This month at Blue Coffee Box, we are featuring 6 new gourmet coffees for November. Instead of doing a post on each coffee, we decided to put them all in one place for you.
Below you will find the list, as well as the roasters we are sourcing these coffees from this month as well.
Gourmet Coffees for November
El Muro
Producer: José Chávez
Varietals: Caturra
Processing: Washed
Altitude: 2100m
Country: Colombia
Region: Cartago, Narino
Cupping Notes: Berries, brown sugar, caramel
Roaster: Craft House Coffee Roasters
The farm was inherited by his grandparents and another part bought by Jose Chaves from a neighbour, he is a passionate farmer, working in the field from a very young age since school opportunities were very restricted.
The farm has special climatic conditions. The location at the foot of the mountain provides the farm with water and organic material, which in turn, generates favourable conditions for the creation of a micro-climate special for the cultivation of coffee.
As the owner, Mr José Chávez is in charge of all the management practices of the crop, such as palería and weed management with a scythe.
Fertilization is done twice a year according to the perception of the farmer with an amount of 150 gr/tree. Production this year compared to previous years decreased but quality increased.
Climate change was largely responsible for the low production, and part of the crop was renewed. Currently, the farm has 10,000 trees in the production stage, in ages of 3 and 4 years, and 3,000 in renovation by zoca with 7 years of age.
White River
Producer: White River
Varietals: Catimor, Sarchimor
Processing: Semi-Washed
Altitude: 1000-1300m
Country: China
Region: Lincang, Yunnan
Cupping Notes: Orange and citrus fruits
Roaster: Craft House Coffee Roasters
Located in the coffee-growing region of Lincang county is the Eastern Writings Tower. It was built in 1903 incorporating the principles of Feng Shui to offer protection over the local people and ward off evil spirits.
Thanks to its high altitude at 1920 metres above sea level, farmers soon started to look at the tower for impending weather changes, which helps them to this day in deciding when to pick their cherries or bring the parchment into covered storage to protect it from the arriving rain.
In each of their wet mills, you will find gravity separators, demucilagers and mechanical drying beds that help maximise the content of ripe cherries processed and minimise, as well as equalise, the moisture content of their parchment.
Water usage is conscientiously minimised and wastewater treated on the spot so that it can be safely released back into the environment.
Once in the processing factory, the parchment travels through a set of de-stoners, screens and colour sorters before the green beans get packaged for export.
Barra Estate
Producer: José Edivaldo Gonçalves
Varietals: Mundo Novo, Catuai
Processing: Pulped Natural
Altitude: 950-1300m
Country: Brazil
Region: Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais
Cupping Notes: Roasted nuts, chocolate
Roaster: Campbell & Syme
Located in the unique volcanic terroir of Poços de Caldas, Barra Estate is perfectly situated in this mountainous region, with altitudes reaching 1300 masl.
The farm sits on the periphery of the volcanic caldera (old crater) which has a diameter of 31km and has soils and climate suited for producing speciality coffee with distinct profiles.
The farm has been in the family since 1966 when José Edivaldo Gonçalves' father decided to start growing coffee.
Now run by José and his three sons - Tiago, Felipe and André - the farmland spans 190 hectares, of which 120 are used to grow coffee.
Each harvest the farm produces around 800 bags of speciality coffee and employs 250 seasonal workers to handpick coffee, as the steep terrain of the farm and is not accessible by machines.
During harvest season the coffee is manually collected when the cherry reaches maturation.
Once picked, the coffee is then pulped to remove the mucilage covering the bean, before being laid out on patios and turned regularly until the coffee is dried down to 11% moisture.
La Montana Comayagua
Producer: Various producers
Varietals: Caturra, Catuai, Obata
Processing: Washed
Altitude: 1500-1800m
Country: Honduras
Region: La Montaña Comayagua
Cupping Notes: Toffee, caramel, chocolate
Roaster: Campbell & Syme
Honduras's Comayagua department is home to the Comayagua mountain range with peaks that reach as high as 2,450 meters above sea level.
The region often produces the highest yield in the country (approx 45kg per 1.72 acres in 2016). Producers in the area have the benefit of cool evenings in the mountainous landscape of the Cloudy Forest.
During harvest when the coffee is at its optimum ripeness, the product is collected manually before being sent to centralised washing stations for pulping, washing and drying process according to the Quality desired.
The organisation is keen to promote sustainable agricultural practices and uses many of the waste products from the process of its coffee to use as organic fertilisers to be used on its member's farms.
Its main focus is to produce, process and market high quality and differentiated coffee.
Pena Roja
Producer: Fedecocagua
Varietals: Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra
Processing: Washed
Altitude: 1400-1700m
Country: Guatemala
Region: La Libertad, Huehuetenango
Cupping Notes: Chocolate, fruity, nutty, sweet
Roaster: Horsebox Coffee Roasters
Huehuetenango is a municipality in the western highlands of Guatemala, running up to the border with Mexico and encompassing a lot of microclimates across its hills and valleys.
Pena Roja, or red rock, lies in the foothills of Pena Blanca which peaks at 3520 masl. Cooperativa Agricola Integral Peña Roja is a smaller co-op that works with a larger union of cooperatives, Fedecocagua, to help market and sell their coffee abroad.
In return, they get extra investment and support as well as access to services such as agronomists that work directly with the union.
Coffee on the 81 smallholders' farms is picked by hand, washed and dried on patios under the sun, often those patios are actually the roofs of houses perching on the slopes and hillsides.
Further processing at the dry mill that is located in La Libertad takes place to prepare bags for shipping and export. The area contains a selection of varieties that allow for more secure crop diversity.
Don Claudio
Producer: Don Claudio, Coopeagri
Varietals: Red Catuai, Caturra, Heirloom
Processing: Washed
Altitude: 1500-2000m
Country: Costa Rica
Region: Perez Zeledon
Cupping Notes: Butter, milk chocolate, marzipan
Roaster: Horsebox Coffee Roasters
In November 1962 and a group of men gave birth to a cooperative organization called Coopezeledon, with 391 associated coffee producers.
The board of directors was led by Claudio Gamboa, and the name of this coffee was given in his honour: Don Claudio. Coopezeledon became Coopeagri in 1970 with the arrival of the sugar cane activity.
This diversification built the basis for the development and consolidation of this cooperative.
The Don Claudio coffee is picked in the area of La Piedra De Rivas and for this particular lot, only the ripe cherries are picked during the central part of the harvest.
The main varieties are Caturra and Red Catuai, along with some heirloom varieties. The cherries are all processed in the
The Beneficio Coopeagri processes more than half of the production of Perez Zeledon and all the beans are washed with rainwater, to make the mill as environmentally friendly as possible.
For more speciality coffees like these, be sure to subscribe to Blue Coffee Box. You can check out our past featured coffees here.
