7/08/2011

Mondul Estate

Beans: Tanzania AA Mondul
Roasting degree: City
Roaster: Coffee-ya Hot
Area of production: Mondul Estate, Arusha, Tanzania
Grade: AA
Screen: 17 up
Altitude: 1650m~1840m
Defects: N/A
Processing: Washed, Sun-dry
Variety: BOURBON, KENT
Yr of cultivation: 2009/2010

【Comments】
Full body, silky texture, aromatic and gentle aftertaste.  Well established and stimulating aroma, fully matured flavor of sweetness and bitterness.  Orange like acidity mildly slips out from dark-cacao like bitterness, chocolaty sweetness covers around to harmonize flavor.  Cool and refreshing but fits better to winter, or after dinner.  This cup reminds me of Armagnac, aromatic, fruity, pearly and well matured taste of French brandy…
Good for espresso lover, taste better with milk and a piece of chocolate, or something sweet with strong and impressive character in flavor.


【Notes】Mondul Estate is located in Arusha and Moshi Region, the largest coffee producer of Tanzania, at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro
Established in 1931 by Italian owner Count Vittorio Davico, Mondule estate has been successfully producing finest Arabia coffee beans, which has proved by winning awards in several cupping competitions such as Tanzania coffee Association Quality Awards in 98/99 and 00/01 seasons.  Blessed with clean spring water from the Monduli Forest Reserve, volcanic soil of Mt. Kilimanjaro with leaf soil and relatively stable climate, Mondul Estate produces about 1500kg/ha of higher quality beans with grading average percentage of AA 30% and AB 60%. 
Introducing highly systemized production skills, the estate is divided into 4 areas, based on cut-back, and rotates production cycle among them to enable to maintain high and sustainable quality/quantity of 2 varieties as shade grown: Kent and BOURBON. 

7/07/2011

South Minas Coopfam

Beans: South Minas Coopfam
Roasting degree: Full-city

Roaster: Coffee-ya Hot
Area of production: Poco Fundo, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Grade:N Y2/3
Screen: 1 4 up
Altitude: 7 00~ 1 ,200m
Defects: N/A
Processing: Natural, Machine/Sun-dry
Variety: Catuai, Mundo Novo
Yr of cultivation: 2009/2010.
FLO Fairtrade, AAO, Rain Forest Alliance certified

【Impression】
Medium to heavy body, clear aroma.  Light fine acidity of citrus, soothing but rich bitterness, dark caramel like sweetness as aftertaste.  Layers of bitterness and sweetness with lemony flavor on top.  Well-balanced, typical "BRAZILIAN" coffee flavor, but may good for espresso. 


【Notes】
Poco Fundo is a small village, about inhabitant of 18,000, located in a mountainous area of Minus Gerais where is one of original location of Brazilian coffee cultivation, blessed with beautiful woods and weather conditions.
COOPFAM is originally organized in 1991by small scale farmers of Poco Fundo to promote cooperation between them and to improve their own quality of life/products.   This organization produces about 12,000 bags per yr from 300,000 plants of Arabica trees.  Their products achieved the first prize in Brazilian Fair Trade Coffee Cupping cometition of 2008, and which has added higher value to their coffee beans ever since.
Originally, this cooperative is formed from collective desire of small sized farmers to improve the living standard of farmers and to reduce poverty and emigration, and now they are succeeded not only to achieve their first objectives but also to increase the productivity as well as to sustain the quality of family-oriented agriculture in the region.

7/06/2011

San Vicente Farm

Beans: Finca San Vicente (San Vicente Farm)
Roasting Level: city
Roaster: Cafe Hot (Coffee-ya Hot)
Area of Production: Huehuetenango, Guatemala
Grade: SHB
Altitude: 1,300m 1600m
Processing: Fully-washed, 100% Sun-dry
Variety: Catuai, Caturra
Yr of cultivation: 2009

Flavor Balance: 
 RICHNESS:  4 
 ACIDITY: 3 (Medium)
 FLAVOR:  4

【Impression】
Smooth, siky texture.  Chiffon like thin, soft layer of bitterness and sweetness gradually wraps a tongue.  Creamy and mild, medium body, sweet flavor like roasted chestnuts, clear aftertaste with a tip of bitterness.  Prefer to blew with a paper fillter, slowly pour 85 celsius degrees water over medium ground beans.  Texture of coffee become more silky.





【Note】
San Vicente estate is located in the Cuchumatanes mountain range of Huehuetenango, located about 45KM North-East of matagalpa city.  This micro estate provides about 180t of shade-grown & handpicked beans annually, including 20t of organically grown although they are not yet certified.   This estate are blessed with some special climactic conditions with higher humidity, topographically rugged, very steep, has clay soils.

7/03/2011

Hot Blend

Beans: Hot Blend
 Blend of Brazil, columbia, ethiopia, guatemara
Roaster: Coffee-ya Hot

【Impression】
Medium to Full body with deep, creamy texture.
Mild but darker in flavor with sweetness of vanilla and light acidity and bitterness.  Floral arma and flavor of hibiscus and lemonglass with fruity flavor, sweetness, of pears.

【Note】
Roasting grade information is not provided but I assume City & fully city mix, high percentage of City.  It is said “100% specialty coffee beans”, but how we know?  Core of blend coffee is harmony.  Certainly, quality of beans matters, affects, taste of coffee, but balance and harmony of beans brings higher satisfaction, or maybe the other way, of blend coffee followed by roasting technique/skills.