May Green Coffee Outlook: Spring Travels Summer Coffees

Details from our most recent origin visits to Africa and Central America, and updates for coffees currently on the water.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the bulk of our annual volume is procured in the first three months of the year. It’s around this time that the harvest seasons come to a close in Central America and East Africa, which make up a very large portion of our buying. The planning conversations start much earlier, but the real work that goes into securing coffee – 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.... and selection, travel, lot building, contracts – that all happens in the first quarter.

Tom spent the start of the year focused on EthiopiaEthiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia, or a coffee cultivar: Ethiopia, or more specifically the Empire under Haile Selassie,  was known as Abyssinia. The name is Latin, derived from..., and 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..., both sources of some of our highest scoring coffees, as well as our largest volumes. Despite the Kenya trip being cut short unexpectedly, both visits helped us get a read on the quality of this year’s harvests, and laid the groundwork for our buying strategy.

The quality in Ethiopia’s Southern regions was as strong as ever, and we bought more coffee from washing stations in Guji than planned. It’s not unusual for us to go heavy on coffees from this region, but we did not intent to buy so little from neighboring Yirga Cheffe. The quality just led us in that direction. We are still cupping some late harvest samples with the intention of buying a few more lots from the Yirg region, so stay tuned.

While we may enter each season with a wishlist of coffees we hope to buy, things don’t always go as planned. A wet millThe wet mill is a processing center where coffee cherry from the tree is brought for initial processing.: The wet mill goes by many names (Beneficio, Factory, Washing... that produces exquisite coffee one year, may produce mediocre coffee the next. Our final decisions are often made at the cupping table, and always based on what we taste. Especially in the pursuit of quality.

At the end of the day, you’ll likely recognize a lot of the coffees in our “Incoming Coffees” list below. From the South, you can expect favorites from Hambela region, wet mills such as Chelbessa, Goro, Rogicha, and Korate. From the West, we are looking forward to new crops from cooperatives under the Kata Muduga Union, like Duromina, Geta Bore, and of course, Nano Challa.

Shipping is underway, though not without its kinks. Between limited services out of the port of Djibouti, rerouted shipping lanes, and a global shortage of 20′ containers, it’s been tricky getting coffee out of Ethiopia at all. We were lucky enough to ship most of our boxes early, before things got really bad, and the first arrivals are on track for late June.

The Suez Canal continues to be a security risk, and most carriers are still opting to take a much longer journey around the Cape of Good Hope rather than facingFacing can mean turning toward, standing up to, being brave. But in coffee roasting though, it means scorching a roast.: Facing refers to scorch marks found on the... possible drone strikes in the Red Sea. Longer travel times means increase costs for fuel, worker hours etc, which in turn means higher shipping costs for us. In this case I suppose you can put a price on safety, and we’re paying it!

The domestic movement of coffee from Ethiopia’s growing regions to the ports has also been strained by new loan limits imposed by Ethiopia’s central bank. Many exporters rely on these loans to pay the washing stations and coops for coffee, and without them, coffee sits unsold. Thankfully, our coffees have not been affected by this as the importers we work with provide pre-financing to secure the coffees we select.

We’ve all but finished up the final contracts for our coffees from Ethiopia and Kenya, and the containers from these purchases have already started to ship. I’ve posted ETA’s for everything on the water below, and expect to see all boxes shipped by our next 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,... Outlook.

Tom’s currently in BurundiBurundi coffee bears resemblance to neighboring Rwanda, in both cup character, but also the culture surrounding coffee. Burundi is a small landlocked country at the crossroads of East... and 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..., where they are just entering the harvest peak. The season had a slow start, with heavy rains causing 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... to ripen very slowly. Once the clouds finally parted, things picked up significantly. Both countries are expected to have very big harvests this year, which generally indicates improved top grades as well.

Last I saw, Tom was at Gitesi mill, near Lake Kivu in Rwanda, collecting cherries from different coffee varieties for his nursery back in the Bay Area (you can see the post on Instagram). If you have any questions about either coffee 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..., drop them in the comments below and he’ll answer them from the road, or when back in another week.

I (Dan) spent two weeks in March visiting some of our coffee sources in 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..., 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,..., and 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.... This trip was organized with cupping in mind, timed with the end of the harvest when there is a good selection of coffee from the higher elevation zones.

The harvest was late in most Central American countries due to El Niño weather effect. In some regions the dryer weather pattern meant a delayed start to the harvest. Others saw intermittent rains lead to sporadic flowering, causing cherries to ripen at different rates.

It’s not unusual to see green and red cherries on the same tree, but higher instances like we saw this year can create problems in quality-focused operations. When coffee ripens at different rates, it means either spending more time in the field picking less coffee, or picking a mix of ripeness. Since payment to pickers is based on volume and uniform ripeness, neither situation is ideal.

As a result, you saw a lot more unripe coffee mixed in with ripe. The top grades will suffer unless quality control measures are implemented at the mill. Most of the mills we buy from use flotation as the first means of removing unripe coffee from their grade 1 coffee. It might look different from one country to the next, but the concept is the same. When you pour coffee in a pool of water, the heavy ripe coffee sinks to the bottom, while the unripe coffee floats to the top making it easy to remove.

Many mills sort out defective cherries by hand before it even gets to the mill, like 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.... Miravalles, in El Salvador. But hand labor can be very expensive, and there are machines that do an effective job when calibrated correctly. If you’re interested in seeing some of these processes in action, check out this video of coffee being processed at Finca Miravalles in El Salvador, or this video where Tom shows both wet and dry processDry process coffee is a method for taking the fruit from the tree to an exportable green bean. The whole intact coffee cherry is dried in the sun... methods being performed in Ethiopia.

Since we only selected coffees from the harvest peak, when they’re tasting best, we aren’t likely to have our fist 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... Central American coffees until late June. I just received word that some of our containers have been stuffed in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and 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..., with ETD’s later this month.

Check out the full list below of contracted coffees and ETA’s below.

---

Upcoming Coffees May & June

Below is a list of upcoming green coffees currently on the schedule to be added to our website for May and June. This list is still being updated:

May Outlook:

Coffees	Bags
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... Dry Process Wilderson Avelar	21
ColombiaColombian coffee is highly marketed and widely available in the US. They have been largely successful at equating the name Colombian Coffee with "Good" Coffee. This is half-true.... Inzá Río Páez	16
Colombia Buesaco EA Decaf	58
Colombia Inzá Vereda San Antonio	19
Costa Rica Cerro Alto La Union	20
Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Buliye	120
Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Goro	80
Guatemala Proyecto Xinabajul Urizar de Leon	20
Guatemala Antigua Pulcal B300	33
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.... San Luis Carlos Umberto PacasA mutation of Bourbon cultivar that appeared in El Salvador in 1949: Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon cultivar that appeared in El Salvador in 1949. It...	10
Kenya Nyeri Maganjo AB	74
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... Morita	30
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... Cajamarca San Ignacio	20
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... Anaerobic Wet Hulled Aulia	20
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... Leste Sabelu	20
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... Mbozi Ilomba AA	50

June Outlook (so far):

Burundi Gaterama Agahore Station	23
Burundi Honey ProcessThe honey process has nothing to do with honey other than the fact that they're both sticky! It's a term that became popularized in Costa Rica as another... Masha	40
Kenya Nyeri Thuti	49
Colombia Nariño Vereda Buesaco	5
Colombia Nariño Vereda Veracruz	9
Colombia Inzá La Chorrera	25
Colombia Frutas del Cauca	35
Ethiopia Sidama Bombe	100
Honduras El Sauce Esteban Chávez ParainemaParainema is a hybrid with some disease resistance developed in Honduras by IHCAFE (Instituto Hondureño del Café). It is related to Sarchimor, another disease-resisitant type. Both have arabica...	11
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... Sunda Cirambai	40
Kenya Nyeri Njuriga AB	51
Peru Huabal Edilberto Torres	25
Tanzania Dry Process Acacia Hills AB	22
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,... 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... 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...	50

Incoming coffees currently on the water: June onward

Please keep in mind that names may change when we list the coffee on our website. Location status of “In Transit” are also a bit of a wild card, as logistical disruptions are out of our control! You also may notice some of the coffees from last month’s list have disappeared. These have likely arrived in the US, and await being added to our launch schedule. Thanks for your patience!

African Incoming Coffees

Coffees	Bags	ETA
Cameroon Grassfield Cooperative	25	TBD
Ethiopia Guji Hambela Dabaye	60	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Kercha Bilida Bukisa	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Guji Hambela Buliye	120	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Hambela Benti Nenka	60	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Dry Process Birbirsa Coop	60	ETA 7/17
Ethiopia Agaro Duromina	60	ETA 7/17
Ethiopia Geta Bore Lot 1	60	ETA 7/17
Ethiopia Agaro Kenisa	60	ETA 7/17
Ethiopia Gera Nano Challa	60	ETA 7/17
Ethiopia Gure Dako	40	ETA 7/17
Ethiopia Geta Bore Lot 8	60	TBD
Ethiopia Guji Wesi	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Guji Goro Bedessa	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Dry Process Guji Buku	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Dry Process Kayon Guji Genet	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Uraga Gogogu	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Yirga Cheffe Chelbesa Danche	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Yirga Cheffe Halo Beriti	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Uraga Raro Boda	80	ETA 6/22
Ethiopia Dry Process Gerba Doku	80	ETA 6/28
Ethiopia Dry Process Suke Quto	80	ETA 6/28
Ethiopia Dry Process Gerbicho Rogicha	11	ETA 6/28
Ethiopia Dry Process Hebo	109	ETA 6/28
Ethiopia HoneyIn coffee, honey-like sweetness is often found, but we use terms such as refined honey (highly filtered and processed) as opposed to raw honey rustic honey sweetness. This... Process Senna Katta Mountain	2	TBD
Ethiopia Dry Process Senna Katta Mountain	158	TBD
Ethiopia Dry Process Aba Bulgu	60	TBD
Ethiopia Dry Process Aba Derese	40	TBD
Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Goro	100	ETA 6/28
Ethiopia Dry Process Dogo Sodu	60	ETA 6/28
Ethiopia Dry Process Buno Dambi Uddo	100	ETA 6/28
Ethiopia Dry Process Korate	60	ETA 6/28
Kenya Nyeri Kamoini AA	32	TBD
Kenya Othaya Gatuyaini AA	15	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Gatugi AA	61	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Mahiga AA	10	TBD
Kenya Othaya Gura AA	16	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Gichichi AA	19	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Mutwewathi AA	30	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Kamoini AB	30	TBD
Kenya Othaya Gatuyaini AB	30	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Mahiga AB	30	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Mahiga 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... 1	11	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Mahiga Peaberry 2	19	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Chinga Peaberry	17	TBD
Kenya Muranga Kangunu AA	80	ETA 7/21
Kenya Kirinyaga Kamwangi Peaberry 1	22	ETA 7/21
Kenya Kirinyaga Kamwangi Peaberry 2	28	ETA 7/21
Kenya Kirinyaga Kainamui Peaberry	38	ETA 7/21
Kenya Kiambu Spikes AB	98	ETA 7/21
Kenya Nyeri Ichamama AB	60	ETA 7/21
Kenya Nyeri Miiri AB	24	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Kagumo AB	8	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Kiamwangi AB	25	TBD
Kenya Tetu Mungaria AB	11	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Kiawamururu AB	54	TBD
Kenya Thika Kamuyaka AB	50	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Ruarai Peaberry	7	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Nduma Peaberry	6	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Kiawamururu Peaberry	7	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Kiawamururu AA	49	TBD
Kenya Dry Process Ruiruiru	37	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Thunguri AA	16	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Rugi AA 1	9	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Kagumoini AB	8	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Rugi AA 2	9	TBD
Kenya Othaya Mahiga AA	29	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Chinga AB	30	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Gatugi AB	30	TBD
Kenya Nyeri Rukira Peaberry	16	TBD
Kenya Dry Process Kagunyu	20	TBD

Central America Incoming Coffees

Coffees	Bags	ETA
Nicaragua Acopio Suyatal	50	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Ojo de Agua	20	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Buenos Aires Los Pinos	30	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Monte Libano	30	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Finca Buenos Aires 1	35	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Finca Buenos Aires 2	40	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Buenos Aires Peaberry	5	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Buenos Aires Java	10	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Buenos Aires MaracaturraAs the name indicates cross between large-bean Maragogype and Caturra cultivars. : As the name indicates cross between large-bean Maragogype and Caturra cultivars. It seems to be found...	10	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Maracaturra Los Medios	30	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Dry Process Maracaturra	10	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Dry Process El Suyatal	15	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Los Alpes GeshaGesha is a long-bean Ethiopia selection with unique cup character. Gesha is the name of the town in Western Ethiopia where the original samples were collected. Spelling it...	1	ETA 6/12
Nicaragua Dry Process Los Alpes Gesha	1	ETA 6/12
El Salvador Finca Miravalles Sampacho	40	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Finca Miravalles IcatuIcatu is a cultivar that was developed in Brazil, has high production and good disease resistance. It has robusta inputs, and has been back-crossed with arabica cultivars to...	10	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Finca Miravalles CaturraCatimor is a broad group of cultivars derived from a Hibrido de Timor (HdT) and Caturra cross, highly productive, sometimes with inferior cup flavor. The main issue is...	30	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Finca Miravalles Tabi	30	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Finca Miravalles CastilloCastillo is a selection of the Colombia cultivar that has become the most commonly grown coffee in Colombia. It is preferred to the older resistant variety, Variedad Colombia...	35	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Finca Miravalles BourbonA coffee cultivar; a cross between Typica and Bourbon, originally grown in Brazil: Mundo Novo is a commercial coffee cultivar; a natural hybrid between "Sumatra" and Red Bourbon,...	58	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Finca San Miguel Bourbon	5	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Mirravalles PacamaraAs the name implies, Pacamara is a large bean cultivar, a cross between Pacas and Maragogype with unique flavor properties. This variant originated in El Salvador in 1958,...	11	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Honey Process Anacafe 14	5	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Honey Process Castillo	19	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Dry Process Finca San Luis	35	ETA 6/30
El Salvador Dry Process Finca Miravalles	7	ETA 6/30
Costa Rica Jardin de Aromas	20	TBD
Costa Rica Cerro Alto La Union	40	TBD
Costa Rica Cerro Alto El Mongo	30	TBD
Costa Rica Tarrazu El Ruby	20	TBD
Costa Rica Don Mayo La Loma	20	TBD
Costa Rica Don Mayo El Pedregal	20	TBD
Costa Rica Don Oscar 1800	35	TBD
Costa Rica Don Oscar El Coyote	35	TBD
Costa Rica Dry Process La Casona	10	TBD
Costa Rica Chirripo Finca Jose	20	TBD
Costa Rica Puente Tarrazu Bourbon & Gesha	1	TBD
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... 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... Chiapas San Cristobal	40	TBD
Mexico Organic Chiapas Yajalon	80	TBD
Guatemala Antigua Finca Cabrejo	21	TBD
Guatemala Antigua Hunapu Dueñas	26	TBD
Guatemala Antigua La Parcela Melanie	5	TBD
Guatemala Antigua La Folie	22	TBD
Guatemala Antigua Carmona Pulcal	30	TBD
Guatemala Antigua Pulcal Inteligente	21	TBD
Guatemala Finca Santa Ines Bourbon	20	TBD
Guatemala Patzún Finca La Florida	27	TBD
Guatemala Patzun Finca Las Camelias	20	TBD
Guatemala San Martin Jilotepeque	54	TBD
Guatemala Patzún Finca Santa Anita	12	TBD
Guatemala San Diego Buena Vista Bourbon	11	TBD
Guatemala Acatenango Gesha	36	TBD
Guatemala San Diego Buena Vista Java	33	TBD
Costa Rica Palmichal	70	TBD
Costa Rica Red Honey Palmichal	30	TBD
Costa Rica Zarcero Monte Brisas Danto 1	30	TBD
Costa Rica Chirripo Bamboo	10	TBD
Costa Rica Dry Process HaciendaHacienda is used to imply an Estate that has a full processing facility (wet mill): Sometimes the term Hacienda is used to imply an Estate, which would mean... Sonora	40	TBD
Costa Rica Honey Process Nace	33	TBD
Costa Rica Tarrazu Casa de Piedra	31	TBD
Costa Rica Zarcero Monte Brisas Typica	6	TBD
Costa Rica Zarcero Monte Brisas Danto 2	35	TBD

Indonesia & SE Asia & Oceania Incoming Coffees

Coffees	Bags	ETA
IndiaS-795 is a variety based on the " S-Line" coffees of  India, and stands for Selection 795,  It has a very fine cup, one of the best in... Pearl Mountain 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... Peaberry	35	TBD
Sumatra Wet Hulled Kerinci Pendekar	50	TBD
Sumatra Wet ProcessWet-processing starts by removing the outer skin of the coffee cherry with a machine called a pulper, then fermenting the remaining fruit (with green bean inside) in water... Kerinci Pendekar	20	TBD
Sumatra Dry Process Kerinci Pendekar	20	TBD
Sumatra Giling Basah Bebesen Aulia	20	TBD
Sumatra Giling Anaerobic Wet Hulled Aulia	20	TBD
Sumatra Wet Process Ribang 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...	20	TBD
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... Honey Process Enrekang Angin	12	TBD