Peregrinations: Monthly Coffee Club

February 2010 selection

Single Estate

Costa Rica, Lourdes de Naranjo, Herbazu Farm

This surprising single estate coffee from Costa Rica behaves quite a bit like a top Kenyan!  The cup starts with distinct citrus and mixed fruit aromas with a clear sweetness.  The brightness in the cup is definitely lemon blended with berries following with deeper caramel-sweetness notes – very Kenya!  A great example of a bright, complex Costa Rican.

From the Importer:

“Cafetalera Herbazu is a well-known farm in the West Valley region, the Lourdes de Naranjo area to be exact. It is on of the early pioneers in independent, small mill coffee farms, the work of the Barrantes family. They grow a type of Villa Sarchi cultivar that they have used for so long, it has become their own mutation in a way. It’s quite a short plant (Villa Sarchi is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon, as is Caturra). The mill and drying patios are right in the center of the farm, which ranges from 1550 to 1700 meters. They don’t employ much shade on the farm, and their particular type of Villa Sarchi seems adapted to this exposure. This offering is a wet-process style estate grade, which is a forced demucilage process (as opposed to traditional fermentation wet-process).”

This outstanding organic coffee starts with a sweet, fruity, floral smell combined with some dustiness.  The cup is balanced with a slight tilt toward the acidic, which fades fast.  The flavors are big with loads of dark, dark chocolate and bright cherries mixed with a fruit flavor that comes from the tropics – perhaps mango.  There are also subtle, delicate floral tones that sneak in.  The mouth feel is thick and viscous and provides a nice juiciness.  The finish is super clean with slight fruits, dark chocolate, and slight caramel and dulce-de-leche notes.  A superb Indonesian.

This is big bean coffee, both in terms of looks and flavors!  It starts with a sweet, dark-bitter smell with really pronounced organic-earthy aromas.  Some unusual notes include scalloped potatoes and sweet onions with a hint of freshly mulched flower bed.  The mouthfeel stands out as very thick, deep, and rich and continues through with big body.  The flavors include some slight fruit notes such as black cherry and fig – think about the sweet earthiness ones gets from dried fruit.  There are clear wood tones like cedar wood mixed with nuts, and dark, dark baker’s chocolate.  This cup is well balanced and finishes smoky-peppery and dry, and has practically no acidity. A really superb coffee.

The sweet smells from the cup evoke honey and peaches, and some of that is reflected in the cup as soft floral tones.  The dominant flavors that come through are dark and smoky chocolate notes combined with the more traditional nuttiness. The mouthfeel is smooth with no discernable acidity at all.  The finish starts off with a slight peppery edge in the throat, switching to a dark and earthy, long lasting aftertaste of quintessential coffee.  A very drinkable, not-too-complex decaf.

Peregrine Coffee is absolutely thrilled to offer our first Farm Direct bean.  After a few conversations with Roger Rittenhouse at Moki’s Farm in Hawaii, we will be bringing in small lots of this superb micro-lot coffee, direct from the farm.