Santa Catarina ~ Morango

Name: Santa Catarina Morango
Roaster:  Akai-mi Coffee
Roasting degree: Medium
Area: Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais, Matas de Minas, Brazil
      Fazenda Santa Catarina
Variety: Catuai
Grade: N/A
Screen: 16 - 18
Altitude:1870 - 1,000m
Defect: N/A
Processing Method: Pulped Natural

【Impression】
Light to Medium, fruity, nutty, strawberry top note(!), vermouth cassis, hazelnuts, cocoa, white wine, light  texture, clear, well balanced, sweetness of maple syrup, milk chocolate, freshness of fruits, soothing acidity, a touch of blood orange, bitterness as cacao nib, clean natural sweetness with cacao bitterness as a long lasting after taste.  Once cup cool down, dark chocolate like bitterness stands out which bottomed with cassis fruitiness.


【Note】Santa Catarina Morango is the product of chance.  Vicente de Faria, the owner of Santa Catarina, owns six estates, total 160ha, and regular in COE Brazil.  Flavor of agricultural products varies and so does "Morango".  In 2013, Morango was found in Fazenda Santa Catarina, but this may not meet "Morango" quality, clear sweetness and strawberry flavor. 

Kobai ~ Spring blend

Beans: Kobai（紅梅） 
          Seasonal Blend～After Blend
Roaster: Kasyu

【Impression】
Medium dark to dark, mellow, nutty, fresh apricot, matured plum, peach, light texture, dark chocolate, sweetness of fresh fruits, boiled red barley, roasted nuts, cashews, almonds, touch of orange, a long lasting after taste of bitterness and sweetness, juicy sweetness gradually grows. 

【Note】
Fresh roasted batch may brings "handy&easy" morning coffee with a coffee machine.  Kasyu always gives antique names to their blend coffees, some of which are named after "The Tale of Genii" written in the 11th Century.  Their flavor does not cue any line of the story but the names somewhat successfully add elegance to their image.

Guatemala

Beans: Guatemala
Roaster: Okino Coffee

Organically grown
Imported individually   

【Impression】
Medium body, light, clear, transparent, lightly scented with orange peel and almond flower, fresh plum, mellow, balanced, rich, cocoa, chestnuts, almonds, layer of maple sugar like sweetness, a touch of shady bitterness, a long lasting aftertaste of mellow sweetness.
Unlike visual of the beans, cups has no tangy bitterness, acid stimulation detected.  Very clear but fulfilled flavor.  
Enjoyable even for non coffee lover.  May enjoy like a cup of bancha tea. 

【Note】 
Coffee is all about "Balance" and "Concatenation".  Regarding "Concatenation", it starts with environments, such as weather, water, soil, farming, cultivation, processing and so on, then continues to roasting and extraction.  This Guatemala shows its pureness in flavor without tangy acidity in bitterness which often detected in "Guatemalan mid dark roast".  Art of roasting, maybe magic of roasting, may enhance beans flavor/uniqueness fully. 

Colombia Maragogipe

Beans: Colombia Maragogipe
Roaster: Kashu
Roasting Grade: Full city

Here is my favorite coffee from daily, friendly choices.

Is this specialty coffee?  Is this single origin??  Is this from COE winning farm?

I do not know and I do not bother to ask those questions, because I know how good they are.

They select wonderful beans, so called “premium beans”, all over the world and always offer freshly roasted.  They also carry 2 to 3 seasonal offer of single beans, together with their regular selections, both blends and single beans.  Maragogipe is one of regular selections, which has clear fine taste with light silky body, and dark cacao like bitterness/sweetness with a touch of yuzu-citrus like sourness. 

Maragogipe, also called "elephant bean", is a variety of Arabica which produces extreme large size beans.  As picture shown, Maragogipe has almost three times bigger than usual coffee beans, but has rich and dense flavor.  Due to the size, roasting is often "challenge" for the roasters.  Flavor of coffee always depends on roasting and this beans show it more obvious.  If your favorite roaster has Maragogipe, maybe it is the one to try.    

Ruvuma AAA

Beans: Ruvuma AAA
Raoster: Akai-mi coffee
Roasting Degree: Medium
Area:  Ruvuma Region, Mbinga, Tanzania
Altitude: 1,200 -1,800m
Varieties: Burbon（N5,N39）
Processing: Fully-washed
Screen: 18 up
Grade: AAA 

【Impression】
Micro size, tiny bitty beans!  Assuming the Bourbon variety. 
Sweet and round aroma, Medium body with lightness, clear lemony acidity layers over earthy bitterness with sour-bitter aftertaste.  Nothing similar to any other Tanzanian Coffee I have ever tasted...
Well harmonized flavor and aroma, Acidity comes first and  stays to the end. 

Piatã Bahia

Beans: Piatã Bahia
Roasting degree: City
Roaster: Intelligentsia Coffee
Area of production:  Piatã, estado da Bahia, Brazil
Grade/Screen: N/A
Altitude: 1,300m
Processing: Natural, Traditional Brazilian methods
Variety: Red Catuai, Catucai Vermelho


【Impression】
Light body, clear citrus aroma of mixed lemon & lime, black pepper like spice hidden, refreshing, crisp, sheer, clear,light texture, layer of refreshing acidity & sweetness, fruity sweetness of fresh Bartlett & Anjou pear, apricot, white grape, earthiness as African, similar to Ethiopian beans, clear acidity of lemon, a tint of bitterness of cacao hidden, a long lasting juiciness as fresh fruits. 
This refreshing cup suits sunny morning, spring to  summer, w/o milk and sugar.  

 【Note】
Piatã is a Brazilian municipal district of the state of Bahia, Brazil, which is located 1,268 m elevation, the highest municipal district, and occupies the whole Northeast Area.  Piatã has raise its popularity through COE Brazil, representing with many winning farms.  In 2010, as far as I remember,  Piatã represented the prestigious first place with Catuai variety, the high-yield of Mundo Novo and Caturra originated in  Brazilian laboratories.  

There are many micro-farms cultivating high quality cherries in this area.  Some of them produces several hundred sacks of coffee each year.  Most of them are well maintained, hand picked and processed by traditional brazilian methods, which enhances flavor of the beans.  People often think nothing special about Brazilian coffee, but now Piatã elevates the value of Brazil in the market.  And, somewhat, Intelligentsia is taking a part of this dramatic show of Brazilian transformation.   

Sunda Hejo

Beans: Sunda Hejo
Roasting degree: French
Roaster: Beans Tei
Area of production:  Garut and Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Grade/Screen: N/A
Altitude: 1,200 ～ 1,400m
Defects: N/A
Processing: Washed/Sun-dry
Variety: Typica, Timtim

【Flavor chart】 
Bitterness 4
Richness 5
Acidity 2
Aroma 4
Sweetness 2 
Mildness 2
※1 to 5 shcale

【Impression】
Medium to full body, sweet cocoa cented with spices, nutmeg, dried apricot, mellow, clear and clean, transparant, light texture, well-balanced and round cup, sweetness of dried fruits, raisin and dates, honey like milky sweetness detected, thin and light bitterness lay on the bottom, juicy sweetness as a long lasting aftertaste.

【Note】

Kota Bandung, located in West Java, was where the first coffee was planted by Dutch in 16th century.  This area is blessed with rich volcanic soil and surrounded by surrounded by volcanic mountains, Guntur, Papandayan, Kamaojang, Malabar and Masijit.
Sunda Hejo means "Sundanese natural conservation", the idea of which led by recent educational outreach to help with erosion and water quality improvement. Sunda Hejo project encourage farmers to increase yield and harvest high quality coffee cherry through reforestation.
This coffee is grown organically in Forest Reserve of Garut&Bandung area and handcrafted by over 100 micro farmers, who each cultivates only 1-2 acre and works together in village based co-op style groups.