Month two of the Daily Brew Coffee Subscription brings some great coffees from a roaster in La Mesa, San Diego. Brew Coffee Spot drew me in right away with their welcoming staff and warm environment. The owners, Ralf and Joe, are fantastic and you can tell they are both passionate about the work they do.
After speaking to them about participating in our coffee subscription, Joe was nice enough to do a cupping with me to taste a selection of their beans. It was so much fun and Joe shared a ton of coffee knowledge with me throughout the process. You can tell that a lot of love goes into this business and the partnerships they have.
During the cupping, I sampled 4 different coffees and each one was delicious. Keep reading to see more about what was included in your box!
Gold Bag: Ethiopia Amaro
Roast: Medium
Altitude: 1100 meters
Process: Natural, Sun-Dried
Flavor Notes: Apricot, Strawberry, Dark Chocolate
Recipe recommendations: This coffee speaks for itself, we highly recommend trying it without adding anything for your first taste. From there, if it feels like it's missing a little something, add a bit of chocolate syrup and milk. You can also try it as a dessert coffee and pair it with chocolate covered strawberries. Yum!
The Amaro Mountains are a small range separating the communities of Amaro on the eastern slopes from Nechisar National Park and the lowland tribal areas of Arba Minch in southwest Ethiopia's Sidamo region. Local coffee varieties, a relatively light population, waterfalls and highland bamboo forests are among the features that make the area unique.
This exceptional coffee is exported through Ethiopia’s only female miller/exporter, Asnakech Thomas. Native to the Amaro region, Asnakech decided in 2005 to return to Ethiopia and improve the coffee quality and living conditions of her community. The coffee is scrupulously harvested, sorted, and milled at her own facilities, allowing her remarkable control over her crops. InterAmerican is proud to offer both washed and natural organic coffee from Thomas and her mill.
Amaro is a farm with wet and dry mills where local growers bring their freshly picked, ripe cherry for processing. Asnakech is said to be very strict in selecting which coffees will be processed at her washing station and mill, choosing only ripe and ready cherry. Cherries are dried on raised beds, eliminating contact with the soil and resulting in a much cleaner coffee. These raised beds also provide even aeration, in which the dry air can reach the bean from both above and below the beds. This combination results in a very consistent quality and flavor profile.
Farmer Training: The Amaro farm is involved in training farmers in the area in increasing yield and quality. It has also set up a women-in-coffee association, the first organization of its kind in the area. Amaro has also created and sponsored The Amaro Gayo Football Team, a junior soccer football team for the youth in the area, and they fund the purchase of books and laptops in area schools.
Realizing the gravity of climate change and its impact on the surrounding regions, Amaro farm took the initiative to encourage farmers to plant more trees. This recently started intervention program is supported by providing incentives for every tree that the farmer plants.
Cupping notes: Strawberry, fig, sweet notes, complex, nuanced florals; creamy body, excellent balance.
Silver Bag: Indonesia Sumatra
Roast: Medium Dark
Altitude: 900-1600 meters
Process: Giling Basah (wet-hulled), Sun-Dried
Flavor Notes: Cedar, Sweet Tobacco, Spicy, Chocolate
Recipe recommendations: Because this coffee is grown at a lower elevation, you get a more bold flavor from it. Try it with some honey and milk to balance out the flavor.
Sumatra is the second-largest island in the Republic of Indonesia. This Sumatra Mandheling is grown on the lofty, volcanic slopes of Mount Leuser, near the port of Padang in west-central Sumatra.
Programs focusing on women's empowerment are also prevalent, such as supporting women during their pregnancy by purchasing necessary medical tools. They have also made an effort to hire women to do manufacturing work in processing facilities as well as training in financial management.
Giling Basah Process:
The natural drying method used in its production results in a very full body with a concentrated flavor, garnished with herbal nuances and a spicy finish. The coffee has a low acidity and a richness that lingers on the back corners on your tongue. Notes of chocolate are evident in the finish.
Giling Basah is the traditional Sumatran method of processing coffee and involves hulling the parchment off the bean at roughly 50 percent moisture content, versus at the 10 to 12 percent moisture that's common elsewhere. This unusual practice results in a trademark flavor profile—a low acidity and a richness that lingers on the back of the palate—and gives the beans a signature dark color. Notes of chocolate are also common in the finish.
Cupping Notes: Cedar, sweet tobacco, spicy, chocolate. Winey acidity, consistent, balanced.
Copper Bag: Colombia Tinto
Roast: Medium
Altitude: 1800-1950 meters
Process: Fully Washed (2 farms) and Prolonged Fermentation (2 farms)
Flavor Notes: Red Wine, Chocolate, Cherry Fruit
Recipe recommendations: My favorite way to drink this coffee is with a dash of vanilla syrup and milk. It brings out a bit of the sweetness of the coffee and compliments the red wine flavor.
This unique TINTO blend from Jerico, Colombia was crafted by blending four separately farmed coffees together. Two of these farms produce a standard washed process bean, fermenting for only 16 hours. The other two farms use a prolonged fermentation process of up to 36 hours to draw out pungent cherry fruit notes and subtle flavors. The end result is a balanced and clean cup with dark rich chocolate and bright red fruit and honey notes with a hint of red wine. This is a unique fermentation process that is rarely found in specialty coffee but is proudly roasted by Brew Love.
Jerico, Antioquia is a small and very Catholic town, home to Colombia’s only canonized saint, Madre Laura (Mother Laura). The town maintains a rich coffee culture, but has limited access to resources. It is this tiny town south of Medellín, Colombia that produces some of the best tasting coffee in the world.
DECAF - Silver: Columbia
Roast: Medium
Altitude: 1000-2000 meters
Process: Swiss Water Process
Flavor Notes: Floral, Caramel, Cocoa
Recipe recommendations: If you've never tried lavender with your coffee, now's the time. You can get this in syrup form and add about half an ounce at a time to bring out the floral flavor notes from this coffee. I like to add oat milk as well to get some creaminess in there.
During the water process, the green coffee is pre-soaked in water to expand the beans for caffeine extraction. The hydrated green coffee is then introduced to a unique solution of concentrated coffee solubles that draw out the caffeine while minimizing the loss of flavor compounds. Once the caffeine has been removed the green coffee is re-dried and re-bagged for transport, and the extract solution is filtered of its caffeine and recycled to be used again.
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