New post! New coffees!
It’s been a while since we’ve posted changes to the Four Barrel blog, but here we are! We’ll be posting more and more in the near future - promise.
We have been going through a lot of new coffees, and the seasonality of coffees really keeps us on our toes. Our green sourcing program is busy year-‘round, finding the best coffees possible. Our customers may have noticed that we went through a dry-spell of Central American coffees over the winter. Last month, the arrival of the Guatemala Antigua Bella Carmona marked the beginning of new-crop Central season. In the next few months, more Central American coffees will continue to roll in, including some exciting microlots. The Costa Rica Tarrazú Montes de Oro has arrived, and like the Bella Carmona, it is a classic, balanced Central that just flies off our shelves.
The first arrivals of early-harvest Kenyas have arrived - the Gakuyuini from the Kirinyaga region, and the Kirimara from the Nyeri region. As far as Kenyan coffees go, it doesn’t get much fresher than these! Both of these coffees are very representative of Kenya, but side by side, they are very distinct from one another. The Gakuyuini features ripe raspberry, dried currant and red licorice aromatics that become red wine, raisin, and raspberry juice, with a remarkable key lime acidity and complex structure in the cup. The Kirimara begins with notes of dill, fennel, and blackberry. Huckleberry, blackberry, and cream emerge, highlighted with a clear acidity.
Several coffees have come and gone, like the Colombia David Burbano microlot. We decided to name this tiny 130 lb. microlot after its producer, who grows coffee on three hectares of his land, Finca La Estrella. This was a truly remarkable coffee, and the embodiment of what Colombia microlots are all about. We could go on and on about how great the David Burbano was, but at this point, it would only be sentimental… it’s all gone! We hope to have another lot from David next year.
Our Rwanda Muyongwe flew off the shelves quickly, and the Burundi Bwayi was there as a logical replacement. When the Bwayi was gone, in came the Burundi Kinyovu. Now as the Kinyovu is almost gone, the Kenyas start to arrive, and over the summer, new washed Ethiopians will start to roll in. Our coffee buyers and roastery managers have tough jobs, balancing the logistics of incoming coffees and making sure that we never have to produce coffees that are past their prime. Their hard work keeps us all excited with a constantly rotating selection of the freshest coffees.
