COE Gishambusha WS

Beans: COE Gishambusha WS
Roaster: Nama-mame Hompo
Roasting Degree: City
Origin/Area:  Gashoho, Muyinga, Burundi
Grade: N/A COE lot  
Screen: N/A
Defect: N/A
Altitude: over 1,620m
Variety: Burbon
Process: Free Wahsed
Crop: 2013

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 5
Sweetness: 5
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 3      
※Grade 1 to 5

【Impression】
Medium dark, green, fresh aroma, Tahitian vanilla on bottom note, dried fig, fresh peach, raw cocoa, juicy texture, clear, fresh, well balanced bitterness and sweetness, fresh fruits like sweetness, crisp apple, blood orange, buttery Bartlett pear, Forelle pear, Comice pear, a touch of maple sugar on the bottom, mellow, soothing acidity of lime, honey like mat sweetness as a long lasting after taste.  

【Note】
Gishambusha WS wons 12th place in 2013 Burundi COE.  Burundi holds Cup of Excellence since 2012, and this lot comes from the competition held for the second time.  Unlike other COE, entries are made by washing stations in Burundi, not by estates.  Built in 1992, Gishambusha WS has been working closely ehough with coffee farmers to produce high quality coffee, specialty coffee since.  It is said that over fifty percent of Burundi’s Population is involved in coffee production and this WS, Burundi government own, motivates the farmers to receive "premiums" by growing high quality coffee.

Grit City Blend

Beans: Grit city Blend
Roaster: madrona Coffee Co.
Roasting Degree: full City
Origin/Area: N/A
Grade: N/A
Screen: N/A
Defect: N/A
Altitude: N/A
Variety: N/A
Process: N/A 





【Impression】
Medium, sweet orange, caramel, cacao, touch of lemon peel as a top note, vanilla, almond flower, smooth mouth feel, mild, citric acidity, pearly, lightly lemony, lime, mellow sweetness, cacao nib, dates sugar, slightly tangy bitterness,dried burdock root, apricot kernel, almond, Chinese leafy herb mix, roasted almond like sweetness as a long lasting after taste.

【Note】
Medium dark but smooth and clean enough for hand brew.  This has more room to develop flavor balance and gives a sense that "coffee geek" blends beans to seek fine flavor coffee to fulfill his cravings for fine flavor.     

Saul Perez, Micro lot

Name:　Saul Perez, Micro lot 
Roaster: Home roast
Roasting degree: City
Area: San Antonio, Departamento de El Progreso, 
                                                                            Peru
Variety:  30% Typica, 30% Burbon, 40% Catura
Grade: N/A
Screen: N/A
Altitude: 1,650m
Defect: N/A but almost none
Processing Method: Fully washed

※Organic certified by JAS, rainforest allaiance


【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 5
Sweetness: 5
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 2
Richness: 3      
※Grade 1 to 5 

【Note】
The Northern part of Peru, the highland between Cordillera de los Andes and the upper Amazon valley, is the most notified area produces the world highest quality coffee.  Due to inability of access, it has been "sealed" from the world market.  This beans were brought and shipped from the depth of Cordillera de los Andes, Finca of Mr. Saul Perez at San Antonio, with very limited QTY 350kg.
Unlike usual Peru, this cup was high tone aroma with deep sweetness hidden in clear after taste.  This lot wide-opens possibility of Peru coffee.  

Typica Full-matured

Name:　Typica Full-matured
Roaster: Home roast
Roasting degree: High
Area: Pluma Hidalgo, Estado de Oaxaca, MEXCO
Variety:  Typica
Grade: SHG
Screen: N/A
Altitude: 1,200 - 1,500m
Defect: N/A
Processing Method: Fully washed

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 4
Sweetness: 5
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 2      
※Grade 1 to 5 

【Impression】
Light body, light citric aroma, soothing, mild texture, deeply sweet flavor, clear, high in acidity, fruity citrus, grapefruits or blood oranges, mellow sweetness, sheer bitterness with short sweetness to finish, mellow sweetness with a sheer bitterness as a long lasting after taste.
Mild coffee fits anytime of the day and anytime of a year.  Recommended as Black, may fit with someone prefer light flavored coffee.  

【Note】
This rot is explained as Wild Grown typica which left on the tree until berries matured fully until they turn into wine like dark red color. Then, the berries are picked by hands.  This typica is characterized by mellow sweetness and mild mouth-feel; deeply comforting flavor.  High or cinnamon roast may improve flavor character of this coffee for pour-over style.    

valkyrie blend

Beans: Valkyrie Blend
 ※Blend of 50% Sumatra, 25% Ethiopian Harrar, 
     and 25% French Roast. 

Roaster: Valhalla Coffee Co.
Roasting Degree: City to Italian
Origin/Area: N/A
Grade: N/A
Screen: N/A
Defect: N/A
Altitude: N/A
Variety: N/A
Process: N/A

【Impression】
Medium to medium dark, savory aroma, dark chocolate, mellow roasted nuts like aroma as a base note, followed by herbal, a touch of high tone citrus peels as a top note, light touch, juicy mouth feel, fresh plum like flavor over taken by tangy bitterness, smokey, lemony acidity, lime, cinnamon, a touch of natural but thick sweetness hidden, prune, dates sugar, a smorky bitterness and tangy-ness as a long lasting after taste.
Overall, very interesting and unique flavor as beans do.  Flavor significantly changes not only by the brewer but also by time to time.  It is difficult to describe a profile of this blend and may need more time to repeat try and error.

Paraka

Beans: Paraka
Roaster: Nama-mame Hompo
Roasting Degree: City
Origin/Area: Mt. Hagen, Papua New Guinea
Grade: Prantation A
Screen: 17
Defect: None
Altitude: over 1,500m
Variety: Typica, Burbon
Process: Free Wahsed
Crop: 2009.

【Impression】
Mild, Medium ~ semi-dark body, well-balanced, round flavor.  Summer tangerine like light, juicy, refreshing acidity with settled, well-harmonized sweet-bitterness, thin, smooth texture.
Well harmonized combination of bitterness and sourness, but not either of them: bitterness and sourness are evenly set on the base of light sweetness, fruity aroma like mango, a little bitter aftertaste. 
Different sensations of sourness and bitterness are intertwined to create deep and rich flavor of this coffee.


【Note】
Papua New Guinea, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini, is located in the South of the equator and the North of Australia, consisted of over 300 islands over coral reef in South pacific.  Coffee is cultivated mainly Western Highlands Province called Mt. Hagen, Golocka, Wau, Bantz area, the area where were blessed with volcanic ash soil, stable weather, and stable rainfall throughout a year. 
We are happy to introduce "PARAKA", the high quality beans from this area. 

★Note　2★
Originally written in 2011, this cupping post was hidden and slipped in other articles.  I happened to find this so decided to bring it to the life.

Finca Las Golondrinas

Name:　Finca Las Golondrinas
Roaster: Home roast
Roasting degree: City
Area: Mosonte, Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua
Variety:  Villa Sarchi, Catura
Grade: SGH
Screen: N/A
Altitude: 1,400 - 1,700m
Defect: N/A
Processing Method: Fully washed

【Flavor scale】
Aroma: 5
Sweetness: 5
Acidity: 3
Bitterness: 3
Richness: 3    
※Grade 1 to 5

【Impression】
Medium dark, mellow, highly aromatic, cacao, coconut sugar, roasted pecan, rolled oats, Hazel nuts, silky, well-balanced sweetness and bitterness, coconuts sugar, molasses, unrefined cane sugar, vanilla, cacao nib, roasted almond, light touch of acidity, lime, blood orange, black berry, dark chocolate like bitterness with almond essence sweetness as a long lasting aftertaste. 



【Note】
Since 1974, this coffee farm has carried the dream of Peralta Family.  Finca Las Golondrinas won the first place in Nicaraguan SOE in 2007 and bit on the highest price, 47.06 at that time.  They grow very rare variety: Villa Sarchi.  Rarely grown in Nicaragua, Villa Sarchi is a natural hybrid of Burbon variety, which has low level of disease resistance but high yieldability.  This Burbon hybrid often explain as Orange, clean flavor, which strongly depends on and varies by the country/soil they are grown.