Rwanda Gitesi

Just back from the Southern hemisphere, the overhang of jet-lag has not stopped us from rolling out a new coffee after a 2.5week hiatus. Hailing from East Africa, we are excited to present this new coffee from Gitesi, Rwanda.

There is always an element of “caution” when we cup samples of coffees from East Africa, like Rwanda and Burundi. One of the common problems with coffee from these origins - the potato-taste defect. This defect is not easily detectable visually in the green coffee or in roasted form. Up till now, there is no mechanical way to identify and remove infected beans. Hence, even with top coffees, an occasional cup will have this potato taste. One can smell the odour of freshly-peeled potato in the ground coffee and also from the smell when the coffee is brewed. While we are excited about high-quality Rwandan coffees, the potato-taste defect creates an obstacle for sourcing. Instead of choosing to sideline coffees from this region, we have chosen to buy these coffees, albeit with caution, so as to continue supporting the splendid work by these producers.

The Gitesi washing station is at 1740 meters above sea level with 1,830 coffee farmers in the area that supply their cherries to this station each year. The station fosters a relationship with the farmers by paying an additional dividend at the end of each season based on performance. Gitesi was started in 2005 and has been building capacity each year. It is located in the sub-district of Karongi. This lot was aggregated by looking at all the day lot batches and combining the best ones. Early lots from Gitesi were not cupping consistently good, so were excluded by the guys from Coffee Shrub who have been sourcing from the region for a number of years. They found some tasty batches from the middle harvest to create this lot from Gitesi and we were lucky in getting hold of the last few lbs left in their Oakland warehouse.

When ground, the coffee permeates with gentle floral aromatics. In the cup, we find juicy stonefruits, like peaches and apricots. Lively acidity with hints of mandarin orange and floral overtones. The finish is rather unique - sweet, honeyed herb-like. This coffee is superbly clean and its well-structured body provides the boost to make this a truly enjoyable brew. No potato taste found so far since we started roasting this coffee, this is a big relief. Kudos to the producers and Coffee Shrub for this excellent gem!

• Wet mill: Gitesi, Karongi
• Altitude: 1740m asl
• Producers: 1830 smallholders in the surrounding areas deliver cherries to the washing station.
• Varietals: Bourbon.
• Processing:  Wet processed

New Four Chairs v3

OK, we admit this news is slightly overdue but we are here nonetheless as we officially launch the new iteration of our Four Chairs Espresso, version 3!

The coffee rust disease that is sweeping through Central America last year is really affecting our producers hugely. Many have experienced big drops in coffee harvests compared to previous year. This in turn makes our job even more challenging this year as we have to seek out even more producers for that cup of coffee that we feel works for us. The good news is that even though quantity has suffered greatly, quality on the other hand has improved with noticeable results on the cupping table.

We visited El Salvador in February earlier in the year and caught up with our friends from the Pacas family, who operates Café Tuxpal, a wet and dry mill that processes the family’s farms as well as a couple of other partner farms that they are working with to improve the quality of their coffees. This year, we saw new raised drying beds which are used to dry some of the coffees and a huge demand for naturals (also known as dry-processed coffee) from their clients. The processing in this facility has always impressed us greatly, especially the approach to the high standards of quality that Federico and Lily Pacas have instilled in the team. A trip to Finca Santa Petrona also reiterated our beliefs that we are working with people who really care about their coffee. The following day, we cupped the coffees from this farm and we knew we have to buy all that was available to us, especially when there is so little to go around this year! We selected a fully washed Red Bourbon varietal, which seem to bind the blend together so well. Credit goes to this coffee for those who love lots of chocolate in their cup.

Los Pirineos is a new farm that we are really excited to be working with. Introduced through our Norwegian sourcing partners, Nordic Approach, we travelled across half of El Salvador to get to the Tecapa volcano where the farm and mill are both perched high on the top of the mountain. Gilberto Baraona owns and runs this farm that has been with his family since 1890! The day before the trip, we cupped 40+ coffees in the evening with him - his way of introducing his coffees to us! We were really impressed with some of the cups that we tasted and even more fascinated by his scientific approach to processing his coffees. We chose a Bourbon Heirloom (also known as Bourbon Elite, imported from Guatemala in 1890), fully washed and super clean tasting. Lots of sweetness from this coffee, and it doesn’t pale in acidity too.

Finishing up with the last coffee in this new blend, it is a farm that we also bought from two years back from the Mierisch family in Nicaragua. This year, we cupped a fully washed red Catuai from Finca San Jose and loved the immense sweetness and mouthfeel that came through from it. We also celebrate working with Erwin Mierisch and his family for the third consecutive year and we cannot be more grateful to their support to us since day one.

After weeks of test roasting, cupping, blending and trialling with customers who walk through our doors, we think we might have nailed it.

With this blend, expect a really sweet and balanced coffee, with distinct notes of ripe cherries and berries. Notes of roasted nuts complemented by a creamy mouthfeel is nicely rounded off with a long, elegant finish. Some of you might find the new blend slightly differing from our usual style but we also like how coffee flavours can vary to allow us to produce something that is different but hopefully yet appealing to some of you.

Available now, in store or web - SGD19/300g

Ethiopia Chelelektu

Finally a new Ethiopian coffee has re-surfaced on our retail rack since the last coffee from Africa. Like many others, we always have an affinity towards Ethiopian coffee. They can be so addictive that we find our Ethiopian coffees always run out a lot faster than we would expect. So this year, we have planned a pipeline of coffees from Africa to satisfy our “thirsty” customers. First up is an amazingly sweet coffee from a washing station near Chele'lektu, situated in the Yirga Cheffe region. This lot is made up of many small lots from around the town of Chele'lektu in the Kochore Woreda of Yirga Cheffe. The altitudes of farms in this area range from 1850 to 2000+ meters, with approximately 600 small-holder farmers contributing to this lot.

This coffee strikes you first with its citrusy fragrance, followed by the delicate aroma of coffee blossom. Tasting it hot brings out a complex mix of tropical fruit notes but as it cools, you’ll find yourself drinking a cup of honeyed lemon tea. Loaded with intense sweetness, this cup of filter brew also coats your tongue with a layer of silk.

We have very limited quantities of Chele'lektu, so grab a bag soon before it runs out.

• Producers: More than 600 small-holder producers
• Municipality: Kochere Woreda
• Region: Yirga Cheffe, Ethiopia
• Varietal: Heirloom
• Altitude: 1800 - 2000+ masl
• Processing: Fully washed

New from Nicaragua: San Jose & Los Altos

Though our trip to Central America was barely 4 months ago, it seemed like ages ago that we were cupping at Beneficio Don Estaban in Matagalpa. This year, we had very little time in Nicaragua, barely a couple of hours to catch up with Dr Mierisch as well as cup coffees from this year’s harvest. Like many other farms across Central America, the Mierisch’s farms are affected by the coffee rust disease (“la roya”) and some are more affected than others (more on the coffee rust disease in our next post). The onset of “la roya” led to experimentation of new varietals which are found to be more resistant to the coffee rust. Growing rust-resistant varietals might be a long term solution, but many have to rely on stronger fertilizers as an immediate measure to counteract the threatening fungus. The application of fertilizers is expensive and while bigger estate owners like the Mierisch family can afford to do so, other small producers struggle to afford and government assistance is limited. Despite prevention measures taken to fight the coffee rust, there was a considerable drop in production. The only comfort was the quality of the coffees held up on the cupping table. Over 3 rounds of cupping, we tried coffees from different farms, different varietals and different processing methods. We found some gems that we really like and it is always rewarding to cup with other more experienced green coffee buyers whom we look to learn from.

Having waited so long for the first shipment of coffees from Central America to arrive, we decided to roll out not one, but TWO new coffees, Finca San Jose and Finca Los Altos.

These two coffees are both from the Jinotega region of Nicaragua. When we first cupped the Javanica varietal from Finca San Jose, it reminded us of an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. The floral notes are so distinct and it was delicately sweet which we thought would be beautiful as a brewed coffee. As for Los Altos, the balance of this coffee stood out on the table. The lot we bought is of Red Bourbon varietal. It has rich fruits overtones that give it a punchy start and ends off with a decadent chocolate finish. We are guessing this will be a crowd pleaser as a single origin espresso. The two coffees showcase different types of sweetness, both equally enjoyable.

• Farm: San Jose
• Producer: Mierisch Family
• Community: Lipululo
• Region: Jinotega, Nicaragua
• Farm Manager: Jesus Antonio Cruz
• Varietal: Javanica
• Altitude: 1250-1600m asl
• Processing: Dry fermented then washed

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• Farm: Los Altos
• Producer: Mierisch Family
• Municipality: Laguna Verde
• Region: Jinotega, Nicaragua
• Farm Manager: Fausto Martinez Miranda
• Varietal: Red Bourbon
• Altitude: 1275-1400m asl
• Processing: Dry fermented then washed

A useful brewing tool: Cooper-Atkins Digital Thermometer

When customers watch us brew in the shop, we frequently get asked about our brewing temperature. Why is water temperature important? It all boils down to extraction and how it makes the coffee taste good. Too hot, you might end up burning the coffee and cause unpleasant bitterness. Too low, you might not get the best flavours of the coffee. So in the shop, we measure the water temperature for every cup of filter brew we do. In general, we use water at around 93-94 degree celsius for brewing on the Kalita wave dripper and around 90 degree celsius for the Aeropress. (Note: while we have done taste tests of brewing with different temperature, the recommended temperature is purely a starting guide. To fine tune the taste, one should experiment with different temperatures and adjust according to taste)

We have tried various brands of thermometers, but many come with some flaws. There are good digital ones available in the market, but might end up burning a hole in your pocket. Analog thermometers are more affordable, but it takes too long for the temperature to stabilize for brewing purposes. Not easy to find a fast, durable and affordable digital thermometer in Singapore that is suitable for brewing. We tried quite a number from Amazon and they all died on us after severe brewing usage, mainly due to the thermometer’s incapability to handle water vapour. A few months ago, we came across a Cooper-Atkins digital thermometer and decided to give it a try. It had a long stem which works well for most small to medium-sized kettles. Its narrow tip also gives it a quick response time of < 6 seconds, probably something around 3-4 seconds. Having it as water-proof is extremely After using it for a few months, we are quite convinced that this is one of the better digital thermometers we have used.

To complement our range of brewing accessories, we decided to retail the Cooper-Atkins DFP450W digital thermometer at Nylon, feel this is another good investment for those who truly want to brew a consistent and good cup. Available off our retail rack and online store.