The Lean Times
I don’t mean to go on and on about the crop cycle, but here I go again. We get an occasional customer who resists the preponderance of information on our web site that coffee is, indeed, an agricultural product. Yes, it comes from a shrubby tree with beautiful, deep green leaves and lovely white flowers that come and go in the course of a week. And the fruit that emerges comes and goes too, as does the really spectacular, small lots of coffee that we manage to corral into our warehouse. Dear imaginary and stubborn coffee lover; we are not talking about laundry detergent or soda pop here. It’s not a matter of simply ordering more and stocking the shelves full. There is an ebb and flow to our list of coffee offerings that, naturally, reflects the crop cycle itself. So where are we at? We are in the gap when the really good mid-harvest Central American coffees began to sell out. A quality conscious company like ours that only buys based on cuppingCupping 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 will not go out and buy replacement lots from what the brokers have to offer. Yes, I could go out at any time and get more Costa Rican or Salvador or 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. But the green coffeeGreen 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 left after all the good stuff goes is not something that interest me, nor do I think it would interest you. The range of coffee that I would even consider buying from brokers is less than 5% of what they offer, meaning that there are thousands and thousands of bags out there that are Specialty coffeeSpecialty coffee was a term devised to mean higher levels of green coffee quality than average "industrial coffee" or "commercial coffee". At this point, the term is of... ...more by grade, that come in nice bags, that might be 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 coffee, but that do not have
exemplary “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 character.” My hypothesis is that a home roasting person who decides to spend money on a roaster, and time to roast and brew correctly, and time reading and learning a bit more about coffee, is not going to want to buy average green coffee even if it costs $1 per lb. less. You will NEVER get an extraordinary cup from an ordinary green coffee. Sure, you can ruin a good coffee in the roasting or brewing, but that is another can of worms. It’s the old “garbage-in, garbage-out” maxim. Lastly; What is the wise green coffee buyer (you) going to focus on in the December – January. Well, the current Central offering are super-solid coffees, and the CoE El Salvadors are my favorites. Look for La Minita to disappear soon until it comes back in late March/ early April along with the other 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 do have one more incoming late crop Central that I really, really like: 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 Barillas from the Nuevo Bullaj Coop. But that is the last new Central until March or so. (Panamas flowered early so we might see that in late February this year). If you like Centrals, look more to the South in this period. New crop 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 is going to be really nice, along with the incoming Colombians. We are on the verge of new crop Brasil and I have some super special stuff lined up. The sometimes spectacular Poco Fundo is the first to come, along with Carmo Estate 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 and a nice (bright!) lot of 100% Yellow BourbonYellow Bourbon is a subtype that has fruit which ripens to a yellow color, found mainly in Brazil where it was first grown. Bourbon coffees are named for... ...more seedstock from 1200 meters in the Espirito Santo Estate. IndonesiaUSDA is (obviously) the United States Department of Agriculture. USDA also had coffee plant breeding programs in the past and one variety they distributed to Indonesia and was... ...more is a good place to start although the Sumatras will be late this year. 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 is due soon. Estate 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 due in late January -Tom
What’s a TechnivormThe Technivorm is a Dutch-made electric drip brewer for the home that is known for it's good design, and good results. You can find them for sale on... ...more?
Hint: It’s not a computer worm… I have known about the Dutch-made Technivorm coffee brewers for years. Maybe I was just too lazy to do my research on their well-known brew quality and straightforward design. Maybe I just didn’t want to carry an electric drip brewer no matter how good it supposedly was. (I am a diehard French PressA simple coffee brewer also called a Press Pot: grounds and hot water are added to a carafe, allowed to sit for several minutes, and then a filter... ...more and Vacuum Brew fan and prefer manual brew methods to machines). It was in a coffee lab in the city of Pinhal, Brasil where I was reminded again that the Technivorm might be worth looking into. We were evaluating some estate coffees, and I noticed the rather utilitarian coffeemaker beside their lab 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 machine. You don’t see many drip brewers in Brasil, so I asked the cuppers what they thought of it. “Great,” they said, “It’s how we brew all our samples for final evaluation in the European market.” Europe … I have heard of the place, and of their fine coffees. (Sarcasm). But with or without a continental pedigree, I was impressed they used a home machine for lab evaluation. I came back and contacted the company in Holland … and that was that. I finally found an automatic electric drip brewer that I really like, and that we use daily in the warehouse. You don’t need an expensive electric appliance to brew great drip coffee. Manual, pour-over dripA manual drip brewing method involving hot water, a filter of some kind. : New attention is being given to pour-over drip brewing, but the terminology is definitely... ...more brewing with Chemex or a filter cone work well, as does a French Press. But most people in our fair land brew their coffee in electric coffee makers, and ironically, most of them can barely brew a decent cup, or fail
miserably (I am talking about the machines, not the people using them)! Cheap drip brewers invariably fail to brew coffee at the correct temperature. When coffee is brewed at a low temperature (most home electric drip brewers reach only 185 degrees) the result is a dullness of the higher, more vivid cup tones, and incomplete extractionRefers to the process of infusing coffee with hot water. Hot water releases or "extracts" the flavor from the roasted, ground coffee. The term is used mostly with... ...more of the coffee flavors overall. The Technivorm is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) to brew at the correct 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Like many brewers it uses a cone-shaped filter that improves the extraction of coffee flavors from the grounds. (A flat-bottom filter is fine if you have a sprinkler-type brew head, but home machines never do!) All this results in more intense brewed coffeeBrewed Coffee refers to all coffee preparations produced by adding non-pressurized water to coffee grounds. Contrasted with espresso coffee, which is produced under pressure, brewed coffee is primarily... ...more than comparable home machines when using the exact same amount of ground coffee in each. The Technivorm models are all simple, straightforward machines that do one thing … and do it very well! They all have a whopping 1475 watts, 13 amp draw which means they have the power to make water hot in a very short period of time. (Only a handful of coffee makers are rated over 1200 watts, and none are as powerful as the Technivorm). The machine is becoming wellknown, and has had two articles of praise by Sam Gugino in Wine Spectator. But like I said, you can make great coffee without a fancy appliance. . If you are, however, set on electric drip coffeemakers, but disappointed with the results (and with their cheap, throw-away construction) you might want to read more about the Technivorm on our web site -Tom
The Holidays and afterward…
We are working 8 days a week during the holidays this year … seriously, it’s not fun. But at least we have good coffee to drink to ease the pain of shipping and packing! We will be closing on December 23rd until January 3rd. We will have the web site ordering turned off from the 23rd to the 26th. Then we will turn it back on, but nobody will be at the warehouse to pack orders until the 3rd so be aware of the delay. We have tried hard to process orders quickly and to use a new system to double-check that the contents are correct. Mistakes in orders can mess up gift giving, we know, and create a lot of frustration. We think the way we are double-checking has eliminated mistakes, but alas, we are human and we do err. Let us know about breakage or mistakes and we will correct the situation as soon as possible. –Maria
Sweet Maria’s Coffee
1455 64th Street, Emeryville CA 94608
web: www.sweetmarias.com
email: [email protected]
Sweet Maria’s Green Coffee Offering List on November 15, 2004.
Check our web page for the most up-to-date offering list!
Central American 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
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 Dota Tarrazu -Conquistador $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
Costa Rica Tres Rios -La Magnolia $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Costa Rica La Minita Tarrazu $6.80 $12.92 $30.26 $108.80
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 #12 San Jose $6.20 $11.78 $27.59 $99.20
El Salvador 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 Atitlan – Santo Tomas Pachuj $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Guatemala 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 Coban – El Tirol $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
Guatemala Barillas -Nuevo Bullaj Coop $4.70 $8.93 $20.45 $72.38
Guatemala Huehuetenango -Huixoc 6468 $4.55 $8.65 $19.79 $70.07
Guatemala HHT -Finca San Vicente $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
HondurasHonduran coffee was absent from the top ranks of the Specialty market, but that has changed. It has all the environmental factors on its side: soil, altitude, climate.... ...more CoE – FincaSpanish 101: Finca is the Spanish word for farm. Sometimes the term Hacienda is used to imply an Estate, which would mean the farm has its own wet-mill.... ...more Las Marias $7.80 $14.82 $34.71 $124.80
Honduras Organic Marcala SHG $4.40 $8.36 $19.14 $67.76
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 SHG EP Chiapas Jaltenango $3.80 $7.22 $16.53 $58.52
Mexico Oaxaca Café Pluma Hidalgo $4.40 $8.36 $19.14 $67.76
Mexico Org/FT Oaxaca Pluma $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
NicaraguaNicaraguan 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 Cup of ExcellenceThe Cup of Excellence is a competition held yearly in many coffee-producing countries, designed to highlight the very best coffees from each origin.: The Cup of Excellence (COE)... ...more -El Regreso $6.80 $12.92 $30.26 $108.80
Nicaragua Cup of Exc. -Coop 15 de Sept. $6.80 $12.92 $30.26 $108.80
Nicaragua Matagalapa MaragogypeMaragogype is a mutation of Typica coffee and was discovered in Brazil. The Maragogype is a large plant with big leaves, low production and very large fruits (and... ...more $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
Nicaragua Organic/FT Segovia $4.90 $9.31 $21.32 $75.46
Panama Boquete -La Berlina Estate $4.60 $8.74 $20.01 $70.84
South American 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
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 -Patrocinio Natural $4.50 $8.55 $19.58 $69.30
Brazil Org/FT Poco Fundo $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Colombian Narino del Abuelo $4.50 $8.55 $19.58 $69.30
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 Harar -Lot 7039 “Horse” $4.70 $8.93 $20.45 $72.38
Ethiopian Organic/Fair Trade Harar $5.10 $9.69 $22.19 $78.54
Ethiopian Organic Sidamo $4.50 $8.55 $19.58 $69.30
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Grade Two $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
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 AA Auction Lot 220 -Karatina $5.50 $10.45 $23.93 $84.70
UgandaWhile Arabica was introduced at the beginning of the 1900's, Robusta coffee is indigenous to the country, and has been a part of Ugandan life for centuries. The... ...more Organic Bugisu – Sipi Falls $4.40 $8.36 $19.14 $67.76
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 Mattari -Muslot $7.10 $13.49 $33.02 $113.60
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 PeaberryThe Spanish-language term for Peaberry is the same for "snail". See Peaberry for more information on the single bean fruit of the coffee tree. A peaberry is the... ...more $4.80 $9.12 $20.88 $73.92
JavaThere are several types of Abyssinia variety coffee, but they are not from Ethiopia but rather Indonesia. Abyssinia 3 = AB3. PJS Cramer, a Dutch plant researcher, introduced this variety... ...more Government Estate – Djampit $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Indonesian- Indian (continued) 1 lb 2 lb 5 lb 20 lb
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 – Kimel $4.50 $8.55 $19.58 $69.30
Sulawesi Toraja Grade One $4.50 $8.55 $19.58 $69.30
Aged 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 Lintong $5.80 $11.02 $25.23 $89.32
Sumatra Iskandar Triple-Pick $5.30 $10.07 $23.06 $81.62
Sumatra 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 ’04 – Lot 7554 $4.40 $8.36 $19.14 $67.76
Sumatra Organic Gr. 1 GayoGayo 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 $8.10 $15.55 $37.67 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 Kona -Honaunau Peaberry $15.40 $29.57 $71.61 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 Yauco Selecto AA $9.70 $18.62 $45.11 $161.02
SM’s Moka Kadir Blend $5.60 $10.64 $24.36 $86.24
SM’s Espresso 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 Prima Qualita WP Decaf $4.60 $8.74 $20.01 $70.84
Colombian ExcelsoA Colombian coffee grade referring to screen size of 15-16. In the traditional bulk Arabica business, Excelso is a step below the large bean Supremo grade, which indicates... ...more Medellin WP Decaf $4.70 $8.93 $20.45 $72.38
Costa Rican El Sol 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 Esmeralda Natural Decaf $4.40 $8.36 $19.14 $67.76
Mexican Organic/Fair Trade WP Decaf $5.50 $10.45 $23.93 $84.70
Nicaragua Jalapa SHG WP Decaf $5.00 $9.50 $21.75 $77.00
Panama WP Decaf -Panamaria Estate $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
Peru Org/FT WP Decaf $5.50 $10.45 $23.93 $84.70
Sulawesi Toraja WP Decaf $5.10 $9.69 $22.19 $78.54
Sumatra WP Decaf $5.20 $9.88 $22.62 $80.08
