New CropRefers to fresh shipments of green coffee within the first month or two of the earliest arrivals ... not quite the same as Current Crop, which means the... ...more Centrals
We are finally getting into the season where new crop Central American coffees, from MexicoMexican coffee originates from South-central to Southern regions of the country. For that reason, coffees from Coatepec and Veracruz are much different from Oaxacan Plumas, which are in... ...more down to PanamaPanama coffee ranges from medium quality lower altitude farms to those at 1600 - 1800 meters centered in the area of Boquete in the Chirqui district near the... ...more (and all points in between), arrive. There are usually a couple unexpected early coffees. Due to weather patterns, it is possible for an entire region’s crop to ripen early and therefore a high quality Central might arrive in early March. But the higher-altitude coffee cherryOriginally coffee literature referred to the fruit of the tree as a "berry" but in time it became a cherry. It is of course neither. Nor is the... ...more matures later, and the mid-crop pickings represent the truly top coffees from any particular region. Call this mid-crop, heart-ofthe- harvest, or what have you. What it means is that, while you can buy a new crop Costa Rican in early January, these are lowgrown coffees that are rushed through processingThe removal of the cherry and parchment from the coffee seed.: Coffee is either wet-processed (also called washed or wet-milled) or dry-processed (also called wild, natural or natural... ...more. They are at best unremarkable. Some areas of Costa RicaCosta Rican coffee is typically very clean, sweet, with lots of floral accents. hey are prized for their high notes: bright citrus or berry-like flavors in the acidity,... ...more are indeed early
this year, and La Minita came in late March (usually it is a late April arrival). I look around at other roasters and green coffee
Green coffee refers to the processed seed of the coffee tree fruit. Coffee is a flowering shrub that produces fruit. The seeds of the fruit are processed, roasted,... ...more people at this time, and see offerings of Antigua from GuatemalaGuatemalan coffee is considered a top quality coffee producer in Central America. Due to our proximity to Guatemala, some of the nicest coffees from this origin come to... ...more, or Panama Boquete estateA "coffee estate" is used to imply a farm that has its own processing facility, a wet-mill. In Spanish this is called an Hacienda. A Finca (farm) does... ...more coffees, and I know they are either past cropRefers to an older coffee not from the "New Crop" or the "Current Crop". Cuppers will even use it as a general term for baggy, old hay or... ...more coffee, or they were pushed too hard through preparationPreparation refers to the dry-milling steps of preparing coffee for export: hulling, grading, classifying, sorting.: Preparation refers to the dry-milling steps of preparing coffee for export: hulling, grading,... ...more to get them up to the states. Good coffee needs to be rested from 20-60 days after the patio-dryingPatio-drying is a term to indicate that a coffee was dried in the sun after processing, on a paved or brick patio. Drying in the sun is the... ...more stage. As for the older lots, a coffee like a Panama from Boquete is way past it’s prime, and while green coffee stores well, comparing new crop from Lerida (due mid-April) and past crop is a very dramatic difference in cup quality. In terms of checking for arriving coffees before they are on our Offer List, you can check my Cupping
Cupping is a method of tasting coffee by steeping grounds in separate cups for discrete amounts of ground coffee, to reveal good flavors and defects to their fullest.... ...more Log (link at the bottom of all coffee review pages), which shows all the samples I evaluate daily. This includes the “offer samples” I get from farms, the “pre-shipment approval samples” sent when the coffee is ready to hit the water, and the “arrival samples” when the coffee is unloaded in Oakland. Then I cup the coffees again when we receive the bags at the shop, to write the final reviews and make roasting recommendations. PS: We are also starting to receive new crop KenyaKenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch.: Kenya is the East... ...more Auction Lots, and have about 6 lots already arranged for this year. This includes a later crop arrival of the winning coffee from the 2005 East African Coffee Conference held in ZambiaFrom the country formerly known as upper Rhodesia in a country now named for the Zambezi River, Zambian coffees range from Kenya-like brightness to subtle, balanced coffee with... ...more this year! Look for it in early June
Whose Taste Matters?
The answer is simple: Yours! Common sense dictates that no one else can establish your tastes for you, nor would you trust anybody to do so. The problem is that while I appreciate the fierce independence of those who trust no one, especially a self-proclaimed advanced-level coffee taster (me), I want to make a couple comments about why you should invest some time reading my reviews, and why you should source your green coffee from us. What I do is entirely different from other green coffee suppliers. That’s rather evident simply from the volume of text about coffee on our web site and from the care put into each review. There is a quality to our work, the attention invested in sourcing coffee, participating as a judge in the competitions, traveling to source, and the attention to the cup quality of each lot, that is unique too. From my perspective, at a vantage point physically near one of the largest coffee ports in the U.S., seeing a constant flow of coffee samples across my cupping table, I see the part of the coffee picture cropped outside the image presented to the consumer. That’s what I try to share, the wider view of the shocking quantity of coffee being freighted into the U.S., the increasingly higher percentage of it that can legitimately be called “Specialty Coffee”, and the very small fraction of that which is truly good. All that coffee finds a home, all those millions of pounds of so-so SumatraIndonesians are available as a unique wet-hulled or dry-hulled (washed) coffees. Giling Basah is the name for the wet-hulling process in Bahasa language, and will have more body... ...more MandhelingA trade name used for wet-hulled Sumatra coffees. It is an area and a culture group as well (spelled Mandailing often) but there is not as much coffee... ...more Grade One, or Costa Rica Tarrazu Such-and-Such Estate. It can be sold with all the accolades, the fancy bag, the impressive name, and the suggestive description as coffees that are truly good. But it’s not. Why? Maybe it is good enough? Maybe it would suit your palate, (which we agree is the one that matters), though it fails to suit mine. Well, let’s talk about my taste. I have never made any claim to being a supra-sensitive cupperOne who cups, or tastes and evaluates, coffee.: A cupper is a person who performs the somewhat formal analysis of coffee quality, called cupping. See the definition of... ...more. I don’t have more papillaThe mushroom-like projections on the tongue that contain taste buds.: Papilla (or Papillae in plural) mushroom-like projections on the tongue that contain taste buds. These perceive basic flavors... ...more on my tongue, I don’t know beans about wine, I am not a food snob. I have a degree in art, not tasting. What I have done is cup coffee and work very hard at paying attention to what I am tasting. I have done this every day, for years now. Sometimes it’s just a couple samples, sometimes it’s six or eight. Other times it’s 20 samples, all from the same originIn coffee talk, it refers to a coffee-producing region or country; such as, "I was just at origin." Of course "Origin" for most product we use is not... ...more country, the same district, the same side of the hill! At a competition the judges will evaluate as many as 200 separate cups in a day. When you reach a point where you can feel your taste buds hurting like sore biceps toward the end of a workout, when your mouth really seems more like a “thing”, like a tool, then part of your bodyAssociated with and sensed by mouthfeel, body is sense of weight and thickness of the brew, caused by the percentage of soluble solids in the cup, including all... ...more … that is the result of the work of tasting. It’s work, often times fun work, other times most definitely not. What I am trying to do is stay true to my common sense, what I truly experience in the cup, the shades of flavor that create a “taste image” in my mind, and to represent that in words. If the terms seem ridiculous, if you don’t get the “toasted almond, crispUsually used as a modifying flavor term, such as "crisp acidity" : Crisp can have several meanings, since it modifies other flavor terms. Crisp acidity might mean bracing,... ...more acidic snap, abrupt but clean finish” in a coffee, I can make this statement in my defense: I truly did. And those qualities raised the coffee above the standard cup character of the many other samples I evaluated, and registered it in my “taste memory” from previous cuppings, from previous years, as an exceptional coffee from that particular origin. Reputation or a past offering from an origin is no guarantee that the current offering is as good. I also wish to point out that I do not use superlatives in reviews, nor do I describe coffees in whimsical ways. What I mean is that I never call a coffee “the finest,” nor do I describe it with analogies to things you cannot smell or taste (I don’t say “this is the Cadillac of cups” or “the X-Games of coffees” … which I have seen used). But I do really, really, really like the coffees I find and choose to put on the Offer List, and the enthusiasm in the descriptions is sincere. As far as the numbers, I wish I could just erase them all. Numbers do not tell the story of a coffee, they don’t explain how it is good, the quality of the cup. They are supposed to describe a “quantity of goodness” and that is an oxymoron. I must use the numbers to score all the samples I evaluate, I need the numbers, and I know readers want to see them too. But if you bought coffee by simply looking at a range of point scores, you would not be doing much better than someone who closed their eyes and pointed at the Offer List. Why in the world would I write this text? Because I have a healthy skepticism about this occupation, a mild distrust of “experts,” more than a little contempt for “connoisseurship” when it is not rooted in personal experience, and a need to be understood. When our new cupping room is built, there will be no better way to engender an “understanding of taste” than having you come cup coffee with me. -Tom
Moving Again
It’s not like the last time … returning to California from Ohio. But we are moving again in late April. This time, we are relocating to our new building in West Oakland. We leased the building in Emeryville, and this one we bought. (It’s a good time to thank you all, our loyal customers, because in a way your continued orders made this possible!) Besides being even closer to the main coffee warehouses at the Port of Oakland, the new building is more spacious and will include a cupping room that fits more than one occupant (me). That means we can have some group cuppings when the occasion arises, something many of you have asked about. Now, this will take a bit longer because the cupping room is not built yet. First we get moved in, then we will fill in some of the blanks. We will close for a few days during the move, and will post the dates in advance on the web site. Also, I have been extremely busy running between the two places, getting everything ready. As some of you know, we are chronic do-it-yourselfers … perhaps the term pathological would apply here. We have done much of the construction, cleaning and finishing work on the space ourselves. It was a very nice, clean space … well, considering it’s last use was tire retreading! So if we sound a little more stressed, or I drop the ball on an email correspondence, please resend the message and know we mean well.
Sweet Maria’s Coffee
1115 21st Street, Oakland CA 94607
web: www.sweetmarias.com
email: [email protected]
Sweet Maria’s Green Coffee Offering List on April 10, 2005.
Central American 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
Costa Rica Dota Tarrazu -Conquistador $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
Costa Rica La Minita Tarrazu $6.80 $12.92 $30.26 $108.80
Costa Rica OrganicGrown without the use of artificial fertilizers, herbicides, etc.: Organic coffee has been grown according to organic farming techniques, typically without the use of artificial fertilizers. Some farms... ...more -La Amistad $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
El SalvadorEl Salvador coffee had an undeservingly poor reputation for years, marred mostly by the inability to deliver coffee of high quality in an unstable political climate. Unfortunately, agriculture... ...more CoE Lot #15 La Montanita $6.00 $11.40 $26.70 $96.00
El Salvador CoE Lot #19 Montecarlos PB $5.90 $11.21 $26.26 $94.40
Guatemala Organic Coban – El Tirol $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Guatemala Barillas -Nuevo Bullaj Coop $4.70 $8.93 $20.45 $72.38
Mexico Chiapas -Udepom Co-op $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Mexico HG Oaxaca Pluma $4.60 $8.74 $20.01 $70.84
1020-South American 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
BoliviaBolivia has always been a coffee origin with great potential, the potential to have a unique Specialty coffee offering with unique cup character.: There's no better way to... ...more Organic – Cenaproc Coop $4.60 $8.74 $20.01 $70.84
BrazilBrazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra sang, "they grow an awful lot of coffee in Brazil".: Brazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra... ...more Cerrado -Lot 141 Wagner Ferrero $5.10 $9.69 $22.19 $78.54
Brazil Cerrado -Lot 142 Carlos Piccin $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Brazil Cerrado -Lot 144 Edsin Nobuyasu $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Brazil FazendaFazenda is the Portuguese word for farm, hence it is the term used in Brazil. Fazenda is not a coffee-specific term. ...more Ipanema “Dulce” $4.30 $8.17 $18.71 $66.22
Colombian Huila SupremoA Colombian coffee grade referring to screen size of 17-18 screen. In the traditional bulk Arabica business, Supremo was the top grade Colombia, with Excelso one step below... ...more $4.30 $8.17 $18.71 $66.22
Colombian Organic Mesa de los Santos $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
PeruPeruvian coffees have Central American brightness but in a South American coffee flavor package overall. The good organic lots do have more of a "rustic" coffee character.: Organic... ...more Organic/Fair Trade Chanchamayo $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
African- Arabian 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
Ethiopian Organic/Fair Trade Harar $5.10 $9.69 $22.19 $78.54
Ethiopian Org/FT Yirgacheffe $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
Kenya AA Auction Lot – Kangocho $5.90 $11.21 $25.67 $90.86
Kenya AA Auction Lot 707 -Ithima $5.40 $10.26 $23.49 $83.16
RwandaA Bourbon cultivar variant from Rwanda and Burundi. Bourbon coffees are named for the island in the India Ocean where French colonists grew it. Some history from the... ...more Gatare Grade A $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
TanzaniaIn terms of the Tanzania coffee character, it belongs to the Central/East African family of washed (wet-processed) coffees, bright (acidy), and mostly aggressively flavorful of which Kenya is... ...more AAA Songea $4.70 $8.93 $20.45 $72.38
YemenYemen has a coffee culture like no other place, and perhaps some of what we enjoy in this cup is due to their old style of trade...: Technically,... ...more MokhaThe Yemeni type of coffee, both in terms of the family of cultivars planted there, and the general trade name.: Mokha Yemeni type of coffee, both in terms... ...more Ismaili (Hirazi) $7.50 $14.25 $34.88 $120.00
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, formerly known as lower Rhodesia until independence in 1980, has produced great coffee since production was introduced in the 1960s. Like Zambian coffees, these coffees are often... ...more AAA+ Dandoni Estate $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Indonesian- Indian 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
Indian Monsooned Malabar Coehlo’s Gold $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Indian Pearl Mountain MNEB NUGGETS $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
Indian Pearl Mountain PeaberryA peaberry is a green coffee "bean" that has a rounded form: Coffee is the dried seed from the fruit of a flowering tree - each fruit having... ...more $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Java
There are several types of Abyssinia, but they are not from Ethiopia but rather Indonesia. Abyssinia 3 = AB3. PJS Cramer, a Dutch plant researcher, introduced this variety in 1928,... ...more Government Estate – Blawan $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea (PNG) occupies the eastern half of the island it shares with the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, part of Indonesia. The two primary areas for... ...more – Arokara AA $4.60 $8.74 $20.01 $70.84
Papua New Guinea – Kimel $4.50 $8.55 $19.58 $69.30
SulawesiSulawesi coffees are low-acid with great body and that deep, brooding cup profile akin to Sumatra. The coffee is sometimes known as Celebes, which was the Dutch colonial... ...more Toraja Grade One $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
TimorTimor-Leste (East Timor) is a tiny island between Australia and Sulawesi, annexed by Indonesia and liberated in a referendum several years ago. Small scale coffee farming was jump-started... ...more Organic Maubesse $4.50 $8.55 $19.58 $69.30
Sumatra Iskandar Triple-Pick $5.30 $10.07 $23.06 $81.62
Sumatra Lintong Dry-Process $5.40 $10.26 $23.49 $83.16
Sumatra Gr.1 Mandheling DP $5.30 $10.07 $23.06 $81.62
Sumatra Organic Gr. 1 Gayo
Gayo is ethnic group from the area of Aceh Sumatra around Lake Takengon. They use the name Gayo Coffee to market their production. The Acehnese are a different... ...more Mountain $4.60 $8.74 $20.01 $70.84
Islands- Blends -Etc. 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
AustraliaAustralian coffee bears resemblance in the cup to the soft "Island Coffee" flavor profile. Coffee cultivation began in Australia in 1880 and continued through 1926, but was found... ...more Mountain Top Estate XF $10.40 $19.97 $48.36 5 lb limit
HawaiiThe Kona district on the big island of Hawaii produces the best coffee from this state - clean, sweet and mild. : Ah, Hawaii... what a nice place.... ...more KonaKona coffee comes from farms along the Kona Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii: Kona coffee comes from farms along the Kona Coast on the Big Island... ...more -Moki’s Farm $17.40 $33.41 $80.91 5 lb limit
Hawaii Kona -Purple Mountain Farm XF $17.00 $32.64 $79.05 5 lb limit
Hawaii Kona -Purple Mountain Farm F $16.50 $31.68 $76.73 5 lb limit
JamaicaJamaica coffee can be excellent mild, lush coffee... sometimes. Like Kona and Puerto Rican coffee, it is soft, mild, clean and well balanced when it is good.: Ah... ...more Blue Mountain -Mavis Bank $18.90 $36.29 $87.89 5 lb limit
Puerto RicoPuerto Rican coffee has the typical"island profile". These coffees, which include Jamaica and Kona, have a soft cup, not acidic, balanced, and mild. : I have tried other... ...more AA-19+ Yauco Selecto $9.85 $18.91 $45.80 5 lb limit
SM’s Moka Kadir Blend $5.60 $10.64 $24.36 $86.24
SM’s EspressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is... ...more Monkey Blend $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
SM’s Classic Italian Espresso Blend $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
SM’s Decaf Espresso Blend $5.60 $10.64 $24.36 $86.24
SM’s Liquid Amber Espresso Blend $5.30 $10.07 $23.06 $81.62
SM’s French RoastSugars are heavily caramelized (read as burned) and are degraded; the woody bean structure is carbonizing, the seed continues to expand and loose mass, the body of the... ...more Blend $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
SM’s Puro Scuro Blend $5.40 $10.26 $23.49 $83.16
SM’s Roasted French ChicoryChicory was a popular coffee substitute and economizer for 2 centuries, back when coffee was more prized, and pure coffee was a luxury. : Chicory was a popular... ...more $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Decafs 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
African Highland WP Decaf Blend $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
Brazil Mogiana WP Decaf $4.60 $8.74 $20.01 $70.84
Colombian WP Decaf $4.70 $8.93 $20.45 $72.38
Costa Rican Tres Rios WP Decaf $5.10 $9.69 $22.19 $78.54
Ethiopian WP Decaf (DP Sidamo) $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
Guatemala Huehuetenango WP Decaf $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
Indian Monsooned WP Decaf $5.10 $9.69 $22.19 $78.54
Indonesian Organic SWPSWP means Swiss Water Process is a patented water filtration decaf method, not a chemical solvent method. The plant is in Vancouver, Canada. ...more Komodo Blend $5.70 $10.83 $24.80 $87.78
Kenya AA WP Decaf $5.90 $11.21 $25.67 $90.86
Mexican Oaxaca Tres Oros WP Decaf $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Nicaragua
Nicaraguan coffees from the Segovia, Jinotega, Ocotal and Matagalpa regions are nice balanced cups. They often possess interesting cup character along with body and balance, outperforming many other... ...more Segovia WP Decaf $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Peru Org/FT WP Decaf $5.50 $10.45 $23.93 $84.70
Sulawesi Toraja WP Decaf $5.35 $10.17 $23.27 $82.39
Sumatra Natural Decaf $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Sumatra WP Decaf $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
Premium Robustas 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
Indian Robusta
Ateng is a common name for Catimor coffees widely planted in Sumatra and other Indonesia isles.: Ateng, with several subtypes, is a common name for Catimor coffees widely... ...more -Cannoncadoo Estate $4.20 $7.98 $18.27 $64.68
Indian RobustaRobusta usually refers to Coffea Robusta, responsible for roughly 25% of the world's commercial coffee. Taxonomy of Robusta is debated: some sources use “Robusta” to refer to any... ...more -Devaracadoo Estate $4.40 $8.36 $19.14 $67.76
Ugh! -This Is Baggy
The flavor of coffee that has been stored for too long, it has absorbed the flavor of whatever it has been stored in. : Coffees that are held... ...more $0.70 1 lb limit
