What's brewing this month at thumpFebruary
January
We’re thrilled to finally offer a single origin espresso that rivals Stumptown’s delicious Hair Bender espresso! Hair Bender espresso is a blend of up to eight different coffee beans from origins around the world, whereas the Guatemala Finca el Injerto Single Origin Espresso uses coffee beans from just one coffee farm, Guatemala’s famed Finca el Injerto. Like Hair Bender espresso, Guatemal Finca el Injerto S.O.E. also has a roast profile that is carefully developed specifically for espresso brewing. Thump is now using this single origin espresso in all of our traditional espresso drinks: doppios, macchiatos and traditional cappuccinos. But if your interest has been piqued, feel free to request it in any of our espresso drinks! December Flavors: A rose fragrance debuts flavors of pear, coconut and marshmallow with caramel throughout the cup. Panama Duncan Estate, Organic, Direct Trade returns to us from year to year. In this most recent growing season, the producer of this coffee, Ricardo Koyner, experienced especially challenging wet weather conditions that threatened his crop. Diligent attention to his coffee and careful use of organic fertilizer helped Koyner overcome the challenges presented by Mother Nature. To read more about this coffee, please visit the Stumptown site. October & November
September
AUGUST
To learn more about Stumptown's Direct Trade green coffee selection, please read this month's thumpology article. July
“… [We] immediately noticed the quality of their harvest and the active improvements to their processing operation. This lot represents the first clean washed processed version of what could be some of the oldest Arabica strains in the world… “In the Gera District of Western Oromia, there remain large tracts of pristine forest where tall, spindly coffee trees grow wild. Many coffee farmers in Ethiopia are now planting tree varietals that are recommended by local research centers, however, the farmers of the Nano Challa Cooperative have stayed close to traditional planting methods. Their coffee consists of an unknown number of indigenous varietals, brought from the forest and culled over generations. In addition to coffee, the Gera forest is also known for honey production. ‘Both coffee and honey production require us to manage our forest resources closely,’ explains a local leader. ‘If people cannot support themselves and the forest at the same time, then the trees will be the first to suffer. We are proud that our forests have given us a gift to share with the world.’ “ “Flavors: Fresh ginger and raw honey notes run fragrantly rampant in a coffee laden with profoundly sweet flavors of candied orange and sugarcane juice.” To learn more about this coffee, please go to the Stumptown website. June
May
Every coffee has an interesting story. In this case, Costa Rica Helsar Reserva Direct Trade’s story involves the coming together of two different coffee producers, and how the innovative and sustainable practices of the Helsar de Zarcero micro mill, where this coffee is processed, insures coffee quality and ongoing learning for is 10 coffee producing families. Stumptown writes, “This Helsar Reserva lot comes from two different producers: Magdalena Vega Vega and Leonardo Red Salazar. Magdalena Vega Vega inherited a 4.5 hectare farm a few years ago from her seven brothers. She currently produces about 10,000 pounds of Caturra and Catuai varietal green coffee each year. Leonardo Red Salazar acquired his farm through inheritance many years ago. He grows Caturra varietal coffee on about eight hectares, producing 18,000 pounds of green coffee each year. Both of these producers work closely with Helsar micro mill to optimize their coffee quality. Helsar is well known in the specialty coffee world for its sustainable practices. Organic fertilizer is made on site from the coffee cherry pulp combined with molasses, mined zinc, boron, and other minerals. Microorganisms are cultured from soil collected on nearby mountains and added to the natural fertilizer in order to provide disease protection for the coffee plants. Helsar micro mill is deeply rooted in the local community and has taken actions to measure and compensate for its carbon footprint by planting trees in a local biological reserve and using low impact Penagos aqua pulping machinery to process the coffee cherry.” "…Renowned micro mill Helsar de Zarcero has been providing top quality lots to Stumptown for four years. Nine years ago, Ricardo Perez, Marvin Rodriguez and Phillip Rodriguez opened the mill in Llano Bonito de Naranjo microregion so they could provide traceability and quality processing for their own coffee crops. Neighboring farmers began approaching Helsar to have their coffees processed since they could keep their lots separated at the mill. Helsar became the center of the micro milling movement in Llano Bonito de Naranjo by enabling small producers to receive higher prices for their coffees than at the local co-op. Traditionally, the co-ops blended all the individual farms together into huge homogenous batches with no regard to quality. The mill has worked with farmers, providing education and cupping opportunities in order to improve the coffee year after year. Today, the mill processes coffee from ten families in the surrounding area." April
This is the first peaberry coffee we have featured. Characterized by its pea shape, and different from a normally developed coffee bean that can be split into two halves, a peaberry coffee bean has only developed one of the halves of the bean (hence the round, dense "pea" shape) lending the bean a smooth, sweet taste. Peaberry coffees are separated out from the other coffee beans and only comprise around 5% of any given farm's annual production. March
We are thrilled to offer a handful of new Central American and Ethiopian coffees. Variety is the spice of life and in part is what makes drinking coffee really interesting. One of our new offerings is Ecuador Loja, Organic / Direct Trade. Stumptown shares, “Our Ecuador Loja represents coffee from 27 farmers from the PROCAFEQ producer’s association in Quilanga de Loja and the APECAP producer’s association in Palanda de Zamora. Over the last three years, Stumptown has worked with these producer associations to improve the quality of coffee and in turn the quality of life for their members. This shade grown coffee was depulped using manual depulping machines, fermented in tanks, washed by hand and laid to dry on raised beds.” Stumptown helped these two coffee producer associations focus on developing high quality coffee, and the time and effort really shows through in the cup. February
Ah! A new coffee to explore! We look forward to getting to know this one as it has bedazzled us with amazing berry flavors, most notably, raspberry! January
This is the first decaf coffee we’ve ever featured, and it’s the
first single origin decaf coffee we’ve come across. Most decaf coffees
are a blend of beans from different growing regions throughout the
world, whereas this coffee comes from microlots in Pedregal de Inza in
Colombia’s Cauca Valley. To learn more about this interesting coffee, the relationship Stumptown built to bring this coffee to you, the chemical-free Mountain Water decaffeination process, and the coffee producers’ efforts to improve their land and the quality of living for their employees, please read more about Stumptown Colombia La Piramide here. December
The backbone of what makes thump, thump, is Stumptown’s Hair Bender espresso blend. Ever changing so slightly to incorporate new crop beans, this dynamic and delicious elixir is what keeps us excited about the art and science of coffee! If your regular habit is to mix espresso with milk and flavor, consider getting closer to Hair Bender by joining us each Friday from 2:30-5:30pm for 50% off on all doppios, macchiatos and cappuccinos. This is our weekly celebration of Hair Bender prepared as espresso and the art of coffee making. Stumptown writes: HAIR BENDER is a complex blend featuring coffee from all three of the major growing regions; Latin America, East Africa and Indonesia. We devote constant attention to Hair Bender and are proud of its status as our most popular coffee. We often say our dedication to coffee at the farm level, including how the coffee is grown, picked, separated and processed is what sets Stumptown apart. The Hair Bender is no exception to this rule. Unlike many other espressos of the world, Hair Bender features fully washed coffee as its backbone, and can have five to eight different coffees at any given time. We hand select these coffees to provide clarity along with the sweetness and complexity we are seeking. We continually taste this blend and each of its components (on the cupping table as well as espresso) to maintain the balance of flavors.” FLAVORS: Coffees from every major producing region provide the individual components of this complex sweet and savory blend which yields flavors of milk chocolate, caramel, jasmine, meyer lemon, apricot and pineapple. To learn more, please visit Stumptown Coffee Roasters.
November
Stumptown shares that, “The Torres family has been cultivating coffee in the West Valley for 60 years. They pioneered coffee production in the Barranca region of Naranjo. They also pioneered the cultivation of the Villalobos varietal, a mutation of the heirloom Typica varietal developed in the nearby town of Sarchi. After meticulous cherry selection our lot is mechanically demucilaged of its fruit and dried on patios. The Villalobos is produced in limited quantity on only eight hectares of land.” FLAVORS: Perfumed fragrances of rose petal segue harmoniously with molasses aromas before transforming into cup flavors of honeycomb, date and mandarin orange. October New to thump, Ethiopia Suke Quto is bursting with complex aromatics and dynamic flavors in the cup! True to form for a wonderful Ethiopian coffee! Stumptown writes, “Suke Quto is a producer’s association located in the Oodo Shakisso district of Ethiopia’s southern zone of Guji. This lot represents the finest coffee from their third harvest in history, since they first planted coffee in 2004. The sixty-eight producer members of Suke Quto grow their heirloom Ethiopian varietals on 291 hectares. After careful cherry selection, our lot was depulped from its skin, traditionally fermented in concrete tanks, washed, soaked to increase fruit-like acidity and dried on raised beds.” Please read more about Ethiopia Suke Quto on the Stumptown website. September
Ethiopia Mordecofe Direct Trade, Organic has returned this year better than ever! One of our all time favorite coffees that you’re sure to fall in love with if you haven’t already. Stumptown writes: “We’re proud to be offering Direct Trade Mordecofe for the third consecutive year. Haile Gebre left his government post as director of all cooperative business in Ethiopia to return to his grandfather’s land to cultivate coffee. His farms and washing station are located in Guji’s Mora Mora River Valley in southern Ethiopia. Haile’s process includes a 6-hour washing technique that leaves his coffee beans perfectly clean. After soaking, the coffee beans are gently dried on raised beds.” Read more about this coffee. July & August June A favorite from last year has returned: Costa Rica Montes de Oro Direct Trade! The folks at Stumptown write: “The Gamboa Chacon family has produced coffee in the Tarrazu region since the 1800s. In 1977, Tuto Gamboa began managing his family’s farms and acquiring new land for coffee cultivation. With premiums paid for exquisite quality for the past three years, Tuto and his son Emilio purchased their fourth farm: Finca Teresita. Emilio ensures strictly ripe cherry and fully washes it with INGESEC technology. The coffee is gently dried on African beds to increase mouth feel. The taste and texture of honey completely envelops ripe cherry and fresh peach in this sweet bright cup that finishes with juicy tangerine.” From the Coffee Farms of El Salvador’s Aida Batlle, coffee cherry tea is a fruity “infusion” similar to hibiscus, prepared by steeping dried, ripe coffee cherry fruit. The tea is delicious served hot, or iced, and is caffeinated. These coffee cherries were dried at their peak ripeness on the small coffee farms owned and operated by renowned El Salvador coffee producer, Aida Batlle. Coffee Cherry Tea is a traditional drink of Latin America, Yemen, Ethiopia and the Middle East. To learn more about Aida Batlle, her award winning coffees and innovative coffee growing practices, please revisit our Dec. 2008 thumpology. May From the Coffee Farms of El Salvador's Aida Batlle, Cascara Coffee Cherry Tea is a fruity "infusion" similar to hibiscus, prepared by steeping dried, ripe coffee cherry fruit. Cascara is delicious served hot, or iced, and is caffeinated. These coffee cherries were dried at their peak ripeness on the small coffee farms owned and operated by renowned El Salvador coffee producer, Aida Batlle. Coffee Cherry Tea is a traditional drink of Latin America, Yemen, Ethiopia and the Middle East. To learn more about Aida Batlle, her award winning coffees and innovative coffee growing practices, please revisit our Dec. 2008 thumoplogy article. April FEATURED COFFEE: Ecuador Quilanga Reserva Direct Trade Organic Over the last two years, Stumptown has worked with farmers in the Loja province of Ecuador to improve the quality of their coffee. A first from Ecuador! Here’s another coffee where several years of work with Stumptown’s green coffee buyers preceded its arrival at thump! Stumptown describes the Ecuador Quilanga Reserva: “Over the last two years, Stumptown has worked with farmers in the Loja province of Ecuador to improve the quality of their coffee. Valle el Ingenio (Valley of the Genius) sits at the heart of the Andes in Southern Ecuador. In traditional South American fashion our Quilanga Reserva coffee is processed manually with hand-crank depulpers, fermented in small tanks, then washed and laid to dry on either patios or raised beds. This is our first single origin offering of our Ecuadorian coffee. Our Quilanga begins with the scent of hibiscus, maple and lemonheads which lead to flavors of Rainier cherry and hibiscus with a long, sweet and lemony finish.” March FEATURED COFFEE: Burundi Bwayi Direct Trade Stumptown Coffee Roasters has worked for several years with Burundi coffee growers to bring their coffee to us, and we’re excited and grateful to share in the fruits of their labor! Here’s how Stumptown describes the Burundi Bwayi Direct Trade: “Violet and raisin aromatics open the flavor gates to perfectly clean notes of plum, black cherry and orange zest that are complimented by a syrupy body.” FEATURED COFFEE: Kenya Gatomboya Our Kenyan coffee lovefest continues this month as we introduce Kenya Gatomboya, grown across the valley from our beloved Gaturiri. Howdy neighbor! Stumptown writes, “The Gatomboya Factory faces the Gaturiri Factory directly across the valley. Both washing stations are part of the Barichu Cooperative union. 700 small holder coffee farmers make up the membership of the Gatomboya Factory. Each farmer grows only SL28 and SL34 on their high altitude farms. Coffee cherries are selected for optimum ripeness then graded meticulously at the washing station before being accepted and processed with the utmost care in true Kenyan fashion.” Read more about Kenya Gatomboya here. January 2010, December & November FEATURED COFFEE: Kenya Gaturiri Direct Trade We’re in love with this coffee! Really lovely dry aromatics and a wonderful cup! Stumptown tells more: “Only a handful of coffees can match Gaturiri’s completeness and complexity. Kenya’s process is the most intricate in the coffee world with double fermentation, intermittent washing and extended soaking. Wet coffee is taken from the soaking tanks to pre-drying beds which wick away most of the moisture on the beans before they are piled on another bed to gently finish the process. Grand Cru Kenyans have unmatched mouthfeel, dark fruit flavor and enlightening aromatics.” OCTOBER This coffee is produced by Aida Battle, a female coffee farmer and Cup of Excellence competition winner, a prestigious accomplishment awarded to coffee producers whose meticulous farming practices yield outstanding coffees and record prices at auction. Stumptown describes the flavor as “perfume and rose petal aromatics introduce flavors of rainier cherry, blackberry and champagne grapes with a caramel finish.” SEPTEMBER FEATURED COFFEE: Indonesia Gajah Aceh Peaberry Direct Trade For the first time, we're featuring an Indonesian coffee - and for the first time, Stumptown is proud to announce an established Direct Trade relationship coffee from the Indonesia growing region. (Read more about coffee growing regions at thumpology.com.) If you have previously shied away from Indonesian coffees because of their syrupy body and herbal characteristics, you'll be pleasantly surprised by Gajah Aceh's enjoyable, clean cup! Stumptown describes this coffee as: "Dark fruit tones dominate the aromatics of a cup profile filled with ripe fruit notes of tamarind, blackberry and citrus." AUGUST FEATURED COFFEE: Costa Rica Montes de Oro, Direct Trade "We shared a French press of the Montes de Oro the other morning. Wow! We love it even more than when we carried it previously! The bright notes are toned down a bit for a nicely balanced cup." - Kent & Hazel Here's how Stumptown describes it: "The producers behind Montes de Oro, Emilio and Laura Gamboa, cultivate their coffee in San Pablo de Tarrazu. Emilio personally oversees the processing each and every night of the harvest. He ensures strictly ripe cherry and fully washes it with INGESEC technology. The coffee is gently dried on African beds, which provides time for sugar development. Flavors: Rainier cherry and clementine orange flavors meld harmoniously with sweet notes of honey, caramel and milk chocolate." JULY FEATURED COFFEE: Cold-Brewed Toddy Iced Coffee Deliciously different, cold-brewed toddy coffee tones down the treble and turns up the bass – it will rock you. We spent nearly a month testing different beans, blends, brewing times and water to coffee ratios. Well, we’re especially proud of what we’ve come up with! It’s exceptionally refreshing, with full bodied chocolate notes. For those of you new to toddy, this is an iced coffee drink we brew as a concentrate using cold water, lots of coffee grounds, and lots of time - nearly a full day for brewing! The cold water does not extract the high citrusy notes or as much of the acids that you will find in drip coffee. The lower notes that give coffee its body and richness are extracted instead. The result is a smooth, rich, almost sweet, refreshing drink that doesn’t taste watered down or bitter like the classic iced coffee. People whose stomachs react to the acidity of hot coffee especially enjoy the lower acidity of toddy. JUNE: Guatemala Finca el Injerto Cup of Excellence #1 Pacamara
Rwanda Kanzu Microlot Direct Trade & Muyongwe Direct Trade
Also check out how Stumptown's "Bikes To Rwanda" program is raising money to build, distribute and maintain cargo bikes for Rwandan coffee farmers. When asked what would really improve their quality of life, the farmers said they needed a reliable way to transport their harvested coffee from their mountainous growing region. From that conversation, Bikes To Rwanda was born and cargo bikes were ingeniously designed to safely carry heavy loads for these farmers. To learn more about this ongoing project, go to Bikes To Rwanda. The home page shows a boy on a wooden bike that is traditionally used for coffee transport. The word "impossible" crosses my mind. The "media" page shows one of the "Bikes to Rwanda" cargo bikes. Wow! What a wonderful improvement! - Hazel APRIL:Ethiopia Mordecofe Sidamo Organic
ELEVATION: 1700-1900 meters VARIETAL: Ethiopian Heirloom FLAVORS: Black tea and candied lemon fragrances become oolong tea and lemon candy flavors in a transparent cup with the flavor of raw sugar. Haile Gebre owns and operates his Mordecofe washing station in the Guji region of Sidamo. With decades of experience managing processing centers across the country, Gerbe is now primed to take Ethiopian coffee to higher levels. This year's Mordecofe Sidamo lot is the prime representation of what washed Ethiopian coffee should be. MARCH:Ethiopia Bera Tadicho Organic
El Salvador Santa Rita - Direct Trade |