OK time for a coffee post (at last I hear you cry).

All good things come to those who wait its true I’ve experienced it myself. Last year Kenya coffee for me was poor. They suffered droughts and a real drop in the huge quality its become renowned for.. Lots of other coffee roasters stocked coffee that was ok or all right just so they could offer a Kenyan. We resisted and didn’t give in, it was tough as Kenya is one of our biggest sellers, but I couldn’t compromise on our quality.

Well this year its better than ever, our old favourite Gethumbwini from the Kiambu region hit our cupping table a few weeks to early but even then I could see how good it was. We sat on it for a little while longer and as it calmed and became less green we could see how fantastic this coffee is. In the cup its full of Blackcurrants and creaminess with wonderful acidity. This is Kenya coffee at its very best.

Just a short “blog” today to say the Daterra Reserve is now back in stock after a week of running out, sorry about that but what can you do when someone comes and buys 20kg in one go

A component in the last two years World Barista Champions blend this coffee is awesome espresso, and if you haven’t tried it yet then I recommend you give it a go.

Ok I’m going to have to join a self help group, sit in a big circle and say

“Hello my name is Stephen Leighton and I’m an El Salvador-a-holic”

We are now holding two cup of excellence’s

El Salvador Finca Las Victorias
El Salvador Las Mercedes

We hold a 100% El Salvador Blend

El Salvador “La Selecta” Espresso Blend

And three yes that’s right three, single estate coffees in

El Salvador Finca La Fany Bourbon
El Salvador El Borbollon
El Salvador Los Planes

Its ridiculous, its silly but when coffees cup this good on the table I’m going to stock them. The El Borbollon and the Las Mercedes are here today gone tomorrow offering I’m afraid, the others we will have to wait and see.

We have also added Nicaraguan Cup of excellence Los Laureles which is fantastic filter/ french press coffee, and again in short supply. It’s to replace the Nicaragua Coop 22 de Septiembre which will be leaving us very shortly VERY VERY SHORTLY THIS WEEK.

But for a few days bask in the glory of nine cup of excellence offerings of which only one (the Nicaraguan copp 22de septimbre) is past crop, ohh it’s a joy to behold (for me anyway)

It seems like an age ago when we bid on this coffee, and that’s because it was way back on July 11,  but after a marathon auction its had a marathon journey to get here.

But here it is in all its glory, an awesome coffee from the Jalapa region, from a really small farm of only 1.75 Hectares called Viviano. Were very pleased to offer this coffee, but beware, we don’t have a lot of it, its in short supply and wont be around for longer than a few months. From the picture you can see 1/3 bags thats all we could have. If you want to take a look at the cupping notes here they are.

We have been asked every week for over 5 months now when is the Kenya Gethumbwini returning. The fantastic Kenyan of last year, has been disappointing this. Kenya has been hit by droughts this year and this has affected all of the coffee crop, and some places hit more so than others. It would be easy to stock Gethumbwini, but it just isn’t good enough and we won’t stock anything on name alone. So we keep searching for a replacement, and we keep cupping samples hoping things will improve.

Today has been the cup of excellence for Honduras. Last year we missed out on Honduras as we never received samples, so not knowing what they were like meant we decided to leave that auction. This year we have received samples and cupped these coffees extensively. We decided to go for lot 26. Not because we are cheap But we cupped 1-10 and enjoyed number one very much but the others were ok but not enough to excite me. We then went 11-20 and I didn’t find anything I really loved. Then 21 to 33 there were some real gems. Quite often in these auctions you look further down and you find great coffee. Number 26 was a wow coffee for me and we secured it. Keep your eyes peeled for it arriving, I can’t wait. In the cup its going to be a great espresso coffee (really great as I sit sipping a SO shot now). It reminds me of a great Sumatra blended with a quality Brazilian. This is Spicy, smooth with a fruit twist of summer fruits. You wait

Its been a while since we have had some new beans. When your happy with the range, and nothings coming along in cuppings then why change. I’ve had the “pleasure” of cupping new crop decaf’s and we see the tolima and the Sumatra return of which I’m pleased. More interestingly is the Daterra peaberry, which is fairly unique. This is a great espresso with an unusual twist.But by far my favourite is the Brazilian Fazenda Cachoeira Canario, from our good friend Gabriel. I’ll go out on a limb here and say this is one of the finest examples of single origin coffee I’ve tasted in a very long while. It took me back to a time when I first tried the original Cachoeira (see the cupping notes for more), a true wow moment. If you’re into your coffee (which I guess you are if you’re reading this) then this is a coffee you must simply try.

Only eight bags produced this year. 1 was given to the UK Barista Champion as a gift from the farmer and importer for using the coffee in his winning blend. I used another bag in the development of that blend. So that leaves six bags in the world, of which Has Bean has been able to secure three. You won’t find this anywhere else in the UK (maybe even Europe for a while).

See the cupping notes at the link below

Click Here

Expect to see a Cachoeira blend shortly which will contain three beans from the same farm with very different profiles that is espresso heaven. God I love coffee