The coffee ends up clustering whilst drying because there is so much mucilage. So the coffee either needs to be turned regularly to stop this happening, or it has to be broken up. Over-fermentation can happen at this stage and you can end up with a not-so-good cup, but the Aguilera brothers are well-versed in this method and are some of the most skilled in Costa Rica. We’ve loved the Licho Villa Sarchi Yellow Honey since we first tried it, but this year we’ve got loads of other coffees from the Hermanos Aguileras! Two naturals from Licho, Villa Sarchi from Finca Toño, Pacamara and this, their Geisha. We’re super proud that we pay fair prices for all our coffees, but it isn’t just about a price per kilogram - it’s about how much you buy. Because we’re buying loads of coffee from them, it makes a bigger difference than if we just wanted to buy the Geisha on it’s own. With less coffee they’ll have to risk selling elsewhere (and not sure how much they’ll get for it), they’re doing better, so they share that back to us too with a little discount on this spectacular coffee - and we in turn pass that on to you. P.s. did I mention, it was a lot from Licho which finished 11th in this

Grown by the Aguilera brothers (of Finca Licho fame) in the province of Naranjo, in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, this coffee is cultivated at an altitude of 1,450 metres above sea level. Like on Licho, most of their coffee is of the Villa Sarchi variety, which is native to the area and excellent in the cup. Villa Sarchi is a Bourbon mutation (similar to Caturra and Pacas) originally found in Naranjo. It's a dwarf variety with short internodes and (usually) higher-yielding production. The Aguileras are twelve brothers and sisters, all of whom are involved in coffee as inherited from their parents. The brothers work the mill and farms themselves with basically no hired labour except for pickers during the harvest. With the help of the third generation, they work the mill and drying patios, prune the coffee fields, fertilise, and so on; and they do it all year round. The Aguilera brothers understand quality at the farm and mill level, and this is why we are excited about working with them. We first met them through the Cup of Excellence competition and they’ve continued to do well in that - in fact this year they had a lot from Licho finish 11th and a lot from Toño narrowly missed out on being included (it was top of the National Jury, meaning it did super well in the first stage but was a hair's breadth short of making it into the all-important International Jury which is the second stage of the competition!). This coffee is honey processed, which is like the pulped natural method. The fruit is removed from the seed of the coffee bush and left to dry. The main difference is that there is no water involved when the cherry is removed, so mucilage sticks to the bean. This can be dangerous, but it's necessary in these parts of Costa Rica where water is limited: water is a precious commodity in this area of Naranjo, so this method suits the location very well. The coffee ends up clustering whilst drying because there is so much mucilage. So the coffee either needs to be turned regularly to stop this happening, or it has to be broken up. Over-fermentation can happen at this stage and you can end up with a not-so-good cup, but the Aguilera brothers are well-versed in this method and are some of the most skilled in Costa Rica. Want to know a little more about honey processing? Here's a video you might enjoy! There's a fruit sweetness to it which reminds me of yellow plums, but in a jammy kind of way. As it cools, there's a creamy flavour coming forward too - think of a custard cream biscuit. Then on the aftertaste is just a little shoulder of cranberry. Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley Province: Alajuela Nearest city: Naranjo de Alajuela Farm: Toño Producers: Aguilera family Altitude: 1,450 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Villa Sarchi Processing system: Yellow Honey CUPPING NOTES Yellow plum, custard cream, cranberry Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Roast InformationMedium – through first crack, slow it a little to let the sweetness develop fully, but drop it before second crack gets going.

Our sourcing partners Beanspire have been working in Doi Pangkhon for 7 years now. Doi Pangkhon, in Chiang Rai, has 300 households, each typically producing about 1-2 tons of parchment. In the past years, Beanspire worked with each house individually on their wet processing and bought their parchment before hulling and grading at our mill. During the 2017-2018 season, there was substantial investment in a new wet mill and is currently being operated by a few trusted partner producers and allows for more control of the coffee processing. In 2018-2019 season, the mill was improved with the addition of a new roof, new pulpers and improved workflows. This harvest season, the mill received a new electricity generator, a cupping lab was built for the farmers, and new concentrate flooring was put down too. This is a natural processed micro lot. Coffee cherries were floated and then laid on bamboo raised beds in a one-inch layer. Under-ripes and fermented cherries were sorted out throughout the drying process and the cherries were raked multiple times each day. After the cherries were dried, they're bagged to cure for two months before milling at the dry mill. All of the villagers belong to Akha Hilltribe and they are very young for coffee farmers, 25-35 years old, mostly. The elevation at Doi Pangkhon is from 1,250-15,00 meters above sea level. This area is 19 degrees north of the equator, which means that this elevation is really high (e.g. Colombia Narino is 1 degree north, Costa Rica Terrazu is 9 degree north so coffee can grow beyond 1,600m there). Coffee cannot grow in Thailand above 1,550m. The varietals here are a mixture of Typica, Catuai, and Chiang Mai (with many unknowns as well). Chiang Mai is a local hybrid that is a cross between SL28 x Caturra x Hibrido de Timor. So it's a catimor variant (like Colombia and Castillo varietals!) that's backcrossed with SL28 in order to improve the cup quality. It's a rust-resistant cultivar that's been developed by the late Thai King as part of his effort to eradicate opium plantation by the hill tribe in the North. In terms of green preparation, the coffee went through a destoner, huller, size grader, density table and ended with hand-sorting. The green passed through density table multiple times. The coffee was shipped coffee in a triple-layered bag, which includes a cotton bag in the outer layer, High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) in the middle layer and Grain Pro in the innermost layer. Boozy Christmas pudding meets sticky toffee pudding right here. There's a hit of fruity booze which reminds me of sherry with a bit of orange peel. That's backed up by a sweet, velvety body with a big toffee sweetness and a sprinkle of raisins. Country: Thailand Region: Doi Pangkhong, Chiang Rai Altitude: 1,250–1,500 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Natural Varietals: Catuai, Typica and Chiang Mai CUPPING NOTES Sherry, orange, toffee, raisins Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Roasting InformationMedium to medium-dark - through first and keep this going steadily towards second, looking for the first pops of second in the cooling tray.

A washed processed lot of Bourbon produced by Juan Jose Ernesto Menéndez Argüello at Finca La Ilusion in Santa Ana, El Salvador. It has tasting notes of Fruit Salad sweets, pear, milk chocolate and lemon zest.

The story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo is a long and exciting one - we've been working together for 13 years now! A bakers' dozen of coffee harvests shared between Matagalpa and Stafford make us very happy customers. I've been telling the story of this relationship for many years now and I don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for me 🌟 So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. I'm really proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Limoncillo (and a handful of other fantastic farms) are owned by Dr. Erwin Mierich. Having previously lived and worked in the USA, he returned to Nicaragua in the mid-1990s. He explained, "While I was living in the United States, I worked as a gynaecologist, but then I had to come back to Nicaragua and lead this farm. Coffee has been my passion since I was a little boy". In the years we have worked together Erwin has visited Stafford many times, and it's always a pleasure to have him around. Last time he was visiting we ended up at a Weird Beard tap takeover in Manchester, talking to two Weird Beards about crazy brewing/coffee farming ideas! A coffee from Finca Limoncillo (the 'Funky Red Pacamara') is used in two of Weird Beard's beers: Black Perle and Double Perle, both of which are mighty delicious beers! A fitting collaboration to evolve from our continued business dealings when you consider how much time the family have dedicated to showing me how Latin American people like to party! On my very first visit to Nicaragua, the two people who showed me around were Erwin Jr and Steve Mierisch, the sons of the farmer. It was really cool, lifelong friends were made, and they taught me a lot about coffee production in the region. Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. I cupped the coffee and instantly loved it - I knew I had to have it. It was a wonderful surprise to discover after the auction closed that it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of mine, and indeed probably the only people I knew from the whole country! The following year I visited the farm with our Nicaraguan importers and through my phenomenal Steve Pester Powers I got them to agree to bring the coffee into the UK for us (probably just to stop the flow of emails and phone calls from that annoying ginger bloke!) A few years ago we were notified by the importers that they would not be buying the coffee again (for reasons other than the cup quality) which led to some frantic phone calls on my part, and a dig down the back of the sofa for enough loose change to fund buying 12 months' worth of coffee all in one go. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that I'm so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua and it's a whopping 171 hectares in size, which is heckin chonky! 109 hectares of this is used for coffee cultivation, with the remainder used to raise cattle and horses, and left to natural woodland. The family have heaps of policies and initiatives to make everything as sustainable as possible on this vast farming area: their use of chemicals is minimal, and the impact on the environment is always minimised by careful and considerate land management. It's owned and run by the Mierisch family who are, by now, very close friends, and well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They're known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The family employ over 3000 staff during the harvest, and at

Thailand is not traditionally known as a country that produces specialty coffee, yet it has been producing Arabica coffee since the early '80s. It started off as part of the Thai King’s opium eradication project. Because Arabica coffee thrives in conditions similar to those favoured by opium, it was selected as a substitution crop against the cultivation of the illicit plant. Today, Thailand produces about 8,000 tonnes of Arabica coffee, mainly in the mountainous north of the country. On top of that, Thailand produces about ten times as much Robusta coffee, making it the third-largest coffee producer in Asia. Thai specialty coffee is rarely seen in the top specialty roaster segment abroad. Thailand is a middle-income country and has a thriving local coffee market. That means relatively high production costs for a relatively undemanding coffee market. Having said this, a strong specialty coffee segment is emerging. At least on the consumer side, the Third Wave is quite well established, with artisan roasters and cafés in Bangkok and Chang Mai. These roasters have recently begun to develop and buy local coffees too, not least because of import tariffs on foreign coffees. However, this scene is still very small and hardly creates enough incentives for farmers to improve the quality of their coffee to specialty grade – at least for now. So even though they have been doing a great job at pushing the limits of Thai coffee, the specialty coffee scene would be greatly aided with more specialty coffee knowledge and global integration. Our sourcing partners Beanspire have been actively assisting the farming families of Doi Pangkhon to improve the quality of their coffee. For this lot, they specifically worked with two entrepreneurial siblings of the Becheku family from the Akha hilltribe: Ata and Pupae. At 31, Ata is the oldest of the three siblings. His entrepreneurial spirit and leadership is a force for change in his community. Pupae is Ata’s 27-year-old sister. She worked in both Korea and Taiwan before returning home to Doi Pangkhon to help her brother produce coffee. Pupae speaks fluent Chinese, and she's a Chinese language teacher at a local school. The young Bechekus are third generation coffee farmers at Doi Pangkhon, and they represent one of the most inspiring aspects of the Thai coffee scene. The future of the entire specialty industry around the world is unclear, because farmers and their children are quitting coffee manufacturing for other more lucrative opportunities.  Pupae and other people like her are returning home to work on coffee because they see a bright future in it, and they are farming coffee by choice; not because they lack other opportunities. Doi Pangkhon’s coffee farms, at 1,250–1,500 metres above sea level, contain Caturra, Catimor, Bourbon and Typica cultivars. Such a mixture of cultivars allows farmers to mitigate various risks. For example, Bourbon and Typica tend to be weaker plants and sometimes come under attack from leaf rust and other diseases, but they have great cupping potential. Caturra and especially Catimor are more rust resistant and have a higher yield. Due to the famously fragrant soil in the Chang Rai area, even these hybrid varieties are capable of producing complex and delicious coffees, yet they could struggle if grown in different areas. Imagine a Cadbury's Wholenut - lashings of milk chocolate with a hefty sprinkle of hazelnut - and you're pretty much there with this coffee. Now throw in a sprinkle of macadamia nuts too and just a hint of caramel for a super moreish hug in a mug. Country: Thailand Region: Doi Pangkhong, Chiang Rai Altitude: 1,250–1,500 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Black Honey Varietals: Catuai, Typica & Chiang Mai CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, hazelnut, macadamia nut Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 1

Ana Sora is a private farm owned by second-generation coffee farmer Israel Degfa. He grew up immersed in various aspects of the coffee industry as his father was a mill manager and his mum sold coffee in the local bus station to commuters. The estate is located in the Guji Zone, due East of Yirgacheffe. It’s western neighbour is Uraga and to the East is Adola - both places where Israel owns mills as well. As coffee farms go, it's a very new farm: it was only formed in 2013. It's located at a whopping altitude of between 1,900 and 2,350 metres above sea level. It's a gorgeous but somewhat tiring walk to get there! (It's not all just holiday snaps, this coffee buying malarkey!) We're now into our fifth wonderful year of roasting coffee from Ana Sora, and it's as exciting to see it return in 2020 as it was to roast it for the first time back in 2016! This coffee represents lots of time and energy working at the farmer's gate in Ethiopia, and it's one of the most unique coffees I've ever tasted. My last visit to the farm was in December 2019 and I'm so pleased I was able to potter by and catch up with Israel before all this pandemic hoo-hah kicked off. Stevie Storytime 📕🙌... during my most recent trip we were driving together down a rough road that was part-way through being built when we blew out two tires at the same time. We had been travelling for 12 hours in the car and there wasn't a tyre shop anywhere nearby - so we got stuck in the middle of nowhere in the dark for three hours 😱 Thankfully one of the farm managers kindly drove out to us with a car which we took back to the house, and he slept in our car all night to keep an eye on it until the tyre shop opened. What a top bloke, he was our knight in shining armour! It is unusual to find private farms of 250 hectares in Ethiopia (the norm being smallholder gardens of less than 2 hectares each) and even more unusual to find them at such high altitudes. Ethiopian coffee farms are high in general compared to other producing countries (mostly between 1700 - 2100 masl) but Ana Sora is on the higher side still, reaching as high as 2350 masl. The altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry (owing in part to the generally lower temperatures and cooler nights) and allows more time for the plant to develop, which contributes to the super unique cup profile we see in coffees from Ethiopia. Coffee growing is popular locally, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area. Each washing station has around 1000-2000 members, each with one of the small home coffee plots typical of Ethiopia producing very small quantities. The area is populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. Israel believes in helping these farmers through education in husbandry, and also through financial assistance. Situated alongside the river Turo, the farm used to only produce naturally processed coffee. However, in 2018 the farmers decided to take advantage of the water source and built a washing station capable of producing washed coffee too, so TADAH ✨ here we have it! This is a unique coffee from a unique relationship, and I'm massively excited to share it with you once again. Up front is a hit of florals and sweet lemon, which the best Washed Yirgacheffes are known for. That sweet lemon gets a tropical edge as it's joined by persimmon, before swinging back into classic territory with a black tea like finish. Super unusual (and delicious) though is the aftertaste, where fresh raspberry kicks in. Country: Ethiopia Area: Guji zone Nearest town: Yirgacheffe Farm: Ana Sora Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals Processing: Washed Owner: Israel Degfa Founding year: 2013 Altitude: 1,900–2,350 m.a.s.l. Farm size: 250 hectares, of which 150 hectares are coffee CUPPING NOTES Floral, sweet lemon, persimmon, black tea, raspberry Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 8Balance:

The story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo is a long and exciting one - we've been working together for 13 years now! A bakers' dozen of coffee harvests shared between Matagalpa and Stafford make us very happy customers. I've been telling the story of this relationship for many years now and I don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for me 🌟 So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. I'm really proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Limoncillo (and a handful of other fantastic farms) are owned by Dr. Erwin Mierich. Having previously lived and worked in the USA, he returned to Nicaragua in the mid-1990s. He explained, "While I was living in the United States, I worked as a gynaecologist, but then I had to come back to Nicaragua and lead this farm. Coffee has been my passion since I was a little boy". In the years we have worked together Erwin has visited Stafford many times, and it's always a pleasure to have him around. Last time he was visiting we ended up at a Weird Beard tap takeover in Manchester, talking to two Weird Beards about crazy brewing/coffee farming ideas! A coffee from Finca Limoncillo (the 'Funky Red Pacamara') is used in two of Weird Beard's beers: Black Perle and Double Perle, both of which are mighty delicious beers! A fitting collaboration to evolve from our continued business dealings when you consider how much time the family have dedicated to showing me how Latin American people like to party! On my very first visit to Nicaragua, the two people who showed me around were Erwin Jr and Steve Mierisch, the sons of the farmer. It was really cool, lifelong friends were made, and they taught me a lot about coffee production in the region. Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. I cupped the coffee and instantly loved it - I knew I had to have it. It was a wonderful surprise to discover after the auction closed that it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of mine, and indeed probably the only people I knew from the whole country! The following year I visited the farm with our Nicaraguan importers and through my phenomenal Steve Pester Powers I got them to agree to bring the coffee into the UK for us (probably just to stop the flow of emails and phone calls from that annoying ginger bloke!) A few years ago we were notified by the importers that they would not be buying the coffee again (for reasons other than the cup quality) which led to some frantic phone calls on my part, and a dig down the back of the sofa for enough loose change to fund buying 12 months' worth of coffee all in one go. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that I'm so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua and it's a whopping 171 hectares in size, which is heckin chonky! 109 hectares of this is used for coffee cultivation, with the remainder used to raise cattle and horses, and left to natural woodland. The family have heaps of policies and initiatives to make everything as sustainable as possible on this vast farming area: their use of chemicals is minimal, and the impact on the environment is always minimised by careful and considerate land management. It's owned and run by the Mierisch family who are, by now, very close friends, and well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They're known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The family employ over 3000 staff during the harvest, and at

The first coffee bush at Kiriga Estate was planted in approximately 1954 by colonial settlers. At about the same time, less than ten kilometres away along the same Kigio road, a young boy (Aloysius Gakunga, son of the chief for the larger Murang'a county) helped his father – Senior Chief Ndungíu Kagori – plant the first coffee seedling in the area. The area was known as Gaitegi village, Muranga Location 1 (Loco One). A love affair with coffee had been born! Several years went by and the young boy grew up. He was riding his bicycle along Kigio road and, as he rode past the vast – by now well-established – coffee estates, he promised himself that he would one day own one of them. He realized this dream in 1976. The boy, or Mr A. N. Gakunga, sadly passed away in July 2014. By the time of his death, Mr Gakunga had passed his love of coffee and the mantle of Kiriga coffee estate on to Dr Brian Ndungíu Gakunga. Brian was his second child, and the eldest son out of his six children. According to Kikuyu cultural naming systems, Brian is named after Mr Gakungaís' father, who was both his grandfather and his pioneer coffee farmer. Dr Brian Gakunga is a coffee farmer who is well known in Kenyan coffee circles. He is a founding member and a former long-serving Honorary Secretary of the Kenya Coffee Producers Association, which is a national farmers' organisation that works to promote the economic and social interests of the coffee farmers through active participation in the national and international arena. Brian is also a former Board Member and Chairman of Transitional Exchange Committee (operationally, he was the then-Chairman of Nairobi Coffee Exchange), where over 90% of all of Kenya's coffee is currently sold. He's also currently the Founding Chairman of Africa Coffee Farmers' Network. Africa Coffee Farmers' Network represents the interests of coffee farmers, as spelt out in the organisation's core objective of improving the earnings of poor coffee farmers in order to break the vicious cycle of poverty. One way of doing this is by getting direct sales for the farmers. Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Administratively, Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river. Kiriga coffee is predominantly SL28 variety (notable for its world-renowned cup quality). The farm has an estimated two hectares of Ruiru 11 variety (which has improved resistance to coffee berry disease and leaf rust); some K7 variety (similar characteristics as SL28, but with better resistance to leaf rust compared to SL28); and a field of the newest Batian variety. About 60% of the coffee that the estate produces is AA/AB. Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean. Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s it’s size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right? Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through the holes of a screen easily. We

The first coffee bush at Kiriga Estate was planted in approximately 1954 by colonial settlers. At about the same time, less than ten kilometres away along the same Kigio road, a young boy (Aloysius Gakunga, son of the chief for the larger Murang'a county) helped his father – Senior Chief Ndungíu Kagori – plant the first coffee seedling in the area. The area was known as Gaitegi village, Muranga Location 1 (Loco One). A love affair with coffee had been born! Several years went by and the young boy grew up. He was riding his bicycle along Kigio road and, as he rode past the vast – by now well-established – coffee estates, he promised himself that he would one day own one of them. He realized this dream in 1976. The boy, or Mr A. N. Gakunga, sadly passed away in July 2014. By the time of his death, Mr Gakunga had passed his love of coffee and the mantle of Kiriga coffee estate on to Dr Brian Ndungíu Gakunga. Brian was his second child, and the eldest son out of his six children. According to Kikuyu cultural naming systems, Brian is named after Mr Gakungaís' father, who was both his grandfather and his pioneer coffee farmer. Dr Brian Gakunga is a coffee farmer who is well known in Kenyan coffee circles. He is a founding member and a former long-serving Honorary Secretary of the Kenya Coffee Producers Association, which is a national farmers' organisation that works to promote the economic and social interests of the coffee farmers through active participation in the national and international arena. Brian is also a former Board Member and Chairman of Transitional Exchange Committee (operationally, he was the then-Chairman of Nairobi Coffee Exchange), where over 90% of all of Kenya's coffee is currently sold. He's also currently the Founding Chairman of Africa Coffee Farmers' Network. Africa Coffee Farmers' Network represents the interests of coffee farmers, as spelt out in the organisation's core objective of improving the earnings of poor coffee farmers in order to break the vicious cycle of poverty. One way of doing this is by getting direct sales for the farmers. Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Administratively, Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river. Kiriga coffee is predominantly SL28 variety (notable for its world-renowned cup quality). The farm has an estimated two hectares of Ruiru 11 variety (which has improved resistance to coffee berry disease and leaf rust); some K7 variety (similar characteristics as SL28, but with better resistance to leaf rust compared to SL28); and a field of the newest Batian variety. About 60% of the coffee that the estate produces is AA/AB. Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean. Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s it’s size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right? Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through the holes of a screen easily. We

When we found this farm for the very first time all the way back in 2013 we knew very little about it, so little in fact that the coffee didn't even have an official name! Back then all we knew was that the coffee was grown by a gentleman called Carlos Arrieta and it was really, really delicious! However, since then I've been lucky enough to visit Carlos on my trips to Costa Rica and, over the past few years, have found out lots more. The farm is located in the Western Valley region near to the town of Lourdes de Naranjo. It's located at 1,600 meters above sea level and contains mostly Caturra, Catuai + a tiny bit of Villa Sarchi, there are also plans to plant some small micro-lots too in the future. El Manantial is actually one of Carlos's four farms... La Casa - mostly planted with Geisha and Kenya! La Isla - run by Maria’s niece and only just starting to produce coffee, it sits at 1,400 m.a.s.l. and 1.4 hectares in size, and is planted with Villa Sarchi, Kenya, Geisha and Ethiopia El Oasis - slightly smaller than El Manantial and produces around 6,000kg of fresh cherries each year El Manantial - around 3 hectares in size and produces around 8,500kg of fresh cherries each year (amounts to just over 1,000kg of green coffee when processed) Carlos runs the farm with his wife and children, Maria Isabel, Yessica, Karen, Esteban and Jose Ignacio. He has owned this farm for almost twenty years but only started processing the coffee himself in 2014 (while still paying someone else to pulp it for him). He hadn't been able to present his coffee to a single buyer previously, so he would send it to the exporter we use in Costa Rica and, thankfully, that's how we found him! The mill name "ARBAR" comes from the combined family names - Carlos ARietta and Maria BARboza - ARBAR. Their children are Yessica, Karen, Esteban & Jose Ignacio. Carlos is very active in the local community and they have close relationships with their neighbours - which includes CoE winning mills like Herbazu, Vista Al Valle and Sumava. The farm operates mostly Organic processes, but they're not Organic certified. They believe in the value of biodiversity on the farms, and plants like fruit trees are positioned among the coffee plants to provide shade and to help the soil. These trees also provide food for the family. They even have a few sheep and other animals, with the farm being as self-sufficient as possible. They have one full-time employee, who lives on the farm. When Carlos and his family started selling to us, it gave them a chance totry new things; the prices that we pay gave them the opportunity to take bigger risks. One of the ways they did this was by trying small plantings of new varietals including Bourbon, Kenya (SL28) and Geisha which we saw some of for the first time last year and are really excited to welcome back again soon. This coffee has been processed at the ARBAR micromill using the Red Honey process. Honey processing is somewhat similar to a Pulped Natural (but uses less water), falling somewhere in between a Washed and a Natural coffee both in terms of contact between the cherry mucilage and the bean during drying time and in the resulting flavour profile. The outer skin and fruit pulp is removed from the seed (bean) of the coffee inside, and it's left to dry. The colour in the name refers to the amount of sticky fruit that's left on the surface of the seed after depulping - darker indicates more / lighter indicates less. This method can present some risk of over fermentation during processing but water is a precious commodity in this area of Costa Rica, so this method suits the location very well. Carlos definitely has the skills to pay the bills though so no worries about mucking up the Honeys at ARBAR! What hits me first in this coffee is loads of stone fruit sweetness. It’s all nectarines and greengages, with a lovely silky texture. On the finish, there’s a little waft of lemon wrapping it all up. Country: Costa Rica Region:

This week's coffee is an In My Mug exclusive! This means you're a very special bunch, but sadly it does mean you won't be able to buy more of it :(   Finca Argentina is based in the Apaneca-Ilamtepec mountain range, near the town of Turin in the Ahuachapán department. The beautiful 35-hectare farm has natural hot springs dotted all over, and is situated at an altitude of 1300 metres above sea level. My very dear friend Alejandro Martinez owns the farm along with his father Mauricio, who inherited the land along with a handful of other coffee farms in the region from Guillermo Martinez, MD (Ale's grandfather) back in 2008. The family currently have 2 farms locally, the other being Finca Manuella that our lovely friends at 3fe regularly buy from, that they run with the help of a farm manager and approximately 25-30 staff during the non-picking season. Argentina have taken a supportive approach with their labour: this team have been with the farm for 7 years now and work on maintaining and tending to the plants year-round. The number of workers goes up to 50 during the busy harvest period, including the staff members' families who also participate in the harvest cycle to help them complement their income. Furthermore, Ale and Mauricio host a yearly lunch with the crew to thank them for their hard work, and plant corn on the land for their employees and each staff member gets about 50lbs annually to help support their families. They have also been contributing labour and materials to support the necessary improvements to the access road for the community. This is a joint effort with the municipality, community leaders and a few other local farmers. I've been working with the family since back in 2008, and in that time our relationship has gone from strictly professional to Ale being one of my closest friends. He became involved in coffee after he had just relocated to El Salvador from New York, where he'd been working as a city banker. With his son Lukas on the way and the hustle and bustle of New York, no place to bring up a family, the draw of home and El Salvador was just far too strong to ignore. While looking for work in El Salvador, Ale decided to help his father with some of his business interests and investments, including the coffee farms he had just inherited. One of the investments pricked Ale’s interest, and this was a farm called Finca Argentina. The reason it really got Ale's attention was that he saw the farm once yielded loads of coffee but was producing a fraction of its old productivity. His father gave him permission to see what could be done to make the farm successful again. Historically, Argentina used to produce on average 1250 quintales (1 quintal = 100 pounds) with some years even producing 1500 or at the very highest harvest roughly 2000, however, the productivity levels had gone right down to 400-500 quintales by the time Ale started looking into it. Alé began working the farm with more attention and better management in general (pruning, shading control, fertilization etc) and managed to get the harvest back to 1,100 quintales right before Roya devastated the crop the following year. In 2013 they suffered the worst harvest on record, with only 70 bags harvested due to the massive issue with leaf rust - from 1,100 qq down to 200 qq... In Ale's own words "brutal"! Since 2013 the approach has been to renovate the farm with younger trees and to diversify the varieties from the vast majority being mainly Bourbon, with the goal of the plant stock being more resilient and able to handle disease. It has been slow going since their other farm, Manuela, took precedence for replanting and so far about 60-70% of the farm has been replanted. Since then, Finca Argentina has gone from strength to strength, but not without bumps in the road. With investment and hard work, the future is amazingly bright for Ale, his father, his family and Finca Argentina. Things are also looking up for the local fauna as th

Ana Sora is a private farm owned by second-generation coffee farmer Israel Degfa. He grew up immersed in various aspects of the coffee industry as his father was a mill manager and his mum sold coffee in the local bus station to commuters. The estate is located in the Guji Zone, due East of Yirgacheffe. It’s western neighbour is Uraga and to the East is Adola - both places where Israel owns mills as well. As coffee farms go, it's a very new farm: it was only formed in 2013. It's located at a whopping altitude of between 1,900 and 2,350 metres above sea level. It's a gorgeous but somewhat tiring walk to get there! (It's not all just holiday snaps, this coffee buying malarkey!) We're now into our fifth wonderful year of roasting coffee from Ana Sora, and it's as exciting to see it return in 2020 as it was to roast it for the first time back in 2016! This coffee represents lots of time and energy working at the farmer's gate in Ethiopia, and it's one of the most unique coffees I've ever tasted. My last visit to the farm was in December 2019 and I'm so pleased I was able to potter by and catch up with Israel before all this pandemic hoo-hah kicked off. Stevie Storytime 📕🙌... during my most recent trip we were driving together down a rough road that was part-way through being built when we blew out two tires at the same time. We had been travelling for 12 hours in the car and there wasn't a tyre shop anywhere nearby - so we got stuck in the middle of nowhere in the dark for three hours 😱 Thankfully one of the farm managers kindly drove out to us with a car which we took back to the house, and he slept in our car all night to keep an eye on it until the tyre shop opened. What a top bloke, he was our knight in shining armour! It is unusual to find private farms of 250 hectares in Ethiopia (the norm being smallholder gardens of less than 2 hectares each) and even more unusual to find them at such high altitudes. Ethiopian coffee farms are high in general compared to other producing countries (mostly between 1700 - 2100 masl) but Ana Sora is on the higher side still, reaching as high as 2350 masl. The altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry (owing in part to the generally lower temperatures and cooler nights) and allows more time for the plant to develop, which contributes to the super unique cup profile we see in coffees from Ethiopia. Coffee growing is popular locally, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area. Each washing station has around 1000-2000 members, each with one of the small home coffee plots typical of Ethiopia producing very small quantities. The area is populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. Israel believes in helping these farmers through education in husbandry, and also through financial assistance. Situated alongside the river Turo, the farm used to only produce naturally processed coffee. However, in 2018 the farmers decided to take advantage of the water source and built a washing station capable of producing washed coffee too. Cherries are hand-sorted for unripes and overripes before they go into floatation tanks, where they're covered with water. Any cherries that float are removed. Whole, ripe cherries are then dried in the sunshine on raised African drying beds, which are laid out on hessian cloths for about 15–18 days depending on the weather conditions. The cherries are covered with plastic or shade nets during the midday heat and at night. It's a unique coffee from a unique relationship, and I'm massively excited to share this coffee with you once again. This is a super elegant natural processed coffee. I get a big hit of Parma Violets, rolling in to hibiscus. There’s a sweetness backing it up which reminds me of peach tea, then on that aftertaste, you get a fresh blueberry. Country: Ethiopia Area: Guji zone Nearest town: Yirgacheffe Farm: Ana Sora Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals Processing: Natural Owner: Israel

Finca La Escondida is close to Lake Apanas near the city of Jinotega, which is the capital of the department of Jinotega in the north-central region of Nicaragua. The straight translation from Spanish to English of 'escondida' is ‘hidden’. The farm is called 'Escondida' because it's 'hidden' from the road by forest and trees, which makes it appear to blend right into the side of the mountain. In the grand scheme of coffee farm things, La Escondida is still a rather young farm. The first trees were planted there in 2006; just fourteen years ago. La Escondida was planned around identifying the plots with individually different micro-environments resulting from factors such as soil quality, sun exposure and temperature range. This is one of the upsides of planting a new farm: getting to plan ahead! The varietal of this lot is Red Catuai. The owners selected it for the farm because they thought it would do well with the soil quality, sun exposure, temperature range and weather conditions, given the farm's quite exposed on the side of the mountain. Catuai is related to Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, and it's a hybrid that grows best above 800 metres. It is most prevalent in Brazil and Central/South America. This is a dwarf variety of plant; it doesn't grow very high, and this is its most obvious distinguishing trait. Selected by the Instituto Agronomico in the 1950s, it now accounts for 50% of the coffee acreage in Brazil and is widely used in Central America. It also benefits from the fruit not falling off the branch easily. This helps when there are strong winds or rain, or where windbreaker coverage is at a minimum – like it is at this farm. Expect a big, chewy body to this coffee - think toffee with bits of walnut mixed in. On the aftertaste is a little hit of dark chocolate. Country: Nicaragua Department: Jinotega Farm: La Escondida Farm manager: Boanerje Martinez Montenegro Coffee growing area: 92 manzanas Altitude: 975–1,230 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Red Catuai Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Toffee, walnut, dark chocolate Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium-dark – through first and keep it steadily progressing through the gap, looking for the first pops of second as it cools - no more.

Cerro Azul is one of the Mierisch family’s newer coffee projects in Honduras. The name 'Mierisch' might sound familiar; they have brought us Limoncillo, Escondida, San Jose and Mama Mina, to name just a few of their amazing farms. The Mierisch family have been growing coffee for four generations, going on five, in Nicaragua. They have achieved great results with their special way of farming, and more importantly by reaching out to specialty buyers and being at the forefront of coffee development. This farm started life as an experiment for the Mierisch family. To farm here, they went across the border of their mother country and drove six hours from their home to neighbouring Honduras. I've spoken with Erwin a lot about why the family made this decision, and it came down to his experiences as one of the Head Judges for the Cup of Excellence competitions in Honduras. He had seen amazing potential, but he'd also seen a lack of care and attention to detail during the processing stage. This detail is vital to truly special coffee, and Erwin and his family are some of the best-qualified processing technicians I have ever met. This opportunity was a match made in heaven. In 2011 they started the project of revitalising Finca Cerro Azul in the region of the national park, Azul Meambar. It's in Siguatepeque, Comayagua, Honduras, and is across from Finca El Cielito, Santa Barbara. The farm lies on the other side of Lake Yojoa, and is blessed with micro-climates and conditions that are familiar to the family because those conditions are similar to the ones they experience on their lands in Nicaragua. But the soil is something else, as is the plant stock they have inherited. We were some of the first to taste the fruits of their hard work and long drives to their new farm. You'll get a refreshing white grape at the start of this, but it's quickly backed up by milk chocolate. On the finish I get pear, for a well-balanced cup which is easy drinking. Country: Honduras Department: Comayagua Municipality: Siguatepeque Community: Rio Bonito Farm: Finca Cerro Azul Farm managers: Francisco Escobar and Lidia Zeledon Farm owners: The Mierisch family Area: 135 hectares Elevation: 1,450–1,900 m.a.s.l. Diurnal temperature cycle: average high: 26 C, average low: 16 C Varietal: Catuai Shade: Inga and Liquidambar Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES White grape, milk chocolate, pear Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 6Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36Total (max. 100): 87 Roast Information Medium-dark – take it through first and give it a little time to develop in the gap, dropping just as it hits second.

A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons that I love buying from Finca El Limon; we have been getting coffee from them since we were introduced by our mutual friend Raul Rodas (2012 World Barista Champion) seven years ago, and they're still impressing me! The experimentation is thanks to the motivation of Guadalupe Alberto Reyes (known as Beto to his friends), He's been the owner of the farm for 21 years now, and in recent years he has really focussed on the farm and on continually striving to improve. He aims to take more care in every step they take on the farm, from picking, to processing, to shipping. They also take care with the agronomy of the farm; Beto's son, Saul, has been studying agronomy at the local college for the past seven years, and he uses his knowledge to benefit practices on the farm. All the family have a part to play in the day-to-day farm running, including Beto's wife Maralyn; their children Saul, Elena, and Betio; Betio's wife Mafer; and Beto's brother Felix, who runs their mill. In addition to the family, they employ a team of seven workers outside of harvest. That team manages the weeding, mill upgrades and general farm work. The farm itself is eighteen hectares in size and sits at an altitude between 1600–1800 metres above sea level. The farm mainly produces Caturra and Bourbon, with a smattering of Pacamara, San Ramon, and Pache alongside. It is located roughly an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, which Beto also happens to be Mayor of! He has helped to build and develop the town alongside running his farm – I honestly don't know how he finds enough hours in the day, what a guy! Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé (the National Association of Coffee in Guatemala), but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. Over time El Limon has become one of our favourite Hasrelationships, and back in 2013, they were the first producers that we ever bought from directly in Guatemala. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family operate their own wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. They are able to process many lots simultaneously and keep separate days' pickings, processes, and varietals in their own parcels. The wet mill also benefits the local community as neighbours within the region of Palencia also bring their coffees to the mill to be processed. They have had the mill on-site since the very beginning but it's very much an ongoing project and they recently invested in a rebuild, alongside the construction of a QC laboratory, a new warehouse, and accommodation for their staff. Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. You can tell that this is a farm on top of their game. Whenever I visit, my questions are dispatched with exactly the right answer and every suggestion is listened to and taken on board. As well as being skilled professionals, Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visit the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! Every time I'm round they cook a dish called Kak'ik (basically translates to 'red and spicy' from Mayan). It's like a broth with a whole turkey leg in it, and it's BOSTIN! It is indeed very red, but it’s not terribly spicy unless you want it to be, and it's arguably the national dish of Guatemala, with versions of it having been made since long before the Spaniards showed up. When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for

The story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo is a long and exciting one - we've been working together for 13 years now! A bakers' dozen of coffee harvests shared between Matagalpa and Stafford make us very happy customers. I've been telling the story of this relationship for many years now and I don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for me 🌟 So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. I'm really proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Limoncillo (and a handful of other fantastic farms) are owned by Dr. Erwin Mierich. Having previously lived and worked in the USA, he returned to Nicaragua in the mid-1990s. He explained, "While I was living in the United States, I worked as a gynaecologist, but then I had to come back to Nicaragua and lead this farm. Coffee has been my passion since I was a little boy". In the years we have worked together Erwin has visited Stafford many times, and it's always a pleasure to have him around. Last time he was visiting we ended up at a Weird Beard tap takeover in Manchester, talking to two Weird Beards about crazy brewing/coffee farming ideas! A coffee from Finca Limoncillo (the 'Funky Red Pacamara') is used in two of Weird Beard's beers: Black Perle and Double Perle, both of which are mighty delicious beers! A fitting collaboration to evolve from our continued business dealings when you consider how much time the family have dedicated to showing me how Latin American people like to party! On my very first visit to Nicaragua, the two people who showed me around were Erwin Jr and Steve Mierisch, the sons of the farmer. It was really cool, lifelong friends were made, and they taught me a lot about coffee production in the region. Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. I cupped the coffee and instantly loved it - I knew I had to have it. It was a wonderful surprise to discover after the auction closed that it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of mine, and indeed probably the only people I knew from the whole country! The following year I visited the farm with our Nicaraguan importers and through my phenomenal Steve Pester Powers I got them to agree to bring the coffee into the UK for us (probably just to stop the flow of emails and phone calls from that annoying ginger bloke!) A few years ago we were notified by the importers that they would not be buying the coffee again (for reasons other than the cup quality) which led to some frantic phone calls on my part, and a dig down the back of the sofa for enough loose change to fund buying 12 months' worth of coffee all in one go. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that I'm so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua and it's a whopping 171 hectares in size, which is heckin chonky! 109 hectares of this is used for coffee cultivation, with the remainder used to raise cattle and horses, and left to natural woodland. The family have heaps of policies and initiatives to make everything as sustainable as possible on this vast farming area: their use of chemicals is minimal, and the impact on the environment is always minimised by careful and considerate land management. It's owned and run by the Mierisch family who are, by now, very close friends, and well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They're known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The family employ over 3000 staff during the harvest, and at

We've been working with Carlos and his family since way back in 2013 and this is a cracking example of the sort of long-term relationship that we are proud of developing with our producing partners. If you read through our Coffee Archive (and my rather excellent book Coffeeography) you can see just how far we've come together since our initial meeting - back when I first bought from his group of farms they didn't even have an official name! All I knew was that it was grown by a nice chap called Carlos Arietta and it was really, really delicious. In the years since that initial purchase we've learned so much, so now we're able to share all the fun deets with you folks!  The name of their mill ARBAR comes from the combined family names: Carlos ARietta + Maria BARboza = ARBAR. Their children are Yessica, Karen, Esteban & Jose Ignacio. They run everything together, the micromill and 4 small farms, with 1 permanent worker and a few temporary staff during harvest season. This might sound like an awful lot of work to be shared between such a select team but Costa Rican farms tend to be on the smaller side compared to other producing countries. The four farms in the group are: La Casa, El Manatial, El Oasis, and La Isla. This year we have been fortunate enough to purchase coffee from all of the above. Carlos has been growing coffee for about 40 years (La Casa being his oldest farm) with El Manatial and El Oasis coming next around 20 years later, followed by La Isla which is the latest project and still very early in it's production life. He only started processing his coffee himself at their mill from 2014 (while still paying someone else to pulp it for him... more on that in a mo) which meant he hadn't been able to present his coffee to a single buyer previously, this was fortuitous for us as this was how we happened to meet - via our mutual exporter in Costa Rica! All of their farms are located in the Western Valley region near to the town of Lourdes de Naranjo. Carlos is very active in the local community and they have close relationships with their neighbours - which includes CoE winning producers like Herbazu, Vista Al Valle and Sumava. They operate mostly Organic processes, but aren’t Organic certified. They believe in the value of biodiversity on the farms and plants like fruit trees are positioned amid the coffee plants for shade and to help the soil - as well as providing food for the family. Activity from the Poas volcano at the start of 2019 has impacted a good deal of the Western Valley region, really quite badly in some areas, however ARBAR have been incredibly lucky to not be affected by this and have produced a good crop This coffee hails from Finca La Isla, which is located at 1400 metres above sea level. The farm is roughly 1.4 hectares in size and is planted with a mixture of Villa Sarchi, Kenya, Geisha, and Ethiopia. Overall this area produces about 3500kg of coffee cherries, which translates to around 700kg of green coffee once processed or ~570kg of roasted coffee once your friendly neighbourhood Roasterman gets their mitts on it! This is their latest project and actually belongs to Maria’s niece. Carlos and Maria have agreed an arrangement with her where they will plant and farm the plot and share the profits with her, but it's only just starting to see production in the last couple of years. Both myself and Roland (Head Roaster / Production Manager / Daft Fact Provider) have been lucky enough to visit Carlos and his family multiple times over the years that we've been working together and they are always guaranteed to be wonderful hosts. I'm not entirely sure I should even be paying Roland to travel to Costa Rica and go hang out with them... does it still count as work when he enjoys it so much? Our last visit was in 2019 and I tried to teach Carlos about Sunderland and how to shout “Ha’way the lads” (https://www.safc.com/news/club-news/2018/october/haway-the-lads) and promised to take him to a game

A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons that I love buying from Finca El Limon; we have been getting coffee from them since we were introduced by our mutual friend Raul Rodas (2012 World Barista Champion) seven years ago, and they're still impressing me! The experimentation is thanks to the motivation of Guadalupe Alberto Reyes (known as Beto to his friends), He's been the owner of the farm for 21 years now, and in recent years he has really focussed on the farm and on continually striving to improve. He aims to take more care in every step they take on the farm, from picking, to processing, to shipping. They also take care with the agronomy of the farm; Beto's son, Saul, has been studying agronomy at the local college for the past seven years, and he uses his knowledge to benefit practices on the farm. All the family have a part to play in the day-to-day farm running, including Beto's wife Maralyn; their children Saul, Elena, and Betio; Betio's wife Mafer; and Beto's brother Felix, who runs their mill. In addition to the family, they employ a team of seven workers outside of harvest. That team manages the weeding, mill upgrades and general farm work. The farm itself is eighteen hectares in size and sits at an altitude between 1600–1800 metres above sea level. The farm mainly produces Caturra and Bourbon, with a smattering of Pacamara, San Ramon, and Pache alongside. It is located roughly an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, which Beto also happens to be Mayor of! He has helped to build and develop the town alongside running his farm – I honestly don't know how he finds enough hours in the day, what a guy! Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé (the National Association of Coffee in Guatemala), but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. Over time El Limon has become one of our favourite Hasrelationships, and back in 2013, they were the first producers that we ever bought from directly in Guatemala. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family operate their own wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. They are able to process many lots simultaneously and keep separate days' pickings, processes, and varietals in their own parcels. The wet mill also benefits the local community as neighbours within the region of Palencia also bring their coffees to the mill to be processed. They have had the mill on-site since the very beginning but it's very much an ongoing project and they recently invested in a rebuild, alongside the construction of a QC laboratory, a new warehouse, and accommodation for their staff. Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. You can tell that this is a farm on top of their game. Whenever I visit, my questions are dispatched with exactly the right answer and every suggestion is listened to and taken on board. As well as being skilled professionals, Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visit the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! Every time I'm round they cook a dish called Kak'ik (basically translates to 'red and spicy' from Mayan). It's like a broth with a whole turkey leg in it, and it's BOSTIN! It is indeed very red, but it’s not terribly spicy unless you want it to be, and it's arguably the national dish of Guatemala, with versions of it having been made since long before the Spaniards showed up. When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for

The Burka Coffee Estate is located on the outskirts of Arusha National Park, on the leeward side of Mount Meru and was founded in 1899 by German settlers just outside the town of Arusha in northern Tanzania. It's 80 kilometres west of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. Situated close to the Kenyan border, this north-westerly region of Tanzania is famous for the coffee it produces. The neighbouring Selian Estate was established in 1910, and it was acquired by Burka in 1991. The first coffee trees were planted in 1918, and they now number some 1.3 million trees. They're mostly shade-grown varietals. Three hundred and fourteen acres are reserved for forests. A further 250 acres are reserved as natural grasslands. There are around 200 permanent staff at Burka, a further 200 casual daily staff, and up to 5,000 temporary staff involved in picking and sorting at the height of harvest season. All permanent staff are provided with housing on the estates, and their salary is set at least 20% above minimum government requirements. Staff have social security and labour union membership included in their contracts, and an estate credit union also offer loans and advice for education, health, and house construction. Each estate has its own nursery, each of which educates over 100 children, and two primary schools also cater for over 600 children from the estate workers' families and neighbouring communities. An on-site health centre with estate nurse and dispensary is available for all staff, and the estate has its own ambulance. It also has shops, sports facilities, churches, and a mosque. Regular inter-estate and inter-camp football and netball matches occur, along with staff BBQs and other holiday celebrations. Workers are supplied with free firewood from stumped coffee trees, and fruit and nut trees are grown around the staff villages. The staff at Burka have a combined wealth of agronomic experience, and over the course of many decades the estates have built a reputation for consistent production of fine Arabica coffees characterised by mild acidity with flavours of lemon, chocolate, and caramel. Harvesting is carried out between the months of May and October. It's done by selective hand-picking of red ripe cherries, which is followed by further hand-sorting to remove any over- or under-ripe cherries. Cherries are then dried slowly on raised African beds for 12–14 days. The cherries are carefully maintained through consistent turning to ensure even drying and to avoid over-fermentation. They are covered at night to protect them from excess rain and moisture. Once the cherries have dried to the optimum moisture content, they are sent to Moshi for hulling, grading by bean size, and careful handpicking. They're then bagged in GrainPro for export from the port in the capital city, Dar Es Salaam. This is a big, sticky coffee which reminds me of dark toffee. It's a little bit of a dried fruit edge, like raisins soaked in brandy, but it's that gloopy dark toffee which sticks for me. Country: Tanzania Region: Arusha District: Arumeru Estate: Burka Estate size: 343 hectares Varietals: Kent, N39, Blue Mountain and Catimor Processing method: Natural Drying method: Raised African beds Drying time: 12–14 days Altitude: 1,350 m.a.s.l. Soil: Young alluvial, sandy to clay loam Average annual rainfall: 750 mm CUPPING NOTES Dark toffee, raisin, brandy Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 86.5 Roast InformationDark - this coffee goes quite hot and lacks clarity if underdeveloped, so mark sure it's pushed right through the gap and up to second crack before it's dropped.

We've seen some excitingly varied coffees from Ethiopia, but as varied as they are they've often come from a pretty small region - Yirgacheffe and Sidamo in the south. The coffees produced there are fantastic and one of the three major growing areas (along with Harrar in the East and Ghimbi in the West), but we were really excited to try this coffee, grown in the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia. It's not actually the first time we've had a coffee from this region - for those of you with a long memory, we had the Lake Tana Natural way back in 2009! However, we haven't seen anything really from the region since, so we're excited to share this one with you. Ayehu Farm is a 500-hectare single estate situated at 1,750masl. It's located in the Western Gojjam area, whose northern border is Lake Tana (map) It's also an unusual varietal for Ethiopia - K7. This is a varietal we normally see planted on farms in Tanzania or Kenya (Kiriga Estate has a little bit of K7). It was originally released in Kenya in 1936 after being picked out from the famous French Mission selective program at Scott Labs. Find out more information about K7 at WorldCoffeeResearch.org here. This coffee was dried slowly in the sun on raised African beds for 18 days, turned periodically to ensure even drying and prevent over-fermentation. In the cup I get a really sweet green mango, with an edge of dark chocolate to it. As it cools a little, you get lemon rind joining it on the finish, along with a treacle flavour that carries on to the aftertaste. Country: Ethiopia Region: Amhara, Western Gojam Farm: Ayehu Farm size: 500-hectares Varietal: K1 Drying method: Raised African beds Drying time: 18-days Processing method: Natural Altitude: 1,750 m.a.s.l. Soil: Sandy loam to clay loam CUPPING NOTES Green mango, dark chocolate, lemon rind, treacle Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium-dark - this roasts more like a Tanzanian or Burundi Natural than an Ethiopian, so you may need to take it quite hot to get it to the edge of second gap where the flavours will really sing.

This is our fifth year buying from the folks at Finca Carmela. The 3-hectare farm is owned by Allan Oviedo Rodriguez and his family, along with the neighbouring Finca La Cumbre, and the Don Joel micromill which services the processing needs of both farms (along with occasional small lots for their neighbours when there's space as they've got a good reputation for it). Finca Carmela is located right on the border between the Central and Western Valleys, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. Situated around 1600 metres above sea level, the farm is just a short 5 minute drive away from their first farm La Cumbre on the other side of the hill. Allan has been producing coffee in the area for 18 years; he grew up in a coffee family and learnt the traditional producing methods alongside his father (Don Joel) and brothers. It was during these early years that he saw the difficulties that came with making a living as a coffee farmer, such as poor returns for what is a very demanding job, and the ever-increasing cost of living. When Allan inherited his first farm La Cumbre (the larger family farm was divided between him and his brothers when Don Joel passed away) he decided to implement changes to improve their lot. During his early years of owning the farm he used to work as a taxi driver in San Jose by night and managing the farm by day to make ends meet. But owning the farm was his dream and he was ardently focused on giving that security to his family. With a mix of willingness to try new things, an eye for detail, and the ability to learn quickly, Allan was able to keep improving his farm. A regular visitor to the wet mill where his coffee was being processed, he took a keen interest in how the processes worked and how the best results could be achieved, which lead him to build his own micromill on La Cumbre, naming it after his father. He began to work on replanting the land with a focus on high-quality cup profile. The varietals he chose to work with were Caturra, Catuai, and Villa Sarchi. Finca Carmela followed when Allan was able to invest in expanding his growing area, and here planted mainly Villa Sarchi and Typica, which he's now been tending for 4 years. Allan employs 2 staff outside harvest season, and staffing during the harvest will depend how good the year is - 7 people in a bad year, up to a maximum of 20 in a really good year.Despite the very short distance between the two farms, they exhibit interestingly different microclimates that impact the way that the coffee thrives. For example, rain may reach one side of the mountain but not the other, strong winds can damage one whilst the other is sheltered. These factors may seem small, but can make a big difference in terms of when the coffee plant goes into flower, how much sun it gets, whether plants get damaged etc and this all adds up. You can see Poás Volcano from La Cumbre, which makes the farm roughly North-East facing, whereas Carmela is more South-East as you can see back towards San Jose. Think about it like planting up your garden at home - south facing? lots of shade? good drainage? Shelter from wind? all of these things are going to have an effect on what sort of plants are happiest living there, and happy plants are the first step towards tasty coffee!Like a lot of Costa Rican producers, Allan’s scale is very small. However, he’s got an interest in the wider world and wider coffee market which we’ve only usually seen in producers who are much larger and well-travelled. On his most recent visit, Roland spent the day with him and over a delicious dinner (cooked by his wife) they quizzed him on global coffee trends, new processes and origins, what customers liked and didn’t, British politics, roasting… it was wide-ranging! Roland says "I was there with Davian, who works with our exporters. His English is a bit better than my Spanish, but not by a long way, so I can say it was quite a challenge to explain Brexit! (Thank you Google Translate)."Of th

A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons that I love buying from Finca El Limon; we have been getting coffee from them since we were introduced by our mutual friend Raul Rodas (2012 World Barista Champion) 7 years ago, and they're still impressing me! The experimentation is thanks to the motivation of Guadalupe Alberto Reyes (known as Beto to his friends), he's been the owner of the farm for 21 years now and in recent years he has really focussed on the farm and on continually striving to improve. He aims to take more care in every step they take - from picking, to processing, to shipping. Also in the agronomy of the farm, as Beto's son Saul has been studying agronomy at the local college for the past 7 years and using his knowledge to benefit practices on the farm. All the family have a part to play in the day-to-day running, including Beto's wife Maralyn, their children Saul, Elena, and Betio plus his wife Mafer, and Beto's brother Felix who runs their mill. In addition to the family, they employ a team of 7 outside of harvest that manages the weeding, mill upgrades and general farm work. The farm itself is 18 hectares in size and sits at an altitude between 1600 - 1800 metres above sea level. The farm mainly produces Caturra and Bourbon, with a smattering of Pacamara, San Ramon, and Pache alongside. It is located roughly an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, which Beto also happens to be Mayor of! He has helped to build and develop the town alongside running his farm - I honestly don't know how he finds enough hours in the day, what a guy! Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé (the National Association of Coffee in Guatemala), but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. Over time El Limon has become one of our favourite Hasrelationships, and back in 2013, they were the first producers that we ever bought from directly in Guatemala. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family operate their own wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. They are able to process many lots simultaneously and keep separate days' pickings, processes, and varietals in their own parcels. The wet mill also benefits the local community as neighbours within the region of Palencia also bring their coffees to the mill to be processed. They have had the mill on-site since the very beginning but it's very much an ongoing project and they recently invested in a rebuild, alongside the construction of a QC laboratory, a new warehouse, and accommodation for their staff. Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. You can tell that this is a farm on top of their game. Whenever I visit my questions are dispatched with exactly the right answer and every suggestion is listened to and taken on board. As well as being skilled professionals, Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visit the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! Every time I'm round they cook a dish called Kak'ik (basically translates to "red and spicy" from Mayan) - it's like a broth with a whole turkey leg in and it's BOSTIN! It is indeed very red, but it’s not terribly spicy, unless you want it to be, and it's arguably the national dish of Guatemala, with versions of it having been made since long before the Spaniards showed up. When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for something big, home-cooked, and not from a restaurant or roadside pop

Here at Hasbean we love to celebrate the awesome things that happen when strong relationships are built between roasters and producers, and Finca Licho is a shining example of that ethos. We first bought from this farm way back in 2007 when it was awarded 4th place in the Cup of Excellence. Fast forward 13 years (gosh I feel old now) and Licho has become a firm favourite with both customers and our little Hasbean team - the arrival of coffees from Finca Licho is greatly anticipated every year. I really feel that this coffee showcases our development as a roaster over the years as we've moved from buying via an importer to buying directly from the farm ourselves. 5 years ago I visited the farm and made a deal with the brothers for a European exclusive on these coffees, and this year we continue that. You'll not see these coffees anywhere else in Europe - they're so tasty we wanted them all for ourselves! I love the fact that I simply walked onto the farm after cupping a particular lot in the exporter's office, had a chat about how much money they wanted, and then we shook hands. We got back into the 4x4 and drove away with a very happy Steve!The farm is owned and run by Los Hermanos Aguilera - often translated as "The Aguilera Bros", but everyone is involved, not just the boys! The family of 12 brothers and sisters inherited the business from their parents who started their coffee growing career over 50 years ago. With the help of the third generation, the family work the farm with basically no hired labour except for during the harvest. They manage the mill and drying patios, fertilise, prune the coffee trees etc, all themselves, all year round. The Aguileras have a reputation for their deep understanding of quality at the farm and mill level, and this is why we are excited about working with them. Situated 1500 metres above sea level in the region of Naranjo, the farm is located in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, which is an area famous for it's excellent coffee production. The majority of the coffee grown at Finca Licho is the Villa Sarchi variety with a smidge of Caturra too (about 65% and 25% of production respectively) and the remainder is made up of a mixture of more unusual varieties, some of which we've been able to snag this year now that they're established enough to provide a crop.This coffee is honey processed, which is similar to the pulped natural method. The outer skin and fruit pulp is removed from the seed (bean) of the coffee inside, and it's left to dry. The main difference between this and a pulped natural is that there is less water used when the cherry is removed, so mucilage sticks to the surface of the bean. There are a spectrum of varying honey processes depending on how much of the fruity material is left intact - these range from white honey (least mucilage / closest to a washed coffee) to black honey (most mucilage / closest to a natural coffee). Lighter honeying methods tend to be used on coffee from higher altitudes, and darker honeying for lower altitudes. This is based on the producers' understanding of which crops will benefit most from the different attributes that honey processing brings to the cup, as the sugar content of the fruit alters fermentation and increases the perception of sweetness in the final coffee. This method can present some risks during processing but water is a precious commodity in this area of Naranjo, so this method suits the location very well. The beans end up clinging together whilst drying because of their sticky layer of mucilage (hence the name "honey" processing) so the coffee needs to be turned regularly to break apart these clusters of beans. Over-fermentation can happen at this stage and you can end up with undesirable flavours developing, but the Aguileras are well-versed in this method and are some of the most skilled in Costa Rica!  Want to know a little more about honey processing? Here's a video you might enjoy!

Ethiopia is widely considered to be the birthplace of coffee, and it's the only indigenous place in which coffee grows. Some of the plant stock can only be found in Ethiopia and has the ability to offer some of the most amazing and diverse cup profiles. With this diversity comes all manner of coffees from different ends of the spectrum (I have tasted many very ordinary lots that I would never stock) and it's why Africa remains a tough place for us to find consistent and amazing coffee – but I have also tasted some of the most special coffees ever from this region, and Africa has the ability to show the non-believers that coffee can taste of other things. Located in the the Kochere Region, near Yirgacheffe, is the Banko Gutiti Mill, where the combination of high altitude, fertile soil, consistent and plentiful rains, and an abundance of local knowledge all come together to produce, arguably, some of the most in-demand coffee in the world. Owned by Alemu Bukato, and in the ‘Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples’ (SNNP) region of Ethiopia, there are almost 650 smallholders who contribute to the coffee produced at this mill! These smallholders typically have a very small (hence the name!) patch of land, on which they grow their coffee, and they are able to bring their ripe coffee cherries to this wetmill for sorting, processing and selling. Once the cherries are delivered to the wetmill, they are carefully sorted and pulped, before being fermented for 36-48 hours, depending on the climate and humidity conditions. Once the cherries have been fermented, the coffee is thoroughly washed and graded by bean density before being dried in the sun on raised African beds for 12 - 15 days. During this drying period, there's a lot that goes in to making sure the coffee is dried evenly: In the daytime the coffee is raked and turned periodically to ensure a consistent drying process. The coffee is also covered between 12pm and 3pm to protect it from the hot sun, and at night time to protect it from rainfall and moisture. This requires a lot of careful attention and we think it really shows in the cup! Up front this is lemon cordial, refreshing but also sweet and juicy. There’s a hint of black tea on the finish and a delicate floral edge running through it all, but the citrus is the there again on the aftertaste as orange zest and reminds us this one is all about the fruit. Country: Ethiopia Region: Gutiti Kebele District: Kochere Mill location: Banko Gutiti Mill Manager: Alemu Bukato Varietal: Indigenous wild Processing: Washed Altitude: 1,900-2,100 m.a.s.l. Rainfall: 1800–2000 mm Soil: Fertile, red-brown, well drained CUPPING NOTES Lemon cordial, black tea, orange zest, floral. Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 7Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 7.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 88 Roast InformationMedium – Don't go too slow - you want to highlight the lovely zing of the lemon. Push it through first crack and drop it once you're in the gap.

The Junqueira family started growing coffee on the highlands of southern Minas Gerais 150 years ago. The current owner is Tulio Junquiera. He's from the fifth generation of the family, and he's combined tradition with innovation to make Carmo Estate a sustainable farm dedicated to the production of specialty coffees. Tulio is also a former president of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA). Carmo Estate’s mission is to produce exceptional coffees while providing its employees with a good quality of life and respecting the environment. The farm is located near the town of Heliodora in the southern state of Minas Gerais, which is a stunning region with mountainous terrain, mineral water springs, and ideal conditions to grow specialty coffees. Carmo Estate has 220 hectares (545 acres) of land dedicated to the coffee varieties Mundo Novo, Catuaí, Catucaí, Bourbon, Acaiá and Icatú. The owners’ personal attention, the agronomists’ specialist supervision, and the fertile soil contribute to an average yield of 40 bags per hectare. That's more than twice the national average. Coffees from Carmo Estate are grown at altitudes ranging from 950 to 1,200 metres above sea level (3,100 to 3,900 feet). The milling facilities at Carmo Estate were developed especially for the production of high-quality specialty Naturals and Pulped Naturals. The spacious drying patios are complemented by mechanical dryers, which are used when weather conditions are not favourable. The farm stores all of its coffee in wooden silos and has its own warehouse. Carmo Estate is committed to the wellbeing of its employees and partners. Healthcare, on-site schooling for children, programmes to encourage workers to build their own housing, adult education projects, and the importance of environmental preservation are all hallmarks of the farm. Carmo Estate also runs an innovative profit-sharing programme, in which employees are invited to become partners in Carmo Estate and thus become entitled to a share of the profits earned from the sale of its coffee. Each year this coffee brings us lovely, sweet caramel, and this year is no exception. Alongside that, you get a hit of digestive biscuit before it finishes on pecan nuts. There's just a nod to dark chocolate too, adding depth to it all. Country: Brazil Region: Minas Gerais City: Heliodora Farm: Carmo Estate Altitude: 950–1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing: Pulped Natural Producer: Túlio Henrique Rennó Junqueira CUPPING NOTES Caramel, digestive biscuit, pecan, dark chocolate Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium-dark - keep the pace up pushing it through first crack, then let it slow itself down in the gap to develop those fantastic caramels, and drop it just before second gets going.

Fazenda Inglaterra is a farm we've been buying from for over ten years, and it's one that I am very proud to be working with and linked with. The owner is my very good friend, Stephen Hurst. To tell the story of Inglaterra, I'll hand this over to Stephen of the Hurst variety to tell you how he came to own 'Inglaterra': “Maybe it had always been an idea in the back of my mind – so a couple of years ago when some friends in Brazil mentioned that a small coffee farm was for sale, I had a look. The farm's name (Fazenda Toca Da Onca) means 'hiding place of a small wildcat'. The locals now call the farm 'Inglaterra'. The previous owners had abandoned Toca Da Onca/Inglaterra. So we had to start again, almost from scratch. Some surviving coffee trees were pruned right back and the coffee that you are now drinking is that re-growth from the original old trees. The farm is located near the lovely spa town of Poços de Caldas in the coffee-growing heartlands of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The farm's elevation is 950–1300 metres, and it has rich soil. It's on the edge of an ancient caldera/super volcano, whose outline can be seen on satellite images. 50% of the farm is virgin Mata Atlantica forest and as long as I own it, it will stay that way. I am replanting some areas with the help of my local friends Gabriel and Cristiano, without whose assistance this project would never have started." This is a naturally processed Bourbon lot. To find out more about what this means, please make sure to have a look at our natural processing video and also our article on the Bourbon varietal. This screams dark chocolate to me – like a melted bar of Bournville. A walnut aftertaste creeps in as it cools, but this one is all about the dark chocolate. Country: Brazil Region: Minas Gerais City: Poços de Caldas Farm: Fazenda Inglaterra Owner: Stephen Hurst Farm size: 10 hectares Coffee growing area: 5 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing system: Natural CUPPING NOTES Dark chocolate, walnut Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 86 Roast InformationMedium-dark – push it through first and through the gap at a steady pace, looking to drop it just before second gets going.

Coffee production in Bolivia was traditionally concentrated in the region of Los Yungas, where lush sub-tropical vegetation and environmental conditions helped to produce the amazing-quality Bolivian coffee that we all know and love. Caranavi is located north of the department of La Paz city. It's 150 kilometres from the capital, and it is the centre of Bolivian coffee production. Its fertile soils and altitude give Bolivia the potential to produce brilliant and unique coffees. Due to the many complications and challenges within the Bolivian coffee industry, many of the smaller farms we have worked with in the past are no longer producing coffee. Whilst this has created some challenges for us, it has had a much more significant impact on our exporting partners AgriCafe, who have been working with these growers for many years. As a result, they have decided to begin farming themselves, in an effort to demonstrate what can be achieved with the application of more modern techniques and a scientific farming approach. Agricafe manages seven farms, of which La Linda was the first to bear fruit a few years ago. La Linda is known as The Seed Garden for the other farms in the Buena Vista project. Alongside this Caturra lot, the farm is producing Longberry, Catuai and Typica lots; it's also producing Java, SL28 and Bourbon, which are all relatively new plantings in Bolivia. It's a Cadbury's Whole Nut, with some macadamia nuts mixed in. This is a great example of just how good a simple coffee can be - the smooth texture, chocolate sweetness and nutty finish is just an incredibly chuggable brewed coffee and a fantastic classic style espresso. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Province: Caranavi Colony: Bolinda Farm: La Linda Altitude: 1,400 - 1,450 m.a.s.l. Processing Method: Washed Varietal: Caturra CUPPING NOTES Cadbury's Whole Nut, macadamia nut Clean Cup: (1-8): 6Sweetness: (1-8): 7Acidity: (1-8): 6Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5Flavour: (1-8): 7Aftertaste: (1-8): 6Balance: (1-8): 7Overall: (1-8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - keep it steady and aim for the first pops of second on the drop.

Another one from our very good friends indeed, the Mierisch family! Encanto was actually one of the very first farms the family owned, although originally not for coffee, but cattle. It's still largely a cattle farm to this day, and alongside those cattle come horses too! On my last visit to Nicaragua earlier this year, instead of walking around the farm, we rode on horses like real cowboys (except for me, I had a mule as I’m no cowboy!). The farm is large, and the land is diversified, which means it produces amazing coffee. Like all the family's farms, everything at El Encanto is really centered around the people who work there, providing great resources such as pre-school facilities, housing, a small shop, water and electricity, and healthcare. Because of its previous life exclusively as a cattle farm, there's plenty of shade on the farm, which is super beneficial for the coffee plants' growth. By shading the coffee from direct sunlight as it grows, the plants are able to develop at a slower rate. This allows the natural sugars in the coffee cherry to mature and gives the coffee itself a sweeter flavour which you can definitely taste in the cup in this coffee!  There's a rush of dark chocolate at the beginning but it's underpinned by a sweetness of digestive biscuit. On the finish is a little delicate red grape and then in the aftertaste comes walnuts. Country: Nicaragua Municipality: Matagalpa Region: San Ramon Farm name: El Encanto Producers: The Mierisch Family Altitude: 900 masl Varietal: Caturra Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Dark chocolate, digestive biscuit, red grape, walnut Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 86 Roast InformationMedium-dark - through first and give it some time to develop, dropping it just with the very first pops of second in the cooling tray.

Fazenda Inglaterra is a farm we've been buying from for over a decade, and it's one that I am very proud to be working with and linked with. The owner is my very good friend, Stephen Hurst. Each year, Stephen (can I just call him Hursty from now on?!) picks a lot from his farm to enter into the Cup of Excellence competition. Unusually, there are separate competitions for Pulped Natural and Natural processed coffees in Brazil. Hursty competed with a Natural this year. Unfortunately for him, this lot was a hair’s breadth short of making it through. That works out well for us because it’s a really delicious coffee that we can now enjoy! To tell the story of Inglaterra, I'll hand this over to Hursty to tell you how he came to own 'Inglaterra': “Maybe it had always been an idea in the back of my mind – so a couple of years ago when some friends in Brazil mentioned that a small coffee farm was for sale, I had a look. The farm's name (Fazenda Toca Da Onca) means 'hiding place of a small wildcat'. The locals now call the farm 'Inglaterra'. The previous owners had abandoned Toca Da Onca/Inglaterra. So we had to start again, almost from scratch. Some surviving coffee trees were pruned right back and the coffee that you are now drinking is that re-growth from the original old trees. For the coffee people, the varietals are Icatu, Acaia and Catucai. In future I expect coffee cherry varietals to become as well known as wine grape varietals, and to a much wider audience. The farm is located near the lovely spa town of Poços De Caldas in the coffee-growing heartlands of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The farm's elevation is 950–1300 metres, and it has rich soil. It's on the edge of an ancient caldera/super volcano, whose outline can be seen on satellite images. 50% of the farm is virgin Mata Atlantica forest and as long as I own it, it will stay that way. I am replanting some areas with the help of my local friends Gabriel and Cristiano, without whose assistance this project would never have started." This is everything I love about Brazilian coffees - there's loads of chocolate and caramel sweetness with a thick, creamy body which makes me think I left my choc-ice in the sun. There's almond and hazelnut in there too and on the aftertaste a juicy sultana. Country: Brazil Region: Minas Gerais City: Poços de Caldas Farm: Fazenda Inglaterra Owner: Stephen Hurst Farm size: 10 hectares Coffee growing area: 5 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing method: Natural CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, caramel, almond, hazelnut, sultana Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roast InformationMedium-dark - through first crack and keep it going steadily towards second, but finishing the roast with no more than the very first pops of second in the cooling tray.

Sulawesi was formerly known as Celebes. Along with the rest of Indonesia, it was under Dutch control from the early 1600s until World War II. Coffee production in Indonesia was introduced and dictated by the Dutch East India Company. The first Typica plants arrived in 1750, as they had begun to be spread around the other islands of Java and Sumatra. The most famous coffees from Indonesia are those from the island of Sumatra, and they're processed as wet hulled coffees. This lends them their characteristic earthy, savoury, and sometimes almost meaty flavours. Sulawesi, on the other hand, primarily produces washed coffees for export, and our partners there at TOARCO (a Japanese-Indonesian joint mill and export venture) are experts at producing clean, sweet, and fruity coffees that we really enjoy. TOARCO owns the Pedamaran Plantation at 900–1,250 metres above sea level. It also purchases wet parchment (at 40% moisture) coffees from small producers at collection points in Perangian, Pango Pango, Minanga, and Perindingan. Once collected, the coffee is trucked to Pedamaran Plantation immediately after purchase. When it gets there it's dried using mechanical Yamamoto vertical dryers and Pinalhalense guardiolas, or horizontal dryers like those often found throughout Colombia. The mechanical dryers assist in maintaining uniform drying, and this helps the processing go more efficiently and cleanly. The drying typically takes 72 hours. If a producer wants to sell their parchment coffee to TOARCO, they need to get certified to the quality standards in selective picking, storage, transportation, moisture levels, and so on. Farmers are issued ID cards that allow them to sell their coffee at various purchasing points in the Tana Toraja region during the market week. TOARCO is focused on providing education and support to its producer partners. Currently, the company offers once-yearly classes for producers to receive their ID cards, but they hope to expand their educational opportunities to twice yearly and include things such as cherry selection, planting and picking techniques, and fermentation. They also hold a party at the end of the harvest cycle to celebrate, giving out awards to producers. The rewards include things such as depulpers and other necessary tools. Between 150 and 200 producers attend the party every year. Most of the coffee produced in Toraja is of the S795 varietal (the S stands for 'section'). It is thought to be the cross of S288 (a natural hybrid of Liberica and Arabica) and an old Kent varietal (a Typica variety that has been adapted to growing conditions in India). S795 is the most commonly-planted Arabica coffee in India and southeast Asia, and it was one of the first coffee leaf rust-resistant varieties to be discovered. It is also commonly known as 'Jember' thanks to the Jember Indonesian Coffee and Cacao Research Institute (ICCRI), whose staff first introduced it to the coffee farmers of Indonesia. This coffee is big and bold. There are bags of dark treacle with a delicate zing of dried cranberries and goji berries, and then it finishes with dark chocolate. Country: Indonesia Island: Sulawesi Region: Toraja Altitude: 1,400–1,600 m.a.s.l. Producers: Various smallholder farmers of Perangian, Pango Pango, Minanga, and Perindingan Processing method: Washed Drying method: Yamamoto vertical dryers, and Pinhalense guardiola Drying time: 72 hours Varietal: S795 Grade: A CUPPING NOTES Treacle, dried cranberries, goji berries, dark chocolate Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 86.5 Roast InformationMedium-dark to dark – we prefer this pushed steadily to the edge of second to let all the flavours shine, but it'll take a slightly slower and darker roast if you want to reduce the acidity and focus on the heavy body.

DETAILS The Sharo washing station belongs to Israel Degfa, who also brings us the wonderful Ana Sora coffee each year. Sharo is located near to the town of Bule Hora, which is in the Sidamo region and a bit south of Yirgacheffe town. Sharo is a washing station that collects coffee cherries from local smallholders and processes them. As you'll have seen if you've had the Ana Sora coffee for the last few years, Israel is very focused on continually improving. He's constantly improving the setup at the washing stations, and he keeps pushing to improve consistency and attention to detail in all the coffee production. That's especially difficult when you're buying the coffee cherries from many local farming families, but lots of work has gone into supporting local growers and helping them do a better job – and helping them earn more by doing so. This coffee really jumped out at us as we tasted some of Israel's coffees. Very different to our beloved Ana Sora, this was heavier in body and darker in flavours, but it's a really interesting and different coffee that showed another side of what Natural processing can bring. The big shock came when we looked at the information and discovered it was a Grade 2! What does that mean? Good question! All coffee sold in Ethiopia gets graded by the Ethiopian Coffee Exchange (ECX). The visual quality of the green beans – any defects or damage – is assessed, and the coffee is cupped to see how it tastes. Between these factors, a coffee is given a grade from 1 (the best) to 5 (the worst), with grades 1 and 2 being considered Speciality coffee. So in theory, this coffee isn't quite as good as the Ana Sora (Grade 1), nor in fact as good as most of the other coffees we see from Ethiopia. Of course, we wouldn't have bought this coffee if we agreed with that. Whilst we don't rate it quite as highly as our lots from Ana Sora, it's still a great coffee and far better than many Grade 1 lots we've looked at in the past. There's loads of rich dark chocolate here, but it's got a boozy hit of cherry brandy in there too. It's all got a thick, gloopy texture, but juicy cherry takes centre stage on the aftertaste and draws you back in for another sip of the chocolate. Country: Ethiopia Region: Sidamo Nearest town: Bule Hora Owner: Israel Degfa Washing station: Sharo Varietals: Indigenous wild Processing: Natural CUPPING NOTES Dark chocolate, cherry, brandy Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium – push this into the gap with a nice and steady pace, and then finish the roast before second gets going.

I've been telling the story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo for many, many years now. I don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for me. 😊 So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. I'm really proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. I loved it from the very first time I cupped it, and it was a coffee I just had to get. It was only after the auction closed that I discovered it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of mine, and indeed probably the only people I knew from the whole country! The following year I visited the farm with our importers, and I spent the whole trip begging them to bring the coffee into the UK for us. Eventually, thanks to my supreme Steve pester power, they caved in (probably just to stop the flow of emails and phone calls!) and kindly did so. This setup worked well for a time, but we received notice a couple of years ago that the importers were not going to be buying the coffee again (and for reasons other than the cup quality). This led to some frantic phone calls and a thorough search down the back of the sofa for loose change to fund buying twelve months’ worth of coffee all at once. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else, and this is a relationship I’m super happy to have. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that I'm so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in Matagalpa and, at 171 hectares in size, it. is. huge! Situated at an amazing location, it boasts nine waterfalls within the farm and is owned by the Mierisch family; as I have already said, they’re good friends, and also well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They’re known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The fact that the family are friends helps us drill down into the details of what they do for the people who work for them. The information continues to prove to me that good people grow good coffee. Every year this manages to deliver the same cup, which always reminds me of a toffee apple. This year is no exception: it has sweet toffee on the front and a balanced acidity of green apple following up. There's a little milk chocolate mixed in there too this year, but it keeps that fantastic balance that makes this so moreish. Country: Nicaragua Municipality: Yasica Norte Region: Matagalpa Farm name: Limoncillo Producers: the Mierisch family Farm size: 171 manzanas (hectares) Coffee growing area: 109 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Caturra Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Toffee, green apple, milk chocolate Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium-dark – through first crack, slow it down a little in the gap and drop it just with the first pops of second; no more.

I first discovered El Limon on my trip to Guatemala in early 2013. At the time we'd never bought coffee directly from Guatemala, but since then this has become one of our strongest and most amazing Hasrelationships. My friend Raul (whom you may remember as the World Barista Champion of 2012!) in Guatemala had been buying coffee from these guys for a couple of years, and he was very keen for me to go and meet them. Located around an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, this farm sits at an altitude between 1,600 and 1,800 metres above sea level. It's owned by Guadalupe Alberto Reyes, who's also just known as Beto. He used to be the Mayor of Palencia, and he helped to build and develop the town. Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé, but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. One of the main reasons I love El Limon is Beto's desire to experiment; the farm mostly produces Bourbon and Caturra, but he also plays around with a few other varietals. The experimentation is thanks to Beto's motivation; he has really focused on the farm over the last few years. He wanted to take more care in every step they take – from picking to processing, to shipping – and also take more care in the agronomy of the farm. This is very much a family affair: his wife and son also work on the farm, along with Beto's siblings. In fact, his son is studying agronomy at the local college for the benefit of the farm. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family has built a new wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. Previously the mill could process only one lot; now the farmers are able to process many lots, and keep separate days' pickings and varietals in their own parcels.  With this wet mill came another opportunity, which was for neighbours and people within the region of Palencia to bring their coffees to the mill where they could get them processed. It's another sign that this is a hot spot for Guatemalan coffee. As time moves on, Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. He showed me lots of new planting during my recent visit, and a lot of building work around the wet mill. He is also building a QC lab and new accommodation for people working on the farm. It was a real hive of activity. Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visited the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for something big, home-cooked, and not from a restaurant or roadside pop-up cafe. Traditional Guatemalan meals are just the ticket, and I always look forward to the food – but mainly I look forward to the company. Here’s a slice of apple pie for you! Alongside stewed apples and sweet pastry is a hint of lemon zest. Then a dollop of brandy butter kicks in, with a creamy texture and that hit of booze. Country: Guatemala Region: Palencia Farm: El Limon Producer: Guadalupe Alberto 'Beto' Reyes Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Caturra Processing method: Natural CUPPING NOTES Apple pie, brandy butter, lemon zest Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - like other naturals, this will go quickly once you're in crack. Very similar to other lots from the farm, this needs a bit of development and a bit of hea

A few years back we had a lot that was produced by various smallholder farmers from the small town of Copacabana, which lies about 180 kilometres from La Paz in the heart of the Caranavi coffee-producing region. Then in 2016 things changed a little, and the lot came from just one producer in the area. His name is Vincent Paye. That year I described him as a beacon of hope in a tough growing region, and that beacon has continued to shine brightly. Caranavi is a lush and fertile region. It has steep slopes and valleys that provide excellent conditions for growing high quality coffee, and they also support a diverse range of native flora and fauna. The area has rich volcanic soils and regular rainfall. Coffee growing heaven! The colony of Copacabana has a collection of small farms that are each around five hectares in size (although Vincent has ten hectares). The farms range over an altitude of 1,300 to 1,700 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.), and they benefit from an average annual temperature between 15 and 26°C. This lot comes from Vincent's farm, which is very similar to neighbouring farms and is at an altitude of around 1,550 m.a.s.l. These traditional farms use no chemicals or pesticides and are certified organic, although we do not currently hold an organic certification ourselves. The main harvest runs from May to September, peaking around July and August. The cherries are handpicked when they're fully ripe, and they're then delivered to the central mill, called Buena Vista, where they are fully washed. Bolivia is a challenge and is going through some tough times: dwindling crops, ageing plants, lack of varietal diversity, and ageing producers with children who have little to no interest in carrying on the family business. But then there are people like Vincent who are doing wonderful work to buck that trend. He's been planting new stock, working hard with his family, and increasing his yield – and also increasing the quality of his coffee. Imagine a fresh segment of orange, with chocolate drizzled all over it. Behind that, there's a sweetness which reminds me of dark honey, then on the aftertaste a delicate dried apricot. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Municipality: Caranavi Town: Copacabana Farm: Vincent Paye Altitude: 1,550 m.a.s.l. Producer: Vincent Paye Varietal: Red and Yellow Caturra Processing: Washed CUPPING NOTES Orange, chocolate, dark honey, dried apricot Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Roast InformationMedium to medium-dark - Through first at a nice steady pace, then push it towards second but drop with no more than the very first pops as it cools.

In 1998 Fabián Lomas worked in Quito for a company that bought and sold coffee. During his time working for this company he was able to learn a lot about coffee, and about coffee production and processing methods. Fast forward ten years to 2008: Fabián decided to take a big risk and rent a piece of land to produce his own coffee. He had the eventual goal of making enough money to buy his own land. From the very beginning Fabián was familiar with speciality coffee, and he wanted to start his farm off on the right foot. He took lots of care in the processes carried out on the farm to produce great tasting coffee. Fabián is currently trying to involve his two children, Willy and Lizeth, in the farm's operating procedures. Every time someone visits, Fabián encourages his children to show the guests around; he wants them to take over running the business one day. Willy graduated from high school in 2016. Since then he has been working with his father, learning more about coffee production, and taking care of the agricultural management of the coffee trees. For instance, Willy and Fabián are in charge of weed management, fertilization, and harvesting. Lizeth not only takes care of the drying and hand-sorting of the coffee, but she also owns a garden centre. Fabián's family have passed through hard economic moments in their lives, which has led to lack of fertilization. That in turn resulted in diseases affecting the harvest. However, now with the help of our exporting partners Caravela, they have been able to improve their economic situation and build a drying station, and their next plan is to finally buy the land to have their own farm. What jumps out first is brown sugar - think dark, heavy demerara. Alongside that is a creamy body with a grating of lime zest and a delicate mango too. Country: Ecuador Parroquia: Pichincha Cantón: Nanagal Farm: Perla Chiquita Producer: Luis Fabián Lomas Altitude: 1,300 m.a.s.l. Total farm size: 5 hectares Coffee producing area: 1.5 hectares Varietal: Bourbon Processing method: Fully washed and fermented without water Fermentation time: 14 hours Drying method: Covered patios Drying time: 7–15 days CUPPING NOTES Demerara sugar, mango, lime zest Clean Cup: (1-8): 6Sweetness: (1-8): 7Acidity: (1-8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1-8): 7Flavour: (1-8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1-8): 6Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium to medium-dark - through first and give it some development. Pushing it up to the first pops of second and the brown sugar will shine, or keep it in the gap to highlight the fruit notes.

We've been buying from Fazenda Inglaterra for over ten years, and it's a farm that I am very proud to be working with and linked with, as well as the owner (and my very good friend) Stephen Hurst. To tell the story of Inglaterra, I'll hand this over to Stephen of the Hurst variety to tell you how he came to own 'Inglaterra': “Maybe it had always been an idea in the back of my mind – so a couple of years ago when some friends in Brazil mentioned that a small coffee farm was for sale, I had a look. The farm's name (Fazenda Toca Da Onca) means 'hiding place of a small wildcat'. The locals now call the farm 'Inglaterra'. The previous owners had abandoned Toca Da Onca/Inglaterra. So we had to start again, almost from scratch. Some surviving coffee trees were pruned right back and the coffee that you are now drinking is that re-growth from the original old trees. For the coffee people, the varietals are Icatu, Acaia and Catucai. In future I expect coffee cherry varietals to become as well known as wine grape varietals, and to a much wider audience. The farm is located near the lovely spa town of Poços De Caldas in the coffee-growing heartlands of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The farm's elevation is 950–1300 metres, and it has rich soil. It's on the edge of an ancient caldera/super volcano, whose outline can be seen on satellite images. 50% of the farm is virgin Mata Atlantica forest and as long as I own it, it will stay that way. I am replanting some areas with the help of my local friends Gabriel and Cristiano, without whose assistance this project would never have started." Back to Stephen of the Leighton variety! After Stephen bought the farm there was one varietal he decided to add to the plant stock that wasn't already there, and that varietal was Canario. It's one of those varietals you would never plant if you had to survive on coffee for your living – pests love it, its yield is really low and the slightest change in temperature will result in frost burn; a point proved a few years back when a cold snap experienced in Poços de Caldas left over 25% of this crop damaged. So why grow it then? Well, it produces some of the most delicious coffee you can imagine. Also, it's something that Stephen had always wanted to ask producers to try but was too afraid to ask, so he just went ahead and did it himself! Jump right into this when it's very hot and it's all dark chocolate, but as it begins to cool a little you'll get that shifting towards milk chocolate. It's joined by a hit of pecan nuts too and just a maple sweetness too. There's a hint of fruit too - think dried apricot pieces - for a very well balanced and more-ish coffee. Country: Brazil Region: Minas Gerais City: Poços de Caldas Farm: Fazenda Inglaterra Owner: Stephen Hurst Farm size: 10 hectares Coffee growing area: 5 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Canario  Processing system: Natural CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, pecan, maple, dried apricot. Clean Cup: (1-8): 6 Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5 Acidity: (1-8): 6 Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5 Flavour: (1-8): 7 Aftertaste: (1-8): 6 Balance: (1-8): 7 Overall: (1-8): 6.5 Correction:(+36): +36   Total (max 100): 87.5   Roast Information Medium Dark - through first and give it a little time in the gap to develop, dropping it and looking for the very first pops of second as it cools.

The name of this coffee producer may sound a little familiar: Bebeto ('Beto' for short) is the son of the legend that is Teodocio Mamani. Teodocio owns Finca Canton Uyunense, which is a farm we have worked with since 2012. His farm is located in 18 de Mayo, which is a municipality of Caranavi (and part of canton Uyunense). Lots of farms can be called a variation on these names because the land traditionally tends not to have a name. This year is the fifth year that Bebeto has grown coffee under his own guardianship, and it's the fourth year that he has processed it himself too. Just like previous years, and as you'd expect from a Mamani, the results are delicious. Bebeto used a depulper to remove the cherry, then left the coffee to go through a dry fermentation process for 16–18 hours, and then ran it through the scrubber section of the pulper to remove the final remains of the mucilage. Bebeto then transferred the coffee to raised African beds, where it dried in around 7–9 days. The picking method Bebeto uses is called 'Ayne'. It's the same method his dad uses on Canton Uyunense. This method involves selective picking (not stripping the tree, like their neighbours do), and it demands much more labour and incurs much higher costs. But because of this method, Bebeto gets more coffee he can sell as specialty, and the cup profile is improving year after year. This coffee starts with chocolate, with just a hint of red apple peel mixed in. That sweetness keeps going, but shifts towards soft brown sugar on the finish. The delicate fruit hints also shift at the end, leaving an unusual aftertaste which reminds me of lychees, but pulls you back for more of that chocolate. Country: Bolivia Department: La Paz Region: Yungas Province: Caranavi Municipality: 18 de Mayo Producer: Bebeto Mamani Varietals: Caturra Altitude: 1,600–1,750 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Washed Fermentation: 16–18 hours Drying method: Raised beds Other crops grown: citrus, papaya, banana, wild forest CUPPING NOTES Chocolate, red apple peel, brown sugar, lychee. Clean Cup: (1-8): 6.5 Sweetness: (1-8): 7 Acidity: (1-8): 6 Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6 Flavour: (1-8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1-8): 7 Balance: (1-8): 6 Overall: (1-8): 6 Correction:(+36): +36   Total (max 100): 87     Roast Information Medium Dark - through first crack, slow it down a little but keep pushing it towards second crack. Don't let second crack get going - you're looking for the very first pops of it as the roast finishes, no more.

An In My Mug exclusive coffee sent only to subscribers on Friday the 20th of March, 2020. Juan Jose Ernesto Menéndez Argüello belongs to the fourth generation of coffee farmers in his family. His father died in 1995, and after completing his studies at university he had the opportunity to start working in the coffee industry at J. Hill & Cia in 2000. After five years he left J. Hill & Cia to begin his second experience at JASAL. Both companies gave him the opportunity to meet “Grano de Oro” from another perspective, allowing him to learn the art and passion of cupping. He says those are very important in his life, and that they give him the opportunity to apply his coffee knowledge and experience gained through the years. During his time in the coffee world, Neto has participated in various events like the Cup of Excellence (National Jury from 2003 to 2011), Q Auction, Q Grader, and the Star Cupper program organised by SCAA and CQI. You can normally only taste coffee from this farm when it's roasted by Drop Coffee in Stockholm as it's an exclusive farm to them, however, as a special 1 off we reached out to Joanna and she very kindly agreed to share some Los Andes with us just for all you lovely In My Mug subscribers. A super elegant and complex cup, this one makes me think of cloudy lemonade - there's even an effervescent acidity to it. It's got a creamy body where the lemon shifts into clementine, with a slight floral hint. On the finish, I get soft marzipan. This is a great example of what you can get from SL28 plants combined with the best Salvadorean soil. Country: El Salvador Department: Sonsonate Nearest City: Santa Ana Farm: Finca Los Andes Producer: Ernesto Menéndez Altitude: 1,720 m.a.s.l. Variety: SL28 Processing System: Washed CUPPING NOTES Cloudy lemonade, clementine, floral, marzipan Clean Cup: (1-8): 7Sweetness: (1-8): 7Acidity: (1-8): 7Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5Flavour: (1-8): 7Aftertaste: (1-8): 6.5Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 7Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max 100): 90.5 Roasting InformationMedium - not too far! Keep this medium - through first at a steady pace and push it into the gap, dropping before you reach second.

Licho's is a coffee that I feel shows our development as a roaster over the years. We first bought this coffee in the Cup of Excellence program (a great way to meet a grower). Back then we bought it from an import broker; they helped us bring this coffee in because we were a small buyer. Now we buy directly from the farm! Four years ago I went out to the farm and did the deal then and there with the brothers. I love the fact that I simply walked onto the farm after cupping a particular lot in the exporter's office, asked how much they wanted, and there was a short conference. They came back and told me how much they wanted, and we shook hands. Then we got back into the 4x4 and drove away. That year we agreed to a European-exclusive deal with them for this coffee, and this year we continue the close work we have been doing with them. Grown by the Aguilera family in the province of Naranjo, in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, this coffee is cultivated at an altitude of 1,500 metres above sea level. Most of their coffee is either Villa Sarchi or Bourbon, but in recent years we've started to see other varietals from the farm. The brothers work the mill and farms themselves. They have basically no hired labour, except for pickers during the harvest. With the help of the third generation, they work the mill and drying patios, prune the coffee fields, fertilise, and so on; and they do it all year round. The Aguilera brothers understand quality at the farm and mill level, and this is why we are excited about working with them. Most of the siblings own farmland as well as co-managing the micro mill they installed eight years ago, which they built with the earnings from their fourth-place Cup of Excellence win in 2007. That's the year I first found the farm! This coffee is yellow honey processed, which is just like the Pulped Natural method. The fruit is removed from the seed of the coffee bush and left to dry. The main difference is that there is no water involved when the cherry is removed, so mucilage sticks to the bean. This can be dangerous, but it's necessary in these parts of Costa Rica where water is limited: water is a precious commodity in this area of Naranjo, so this method suits the location very well. The coffee ends up clustering whilst drying because there is so much mucilage. So the coffee either needs to be turned regularly to stop this happening, or it has to be broken up. Over-fermentation can happen at this stage and you can end up with a not-so-good cup, but the Aguilera brothers are well-versed in this method and are some of the most skilled in Costa Rica. Want to know a little more about Honey processing? Here's a video you might enjoy! Geisha is a varietal that has attracted lots of attention among coffee buyers and farmers, with some super high prices being paid for tiny lots. The name comes from the Gesha village in Ethiopia, where it’s said to have come from. I say 'said to' because it’s believed that coffee stock from this region made its way to Costa Rica (and then on to Panama) in the 1950s, but didn’t find much favour in its new home. As with other experimental varietals that didn’t do particularly well, the plants were largely ignored or forgotten. Some grew wild or mixed into difficult-to-reach corners of farms. That means it’s difficult to be sure how close what we now call 'Geisha' is to those seeds from Ethiopia many years ago. Regardless, Geisha’s reputation suddenly hit the big time around 2004 as it attracted praise (and high prices) in the Taste of Panama competition, and it became a must-try for all you coffee geeks out there. There has been talk of the name – Geisha vs Gesha – and we like to listen to the people that grew the coffee. It says 'Geisha' on our bags from the farm, so we're going with 'Geisha'. It’s a spindly plant that needs quite a lot of space and care, but the distinctive floral flavours it delivers have seen it being planted more and m

Raul Pérez has grown up around coffee. He comes from a fifth-generation coffee farming family on his father's side, and a third-generation family on his mother's side. Coffee has always been part of his life. He has told me about the stories his grandparents shared with him about their experiences. But I think it's fair to say that Raul has made plenty of his own coffee stories in his ten years of involvement in the specialty coffee industry. It was ten years ago when Raul first became involved in the family business. After living in Guatemala City in his youth (so he was able to go to a good school and university), he returned to the farm where his family had still been working and commuting. This coincided with a visit from an international buyer who made the family view coffee production in a different way. The speciality market was blossoming and the visitor gave them new ideas for varietals, picking, and processing that changed the direction of their farm and their cup quality. As Raul puts it, they began to work in a 'more interactive way'. Finca La Soledad has been a Pérez family coffee farm since 1895. The farm is located in Acatenango, near to the Acatenango volcano. It has a great microclimate, and it's at an altitude of 1,650 metres above sea level. The Pérez family invested heavily in their mill, rebuilding it with the environment in mind. They have a clever system with which they are able to recycle the water they use for processing many times. The first time I met Raul was at a friend's wedding in Guatemala. I didn't know him (like most of the other guests), but we got talking and I enjoyed his company. At no time did he try to push his coffee on me, and I think only in passing did he say his family worked in coffee. Raul was so kind that he offered to take us back to our hotel that evening to save us having to get in a dodgy cab in Guatemala City. I have an exporting partner in Guatemala who sent me an amazing sample, which I decided there and then we had to buy. It was only after I committed to buying the coffee that I found out it was from Raul's farm. Since then I've been lucky enough to visit the farm and meet the whole family. A fond memory that will stay with me is sitting on the unused drying patio with them all, enjoying a beer and watching the sun go down. They are a professional team and a lovely, warm family. You want to know something else cool about La Soledad? They have an Instagram page! And they're really active on there too, so go have a look at what they're up to: https://www.instagram.com/fincalasoledad Our coffees from La Soledad are washed coffees. This means they are soaked in water to remove the fruit from the beans. This fermentation process plays a key part in developing the flavours that make a great coffee into something special. It’s a super interesting (and complex!) part of the bean's journey from the plant to us, and one which clever producers like the Pérez family are really starting to explore and experiment with. This lot has been fermented for 67 hours. The typical time for a dry fermentation would be 35–40 hours at 20°C to 26°C, so this has had about 30 hours longer than a typical dry fermentation on the farm. If a lot ferments for too long, it usually develops unpleasant flavours. This one hasn't, though; it’s super tasty! This is possible because the team at La Soledad have got a clever trick to control the temperature. By running copper pipes around the tank and pumping cold water through those pipes, they can cool the fermenting beans down. This slows down the rate of fermentation, but it also changes the kind of flavour compounds the yeast and bacteria produce, allowing the fermentation to progress further without developing unpleasant flavours. That’s all a bit clever, but what matters is how it tastes, right? Well, it really delivers on the sweet and clean flavours from that long, slow fermentation. When I think of La Soledad, I think of a very refined coffe

Las Alasitas is the biggest farm of Fincas Buena Vista in Caranavi where, every year, a festival is held in honour of Ekeko (iqiqu), the god of abundance. It has everything in miniature – but in abundance, just like him! 'Buy me!' said Alasitas. And well, we did! It's all in the name... Las Alasitas (which literally translates to 'buy me' in Aymaran) is owned by the Rodriguez family, who have been doing some awesome things for coffee in Bolivia. They own their own mills, processing and exporting coffee for farmers in the Caranavi and Sud Yungas region. The family has been sourcing coffee from small coffee producers for three decades, but the steady decline of coffee production has put the sustainability of their export business in jeopardy. Without the intervention of people like the Rodriguez family, the future of coffee production in Bolivia is at risk of disappearing. Back in 2014, the Rodriguez family bought land in the Caranavi region to showcase their practices and educate other producers in sustainable farming, as well as increasing the overall volume at their mills. Caranavi is located just north of the department of La Paz city, 150 kilometres from the capital, and is the central hub of Bolivian coffee production. Its altitude and fertile soils make it perfect for producing brilliant and unique coffees. The Rodriguez family prepared the land they bought across 20.6 hectares, where they planted Red Caturra, Java and Geisha. They’ve also introduced a sustainable model for the producers who supply them at their mill. They built this on three mantras: economical sustainability, social understanding, and environmental awareness – the Sol de la Mañana program. The family decided that they could make a change and make things better. They have taken on the challenge of increasing the production of Bolivian coffee by planting their own new coffee plantations. They are currently also developing woodland on their farm to combat the ongoing issue of deforestation. What superstars! Las Alasitas is a 20.6-hectare farm that's located at 1,550 metres above sea level in the Bolinda colony of Caranavi, Bolivia. Of those 20 hectares, 16 are used to grow coffee. What a juicy coffee! It's smooth and silky in texture with a really upfront fruit sweetness, whilst the acidity is quite delicate. The fruit flavours shift as it cools, but I get sweet satsumas and a hint of passionfruit before swinging into peach on the aftertaste. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Municipality: Caranavi Colony: Bolinda Farm: Las Alasitas Altitude: 1,550 m.a.s.l. Farm size: 20.6 hectares Coffee growing area: 16 hectares Varietal: Caturra Processing method: Washed GPS: 15º46'43.07"S 67º32'53.06"O CUPPING NOTES Satsuma, passionfruit, peach Clean cup (1–8): 6.5Sweetness (1–8): 8Acidity (1–8): 6Mouthfeel (1–8): 6.5Flavour (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste (1–8): 6Balance (1–8): 6Overall (1–8): 6.5Correction (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - keep a nice steady pace and you're looking for the very first pops of second in the cooling tray, no more!

This farm and its coffee sparked a massive change in what I thought I knew about coffee. I remember the first time I ever cupped this coffee: time stood still as the cup opened my mind to what great coffee is and can be. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, the farmer, continues to produce great coffee year on year, and this coffee still holds a very special place in my heart. Gabriel is one of Brazil’s leading agronomists. His family owns several farms, all of which border one another. Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama is 417 hectares in size – that’s 4 square kilometres! That sounds huge, but it’s not uncommon for farms to be more than 1,000 hectares. Because of the mountainous terrain, however, only 64 hectares are planted with coffee, and it's all picked and maintained by hand. The mill is located close to the spa town of Poços de Caldas, which is 45 minutes away from the farm. Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890. It's located in São Paolo state, just three miles from the border with Minas Gerais state. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Mogiana and Sul de Minas regions, and it's located at an altitude of 1,100–1,250 metres above sea level. Their farm has a school, a club and a full-sized soccer field for the employees and workers, and 47 houses – all with modern facilities. The wastewater is treated in order to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm. The farm has a small hydroelectric plant, and the farmers only buy energy during the peak harvest.  As well as providing support to the workers, the family have also invested in the farm's coffee processing facilities. This has allowed them to produce one of the most consistent and delicious coffees. They grow mostly Yellow Bourbon, but also Canario and Mundo Novo. It's well-established plant stock, and some of the original Bourbon varietal trees are as much as 108 years old. They’ve also invested in trying new things, including planting some new varietals and trialling new fermentation experiments with the involvement of experts from the University of Lavras (UFLA) in Minas Gerais. The Carvalho Dias family consider social and environmental sustainability to be very important. The farm has a programme of planting native species of trees to maintain a better ecological balance.  This is a true classic for us. Once again this year it brings the milk chocolate and hazelnut that will be familiar to many of you! There's a little drizzle of caramel in there too, and a tiny shoulder of dried apricot on the finish. It's got a lovely texture that combines with the nuttiness to make me think of almond butter. Country: Brazil State: São Paulo Municipality: São Sebastião da Grama Farm: Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Owner: Lidolpho de Carvalho Dias and family Altitude: 1,100–1,250 m.a.s.l. Processing: Pulped Natural Varietal: Yellow Bourbon CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, hazelnut, caramel, dried apricot, almond butter Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 7Correction: (+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium-dark – plenty of development and take it through the gap, but don't take this coffee into second.

Due to a multiple hard disk drive failure, the original recording for this episode we sadly lost : ( however all was not lost! Steve and our friends at Tentacle Media worked over the weekend to record and edit a new recording and so without further ado, here we go! I first discovered El Limon on my trip to Guatemala in early 2013. At the time we'd never bought coffee directly from Guatemala, but since then this has become one of our strongest and most amazing Hasrelationships. My friend Raul (whom you may remember as the World Barista Champion of 2012!) in Guatemala had been buying coffee from these guys for a couple of years, and he was very keen for me to go and meet them. Located around an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, this farm sits at an altitude between 1,600 and 1,800 metres above sea level. It's owned by Guadalupe Alberto Reyes, who's also just known as Beto. He used to be the Mayor of Palencia, and he helped to build and develop the town. Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé, but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. One of the main reasons I love El Limon is Beto's desire to experiment; the farm mostly produces Bourbon and Caturra, but he also plays around with a few other varietals. The experimentation is thanks to Beto's motivation; he has really focused on the farm over the last few years. He wanted to take more care in every step they take – from picking to processing, to shipping – and also take more care in the agronomy of the farm. This is very much a family affair: his wife and son also work on the farm, along with Beto's siblings. In fact, his son is studying agronomy at the local college for the benefit of the farm. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family has built a new wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. Previously the mill could process only one lot; now the farmers are able to process many lots, and keep separate days' pickings and varietals in their own parcels.  With this wet mill came another opportunity, which was for neighbours and people within the region of Palencia to bring their coffees to the mill where they could get them processed. It's another sign that this is a hot spot for Guatemalan coffee. As time moves on, Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. He showed me lots of new planting during my recent visit, and a lot of building work around the wet mill. He is also building a QC lab and new accommodation for people working on the farm. It was a real hive of activity. Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visited the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for something big, home-cooked, and not from a restaurant or roadside pop-up cafe. Traditional Guatemalan meals are just the ticket, and I always look forward to the food – but mainly I look forward to the company. The Milky Bars are on me! Yep, it's a creamy, chocolatey cup that makes for great chugging coffee. There's a delicate acidity that reminds me of pear, and there's a little almond on the finish too.  Country: Guatemala Region: Palencia Farm: El Limon Farmer: Guadalupe Alberto 'Beto' Reyes Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: San Ramon Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Milky Bar, pear, almond Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1

Las Alasitas is the biggest farm of Fincas Buena Vista in Caranavi where, every year, a festival is held in honour of Ekeko (iqiqu), the god of abundance. It has everything in miniature – but in abundance, just like him! 'Buy me!' said Alasitas. And well, we did! It's all in the name... Las Alasitas (which literally translates to 'buy me' in Aymaran) is owned by the Rodriguez family, who have been doing some awesome things for coffee in Bolivia. They own their own mills, processing and exporting coffee for farmers in the Caranavi and Sud Yungas region. The family has been sourcing coffee from small coffee producers for three decades, but the steady decline of coffee production has put the sustainability of their export business in jeopardy. Without the intervention of people like the Rodriguez family, the future of coffee production in Bolivia is at risk of disappearing. Back in 2014, the Rodriguez family bought land in the Caranavi region to showcase their practices and educate other producers in sustainable farming, as well as increasing the overall volume at their mills. Caranavi is located just north of the department of La Paz city, 150 kilometres from the capital, and is the central hub of Bolivian coffee production. Its altitude and fertile soils make it perfect for producing brilliant and unique coffees. The Rodriguez family prepared the land they bought across 20.6 hectares, where they planted Red Caturra, Java and Geisha. They’ve also introduced a sustainable model for the producers who supply them at their mill. They built this on three mantras: economical sustainability, social understanding, and environmental awareness – the Sol de la Mañana program. The family decided that they could make a change and make things better. They have taken on the challenge of increasing the production of Bolivian coffee by planting their own new coffee plantations. They are currently also developing woodland on their farm to combat the ongoing issue of deforestation. What superstars! Las Alasitas is a 20.6-hectare farm that's located at 1,550 metres above sea level in the Bolinda colony of Caranavi, Bolivia. Of those 20 hectares, 16 are used to grow coffee. As far as we can tell, the Longberry varietal (also known as Java) is a Typica-type coffee because of its bean shape, as is the Geisha. Its physical appearance is a uniform seed that is elongated, and it has been described by several of our customers as an 'Ethiopian Long Berry type'. A true marriage of classic flavours, from the Longberry varietal you'll get a hit of lemon zest and florals, but the Bolivian land it's grown on gives it extra depth and sweetness and reminds me of golden sugar. It finishes with a return to its distant Ethiopian heritage with a clean black tea flavour. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Municipality: Caranavi Colony: Bolinda Farm: Las Alasitas Altitude: 1,550 m.a.s.l. Farm size: 20.6 hectares Coffee growing area: 16 hectares Varietal: Longberry (Java) Processing method: Washed GPS: 15º46'43.07"S 67º32'53.06"O CUPPING NOTES Lemon zest, floral, golden sugar, black tea Clean cup (1–8): 7Sweetness (1–8): 7Acidity (1–8): 7Mouthfeel (1–8): 6Flavour (1–8): 8Aftertaste (1–8): 6Balance (1–8): 6Overall (1–8): 7Correction (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 90 Brewing TipAs this berry is long it will benefit from a slightly finer grind than you would use for a more regularly sized bean. Not as much as you would change things up for something like a Pacamara, but a little tweak finer should set you up for deliciousness. Roasting InformationMedium - slow this down a little as you go through first and push it through the gap, but don't let it get close to second.

Juan Jose Ernesto 'Neto' Menéndez Argüello belongs to the fourth generation of coffee farmers in his family. His father died in 1995. After completing his studies at university, Neto had the opportunity to start working in the coffee industry at J. Hill & Cia, in 2000. He left J. Hill & Cia after five years and began his second coffee experience at JASAL. Both companies gave him the opportunity to meet 'Grano de Oro' from another perspective, allowing him to learn the art and passion of cupping. He says those are very important in his life, and that they give him the opportunity to apply his coffee knowledge and experience that he's gained through the years. During his time in the coffee world, he has participated in various events like the Cup of Excellence (National Jury from 2003 to 2011), Q Auction, Q Grader, and the Star Cupper program organised by SCAA and CQI. Las Brumas is located between 45 to 60 minutes from Santa Ana city. It has a cultivated area of 60 hectares' worth of coffee yield, all of which is at an altitude ranging from 1,450 to 1,700 m.a.s.l. It produces around 600 bags of coffee each year, and has an area of 35 hectares of virgin mountain at an altitude from 1,700 to 2,000 m.a.s.l. The farm is located in the Sonsonate department near the area known as San Blas. Las Brumas has very rich volcanic soil, deep and very fertile, which has been generated by different Ilamatepec and Izalco volcanic eruptions throughout its history. One of the most important elements is the microclimate. It's very misty at the farm for most of the year, and that's why Neto decided to name the farm Finca Las Brumas. This amazing micro climate is generated when the warm air from the Pacific ocean collides with the high peaks of the Volcanoes Park (which comprises of the Santa Ana, Cerro Verde and Izalco volcanoes). Due to its location between these three famous volcanoes in El Salvador, this unique microclimate reduces the amount of daylight that the coffee trees receive. This helps the coffee trees have a very slow photosynthesis, improving the maturation process, and this, in turn, improves some attributes that are closely related to maturity, like the aroma, sweetness, acidity and flavour.  Sultana and lemon both jump out from this cup, but with a drizzle of a dark caramel coming through and adding an extra complexity to the fruit sweetness. As it fades, there's a hit of dark chocolate which lingers into the aftertaste. Country: El Salvador Department: Sonsonate Nearest city: Santa Ana Farm: Finca Las Brumas Producer: Juan Jose Ernesto 'Neto' Menéndez Argüello Varietal: SL28 Processing system: Washed Altitude: 1,450–1,700 m.a.s.l. Type of soil: Sandy loam Average rainfall: 2,400mm Types of shade: Ingas, sunk, cipers and belloto Flora and fauna present: Mountain trees, wildflowers, deer, squirrels, armadillos, snakes CUPPING NOTES Sultana, lemon, dark caramel, dark chocolate Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 6Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 7Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - get this through the gap between cracks and slow it down a little, you're looking to catch the very early edge of 2nd as the roast drops out of the roaster.

We first came across Balmaadi Estate in India many years ago and loved the coffees. You did too, so it was really disappointing when we weren’t able to get hold of them any more. Fast forward 9 years and we’ve been able to get it here again! It wasn’t an easy process, but it’s been a huge pleasure to see an old favourite return. More than that though, this time round we’ve been able to visit the farm and learn more than ever before about this unique place and what makes it so special. As is so often the case, what makes it so special turns out to be the people. Balmaadi, as we know it today, owes a huge amount to one person - Unnamalai Thiagarjen. The farm had been in her husband’s family since the 1970s, but it was in 2003 that she took over running it. Totally new to coffee farming, she went off and studied, beginning to worry about how to make profitable a traditional farm in a region which is frequently cut off from access by monsoon weather. She realised that the fertilisers and pesticides most commercial farms used would be difficult to get and need lots of labour to apply (equally difficult in a remote region like this). It was then that she came across the Biodynamic model, which she applied ever after. Combining Organic principles with spiritual ones, she’s made the most of her isolated location. This means making their own compost, foliar sprays and other treatments from the other plants and material on the farm. It was a great idea to take a challenge and make it into an opportunity - which in turn has produced an interesting and unique coffee. They grow two varietals - Kent and S795. Both of these are common to India, but less common in other countries. Kent is a Typica mutation which is thought to have occurred in the early 20th Century in India, before being introduced in Kenya (where it has lost popularity to the SL varietals and Ruiru 11). S-795 is thought to be a cross of Kent with a Liberica/Arabica hybrid called S-288 (catchy name, right?) and has become popular in India and Indonesia for being quite resistant to Leaf Rust. A big, gloopy coffee with loads of sultana and a sweetness which reminds me of marzipan. There's a little cherry jam in there too, which makes for a delicious and interesting balance. As it cools, the booziness really comes centre stage with a big hit of Armagnac. Country: India State: Tamil Nadu Region: Nilgiris Farm: Balmaadi Estate Owner: Unnamalai Thiagarajen Varietals: Kent and S795 Process: Natural Certification: Biodynamic Drying Method: Patios and African beds Altitude: 1,200-1,830 m.a.s.l Farm size: 169 hectares, of which 148 hectares are coffee CUPPING NOTES  Sultana, marzipan, cherry jam, Armagnac Clean Cup: (1-8): 6Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5Acidity: (1-8): 6Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6.5Flavour: (1-8): 7Aftertaste: (1-8): 6Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roasting Information Medium-dark - this needs to be pushed pretty hot to get the right level of development, just up to the first pops of second.

Raul Perez has grown up around coffee, he comes from a fifth-generation coffee farming family on his father's side, and a third-generation family on his mother's side. Coffee has always been part of his life. He has told me about the stories his grandparents would share with him about their experiences. But I think it's fair to say that Raul has made plenty of his own coffee stories in his ten years of involvement in the specialty coffee industry. It was ten years ago when Raul first became involved in the family business. After living in Guatemala City in his youth (so he was able to go to a good school and university), he returned to the farm where his family had still been working and commuting. This coincided with a visit from an international buyer who made the family view coffee production in a different way. The speciality market was blossoming and the visitor gave them new ideas for varietals, picking, and processing that changed the direction of their farm and their cup quality. As Raul puts it, they began to work in a "more interactive way". Finca La Soledad has been a Pérez family coffee farm since 1895, the farm is located in Acatenango, near to the Acatenango volcano. It has a great microclimate and an altitude of 1,650 metres above sea level. The Pérez family invested heavily in their mill, rebuilding it with the environment in mind. They have a clever system through which they are able to recycle the water they use for processing many times. The first time I met Raul was at a friend's wedding in Guatemala. I didn't know him (like most of the other guests), but we got talking and I enjoyed his company. At no time did he try to push his coffee on me, and I think only in passing did he say his family worked in coffee. Raul was so kind he offered to take us back to our hotel that evening to save us having to get in a dodgy cab in Guatemala City. I have an exporting partner in Guatemala who sent me an amazing sample, which I decided there and then we had to but. I was only after I committed to buying the coffee that I found out it was from Raul's farm. Since then I've been lucky enough to visit the farm and meet the whole family. A fond memory that will stay with me is sitting on the unused drying patio with them all, enjoying a beer and watching the sun go down. They are a professional team and a lovely, warm family. Our coffees from La Soledad are washed coffees - meaning they are soaked in water to remove the fruit from the beans. This fermentation process plays a key part in developing the flavours that make a great coffee something special. It’s a super interesting (and complex!) part of the beans journey from the plant to us and one which clever producers like the Perez family are really starting to explore and experiment with. After picking, the cherries went into a steel tank with cold water. Raul controls the temperature whilst the coffee is fermenting as he found that by keeping it cooler he could allow the coffees to ferment for longer without any off flavours developing. You want to know something else cool about La Soledad, they have an Instagram page! And they're really active on there too so go have a look at what they're up to https://www.instagram.com/fincalasoledad I love it when a coffee tastes like a mug of cocoa, but this one takes it one stage further and tastes like you're dunking Oreos in you cocoa! It's all wrapped up by a creamy texture and a hint of red apple peel on the finish, but this is one for the chocolate lovers. Country: Guatemala Region: Acatenango Farm: La Soledad Farmer: Raul Perez and family Altitude: 1,500 m.a.s.l. Variety: Caturra Processing system: Washed Fermentation method: 90-hour CUPPING NOTES Hot chocolate, Oreos, red apple peel. Clean cup (1–8): 7Sweetness (1–8): 6.5Acidity (1–8): 6Mouthfeel (1–8): 6.5Flavour (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste (1–8): 6Balance (1–8): 6.5Overall (1–8): 7Correction (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roasting InformationMedium dark - just throu

I first met Teodocio Mamani on my visit to Bolivia in 2012. Long story short: he's an amazing guy. We got talking about the photo we had of him in a Chelsea shirt, and then, of course, we started talking football. He had the Chelsea shirt because he played for a local team that played in blue, but I managed to convince him that he needed a shirt from a real team – so I sent him a Sunderland shirt! Teodocio's farm sits in the municipality of Canton Uyunense in Caranavi, and is a mixed lot of red and yellow Catuai. Teodocio also has one hectare of land on his farm that is a natural forest reserve, in which he owns a house where he lives with his wife and two children. Teodocio processes the majority of his coffee on his own farm. He uses a depulper that removes the cherry, then leaves the cherry to go through a dry fermentation process (anaerobic) for sixteen hours, and then runs it through the scrubber section of the pulper to remove the final remains of the mucilage. He then transfers the coffee to raised African beds, where it dries in around twelve days (depending on local weather conditions). Like a number of the producers we work with, Teodocio is organic certified, but we haven't been able to sell his coffee as organic in previous years because we at Has Bean weren't certified. But 2019 is different, my friends: we're now organic certified (biodynamic coming soon too!). So we can gloriously now offer this coffee from Teodocio as organic, thanks to our own shiny new organic certificate. I was talking to the exporter about Teodocio's picking methods, and he was explaining that the family uses a method called 'Ayne'. With this method the most mature fruits are harvested each day by hand, demanding the labour of 8–10 people (who are all Mamani family members) to pick selectively and correctly. But because of this he gets more coffee that he can sell as specialty grade, and the cup profile improves too. Teodocio is just as passionate about improving the cup quality as he is about his football! Chocoholics, come on down! This one's just dark chocolate through and through. There's a little hit of cranberry, followed by a whisper of lime zest on the finish, but throughout it all the rich dark chocolate is the star. Country: Bolivia Region: Yungas Province: Caranavi Municipality: Canton Uyunense Farm: Teodocio Mamani Varietal: Caturra and Catuai Ripe cherry colour: Red and yellow Altitude: 1,600–1,750 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Mechanically Washed Fermentation method: Dry (anaerobic) Fermentation time: 16 hours Drying method: Raised African beds Drying time: 12 days Certification: Organic CUPPING NOTES Dark chocolate, cranberry, lime zest Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87.5 Roast InformationMedium-dark - this coffee isn't forgiving. It needs to go through first crack and then you need to slow it down. Get it up t the first pops of second to showcase the chocolate, but don't let second fully begin or it will burn quickly.

I first discovered El Limon on my trip to Guatemala in early 2013. At the time we'd never bought coffee directly from Guatemala, but since then this has become one of our strongest and most amazing Hasrelationships. My friend Raul (whom you may remember as the World Barista Champion of 2012!) in Guatemala had been buying coffee from these guys for a couple of years, and he was very keen for me to go and meet them. Located around an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, this farm sits at an altitude between 1,600 and 1,800 metres above sea level. It's owned by Guadalupe Alberto Reyes, who's also just known as Beto. He used to be the Mayor of Palencia, and he helped to build and develop the town. Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé, but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. One of the main reasons I love El Limon is Beto's desire to experiment; the farm mostly produces Bourbon and Caturra, but he also plays around with a few other varietals. The experimentation is thanks to Beto's motivation; he has really focused on the farm over the last few years. He wanted to take more care in every step they take – from picking to processing, to shipping – and also take more care in the agronomy of the farm. This is very much a family affair: his wife and son also work on the farm, along with Beto's siblings. In fact, his son is studying agronomy at the local college for the benefit of the farm. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family has built a new wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. Previously the mill could process only one lot; now the farmers are able to process many lots, and keep separate days' pickings and varietals in their own parcels.  With this wet mill came another opportunity, which was for neighbours and people within the region of Palencia to bring their coffees to the mill where they could get them processed. It's another sign that this is a hot spot for Guatemalan coffee. As time moves on, Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. He showed me lots of new planting during my recent visit, and a lot of building work around the wet mill. He is also building a QC lab and new accommodation for people working on the farm. It was a real hive of activity. Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visited the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for something big, home-cooked, and not from a restaurant or roadside pop-up cafe. Traditional Guatemalan meals are just the ticket, and I always look forward to the food – but mainly I look forward to the company. The first thing that strikes me about this coffee is how well balanced it is. It starts with fruit sweetness and the flavour of sweet Golden Delicious apples. Then it shifts into brown sugar and hazelnut on the finish, and a sprinkle of cocoa on the aftertaste. Country: Guatemala Region: Palencia Farm: El Limon Producer: Guadalupe Alberto 'Beto' Reyes Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Golden Delicious apples, brown sugar, hazelnut, cocoa Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 86.5 Roast InformationMedium-dark – through first crack and push this so you get the first pops of secon

La Pira is located in the high altitude Dota valley of the Tarrazu region: an area that's known for producing great coffees. This relatively young estate is only just over 50 years old and is owned by the founder’s son, Carlos Urena Ceciliano. He has worked on the farm for almost 20 years; however, he has worked in coffee all his life. Coffee from La Pira first hit our radar back in 2009 thanks to the Cup of Excellence, and we were pleased to be reunited with the farm only recently after a lot of effort and hard work. A few years ago it was really rather tricky to get, stretching both Steve's pocket and patience, but it was well worth it. Thankfully all years after that it's been a little less stretchy! After inheriting the family farm, Carlos worked for many years as a certified organic coffee producer, but he realised doing so was just not possible on this farm. Organic coffee is good, but not possible for everyone. The yield was very, very affected. So Carlos looked for alternatives, while still holding the organic principles very close to his heart. For instance, instead of using chemicals to control the weeds, sheep roam freely amongst the coffee plants and eat the weeds (and strangely leave the coffee plants alone). They work as automatic and mobile 'fertilisation units' (nature’s a wonderful thing). This has eliminated the need for herbicides. This is the kind of thinking Carlos has about coffee. When Steve last visited La Pira, Carlos told him about how he wakes up in the middle of the night with an idea of how he can improve production, change the way the coffee is harvested and processed, or how systems can be improved upon. Steve too isn't the best sleeper and often suffers from this type of sleep deprivation relating to ideas popping into his head, so it was something that he could really empathise about. During one of these late-night bursts of inspiration, Carlos thought that using the coldest water he could would be the best way of processing the cherry. During the night the Dota Valley gets a really sharp, cold breeze, and it runs through the whole farm. He had noticed the way the water on the mill roof, which sprinkled from processing, was almost frosting up. So he created a sprinkling system and a zinc ramp that the water runs across before hitting the cherries in the fermentation tank. We've chased coffee from La Pira ever since we first had it all those years ago in 2009. Some years it's been super tough to get our hands on due to low yields and some other things, but via quite a bit of pestering the exporter we partner with in Costa Rica we've always managed to get our way! You might have already noticed that we've got a different varietal and processing method combo from La Pira this year, in the past we've always had red honey processed Caturra but for 2019 we've got a white honey processed Catuai. Carlos does a really wide range of processes and a range of different varietals - during our las Hasvisit to Costa Rica, we cupped quite a few lots from the mill and this particular lot really stood out in blind cupping as being especially elegant, complex and just super delicious (and scored a point or so higher than the other lots we cupped). It just so happened this was this white honey Catuai rather than the usual red honey Caturra - one of the many reasons for going all the way to Costa Rica each year! : ) Expect an intensely sweet coffee, jam-packed full of fruit and white sugar. It's super complex, with hints of passionfruit and fresh blueberries alongside a delicate sherry note. On the aftertaste, this really shines as it just keeps on going and going, with papaya joining in. Overall, this is wonderfully balanced and one that you'll get something different from each sip. Country: Costa Rica Region: Tarrazú City: Santa María de Dota Farm: Finca La Pira Farmer: Carlos Ureña Ceciliano Farm size: 7 hectares Altitude: 1,650 m.a.s.l. Variety: Catuai Processing system: White Honey CUPPING NOTES Wh

The Hasbean festive tradition continues for its fourteenth year. Iiiiiiiiit's Chriiiiiiistmaaaaaaaas! Each and every year since 2006 we've released Christmas blends to celebrate this wonderful time of year. In previous years we've had separate filter and espresso blends, but for 2019 we're doing something different. This year there's just one blend that's designed to deliver a delicious cup of festive filter or seasonal espresso to help keep you going this December. We don't roast our coffee for particular brew methods here at Hasbean. Instead, we take the roast to a place where we feel it really shines across all brew methods. We wanted 2019's Festive Blend to really show off this approach to roasting. This blend will only be roasted throughout the month of December. It will disappear at the start of January – some fella in a red suit (no, not Steve!) said so. So make sure to enjoy it while you can! 50% El Salvador Finca San José Washed Red Bourbon 30% Guatemala El Limon Natural Bourbon 20% Ethiopia Ana Sora Natural The inspiration for our festive blend was the Christmas Pudding – and we think you’ll be able to tell. It’s sweet and sticky with dried fruit and brown sugar. We’ve departed from the traditional with a little glacé cherry in there too. It's all wrapped up with a sweet boozy hit of Grenadine. CUPPING NOTES Christmas pudding, sultana, glacé cherry, grenadine Espresso Recipe RecommendationDose: 18.5gYield: 40gTime: 35–38 seconds Resting RecommendationWe recommend a 5-7 day rest after the date of roasting before brewing this coffee as espresso, but there's a lot of personal preference in that so, by all means, please brew whenever you like! Roasting InformationMedium-dark – through first crack and then slow this down a little.You're looking to finish the roast around the end of the gap.

The Muiri Estate was founded in the late 1970s and is named after a local species of tree called pruners in the local Kikuyu language. Owned by the Mugiai family, Muiri is a rather big estate at 180 hectares with an on-site wet mill for processing, a dam and storehouse. There are a whopping 156,000 trees producing coffee on the estate and they are predominantly a mix of SL28, SL34, K7 & Ruiru 11 - however, the estate is actively experimenting with other varietals and crops too, doing their best to be ready for the ever-changing climate and the challenges it brings with it. The use of pesticides in Kenya is quite common but often a necessity to protect the trees from insect attacks, coffee diseases, funghi and the dry Kenyan climate. Over the last couple of years, Kenyan coffee production has been impacted by coffee berry disease (also known as CBD) and some really tough weather conditions. Because of these things, we feel it's super important to be supporting an estate like Muiri as they're doing things differently to the rest (and we love different!). Production at the Muiri Estate is a lot more complex than many other farms in Kenya as they work completely organically, the Mugiai family are looking after their trees and estate incredibly carefully, for example manually pruning and stumping the trees regularly. After the coffee is processed at the estate, it is separated by the size of the beans, AA, AB and PB. This is the biggest selection of the crop, which in Kenyan coffee grading is called AA. This is zingy and sweet, a super clean and refreshing cup. Upfront I get white sugar with grapefruit and a little lime zest. There's a shoulder of gooseberry in there too, with a hit of blackcurrant really coming through on the finish and aftertaste. Country: Kenya Province: Central District: Thika Estate: Muiri Estate Altitude: 1,530 m.a.s.l. Producer: Mugiai Family Process: Fully washed Fermentation time: 48-72 hours Drying method: Raised beds Drying time: 15-21 days Varietals: SL28, SL34, K7 & Ruiru 11 Grade: AA Certification: Organic CUPPING NOTES White sugar, grapefruit, lime zest, gooseberry, blackcurrant Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 7Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 88 Roast InformationMedium – keep it pretty quick - through first, let it develop a little and aim to drop the roast towards the end of the gap but before second crack kicks off. Brewing TipWe're noticing that this coffee can tend to extract very easily versus others we are currently roasting. We recommend either a coarser grind than normal, shorter overall brewing time or lowering the amount of coffee you normally use to make a brew - our standard recommendation is 60g/l but try 55g/l and see what you think.

This is an exclusive coffee only sent to In My Mug subscribers on December the 6th, 2019. I like to spoil you lovely lot whenever I can, and this week is 1 of those weeks! Only enough of this coffee to send out to IMM subscribers, so you're getting all of it, but afraid there’s sadly none to buy :(  Juan Jose Ernesto Menéndez Argüello belongs to the fourth generation of coffee farmers in his family. His father died in 1995, and after completing his studies at university he had the opportunity to start working in the coffee industry at J. Hill & Cia in 2000. After five years he left J. Hill & Cia to begin his second experience at JASAL. Both companies gave him the opportunity to meet “Grano de Oro” from another perspective, allowing him to learn the art and passion of cupping. He says those are very important in his life, and that they give him the opportunity to apply his coffee knowledge and experience gained through the years. During his time in the coffee world, Neto has participated in various events like the Cup of Excellence (National Jury from 2003 to 2011), Q Auction, Q Grader, and the Star Cupper program organised by SCAA and CQI. The farm, Las Brumas, is located between 45 to 60 minutes from the City of Santa Ana. It has a cultivated area of 60 hectares' worth of coffee yield, all of which is at an altitude ranging from 1,450 to 1,700 m.a.s.l. It produces around 600 bags of coffee each year, and has an area of 35 hectares of virgin mountain at an altitude from 1,700 to 2,000 m.a.s.l. The farm is located in the Sonsonate department near the area known as San Blas. Las Brumas has a very rich volcanic soil, deep and very fertile, which has been generated by different Ilamatepec and Izalco volcanic eruptions throughout its history. One of the most important elements is the micro climate. It's very misty for most of the year, and that's why Neto decided to name the farm Finca Las Brumas. This amazing micro climate is generated when the warm air when the Pacific ocean collides with the high peaks of the Volcanoes Park (Santa Ana volcano, Cerro Verde volcano and Izalco volcano). Due to its location between these three famous volcanoes in El Salvador, this unique micro climate reduces the amount of daylight that the coffee tree receives. This helps the coffee tree to have a very slow photosynthesis, improving the maturation process, and this in turn improves some attributes that are closely related to maturity, like the aroma, sweetness, acidity and flavour. This coffee was produced as part of the brand new and super exciting Las Brumas Wild Coffee Project, the project is to use land for coffee producing that's forest, but to do it in a thoughtful and careful way so as not to remove any of the flora and fauna and so the space remains primarily a forest. This affects the speed of the growth of the coffee (lots of shade) but also provides it with its own fertilisation system, with all the forest floor goodness, and the constant supply of twigs and leaves to continue to enrich the soil.   This is lemon, lemon and lemon. Not just sharp lemon juice, but lemon marshmallow sweetness and lemon zest too. There's a little cocoa powder on the aftertaste, but this is always The Lemon Show. Country: El Salvador Department: Sonsonate Nearest City: Santa Ana Farm: Finca Las Brumas Farmer: Juan Jose Ernesto Menéndez Argüello Altitude: 1,450 - 1,700 m.a.s.l. / 1,700 - 2,000 m.a.s.l. Variety: Pacamara Processing System: Washed CUPPING NOTES Lemon juice, lemon zest, cocoa powder. Clean Cup: (1-8): 6.5 Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5 Acidity: (1-8): 6.5 Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6 Flavour: (1-8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1-8): 6 Balance: (1-8): 6.5 Overall: (1-8): 6.5 Correction:(+36): +36   Total (max 100): 87     Roasting Information: Medium Dark - Keep a steady pace through crack and drop the roast just before second gets going.

I first discovered El Limon on my trip to Guatemala in early 2013. At the time we'd never bought coffee directly from Guatemala, but since then this has become one of our strongest and most amazing Hasrelationships. My friend Raul (whom you may remember as the World Barista Champion of 2012!) in Guatemala had been buying coffee from these guys for a couple of years, and he was very keen for me to go and meet them. Located around an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, this farm sits at an altitude between 1,600 and 1,800 metres above sea level. It's owned by Guadalupe Alberto Reyes, who's also just known as Beto. He used to be the Mayor of Palencia, and he helped to build and develop the town. Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé, but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. One of the main reasons I love El Limon is Beto's desire to experiment; the farm mostly produces Bourbon and Caturra, but he also plays around with a few other varietals. The experimentation is thanks to Beto's motivation; he has really focused on the farm over the last few years. He wanted to take more care in every step they take – from picking to processing, to shipping – and also take more care in the agronomy of the farm. This is very much a family affair: his wife and son also work on the farm, along with Beto's siblings. In fact, his son is studying agronomy at the local college for the benefit of the farm. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family has built a new wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. Previously the mill could process only one lot; now the farmers are able to process many lots, and keep separate days' pickings and varietals in their own parcels.  With this wet mill came another opportunity, which was for neighbours and people within the region of Palencia to bring their coffees to the mill where they could get them processed. It's another sign that this is a hot spot for Guatemalan coffee. As time moves on, Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. He showed me lots of new planting during my recent visit, and a lot of building work around the wet mill. He is also building a QC lab and new accommodation for people working on the farm. It was a real hive of activity. Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visited the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for something big, home-cooked, and not from a restaurant or roadside pop-up cafe. Traditional Guatemalan meals are just the ticket, and I always look forward to the food – but mainly I look forward to the company. This is a mash-up of dark chocolate with sweet and zingy citrus. It starts with peach and lemon, but it picks up a little grapefruit on the finish. The background of dark chocolate sticks with it throughout. Country: Guatemala Region: Palencia Farm: El Limon Producer: Guadalupe Alberto 'Beto' Reyes Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Pacamara Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Dark chocolate, peach, lemon, grapefruit Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 6Acidity: (1–8): 7Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Brewing TipPacamaras have a very unique size, density and structure, so don't expect them to grind like any other coffee. I find going a little finer than I normally

I've been telling the story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo for many, many years now. I don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for me. 😊 So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. I'm really proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. I loved it from the very first time I cupped it, and it was a coffee I just had to get. It was only after the auction closed that I discovered it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of mine, and indeed probably the only people I knew from the whole country! The following year I visited the farm with our importers, and I spent the whole trip begging them to bring the coffee into the UK for us. Eventually, thanks to my supreme Steve pester power, they caved in (probably just to stop the flow of emails and phone calls!) and kindly did so. This setup worked well for a time, but we received notice a couple of years ago that the importers were not going to be buying the coffee again (and for reasons other than the cup quality). This led to some frantic phone calls and a thorough search down the back of the sofa for loose change to fund buying twelve months’ worth of coffee all at once. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else, and this is a relationship I’m super happy to have. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that I'm so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in Matagalpa and, at 171 hectares in size, it. is. huge! Situated at an amazing location, it boasts nine waterfalls within the farm and is owned by the Mierisch family; as I have already said, they’re good friends, and also well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They’re known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The fact that the family are friends helps us drill down into the details of what they do for the people who work for them. The information continues to prove to me that good people grow good coffee. This is lovely and balanced natural with plenty of currants and slices of dried apple upfront, before Muscovado sugar is liberally sprinkled over the top. Country: Nicaragua Municipality: Yasica Norte Region: Matagalpa Farm name: Limoncillo Producers: The Mierisch Family Farm size: 171 manzanas (hectares) Coffee growing area: 109 hectares Altitude: 1,200 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Red Bourbon Processing method: Natural CUPPING NOTES Currant, dried apple, Muscovado sugar Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium - through first and slow it down just a little, dropping near the end of the gap or with the very first pops of second - no further!

Finca San José is very much the pride and joy of the Rodríguez family and is now in the hands of a fourth and fifth generation of coffee producers. The story begins in 1815 when José María Rodriguez and Josefina Rodriguez (great-grandparents) planted the first coffee trees with their own hands. Through the generations, the farm has passed through the hands of many committed farmers like José's son, Israel Rodriguez. He was then followed by Jose Maria Rodriguez, who took care of the farm until it came to Gloria Mercedes Rodriguez Fontán, the most recent owner. Ever the strong woman, Gloria has overcome gender barriers in an industry that has historically been the province of men, and she personally supervises every step at the farm level. Gloria not only takes care of San José but, together with her siblings' support, she manages five other small farms which collectively add up to 38 hectares. The mountain slopes of Finca San José are fully shaded by trees that help to maintain and preserve the crop and the surrounding environment. In addition to the trees' diversity, the farm is home to a variety of wild animals and birds, which can be seen in their natural habitat. San José is nested in the northwestern slope of an extinct volcanic crater, which holds a small lagoon inside it. The lagoon is named Nymph Lagoon, due to the abundance of water lilies. At Finca San José, coffee goes through extensive quality control in addition to being grown under standards that support specialty coffee production. The unique microclimate conditions include an average altitude of 1,500 metres above sea level, an average temperature of 17°C, and rich and loamy clay soil; and the coffee grown is mainly Bourbon. One of our most consistent coffees, this year it again delivers milk chocolate alongside dark cherries. Those two classic flavours are joined by almond on the finish, for a really more-ish result. Country: El Salvador Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Apaneca Nearest city: El Saitillal Farm: Finca San José Owner: Gloria Mercedes Rodriguez Fontán Farm manager: Antonio Avelino Processing method: Washed Varietal: Red Bourbon Altitude: 1,500 m.a.s.l. CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, dark cherry, almond Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - through first crack and then slow this down a little, you're looking to finish the roast around the end of the gap.

I've been telling the story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo for many, many years now. I don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for me. 😊 So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. I'm really proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. I loved it from the very first time I cupped it, and it was a coffee I just had to get. It was only after the auction closed that I discovered it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of mine, and indeed probably the only people I knew from the whole country! The following year I visited the farm with our importers, and I spent the whole trip begging them to bring the coffee into the UK for us. Eventually, thanks to my supreme Steve pester power, they caved in (probably just to stop the flow of emails and phone calls!) and kindly did so. This setup worked well for a time, but we received notice a couple of years ago that the importers were not going to be buying the coffee again (and for reasons other than the cup quality). This led to some frantic phone calls and a thorough search down the back of the sofa for loose change to fund buying twelve months’ worth of coffee all at once. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else, and this is a relationship I’m super happy to have. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that I'm so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in Matagalpa and, at 171 hectares in size, it. is. huge! Situated at an amazing location, it boasts nine waterfalls within the farm and is owned by the Mierisch family; as I have already said, they’re good friends, and also well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They’re known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The fact that the family are friends helps us drill down into the details of what they do for the people who work for them. The information continues to prove to me that good people grow good coffee. This is a Pacamara varietal coffee. Pacamaras are a little crazy on the cupping table. Pacamaras are exciting. I like Pacamaras! I could ramble on about Pacamaras for a while ... oh, wait a minute, I did! If you'd like to know more about this fantastic varietal, make sure to have a look at the article I wrote ... As well as being a big ol' Pacamara, this is also a lil' ol' Peaberry; a thing that's normally big is a little smaller than you might expect. It's an interesting mix of unusual sizing that I hope you'll enjoy. Normally the seed of the coffee fruit grows into the green bean that we all know and love from two fertilised seeds inside each fruit, but sometimes things are a little different and a Peaberry is born. When only one of the two seeds is fertilised, it produces a smaller bean that looks like a shrunken version of what we'd normally know as a coffee bean, and that's because only one seed has grown instead of two. Some say Peaberry coffees are sweeter and more delicious than their regular cousins; some people even come to us specifically looking for these coffees because they crave them so much! I'll let you be the judge. This reminds me of a Custard Cream biscuit - super sweet with a hint of vanilla in the background. There’s just a shoulder of hops in there too, along with a delicate orange acidity which balances it all beautifully. Country: Nicaragua Municipality: Yasica Norte Region: Matagalpa Farm name: Limoncillo Producers: The Mierisch Family Farm size: 171 hectares Coffee growing area: 109 hectare

The first coffee bush at Kiriga Estate was planted in approximately 1954 by colonial settlers. At about the same time, less than ten kilometres away along the same Kigio road, a young boy (Aloysius Gakunga, son of the chief for the larger Murang'a county) helped his father – Senior Chief Ndungíu Kagori – plant the first coffee seedling in the area. The area was known as Gaitegi village, Muranga Location 1 (Loco One). A love affair with coffee had been born! Several years went by and the young boy grew up. He was riding his bicycle along Kigio road and, as he rode past the vast – by now well-established – coffee estates, he promised himself that he would one day own one of them. He realized this dream in 1976. The boy, or Mr A. N. Gakunga, sadly passed away in July 2014. By the time of his death, Mr Gakunga had passed his love of coffee and the mantle of Kiriga coffee estate on to Dr Brian Ndungíu Gakunga. Brian was his second child, and the eldest son out of his six children. According to Kikuyu cultural naming systems, Brian is named after Mr Gakungaís' father, who was both his grandfather and his pioneer coffee farmer. Dr Brian Gakunga is a coffee farmer who is well known in Kenyan coffee circles. He is a founding member and a former long-serving Honorary Secretary of the Kenya Coffee Producers Association, which is a national farmers' organisation that works to promote the economic and social interests of the coffee farmers through active participation in the national and international arena. Brian is also a former Board Member and Chairman of Transitional Exchange Committee (operationally, he was the then-Chairman of Nairobi Coffee Exchange), where over 90% of all of Kenya's coffee is currently sold. He's also currently the Founding Chairman of Africa Coffee Farmers' Network. Africa Coffee Farmers' Network represents the interests of coffee farmers, as spelt out in the organisation's core objective of improving the earnings of poor coffee farmers in order to break the vicious cycle of poverty. One way of doing this is by getting direct sales for the farmers. Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Administratively, Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river. Kiriga coffee is Arabica of predominantly SL28 variety (notable for its world-renowned cup quality). The farm has an estimated two hectares of Ruiru 11 variety (which has improved resistance to coffee berry disease and leaf rust); some K7 variety (similar characteristics as SL28, but with better resistance to leaf rust compared to SL28); and a field of the newest Batian variety. About 60% of the coffee that the estate produces is AA/AB. All coffee activities at Kiriga are carried out at a factory level, from the coffee nursery to all the farm operations (pruning, weed control, nutrition, irrigation, basin digging, disease control, infilling, mulching, and planting). Wet mill operations are also carried out on the factory level. Kiriga delivers both parchment coffee and Mbuni (naturals) to the commercial dry mill for milling and grading, in preparation for sale at coffee auctions and via indirect sale. In addition to growing coffee the estate also has, I was told, shoats (sheep and goats), a dairy, and the potential to keep fish. It's all about diversity, and what's more diverse than a 'shoat'?! The estate is also occasionally visited by two hippos, in addition to some bird-life, while also being the home of a family of monkeys. Kiriga irrigated all its coffee trees – despite the crippling electricity costs involved – during the dry season, in order to ensure their high standards were maintained despi

The Don Joel Micromill is owned by Allan Oviedo Rodriguez and his family. Right on the border between the Central and Western Valleys in Costa Rica, Allan has been producing coffee there for 18 years. Growing up in a coffee family, Allan learnt the traditional producing methods with his father (Don Joel) and brothers but also saw the difficulties this lifestyle had, with poor returns and increasing cost of living. When his father passed away, the farms were split up between the family and Allan, working the La Cumbre farm, decided to change how he did things. Building the micromill he named for his father, he set about replanting with a focus on taste quality. It's no surprise that the varietals he chose will be familiar from our range - Caturra, Catuai and Villa Sarchi. With a mix of a willingness to try new things, an eye for detail and the ability to learn quickly, Allan was able to build a great reputation for consistently and cleverly grown and processed coffees. A few years ago, Allan was able to invest in expanding his growing area and added this farm - Carmela - alongside La Cumbre. Despite a difficult year for coffee growing in the Western Valley (with high temperatures, unseasonal rain and ash from Poás volcano among the challenges), Allan managed to get a great crop from Carmela. Carmela is a 3-hectare farm, planted mostly with Villa Sarchi and some Typica. Situated around 1600 masl, it's only 5 minutes drive from La Cumbre but on the opposite edge of the hill. Even in these short distances, Allan's noticed significant differences in the weather, giving each farm it's own character. Like many producers in Costa Rica, Allan works in a semi-organic way - reducing the use of sprays as much as possible. One of the tricks he does to help this is creating his own fertiliser, using native microorganisms to create a base before including some trace nutrients for the plants which he can then spray on. This has got a really intense sweetness which reminds me of boiled sweets. There's a big hit of red apple and it finishes with a spoonful of white sugar. Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley Nearest City: San Luis de Grecia Farm: Finca Carmela Micromill: Don Joel Producer: Allan Oviedo Rodriguez and family Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Red Honey Varietal: Villa Sarchi CUPPING NOTES Red apple, boiled sweets, white sugar Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87 Roast Information:Medium - nicely through first crack and develop it right to the cusp of second before you drop it.

We're now into our fourth wonderful year of having coffee from Ana Sora, and I'm as excited this year as I was back in 2016! This coffee represents lots of time and energy working at the farmer's gate in Ethiopia, and it's one of the most unique coffees I've ever tasted. My inbox has been full of emails asking for more, more, more Ana Sora! Well, here you go folks. 😀 We also have a washed version of the same coffee, which you can find here. Make sure you try them side by side if you get the chance, so you can enjoy the delicious variations that the different processing methods bring to the cup. This private farm is owned by Israel Degfa, a second-generation coffee grower from Ethiopia and as coffee farms go, it's a very new farm: it was only formed in 2013. It's located at a whopping altitude of between 1,900 and 2,350 metres above sea level. It's a gorgeous but somewhat tiring walk to get there! (It's not all just holiday snaps, this coffee buying malarkey!) Situated alongside the river Turo, the farm used to only produce naturally processed coffee. However, over the last year, the farmers have taken advantage of the water source and have begun producing washed coffee too. It is unusual to find private farms of 250 hectares in Ethiopia, and even more unusual to find them at such high altitudes. The altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry and allows more time for the plant to develop, which contributes to the super unique cup profile we see in coffees from Ethiopia. Coffee growing is popular in this area, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area. That area is populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. Israel believes in helping these farmers through education in husbandry, and also through financial assistance. Cherries are hand-sorted for unripes and overripes before they go into floatation tanks, where they're covered with water. Any cherries that float are removed. Whole, ripe cherries are then dried in the sunshine on raised African drying beds, which are laid out on hessian cloths for about 15–18 days depending on the weather conditions. The cherries are covered with plastic or shade nets during the midday heat and at night. It's a unique coffee from a unique relationship, and I'm massively excited to share this coffee with you once again. Do you like blueberries? I hope so!!! This coffee is all about the blueberries: think drinking blueberry juice whilst eating a blueberry muffin. It's not just the flavour of blueberry though. It's got a silky texture that reminds me of fruit juice, and a delicate lemon zest on the aftertaste, which is a perfect complement to all the blueberries. Country: Ethiopia Area: Guji zone Nearest town: Yirgacheffe Farm: Ana Sora Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals Processing: Natural Owner: Israel Degfa Founding year: 2013 Altitude: 1,900–2,350 m.a.s.l. Farm size: 250 hectares, of which 150 hectares are coffee CUPPING NOTES Blueberry juice, blueberry muffin, lemon zest Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 8Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 8Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 92 Roasting InformationMedium – through first crack and into the gap. For more fruit, drop this mid-way through the gap; for more of that silky body, extend the roast slightly and drop just before second gets going.

This farm was brand new to us only a few years ago, and we're really happy to have been able to continue getting coffee from Las Delicias every year since. Although the farm itself is still relatively new to us, the people behind it most certainly aren't. In fact, we've been working with them for over ten years now. The Mierisch family (whom you may remember from such farms as Limoncillo, Mama Mina, Escondida and Milligros) have worked with us over that time to bring us delicious coffee, and continue to do so year after year. 😊 Much of that deliciousness is thanks to their amazing processing, and Eleane Mierisch is in charge of that. She works in the family business, but she's never owned her own farm. Never, that is, until two years ago, when she acquired Las Delicias all for herself. The farm is located in the region of Jinotega at an average altitude of 1,450 metres above sea level. It's located next to another Mierisch farm that you might have heard of, which is called San José. We've had coffee from there a few times; we're definitely hoping to see more in the future, too. Eleane knows the area very well, and she knows the land and what it's capable of producing. Add to this her passion for coffee, and you can start to understand why she wanted to produce coffee on a farm of her own. The Longberry varietal is the fruit of some of the amazing experimental work that's taking place at Limoncillo, another Mierisch farm (as if I even need to tell you that!) To explain a little bit of the story behind it, I'll hand over to another Mierisch that I just so happen to know. Oh hi there, Erwin! Here my 'story' begins back in mid-2001. I sound like a grandfather ...My father and I were coming back from visiting some top farms in Nicaragua, as we sometimes did – and do – in order to learn from our neighbours. If we discover anything worthwhile, we then implement those things to improve efficiency and quality on our own farms.As we drove past the UNICAFE experiment station Juanetillo, which had gone under, a man on the side of the road flagged us down and explained to us how the experiment station had closed down and that his 'severance' was tools and coffee seeds since they did not have the cash to pay him. He asked if we would be interested in helping him out by purchasing these items off of him. In all honesty, I was not very happy that my father forced me to stop to see what this man wanted; therefore, I was not very receptive to his offer, but I purchased a bag of seeds and old beaten up shovels. I gave no immediate thought to the 20 lb bag of coffee seeds that was labelled as JAVA.My father later showed these seeds to our then-supervising agronomist Ing. Patricia Contreras, who had worked at that research station, and she was ecstatic. She told us about how great this coffee was, but also that it was not very productive nor resistant to disease, as she recalled from running this study at Juanetillo back in the '80s. She also said that the real name for it is Longberry, and that it has its roots in Ethiopia.We began to run some more experiments – various altitudes and processing methods – and have been learning how to manage it since. As far as we can tell the Longberry varietal is a Typica-type coffee because of its bean shape, as is the Geisha. Its physical appearance is a uniform seed that is elongated and has been described by several of our customers as an 'Ethiopian Long Berry type'. The first thing I get with this coffee is the texture – it's creamy. That's backed up by the flavour of single cream, but sitting alongside a clean pear. On the finish it's got a little dark chocolate too, delivering a very elegant cup. Country: Nicaragua Municipality: Lipululu Region: Jinotega Farm name: Las Delicias Farmer: Eleane Mierisch Farm size: 20 manzanas (hectares) Coffee growing area: 20 hectares Altitude: 1,450 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Longberry Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Single cream, pear, dark chocolate Clean

Situated on a hillside which runs parallel to the main road to Guatemala City, sits El Bosque. Due to it's proximity to the Capital, it faces threats from ever-expanding urban development but for the time we have been working with El Bosque, prices and returns for the farm have made it a much higher concern for the brothers, and they are very motivated. Before I'd tried this coffee at El Bosque, it was love at first taste, I was absolutely blown away by how good it was! However, my first visit to the farm in January 2007 really cemented this, because I got to learn more about the awesome people behind the coffee. In 1932, Julian Flores founded the farm and the fourteen-hectare extension of land was planted out with Bourbon varietal coffee, which was cultivated and sold in cherry form only. Over the next few years, with the acquisition of more land, the farm continued to grow. Julian Flores passed away in 1947 and his son, José Eladio Flores, inherited the farm and continued his father’s legacy of growth. By 1970, José had bought another 23 hectares and continued to grow and sell the same Bourbon coffee varietal. After his death in 1996, a third-generation has taken the farm on under the direction of José’s widow, Martha Stalla, and their sons Julio, José, Francisco and Mario. Now, this third-generation, headed up by Don Roberto, has focused on innovation, and they have built a plant for processing the cherries in line with strict environmental guidelines. They have also branched into cultivating other plants for local consumption, such as avocados, roses and lemons as well as growing a new grass innovation. There's a big toffee at the start of this - it's really chewy with a sweetness which reminds me of treacle toffee. As soon as that initial toffee goes, there's a hazelnut which jumps in, before it finishes with a little dark chocolate. Country: Guatemala Department: Guatemala Department  Municipality: Villa Canales Town: Amatitlán Farm: El Bosque Farmer: Flores family Farm size: 37 hectares Coffee growing area: 14 hectares Altitude: 1,400–1,645 m.a.s.l. Variety: Bourbon Processing system: Washed CUPPING NOTES Treacle toffee, hazelnut, dark chocolate Clean cup (1–8): 6Sweetness (1–8): 6.5Acidity (1–8): 6Mouthfeel (1–8): 7Flavour (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste (1–8): 6.5Balance (1–8): 6.5Overall (1–8): 6Correction (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roasting InformationMedium-dark - get this through crack and give it some time to develop the toffee flavours before you drop it with the first pops of second.

We're now into our fourth wonderful year of having coffee from Ana Sora, and I'm as excited this year as I was back in 2016! My inbox has been full of emails asking for more, more, more Ana Sora! Well, here you go folks. 😀 In the past we only had a naturally processed coffee (check it out here!) from the farm. This year we also have a washed version. Make sure you try them side by side if you get the chance, so you can enjoy the delicious variations that the different processing methods bring to the cup. This private farm is owned by Israel Degfa, a second-generation coffee grower from Ethiopia and as coffee farms go, it's a very new farm: it was only formed in 2013. It's located at a whopping altitude of between 1,900 and 2,350 metres above sea level. It's a gorgeous but somewhat tiring walk to get there! (It's not all just holiday snaps, this coffee buying malarkey!) It is unusual to find private farms of 250 hectares in Ethiopia, and even more unusual to find them at such high altitudes. The altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry and allows more time for the plant to develop, which contributes to the super unique cup profile we see in coffees from Ethiopia. Coffee growing is popular in this area, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area. That area is populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. Israel believes in helping these farmers through education in husbandry, and also through financial assistance. The classic washed Yirgacheffe flavours are right there: black tea with a bergamot edge. The classic floral notes are there too, reminding me of apple blossom. There's also a delicate baker's chocolate in the finish, and a white sugar sweetness that lifts this into something very special. Country: Ethiopia Area: Guji zone Nearest town: Yirgacheffe Farm: Ana Sora Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals Processing: Washed Owner: Israel Degfa Founding year: 2013 Altitude: 1,900–2,350 m.a.s.l. Farm size: 250 hectares, of which 150 hectares are coffee CUPPING NOTES Black tea, bergamot, apple blossom, baker's chocolate, white sugar Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 7.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 7Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 89 Roasting InformationMedium – through first, keep it fairly quick and drop this mid-way through the gap between cracks.

I took my very first trip to Kenya back in 2014. My aim was not to meet producers but rather to get an insight into how the market works, and how we can improve the quality of the coffee we buy from Kenya. Much of Kenya's coffee comes from cooperatives, which means it's tough to go to visit a person or build a long-term relationship. That said, it is possible to get something interesting going and to work on projects together by speaking with the leaders of the co-ops and washing stations. Othaya Farmer's Cooperative is based at the Gatuyaini wet mill, just north of Othaya town. In the town there's a cupping room (and a talented QC person) and a new addition: a small roastery (where they hope to develop a market for their coffee inside Kenya). Othaya has many different wet mills in the co-operative, and we buy from one of the smallest – Chinga. Situated just south of Othaya town, the mill was built in the 1960s on the banks of the Gikira river. The mill has some 783 members, and each member owns only a small piece of land of an average 0.3 acres. Members of co-operatives pick their coffee cherries and deliver them to a local mill like Chinga. At Chinga, the workers collect the cherries and, when they have enough, they put them through the washed process as a batch. Such a batch is called an Outturn. For each Outturn, the cherries are sorted before being depulped and emptied into large vats filled with clean, cold water. The cherries ferment there until the remaining fruit parts have come away from the beans. They get floated (which separates out the ripe, dense beans from lower quality ones) before being dried on raised beds. When I think Kenyan coffee I think blackcurrant, and that's in there. But there's also citrus, which makes me think of pink grapefruit and blood orange, and a little nudge of pomegranate. It's crisp and refreshing, but a little caramel on the aftertaste leaves a lingering sweetness. Country: Kenya Province: Nyeri District: Othaya Affiliated with: Othaya Farmer's Cooperative Farm: Chinga Processing method: Washed Varietal: Peaberry Average rainfall: 1,200–1,500 mm Altitude: 1,795 m.a.s.l. Coordinates: 0°34'45.4"S 36°55'35.2"E Soil: rich volcanic loam CUPPING NOTES Pink grapefruit, blackcurrant, blood orange Clean cup: (1–8): 7Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 8Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 7Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 89 Roasting InformationMedium – take it a little hotter, push through first crack, and then drop at the end of the gap to ensure good development. Brewing TipWe're noticing that this coffee can tend to extract very easily versus others we are currently roasting. We recommend either a coarser grind than normal, shorter overall brewing time or lowering the amount of coffee you normally use to make a brew - our standard recommendation is 60g/l but try 55g/l and see what you think.

Rafael and Carmen De Silva were the first producers I ever met in El Salvador, and Finca La Fany was the first farm I ever visited in El Salvador. This is a relationship that goes all the way back to 2003, and I consider this to be a real foundation stone coffee for Hasbean. Finca La Fany has been producing coffee in El Salvador since 1870, and it's belonged to the same family from generation to generation. Situated on the Santa Ana volcano, the farm provides work for 24 families in the community. It's in a biological corridor that stretches for 27 hectares from Mexico to Panama. It grows mostly Bourbon, but also has a small amount of Pacamara. Carmen and Rafael continually invest in the milling of their own coffee and improving the facilities they have, which has really driven this shade-grown coffee to just get better and better year after year. We think you can really taste the continuous development in the cup; this is one of our all-time favourites, and it's one of the coffees that we'd be absolutely devastated to lose if we were ever unable to get it. This is one of the cleanest Natural processed coffees you'll find. It's green apple with just a hint of a cider edge to it, and shifts into raisins on the finish. As it fades, there's chocolate in the aftertaste, which pulls you back in for another sip. Country: El Salvador Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Apaneca Farm: La Fany Farmer: Carmen and Rafael Da Silva Farm size: 20.30 hectares Coffee growing area: 20.30 hectares Altitude: 1,450 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing system: Natural CUPPING NOTES Green apple, cider, raisin, chocolate Clean cup: (1–8): 8Sweetness: (1–8): 6Acidity: (1–8): 7Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Roast InformationMedium dark – through first, let it develop and drop with the first pops of second crack as it hits the cooling tray.

Finca La Escondida is close to Lake Apanas near the city of Jinotega, which is the capital of the department of Jinotega in the north-central region of Nicaragua. The straight translation from Spanish to English of 'escondida' is ‘hidden’. The farm is called 'Escondida' because it's 'hidden' from the road by forest and trees, which makes it appear to blend right into the side of the mountain. In the grand scheme of coffee farm things, La Escondida is still a rather young farm. The first trees were planted there in 2006; just thirteen years ago. La Escondida was planned around identifying the plots with individually different micro-environments resulting from factors such as soil quality, sun exposure and temperature range. This is one of the upsides of planting a new farm: getting to plan ahead! The varietal of this lot is Red Catuai. The owners selected it for the farm because they thought it would do well with the soil quality, sun exposure, temperature range and weather conditions, given the farm's quite exposed on the side of the mountain. Catuai is related to Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, and it's a hybrid that grows best above 800 metres. It is most prevalent in Brazil and Central/South America. This is a dwarf variety of plant; it doesn't grow very high, and this is its most obvious distinguishing trait. Selected by the Instituto Agronomico in the 1950s, it now accounts for 50% of the coffee acreage in Brazil and is widely used in Central America. It also benefits from the fruit not falling off the branch easily. This helps when there are strong winds or rain, or where windbreaker coverage is at a minimum – like it is at this farm. This may not be Terry's, but it's definitely chocolate orange. There's a sprinkle of brown sugar too before a light zest of lime on the aftertaste. Country: Nicaragua Department: Jinotega Farm: La Escondida Farm manager: Boanerje Martinez Montenegro Coffee growing area: 92 manzanas Altitude: 975–1,230 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Red Catuai Processing method: Washed CUPPING NOTES Chocolate orange, brown sugar, lime zest Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 6Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 86.5 Roast InformationMedium dark – through first crack and extend the development slightly before dropping just as you reach second crack.

Rafael and Carmen De Silva were the first producers I ever met in El Salvador, and Finca La Fany was the first farm I ever visited in El Salvador. This is a relationship that goes all the way back to 2003, and I consider this to be a real foundation stone coffee for Hasbean. Finca La Fany has been producing coffee in El Salvador since 1870, and it's belonged to the same family from generation to generation. Situated on the Santa Ana volcano, the farm provides work for 24 families in the community. It's in a biological corridor that stretches for 27 hectares from Mexico to Panama. It grows mostly Bourbon, but also has a small amount of Pacamara. Carmen and Rafael continually invest in the milling of their own coffee and improving the facilities they have, which has really driven this shade-grown coffee to just get better and better year after year. We think you can really taste the continuous development in the cup; this is one of our all-time favourites, and it's one of the coffees that we'd be absolutely devastated to lose if we were ever unable to get it. This is brown sugar, milk chocolate and hazelnut. It's full and round with a delicate white grape on the finish. A chugging coffee through and through. Country: El Salvador Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Apaneca Farm: La Fany Farmer: Carmen and Rafael Da Silva Farm size: 20.30 hectares Coffee growing area: 20.30 hectares Altitude: 1,450 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing system: Washed CUPPING NOTES Brown sugar, milk chocolate, hazelnut, white grape Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium dark – just into the first pops of second crack and drop.

Cerro Azul is one of the Mierisch family’s newer coffee projects in Honduras. The name 'Mierisch' might sound familiar; they have brought us Limoncillo, Escondida, San Jose and Mama Mina, to name just a few of their amazing farms. The Mierisch family have been growing coffee for four generations, going on five, in Nicaragua. They have achieved great results with their special way of farming, and more importantly by reaching out to specialty buyers and being at the forefront of coffee development. This farm started life as an experiment for the Mierisch family. To farm here, they went across the border of their mother country and drove six hours from their home to neighbouring Honduras. I've spoken with Erwin a lot about why the family made this decision, and it came down to his experiences as one of the Head Judges for the Cup of Excellence competitions in Honduras. He had seen amazing potential, but he'd also seen a lack of care and attention to detail during the processing stage. This detail is vital to truly special coffee, and Erwin and his family are some of the best-qualified processing technicians I have ever met. This opportunity was a match made in heaven. In 2011 they started the project of revitalising Finca Cerro Azul in the region of the national park, Azul Meambar. It's in Siguatepeque, Comayagua, Honduras, and is across from Finca El Cielito, Santa Barbara. The farm lies on the other side of Lake Yojoa, and is blessed with micro-climates and conditions which are familiar to the family because those conditions are similar to the ones they experience on their lands in Nicaragua. But the soil is something else, as is the plant stock they have inherited. We were some of the first to taste the fruits of their hard work and long drives to their new farm. All aboard the funky bus! For me this is sweet, sticky macerated strawberries all over, with a little bit of peach on the side. There's a shoulder of pecan on the aftertaste too. Anyone else wanting dessert now? Country: Honduras Department: Comayagua Municipality: Siguatepeque Community: Rio Bonito Farm: Finca Cerro Azul Farm managers: Francisco Escobar and Lidia Zeledon Farm owners: The Mierisch family Area: 135 hectares Elevation: 1,450–1,900 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Longberry Processing method: Natural CUPPING NOTES Macerated strawberries, peach, pecan Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 7Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 7Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 88.5 Roast InformationMedium – don't be afraid to throw heat at it. Keep pushing through the gap, and then drop right at the end of the gap.

This farm was originally called 'La Pampa'. It was purchased by Mr Prudencio Perez Rosales in 1915. When he unfortunately passed away, his daughters inherited the farm and divided it equally into three properties called La Pampa, San Juan, and El Libano. Herbert purchased El Libano in 1992. In the early days of El Libano (or La Pampa, I guess I should say) coffee was commercialised in cherry form with other farms and/or buyers who took it to local wet mills for the post-harvest process. When coffee production at the farm increased between 1958 and 1960, a wet mill was built on a lower part of the farm and drying fields were built in the higher parts. At that time, coffee was taken by workers on mules from the pulping area to the drying fields. This was down a narrow road, which (as I'm sure you can imagine) made work rather difficult. This was extended in 1970, and thanks to increasing coffee sales they were able to buy a vehicle to let the mules get some rest. There have been many changes to the farm since then. They improved the quality of what they could produce via modernisation of the wet mill and the pulping area, and by improving the drying process. In the drying area they have increased the drying patios and added a guardiola dryer, which has the capacity of processing 40 quintales (4 kilos) of coffee. Besides producing delicious coffee, El Libano also plays a really important role for the local people. The farm's workers have been provided with equipped houses to live in on the farm with their families, and they've also built not just one but two modern swimming pools for workers and their families! It's located in the traditional Guatemalan coffee region of Chimaltenango. It's 21 hectares in size, with 17.5 of them set aside for coffee production. Its owner is Herbert Estuardo Perez Liquidano, who is a third generation coffee producer on this farm. The farm sits at 1,350 metres above sea level, and it grows a mixture of Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Pache, Pache Colis and Geisha coffee. This lot is a mixture of Caturra, Typica, and Bourbon. If you've got a sweet tooth, this one's for you - it's full on Orange Fruit Pastille. There's a hint of milk chocolate too, with an aftertaste which reminds me of cocoa nibs. Country: Guatemala Department: Chimaltenango Municipality: Acatenango Nearest village: La Pampa Farm name: El Libano Farmer: Herbert Estuardo Pérez Liquidano Altitude: 1,350 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Washed Drying: Sun dried Farm size: 21 hectares Coffee growing area: 17.5 hectares Varietal: Caturra, Typica, and Bourbon CUPPING NOTES Orange Fruit Pastille, milk chocolate, cocoa nibs. Clean Cup: (1-8): 6Sweetness: (1-8): 7Acidity: (1-8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6Flavour: (1-8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1-8): 6.5Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 6Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max 100): 87 Roasting InformationMedium - Medium Dark - Through first and let it develop a little, but this one can shine anywhere from the end of the gap into the first pops of second, depending on your preference.

Licho's is a coffee that I feel shows our development as a roaster over the years. We first bought this coffee in the Cup of Excellence program (a great way to meet a grower). Back then we bought it from an import broker; they helped us bring in this coffee because we are a small coffee buyer. Now we buy directly from the farm! Four years ago, I went out to the farm and did the deal then and there with the brothers. I love the fact that I simply walked onto the farm after cupping a particular lot in the exporter's office, asked how much they wanted, and there was a short conference. They came back and told me how much they wanted, and then we shook hands. Then we got back into the 4x4 and drove away. That year we agreed a European-exclusive deal with them for this coffee, and this year we continue the close work we have been doing with them. Grown by the Aguilera brothers in the province of Naranjo, in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, this coffee is cultivated at an altitude of 1,500 metres above sea level. Most of their coffee is of the Villa Sarchi variety, which is native to the area and excellent in the cup. Villa Sarchi is a Bourbon mutation (similar to Caturra and Pacas) originally found in Naranjo. It's a dwarf variety with short internodes and (usually) higher-yielding production. The Aguileras are twelve brothers and sisters, all of whom are involved in coffee as inherited from their parents. The brothers work the mill and farms themselves with basically no hired labour except for pickers during the harvest. With the help of the third generation, they work the mill and drying patios, prune the coffee fields, fertilise, and so on; and they do it all year round. The Aguilera brothers understand quality at the farm and mill level, and this is why we are excited about working with them. This coffee is honey processed, which is like the pulped natural method. The fruit is removed from the seed of the coffee bush and left to dry. The main difference is that there is no water involved when the cherry is removed, so mucilage sticks to the bean. This can be dangerous, but it's necessary in these parts of Costa Rica where water is limited: water is a precious commodity in this area of Naranjo, so this method suits the location very well. The coffee ends up clustering whilst drying because there is so much mucilage. So the coffee either needs to be turned regularly to stop this happening, or it has to be broken up. Over-fermentation can happen at this stage and you can end up with a not-so-good cup, but the Aguilera brothers are well-versed in this method and are some of the most skilled in Costa Rica. Want to know a little more about honey processing? Here's a video you might enjoy! In the cup this has loads of fruity sweetness. It's apricot and raspberry mashed up, but with a lovely syrupy texture that makes this as much a crowd-pleaser this year as it is every year. Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley Province: Alajuela Nearest city: Naranjo de Alajuela Farm: Finca Licho Producers: Aguilera family Farm size: 28.00 hectares Coffee growing area: 9.10 hectares Altitude: 1,500 m.a.s.l. Varietal: 70% Villa Sarchí and 30% Caturra Processing system: Yellow Honey CUPPING NOTES Apricot, raspberry, syrupy Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6.5Overall: (1–8): 7Correction:(+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roast InformationMedium – take it through first crack and slow it down a bit, dropping before you reach second.

I've been working with Alejandro Martinez since way, way back in 2008, and in that time our relationship has gone from strictly professional to Alé being one of my closest friends. He became involved in coffee in 2008 because he had just relocated to El Salvador from New York, where he'd been working as a city banker. With his first son on the way and the hustle and bustle of New York being no place to bring up a family, the draw of home and El Salvador was just far too strong to ignore. While looking for work in El Salvador, Ale decided to help his father with some of his business interests and investments. His father had inherited several coffee farms from his grandfather and was unsure what to do with them. One of the investments pricked Ale’s interest, and this was a farm called Finca Argentina. The reason it really got Ale's attention was that he saw the farm once yielded loads of coffee but was producing a fraction of its old productivity. His father gave him permission to see what could be done to make the farm successful again. Ale found out the farm had been classified for a Q auction back in 2005. Thinking there may be a specialty buyer out there, he and his cousin (who lived in London) went about sending samples to coffee roasters anywhere they could. One of those samples arrived at Has Bean Towers, just like a lot of other samples do; unusually, I liked the coffee, and the rest – as they say – is history. Since then Finca Argentina has gone from strength to strength, but not without bumps in the road. In 2013 it suffered the worst harvest on record, with only 70 bags harvested due to a massive issue with leaf rust. But with investment and hard work, the farmers have also bought a neighbouring farm, and the future is amazingly bright for Ale, his father, his family and Finca Argentina. The farm is based in the Apaneca-Ilamtepec mountain range, and is near the town of Turin in the Ahuachapán department. Sixteen people work on the farm during the non-picking season, maintaining and tending to the plants. This number of workers goes up to 50 people during the picking period. The altitude of the farm is 1,300 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.). This coffee is 100% Bourbon, as 70% of plant stock in El Salvador is. This heirloom varietal is one of the reasons why coffee from this country is right up amongst some of the best in the world. They have the perfect climate and conditions for this low yielding, high maintenance strain. This is such an easy-drinking coffee – think hot chocolate with hints of green apple and a fruity sweetness to it. That's wrapped up with a little hit of cocoa powder on the finish. Country: El Salvador District: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest city: Turin Farm: Finca Argentina Owner: Alejandro Martinez Altitude: 1,300 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing method: Washed Drying method: Patios CUPPING NOTES Hot chocolate, green apple, cocoa powder Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5Acidity: (1–8): 6Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 7Overall: (1–8): 7Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium dark – through first crack, and then steadily up to the very first pops of second as it finishes.

Quite close to Kieni near the town of Karatina, Nyeri is the Karagoto wet mill. It's owned by the Tekangu Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society, which got its name from combining the names of their three mills: Tegu, Karogoto and Ngunguru. Much like Kieni, it has seen success in recent years and has secured some really great prices for the farmers that deliver their coffee cherries there. The mill is split in half by a road, with the sorting shed and fermentation tanks on the lower side and the drying beds on the upper slope of the hill. Both sides are pretty steep, with a great view of the valley and weaver birds making their homes in the trees around the mill. Ephraim Maina Muthee, who showed us around when we visited in 2016, manages the mill and Steve planted a coffee plant with him on the slope just below the sorting shed. Normally the seed of the coffee fruit grows into the green bean that we all know and love from two fertilised seeds inside each fruit, but sometimes things are a little different and a Peaberry is born. When only one of the two seeds is fertilised, it produces a smaller bean that looks like a shrunken version of what we'd normally know as a coffee bean, and that's because only one seed has grown instead of two. Some say Peaberry coffees are sweeter and more delicious than their regular cousins; some people even come to us specifically looking for these coffees because they crave them so much! I'll let you be the judge. Ever had caramelised orange? This coffee is full of it. There's a little blackcurrant edge and it's sightly sherbet-like too. Country: Kenya County: Nyeri Nearest town: Karatina Mill: Karagoto Owners: Tekangu Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society Contributing farmers: 1,700+ Altitude: 1,700 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Peaberry Processing method: Washed Average rainfall: 1,500 mm Temperature range: 12–27°C Soil type: Well-drained red volcanic soil rich in phosphorus CUPPING NOTES Caramelised orange, blackcurrant, sherbet Clean cup: (1–8): 6Sweetness: (1–8): 7Acidity: (1–8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7Flavour: (1–8): 6.5Aftertaste: (1–8): 6Balance: (1–8): 6Overall: (1–8): 7Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roast InformationMedium - through first and keep it going fairly quickly through the gap, dropping the roast just before second crack gets going.

I've been working with Alejandro since 2008 and in that time our relationship has gone from strictly professional to Ale being one of my closest friends. He became involved in coffee in 2008 as he had just relocated to El Salvador from New York where he'd been working as a city banker. With his first son on the way and the hustle and bustle of New York no place to bring up a family the draw of home and El Salvador was just far too strong to ignore. While looking for work in El Salvador, Ale decided to help his father with some of his business interests and investments. His father had inherited several coffee farms from his grandfather and was unsure what to do with them, one of the investments pricked Ale’s intent and this was a farm called Finca Argentina. The reason it really got Ale's attention was that he saw the farm once yielded loads of coffee but was producing a fraction of its old productivity. His father gave him permission to see what could be done to make the farm successful again Ale found out the farm had been classified for a Q auction back in 2005. Thinking there may be a specialty buyer out there he and his cousin (who lived in London) went about sending samples to coffee roasters anywhere they could. 1 of those samples arrived at Hasbean Towers just like a lot of other samples do, but unusually I liked the coffee and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then Finca Argentina has gone from strength to strength but not without bumps in the road. In 2013 they suffered the worst harvest on record, with only 70 bags harvested due to a massive issue with leaf rust. But with investment and hard work they have also bought a neighbouring farm and the future is amazingly bright for Ale, his father, his family and Finca Argentina. The farm is based in the Apaneca-Ilamtepec mountain range, and is near the town of Turin in the Ahuachapán department. Sixteen people work on the farm during the non-picking season, maintaining and tending to the plants. This number of workers goes up to 50 people during the picking period. The altitude of the farm is 1,300 m.a.s.l. The coffee is 100% Bourbon, as 70% of plant stock in El Salvador is. This heirloom varietal is one of the reasons why coffee from this country is right up amongst some of the best in the world. They have the perfect climate and conditions for this low yielding, high maintenance strain. Before he'd met me Ale hadn't done any natural processing, maybe he misses the days before he had someone like me pestering him with silly ideas! But I like to think this coffee proves we did a good thing convincing him to give it a go. In the cup this is a sweet and juicy natural - lots of raisins and candied fruit peel is backed up by a creamy sweetness that makes me think of a crème brûlée - right down to the little hints of caramel. Country: El Salvador District: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest city: Turin Farm: Finca Argentina Owner: Alejandro Martinez Altitude: 1,300 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Bourbon Processing method: Natural Drying method: Raised African beds CUPPING NOTES Raisin, candied peel, crème brûlée, caramel Clean Cup: (1-8): Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5Acidity: (1-8): 6Mouthfeel: (1-8): 7Flavour: (1-8): 7Aftertaste: (1-8): 6Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 6Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max 100): 87 Roast InformationMedium - Nice and quick through first crack, drop just at the start of second crack.

When we found this farm for the very first time all the way back in 2013 we knew very little about it, so little in fact that the coffee didn't even have an official name! Back then all we knew was that the coffee was grown by a gentleman called Carlos Arrieta and it was really, really delicious! However, since then I've been lucky enough to visit Carlos on my trips to Costa Rica and, over the past few years, have found out lots more. The farm is located in the Western Valley region near to the town of Lourdes de Naranjo. It's located at 1,600 meters above sea level and contains mostly Caturra, Catuai + a tiny bit of Villa Sarchi, there are also plans to plant some small micro lots too in the future. El Manantial is actually one of Carlos's four farms... La Casa - mostly planted with Geisha and Kenya! La Isla - not in production yet El Oasis - slightly smaller than El Manantial and produces around 6,000kg of fresh cherries each year El Manantial - around 3 hectares in size and produces around 8,500kg of fresh cherries each year (amounts to just over 1,000kg of green coffee when processed) Carlos runs the farm with his wife and children, Maria Isabel, Yessica, Karen, Esteban and Jose Ignacio. He has owned this farm for almost twenty years but only started processing the coffee himself in 2014 (while still paying someone else to pulp it for him). He hadn't been able to present his coffee to a single buyer previously, so he would send it to the exporter we use in Costa Rica and, thankfully, that's how we found him! The mill name "ARBAR" comes from the combined family names - Carlos ARietta and Maria BARboza - ARBAR. Their children are Yessica, Karen, Esteban & Jose Ignacio. Carlos is very active in the local community and they have close relationships with their neighbours - which includes CoE winning mills like Herbazu, Vista Al Valle and Sumava. They operate mostly Organic processes, but aren’t Organic certified. They believe in the value of biodiversity on the farms and plants like fruit trees are positioned amid the coffee plants for shade and to help the soil - as well as providing food for the family. They have 1 full-time employee who lives on the farm. Their latest project is La Isla. This small plot of land belongs to Maria’s niece. Carlos and Maria have agreed an arrangement with her where they will plant and farm the plot and share the profits with her, but this is still very early in it’s production life. Activity from the Poás volcano at the start of 2019 has impacted the Western Valley region, really quite badly in some areas. Although ARBAR appears to have been lucky with this, we won’t know the final impact until next years crop. In the cup this is super sweet but clean - think orange squash with some extra white sugar. There's a shoulder of peach too, before it changes into mango on the finish. Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley Town: Lourdes de Naranjo Farm: Finca El Manantial Farmer: Carlos Arrieta Micro mill: ARBAR Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietals: Caturra & Catuai Processing system: Red Honey CUPPING NOTES Orange squash, white sugar, peach Clean Cup: (1-8): 6.5Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5Acidity: (1-8): 6.5Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6Flavour: (1-8): 7Aftertaste: (1-8): 6Balance: (1-8): 6.5Overall: (1-8): 6.5Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max 100): 87.5 Roast InformationMedium - all the way through first, drop it right at the end of the gap.