Finca Alcatraz, Wilfredo Ule Vargas

Name: Finca Alcatraz, Wilfredo Ule Vargas
Roaster:  Sightglass
Roasting degree:
Area: Huila, Oporapa, Colombia
Variety:  Caturra
Grade: N/A
Screen: N/A
Altitude: 1,780m～
Defect: N/A
Processing Method: Washed, patio dried

【Impression】

Light to medium light, citric, lemony, red grape fruits, concord grape, lime, Madeline orange, high in acidity, a touch of light tangy-ness as matured red wine, bitter persimmon, shinny and bright, lime like freshness as a long lasting aftertaste.   

【Note】
Beautiful beans but rather small and rough surface.  
Sightglass roast always leaves full of silver skin, chaff, which makes coffee flavor cloudy.  There would be special technique to extract fine flavored coffee out of so called Scandinavian roasting beans, but I need more experience and blessings to figure out how.  Some says silver skin creates an aspect of flavor, which could be true for the light-roast fans and supporters.  In my opinion, coffee flavor could be more clear and more friendly if there are less chaff.  

On cozy afternoon, if there are enough time to enjoy a cup, it could be better to sift after grind beans to remove "silver skin meal" before pour hot water.


Talking about Scandinavian roasting, Ritual Coffee carries highly edgy ones, "accelerated" raw beans flavors.  Sightglass is lighter roasting but not "Scandinavian" enough compared with Ritual.  U.S. "specialty" coffee has benefit of a bigger capacity and higher capability roasting machines: however, this lighter roasting movements may be the back way to minimize the benefits since lighter roasting technique are developed for/with small-batch machines w/ limited land benefit.       

Sightglass Coffee

Few years back, San Francisco coffee took the path to "lighter roasting", so called "Scandinavian Roast-style", very very significant roasting style which focuses on bringing out  "Original flavor" of green beans.  Lead by Litual coffee, definition of coffee roasting were changing at the time.

Sightglass Coffee is one of few still keep the way seeking possibility in lighter roasting although the others have stepped back.  Sightglass kicked start with a bit deeper than "Blue bottle" roasting, and has been seeking their own path since.  It seems "Sightglass roasting" has been settled on a position of "slightly deeper" and more friendly than Litual.  Sightglass now appears that a good old "home" with a "avant-garde" coffee lab.  

  　　

Upstairs was turned into cozy cafe space form the storeroom　as Jerad and Justin Morrison talked and planned few years ago.  This Loft-style space allows to stay longer and to overlook the coffee bar: however, the cafe space may appear too spacey to stay longer for some people.   

Glad to see Sightglass has moving forward and surviving well in competitive SF coffee market.