Ethiopia Bokasso

Around the same time last year, we rolled out an Ethiopian coffee which we absolutely fell in love with when we first roasted it back in June 2013. Now, for the 3rd time, we are very excited to have Bokasso back on our rack and hopper, literally just in time for the festive season!

A quick refresher of this coffee: The Bokasso Cooperative belongs to the Sidamo Coffee Growers  Cooperative Union which is the umbrella organization for all the Sidamo cooperatives and is the one that ensures the quality, lot separation, sampling, dry milling and bagging. Bokasso is also part of a project by TechnoServe to improve lot separation. They use traceability sheets to track coffees from days of production at drying tables all the way to the warehouse.

We are very pleased that this coffee has consistently cup very well on the table since we first roasted it. Citrus and floral aromatics open up to fruit tea and lavender notes. Lots of berries and peaches with hints of black tea in the finish that is complemented by a creamy mouthfeel. Superbly clean and lingering finish. We will be very surprised if you don’t love this coffee as much as us! 

• Cooperative: Bokasso
• Zone: Dalle, Sidama
• Woreda/Local municipality: Wonsho
• Altitude: About 2000 masl
• Varietals: Ethiopian Heirloom. Improved varietals and native coffee of forest origin transferred to family smallholder plots and gardens. In this case referred to as Sidamo type
• Processing: Pulped and wet fermented, graded in washing channels, soaked in water and sundried.
• Drying: Sun dried 10 – 15 days on African drying beds on hessian cloths. Coffees are covered in plastic during midday and at night.

Grab a bag for Christmas to “sweeten” the holidays!

Brazil Vale Verde

One of the last few coffees that we have lined up before the end of 2014. This new coffee is from a country which we have visited back in August. Known for being the world’s largest producer, Brazil has been producing vast quantities of commercial grade coffee. Specialty coffee is only a tiny fraction of what it exports internationally. For us, it is a challenge to find good, clean Brazils. We are fortunate that we found a few this year and Fazenda Vale Verde is one of them.

Located on the plateau of Conquista, in the town of Barra do Choca, Fazenda Vale Verde was first planted 42 years ago, by Nilho Coelho.  Today his son Nilo Coelho Filho is the owner of the farm and continues the family of tradition of producing excellent quality coffee.

The area is blessed with good conditions for growing coffee, with rain distributed evenly throughout the year.

• Farm: Fazenda Vale Verde
• Region: Bahia Brazil
• Town: Barra do Choca
• Altitude: 1100m asl
• Producer: Nilo Coelho Filho
• Varietal: Catucaí/Catuaí           
• Processing:  Pulped Natural and Natural

The espresso is gentle on acidity with hints of apricots and grapefruits. Creamy mouthfeel and cocoa nibs in the finish. This espresso works beautifully with milk. Comfort and warming - just like Christmas!

Available now on web or in store.

Ho Ho Ho.... Time for X'mas shopping @ Nylon!

With the Yuletide season around the corner, we have created some gift set ideas for brewing enthusiasts. This year, we have 2 precision sets for those existing home brewers who are looking for something to enhance their brewing experience that includes an exclusive beautiful KINTO coffee server (300ml) that will look great in any kitchen. For those who wish to start brewing at home, we have also prepared 2 sets of equipment that will get you started to make delicious coffees immediately.

1 // Santa’s Precision Kit #1

• AWS Digital Scale SC-2kg
• Cooper Atkins Digital Thermometer
• KINTO coffee server (300ml)

Price: S$97.50

2 // Santa’s Precision Kit #2

• AWS Digital Scale AC-650
• Cooper Atkins Digital Thermometer
• KINTO coffee server (300ml)

Price: S$76.50

3 // Santa’s Brew Set #1

• Mr Clever dripper by Handy Brew (Small)
• Kalita #102 coffee shop filters for Small Clever
• KINTO coffee server (300ml)
• A bag of beans (250g)

Price: S$65

4 // Santa’s Brew Set #2

• Kalita Stainless Steel Wave Dripper #155
• Kalita #155 brown filters (50pcs)
• KINTO coffee server (300ml)
• A bag of beans (250g)

Price: S$75

For the Santa’s brew sets, top up another S$60 for an sleek Porlex Mini ceramic burr hand grinder. Freshly ground coffee makes a HUGE difference, so this might be your best investment!

Hurry down to Nylon today to grab the X'mas sets for yourself or for that someone special. You will make this someone very happy during this festive period of giving and sharing.

*Offer valid till 31 Dec 2014. Note that these sets are only available for purchase in-store.

Los Pirineos Natural

It is very unusual for us to feature two Naturals back to back but since the last one was so well-received, we have decided to roll out the next natural (almost) coffee, in time for the festive season!

Named after the famous Pyrenees mountain range in the borders of France/Spain, Los Pirineos is nestled on the top of the Tecapa volcano, about 3 hours drive southeast of the capital of El Salvador. This is our first year working with Gilberto after visiting him and the farm back in February this year. He built his new wet mill at the top of the mountain beside his existing dry mill, and since building wet mills seem to be Gilberto’s other forte as he has consulted, designed and built quite a number of mills for other farms in the country.

His very own mill is built to the highest standards using easy to clean tiles and stainless steel equipment only. It is definitely one of the cleanest mill we have ever visited and Gilberto takes great pride in his processing skills. The water used during processing of the coffee is recycled and the water comes from a tank which collects rainwater. All the pulp and mucilage is turned in to fertilizer using Californian red worms that makes it into nutrient-rich compost. The compost is then used for seedlings as well as to replenish nutrients to the coffee trees.

This heirloom Bourbon varietal was brought to the farm back in 1890 from Guatemala, which was then used to develop the newer Bourbon varietal, called Tekisik that is widely grown in the country now. Our friends over at Nordic Approach has attributed that the Bourbon Elite seems to give a sweeter and more intense fruit tones in the cup as compared to the Tekisik varietal. Gilberto does the drying of the naturals on African raised beds for 30-40 days as well as on patios until the moisture level falls to the required level. The raised bed drying helps to prolong the shelf life of the green coffees and also present a cleaner cup profile on the table. This lot that we bought is a special “blend” that Gilberto put together: 70% made up of natural and the remaining 30% of pulped natural and washed. Interestingly, this really toned down the amount of pulpy and fermenty taste that some naturally processed coffee might exhibit on the cupping table, presenting a very clean but yet sweet coffee.

We are probably not the biggest fans of naturals, but this cup proved to us that a well-processed natural can be just as clean as a washed coffee. On the nose, we get toffee and dried fruit aroma. Raisins, plums and prunes are some of the fruits that we taste on top of the big brown sugar sweetness. As the cup cools, the creamy texture really shines together with the chocolate caramel and almond milk finish. Available on web and in store.

• Farm: Los Pirineos
• Producer: Gilberto Baraona
• Region: Tecapa-Chinameca, Usulutan, El Salvador
• Wet/Dry Mill: Beneficio Los Pirineos
• Varietal: Bourbon Elite
• Altitude: 1400 - 1480m asl
• Processing: 70% natural with the rest made up of pulped natural and washed coffees. The natural component is a combination of those dried on African raised beds and on patios.

Four Chairs v4

---

It seems like yesterday when we rolled out the current-going-old version of Four Chairs. Similar to the current version, the new blend comprises of coffees from El Salvador and Nicaragua. The new makeup is based on a two bean blend -

• 50% Finca San Jose (Pulped Natural Bourbon), El Salvador
• 50% Finca El Limoncillo (Washed Caturra), Nicaragua 

The names of these farms might sound familiar as we had bought coffees from these farms last year. In 2013, we had the washed coffee from Finca San Jose and a pulp natural Javanica varietal from Finca El Limoncillo. During our trip to Central America earlier this year, we selected a pulp-natural (also known as semi-washed) processed lot from Finca San Jose and a washed Caturra varietal from Finca El Limoncillo. Despite facing more challenges in our sourcing this year due to the coffee rust, these are coffees which stood out on the cupping table this year and something different from these farms that we are really keen to showcase at Nylon.

For those who enjoy the current version of the Four Chairs seasonal espresso blend, expect similar characteristics - clean, balanced and sweet! There is plenty of fruits in the espresso - grapes, plums and blackcurrants. Lush viscous mouthfeel and the sweetness comes through with hints of cocoa in the finish. This is a well-structured espresso that we feel would work for an everyday cup. 

The new Four Chairs is already available in store as well as on our web shop (SGD19/300g). For those who still want to catch the last few batches of the current version of Four Chairs, hurry down to Everton Park & grab a cuppa before it is all gone!