What happened to hoo?

Because we can't survive on coffee alone

Costa Rica, Town of the Wolf

Name
West Valley, Helsar Typica Villabos
Origin
Costa Rica
Region
West Valley, Llano Bonito de Naranjo microregion
Farm
Helsar de Zarcero, Ricardo Perez Barrantes and Rodriguez Bros
Varietal
Typica Villabos
Altitude
1650-1800 meters
Proc. Method
Aquapulped and Sun Dried


THE CUP
Sweet, berry, great acidity! Packaged in Grain Pro Bags from origin...

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Helsar de Zarcero is located in the West Valley of Costa Rica in the Llano Bonito de Naranjo microregion. This micromill was started by three families with the goal of adding value and providing traceability to the high quality coffee grown on their land. Ten families now work to produce and mill coffee at Helsar de Zarcero. Sustainable practices are used throughout the farm. Organic fertilizers are fermented on-site by mixing coffee cherry pulp and molasses, along with mined zinc, boron, and other minerals. Micro-organisms are cultured from soil collected on nearby mountains and added to the natural fertilizer in order to provide disease protection to the coffee plants. Helsar de Zarcero is committed to producing high quality microlots, and it shows in the cup, which is consistently round, rich, and very sweet. This lot is 100% Villaobos Typica, which is a unique varietal to Costa Rica.

Wamuguma!

This is what we look for in Kenyan Coffees!
Very limited quantity.

IN THE THE CUP

Graham cracker, grapefruit, crisp dry acidity, raisin, lemon, chocolate. whoa!

Farm: Ritho Co-operative
Region: Thika
Varietal: SL 28 and SL 34
Altitude: 1600 meters
Process: Fully Washed and Patio Dried

Papua New Guinea Organic Purosa A

Good body and nice acidity, this coffee has sweet spicy, floral, and apricot tones, with hints of cocoa/chocolate and a wonderful syrupy carmel on the finish.

Find out more information about the sourcing, watch cool videos of our pals visiting the farms, see lots of pictures and find out the impact the sale of this coffee has had on the lives of the locals in Papua New Guinea. http://www.coffeeconnections.biz/

Enjoy!

I may have gone Guatemalan crazy! We now have three to pick from. Here is a review on the Finca El Bosque.

Finca El Bosque

Coffee:
Finca El Bosque
Farm:
Finca El Bosque
Varietal(s):
Bourbon, Caturra, Pache
Processing:
Fully washed and sun dried
Owner:
Estela Carmaco Pena
City/Town:
Municipality of Villa Canales
Region:
Aldea Loma Larga mountains, Amatitlán
Country:
Guatemala
Certification:


Cup profile/tasting notes: Medium Grape Acidity / Transparent / Very Even / Notes of Ripe Red Fruit / Full Body / Pronounced Sweetness


Additional information: Julian Flores founded Finca El Bosque in 1932. The 14-hectare extension of land was planted out with Bourbon varietal coffee and grew over the next few years with the purchase of additional land. Julian Flores died in 1947 and his only son, José Eladio Flores, then continued in his father’s footsteps. 1n 1970, Jose bought another 23 hectares planting the same Bourbon coffee varietal. Since his death in 1996, a third generation is now in charge under the direction of José’s widow, Martha Stalla, and their sons Julio, José, Francisco and Mario.

The first two generations cultivated and sold coffee in cherry. Now the third generation has taken care to innovate and build a plant for processing the cherry inline with strict environmental guidelines. They have also diversified into growing other plants for local consumption such as avocado, roses, lemons as well as a new grass innovation.

El Bosque farm is located near the capital Guatemala City on on a hillside running parallel and a way off from the main road. It may, in future, be jeopardized by urban development but since we have been working with El Bosque prices and returns for the farm have made it a much better going concern and the brothers are very motivated and fascinated by the new world of direct relationship external sales rather than the usual suspect multinational mill local buyers.

We visited most recently in Jan 2007 with the Field Trip Group. El Bosque produce about 3 boxes of estate grade per season. The farm now employs 40 workers. Every family living on the farm is also given a plot for cultivation of corn, beans, tomatoes and other produce.

Great care is taken to preserve and sustain the local environment. Residual waters from processed coffee are no longer poured into rivers as was the case several years ago but are now used to irrigate the grass. The skin from the coffee is also used to fertilise the plantation. As well as areas dedicated to the cultivation of fine coffee, the farm also has a large area of preserved woodland which is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.

The owners of the farm were recognized by Asociación Nacional de Café de Guatemala (Anacafe) for their effort in the area of human development and productivity in 2000.

Robby Jones!

I had the opportunity to meet this guy the other day. He seems like a cool dude with a pretty cool thing going on! If you need some coffee delivered to your house give it a try. I had some Kenya AA delivered via scooter today. What can I say, I love coffee and love to meet others involved in the industry. Below is from the Pilot House web site.......

OUR STORY:

Doing coffee a little ‘different’ has always been our way at Pilot House, even from the earliest days! Our journey began about 5 years ago with a little popcorn popper Robby got at Walmart. He was really getting into coffee at the time and was curious to see if he could roast his own.

After about a year with that little popcorn popper, Robby’s growing love for fresh coffee required something a little more sophisticated. With the help of a friend, he built a 5 lb. capacity drum roaster in his garage and started roasting larger quantities.

Over the next two years Robby roasted hundreds and hundreds of pounds, tweaking the process until his results had noticeably improved!

The thought of starting a business had never crossed his mind, but then something unexpected happened. One Christmas, Robby decided to save money on presents and instead gave his coffee to many close friends and family. To his surprise, just about everyone who he had given coffee to wanted to start buying it from him--they just loved it! Many said it was the best coffee they’d ever tasted and some even said he needed to start a business!

Robby thought they were crazy, but after they insisted--some even begged--he started doing the math. If others liked his coffee as much as they did, he probably could start a little business after all!

Well, it’s been about a year and a half now and the math worked out! Robby can make a living doing what he enjoys: roasting and delivering fine Pilot House Coffee all over Austin.

512-803-0210
robby@pilothousecoffee.com