An eye-popping look at how coffee is processed in Brazil, followed by an update on coffees in transit.
Early on in my coffee career I was tasked with supplying marketing material to the green buyer for a well-known Bay Area roastery who had just purchased a Brazilian coffee lotCoffee can be separated by lot in any number of ways usually by the processor to distinguish one area of the farm, a particular altitude, particular trees, a... ...more from us. I sent him our profile of the farm, attached a single photo from our library, and figured that was that. Fast-forward to a few months later, I wound up seated next to this buyer at an SCASCA is the newly formed global coffee association for Specialty Coffee. The former organization called SCAA was incorporated into the new group. The main commercial coffee group is... ...more event (my first Expo, yay!). It was the first time we’d met face to face, and I was eager to make the in-person connection following our exchange over the 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 coffee he’d bought. I nervously introduced myself, and as I thrust my hand out to shake his, he leaned in and said, “my grandma could’ve picked a better photo than what you sent me”.
I suppose that was meant to be an insult (to me, and to grandma!), and looking back at the picture I sent, I sort of understand his disappointment (pictured below). The photo captures a receiving tank filled with coffee cherries at a wide mix of ripeness, some clearly past their prime while others bright green, with many leaves and twigs mixed in. While the colorful contrast is quite beautiful IMO, it subverts our expectations of we may think of as “best practices” for post harvest 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, and it’s certainly not the image that comes to mind when you think of “Specialty Coffee”.

Rest assured, the coffee in the photo underwent intensive sortingCoffee is sorted by size, density, and color in its preparation for export.: Sorting refers to several steps performed in the preparation of coffee for export. Coffee is... ...more before we purchased the final green, and was fairly uniform by the time we received it. Had it not, the offer sample would have contained so many physical defects that it would be rejected it on site!
The fact of the matter is, ripeness is not considered when picking coffee in Brazil, overlooked in the service of time and efficiency. Instead, that responsibility happens later in the processing chain. It’s a topsy-turvy way of managing coffee quality, but it’s what happens when labor comes at such a premium that innovation and mechanization are needed to keep coffee profitable. Having just returned from a Brazil buying trip, I’m here to tell you that this is what 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 production in Brazil looks like, and an important reality that is captured in that photo.
When you visit Brazilian coffee farms during the harvest season, one of the first things you might notice is the mix of cherryEither a flavor in the coffee, or referring to the fruit of the coffee tree, which somewhat resembles a red cherry.: Either a flavor in the coffee, or... ...more ripeness on the trees. From unripe and bright green, to wilted dark purple cherries that have dried on the branches, it’s a sight I’ve never seen anywhere else. Most farmers only harvest their trees 1 or 2 times during the season, so they want to make sure all the coffee has ripened before doing so, even if it means letting much of it go far beyond its peak.
There are probably examples of this in other origins, but it was a first for me. In most other countries we buy from, you see farmers picking their coffee multiple times during the harvest season, discriminately selecting only ripe cherries, and leaving behind 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 so that it can continue to ripen. It’s an important first step in quality control, and one that involves a lot of hand labor that is just too expensive in Brazil.

Instead, harvesting is managed by either mechanical harvesters, or what they call “hand machines”. In both cases, the goal is to strip pick all of the coffee cherries in one fell swoop.
Mechanical harvesters come in different sizes, but generally function the same. They sort of look like a giant metal tunnel on wheels. The harvesters are driven over the wide rows of coffee shrubs, “picking” the cherries as they go. Inside the “tunnel” are two large columns that rotate, each with long nylon rods that agitate the coffee shrubs as they pass through, shaking the cherries from the branches. The coffee is then funneled to either side of the harvester, and moved to a collection tank by an auger and conveyor system.
It’s an incredible sight, and when I first saw this in action, I thought the machinery would surely destroy the trees! Not only did they come out the other side relatively unharmed, the harvester left very few, if any, coffee behind. Some even prune the trees as they pass through, leaving behind a row of well kempt coffee shrubs with topiary-like appeal.

One major upside of using mechanical harvesters is that you can scale farm production without having to scale labor. For example, we saw 100 hectare farms in Brazil harvested by 1-2 people driving mechanical harvesters. Contrast this with a 100 hectare farm in 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 that requires 100+ people to pick during the harvest peak.
Cost of labor is the root of both systems. The reality for the Nicaraguan coffee farmer is that they rely on an informal workforce to pick coffee for low wages, generally made up of the local indigenous population and migrant workers. Brazil, on the other hand, has very strict regulations around hiring farm labor that involves contracts assuring monthly salary minimums, and even health insurance. In a word, costs of labor are very high for the Brazilian farmer, pushing them to find savings in a much more technified system.
Our recent video post of a mechanical harvester in action brought lots of interest and comments. One person asked if we might expect to see this in other coffee countries soon. As it’s getting tougher to find people willing to pick coffee, it’s a question worth asking. For big driving mechanical harvesters like these, I think the answer is ‘no’, simply because of their size. For one, it requires a lot of room between the rows of coffee to accommodate them (roughly 9′). You literally have to plant your farm around them. Also, these machines can’t be driven on steep terrain. It wouldn’t work in steep growing regions of 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 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.... ...more, for example, or even parts of Brazil, as we saw on our trip.
Another widely used harvester in Brazil is the vibrating “hand harvester”. These consist of a long pole that has something like an inverted rake on the end, but with fewer finger-like tines. Those tines vibrate, and as workers run the rakes over the long coffee branches, they agitate the cherries to the ground where they are collected. The process is much faster than strip picking by hand, and while requires more people to perform than the driving harvesters, a large 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 can still be picked by just a few people. These hand-held machines are ideal for smaller farms, or those that are not planted with the larger machines in mind.

Before I get too caught up in the complexities of processing coffee in Brazil (Tom has a more in depth, and insightful piece on the subject HERE), I want to circle back to our August trip. There’s a lot more to see than just harvesting coffee, after all.
All of our travel was in the state of Minas Geraís, which alone accounts for more than half of Brazil coffee exports. There’s relatively good altitude in the Minas region, with the eastern side of the state cut through by the Espinhaço mountain range that stretches as far North as neighboring coffee-growing state of Bahía. You find concentrations of coffee farms along this stretch, and it’s just West of here where most of our visits were focused.
The first half of our trip followed a loop from São Sebastião do Paraíso, through Serra da Canastra region, up to Patrocínio and back. Along this route we had the opportunity to visit with farmers whose coffees we’ve purchased for several years, but whom we’ve never met (like Jose Gomes, Amarildo Jose Borges, and Luis Otavio Turati).

The topography is more “rolling hills” than steep terrrain, and every farm we stopped at used the driving type mechanical harvesters. Most of the farms employed some kind of irrigation infrastucture too, some with very impressive water collection and filtration systems.
The latter half of our trip was spent in, and around, Santa Rita do Sapucaí region, where we’ve been buying coffee for the last few years. Most recently, we’ve been working with a local exporter in Santa Rita, called Agrorigem, run by local 3rd generation coffee farmer named Daniele Alkmin.
Dani got her start in coffee by helping her father, Carlos Henrique, at their farm, Santa Rita de Cassia. It was only in the last couple of years that she decided to add “coffee exporter” to her repertoire. Her enthusiasm for the coffees and farmers from her town is immediately apparent when you meet her, and she’s made it her mission to not only export her own coffee, but also to act as a sort of representative of the coffees from Santa Rita.
It’s no wonder Dani was elected president of “Mulheres Empreendedoras do Cafe”, a local women’s coffee association that includes all parts of the chain, not just farmers. This year we were fortunate to buy coffee from several association members, including Dani, and she took us to visit a few of their farms during our trip.

Coffee farms in Santa Rita lie in stark contrast to the farms we’d visited earlier in our trip. They look a lot more like your typical Central American farm, planted on steeper hillsides, the rows of trees much closer together. Because of this, they have to be harvested using the hand machines, which means a higher cost of production than those harvested by the larger harvesters. While most farms were still 100+ hectaresWe use this metric term often to discuss the size of coffee farms. 1 Hectare = 10000 Square Meters = 2.471 acres: We use this metric term often... ...more, we saw a lot of small producer farmers too, in particular around the Carmo de Minas region (only an hour from Santa Rita). And by “small”, I mean 1 hectare small!
One such farm was run by a woman named Marta Vanilda Teixeira, and her husband Evandro. They manage their 1 hectare farm like any other small producers we work with; on their own, and without any outside labor to pick coffee during the harvest season. Last year they produced 67 bags, 30 of which were Specialty, which we bought. It was one of the best coffees in last year’s shipment, and we were lucky enough to buy their total Specialty output again this year (24 bags).
So circling back to my story in at the lead: Could this person’s grandma have picked a better photo than what I sent? Perhaps he was right. While I still stand by the image being an accurate image of Brazilian Specialty coffee, there’s definitely more aesthetically pleasing imagery in the coffee lands of Brazil, which I saw first hand.
Here’s a small selection of photos from our August trip highlighting some of the beautiful places and faces we visited. Click to enlarge and read the captions.
























We’ve closed out Summer with a lot of coffee arrivals
Over the last two months we’ve received around a dozen containers of coffee, most of which covers our contracts in Africa and Central America. Notable arrivals from Central America include two Guatemala containers filled with the coffees from our Proyecto Xinabajul buying program in Huehuetenango, as well as our final 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 box, which we’re still in the process of transferring to our warehouse.
In terms of African coffees, we’ve received several containers from 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... ...more, 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... ...more. This includes our cooperative coffees from Western Ethiopia, like Nano Challa, and Duromina (the latter launches Wednesday), as well as a few boxes filled with beautiful 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... ...more lots from Guji and Yirga Cheffe. Add the balanceSuggests a harmony and proportion of qualities, and implies mildness since no one quality dominates.: Balance is both an obvious and slippery taste term. It implies a harmony... ...more of our Kenya contracts to this list, and we have enough stellar lots to roll out fresh and exciting coffees to the site through the holiday season!
On the incoming side of things, we have a container shipping from 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 this month that includes coffees from FloresFlores is an Indonesian island, and as a coffee bears more resemblance to the coffees of Timor-Leste, New Guinea and Java than to the wet-hulled coffees of Sumatra... ...more, 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, and 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 with an ETA toward the end of the year. We’ve also finalized contracts in 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 and 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... ...more, both shaping up to be late ’24 arrivals. And last but not least, we have 16 Colombia lots leaving port of Buenaventura this week, with an ETA end of October. We are super excited about this one, and it includes a little of everything: regional blends from Inzá, 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... ...more coffee from Aponte, varietyA botanical variety is a rank in the taxonomic hierarchy below the rank of species and subspecies and above the rank of form (form / variety / subspecies... ...more separations of Wush WushThis unique coffee variety can be traced back to the town of "Wushwush", Ethiopia, only a few kilometers from Bonga forest in Kafa. It is purported to be... ...more, Chiroso"Chiroso" is the name given to a unique variety of coffee rediscovered in Colombia in the early 2000's, and is still mostly limited to the country. Originally thought... ...more, and 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... ...more, and the return of coffees from Urrao and Caicedo! We fully expect to start trickling those to the site by mid-November, so keep your eyes peeled.
Check out the full list of contracted coffees and ETA’s below.
Upcoming Coffees October/November
Below is a list of upcoming green coffees currently on the schedule to be added to our website for Augus. This list is still being updated, and will see our first Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees by the end of the month.
October/November Outlook (so far – lots more to come!):
Coffees | Bags |
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... ...more Sonora | 40 |
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 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... ...more Process Anacafe | 5 |
Ethiopia Agaro Duromina | 60 |
Ethiopia Dry Process Korate | 60 |
Ethiopia Uraga Gogogu | 30 |
Ethiopia Dry Process Birbirsa Coop | 60 |
Guatemala Xinabajul Evelio Villatoro | 20 |
Guatemala Patzún 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 Santa Anita | 12 |
Guatemala Xinabajul Producers | 29 |
Guatemala San Diego Buena Vista Java | 33 |
Guatemala Huehuetenango Boqueroncito | 43 |
Guatemala Dry Process Finca Rosma | 10 |
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... ...more Balmadi 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 | 25 |
Kenya Nyeri Kamoini AB | 30 |
Kenya Othaya Gatuyaini AB | 30 |
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 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 Chiapas El Desvió | 22 |
Mexico Organic Chiapas El Rosario | 24 |
Nicaragua Cafetalera Buenos Aires 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 | 5 |
Nicaragua 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... ...more Los Medios | 30 |
Nicaragua Buenos Aires Maracaturra | 8 |
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 Chirinos Alianza de Mujeres 2 | 30 |
Rwanda Kivu Kageyo Peaberry | 30 |
Rwanda Rubavu Rwinyoni | 40 |
Rwanda Dry Process Mashesha | 26 |
Rwanda Dry Process Nyakabingo | 32 |
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 Dry Process Kerinci Pendekar | 20 |
Sumatra Wet Hulled Kerinci Coop | 50 |
Sumatra Giling Basah Bebesen Aulia | 20 |
Sumatra Lintong Mutu Batak | 20 |
Sweet Maria’s Polar Expresso Blend | N/A |
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 Honey Process Acacia Hills AB | 16 |
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 Saanani | 100 |

Incoming coffees currently on the water: August 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 |
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Wote Konga | 60 | ETA 10/20 |
Ethiopia Guji Benti Nenka | 60 | ETA 10/20 |
Ethiopia Dry Process Yirgacheffe Konga | 100 | ETA 10/20 |
Ethiopia Dry Process Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti | 100 | ETA 10/20 |
Ethiopia Geta Bore Lot 8 | 60 | Landed |
Ethiopia Dry Process Aba Bulgu | 60 | Landed |
Ethiopia Dry Process Aba Derese | 40 | Landed |
Ethiopia Honey Process Senna Katta Mountain | 2 | Landed |
Ethiopia Dry Process Senna Katta Mountain | 158 | Landed |
Kenya Othaya Mahiga AA | 29 | Arrived |
Kenya Nyeri Chinga AB | 30 | Arrived |
Kenya Nyeri Gatugi AB | 30 | Arrived |
Kenya Nyeri Rukira Peaberry | 16 | Arrived |
Kenya Dry Process Kagunyu | 20 | Arrived |
Burundi Kiganda Murambi | 60 | TBD |
Burundi Dry Process Murambi | 31 | TBD |
Burundi Kayanza Kibingo Station | 50 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Kayanza Gakenke | 50 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Kabarore Commune Yandaro | 50 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Dry Process Gakenke | 20 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Dry Process Masha | 20 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Honey Process Gakenke | 15 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Honey Process Masha | 30 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Gatara Masha | 85 | ETD NOV |
Burundi Peaberry | 30 | ETD NOV |
Rwanda Rulindo Tumba 1 | 40 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Nyamasheke Gitwe | 35 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Rusizi Mushaka | 35 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Nyamasheke Mutovu | 35 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Nyamasheke Nyungwe | 50 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Karongi Gitesi | 35 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Dry Process Kivu Kageyo | 10 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Kivu Kageyo | 25 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Dry Process Tumba | 10 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Nyamasheke Peaberry | 45 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Rulindo Tumba 2 | 46 | ETA 11/1 |
Rwanda Dry Process Nyamiyaga | 30 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Dry Process Macuba | 40 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Honey Process Kibirizi | 40 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Rutsiro Mushonyi | 30 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Nyamasheke Karambi | 30 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Buliza | 30 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Nkora | 30 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Anaerobic Karambi | 20 | ETD OCT |
Rwanda Honey Process Karambi | 40 | ETD OCT |
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 Kateshi Estate | 15 | TBD |
South America Incoming Coffees
Coffees | Bags | ETA |
Colombia Inzá Vereda Belén | 33 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Nariño Buesaco | 31 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Inzá Veredas Vecinas | 49 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Inzá Río Páez | 23 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Inzá Gonzalo Lizcano | 5 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Inzá Vereda San Antonio | 12 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Honey Aponte El Páramo | 16 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Honey Sigifredo Janamejoy | 11 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Honey Hugo Agreda | 11 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Buesaco Río Juanambú | 17 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Urrao – Inzá Chiroso | 10 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Caicedo Rubén Darío Gómez | 10 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Tolima China Alta | 34 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Edward Sandoval Wush Wush | 5 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Edward Sandoval Chiroso | 12 | ETA 11/1 |
Colombia Edward Sandoval Gesha | 5 | ETA 11/1 |
Brazil Sítio da Pedra | 59 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Sítio Três Barras | 24 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Condado São José | 37 | ETD OCT |
Brazil FazendaFazenda is the Portuguese word for farm, hence it is the term used in Brazil. Fazenda is not a coffee-specific term. ...more Doña Maria Christina | 10 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Stio Serra dos Borges | 24 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Doña Maria Dorotéia | 33 | ETD OCT |
Brazil São José Farm | 58 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Carlos Henrique Santa Rita de Cássia | 35 | ETD OCT |
Brazil São Joaquim Farm | 40 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Winicius Baquião Dutra | 10 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Dalila Vasconcelos | 7 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Flávio Caixeta Nunes | 32 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Amarildo José Borges | 32 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Reinaldo Gomes da Cunha | 35 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Canastra Luis Otavio | 35 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Carmo de Minas Santa Lucia | 63 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Dry Process Fazenda Sertao | 20 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Dry Process Santa Ines | 49 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Dry Process Fazenda IP | 100 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Pulp NaturalPulp natural is a hybrid method of processing coffee to transform it from the tree fruit to a green bean, ready for export. Specifically, it involves the removal... ...more Fazenda IP | 50 | ETD OCT |
Brazil Pedra Branca Furnas | 43 | ETD OCT |
Indonesia & SE Asia & Oceania Incoming Coffees
Coffees | Bags | ETA |
Java Sunda Puncak Sirna Anaerobic Honey | 50 | ETD OCT |
Java Sunda Siki Alit Washed | 40 | ETD OCT |
Flores Om David Washed | 10 | ETD OCT |
Flores Tanta Reti Washed | 10 | ETD OCT |
Java Sunda Garut Honey RobustaAteng 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 | 10 | ETD OCT |
Java Sunda Bukit Paniisan Anaerobic Honey | 50 | ETD OCT |
Java Sunda Siki Alit Wet Hulled | 40 | ETD OCT |
Flores Wolo Wio Washed | 15 | ETD OCT |
Flores Turelelo Wet Hulled | 15 | ETD OCT |
Flores Turelelo Anaerobic Honey | 20 | ETD OCT |
Sulawesi Seko Wet Hulled | 20 | ETD OCT |
Sulawesi Kahayya Washed | 30 | ETD OCT |
Sulawesi Topidi Natural | 10 | ETD OCT |
19 Responses
Your article on coffee harvesting in Brazil was very enlightening! While many of us are aware that coffee harvesting in Brazil is mechanized, you gave us the hows and whys with video. Thank you.
I also appreciate the “Green Coffee Outlook” information. The scope of your work and supply chain management just blows me away.
One question. When will you again offer the New Classic Espresso blend? I’m looking to order 5 lbs. when it becomes available. My wife and I start every day with triple lattes and the New Classic is our favorite cup. Thanks again for all you do for the coffee community. Tom Martin, Fountain Valley, CA
Hey Tom, glad you’re finding the Outlooks informative! While we’ve been working to publish one every other months, you can expect another to follow in November that goes over what coffees to expect for the holidays.
New Classic is available on the site (link HERE). We try to keep this one going year round!
Cheers,
Dan
Really appreciate the coffee outlook, helpful for the purpose of planning especially you providing the bag quantity and ETA dates. Have been customer for over 15 years from home roasting to small town local roaster, and can honestly say have never had a sub quality bean from Sweet Marie’s, you take the guess work out bean selection process.
Thank You!
Hey Kent, that’s so nice to hear! It warms our hearts knowing we’ve played a part of your roasting journey.
All the best,
Dan
Dan, I always look forward to these reports. I appreciate all the hard work you all do to discover and deliver great coffee for us home roasters. What is the status of Buno Dambi Uddo? It was listed in the July outlook but I didn’t see it listed anywhere here. I am hoping to see it soon!
Hey Todd, thanks for the kind words! Dambi Uddo is scheduled for 3rd week of November at this point (11/20). While the timing is subject to change based on holiday rush, we should be able to keep to the schedule.
Thanks again!
Dan
Hello!!! Thank you for all you do for the home roaster. 90% of my green coffee is from you guys. I was told Ethiopia Hambela Goro has landed. Any updates on when it will released?
The Hambela Goro is slated for mid november – we have yet to get it into the warehouse yet even though it did arrive at the port.
I also want to thank everyone at Sweet Maria’s for their dedication to coffee and culture world wide. As Tom said earlier, the information on Brazilian harvesting techniques was so insightful. It really shows what makes Sweet Maria’s special IMHO; a bit of humility and pathos enlarging our understanding of a complex world.
I’ve never had to look hard for great green coffee to roast since I found Sweet Maria’s. I actually got my younger sister roasting her own beans within the last year or so. I found 15 pounds of green beans I’d squirreled away and forgot about and offered them to her since she sold her home in Louisiana and moved back to Massachusetts. We both roast “cowboy” style with poppers. I don’t think I’ll ever use anything else. I can manage around 13 ounces per roast which is enough for the wife and I for the week. Keep up the great work, we appreciate you all!!!
Thanks so much Glenn.
Just curious about Decafs, I know it’s a smaller market share, but to those of us who have no choice in the matter: what is the status of new decafs? Especially interested in organic decafs.
We have added several new ones in the last month including very nice Ethiopia, Guatemala and Brazil. Many of our decafs are grown organic but we don’t have any certified ones now. For example we know the Ethiopia is grown without any chemical inputs at all, but it has to have the paperwork and be imported without any chemical organic certificate to have that in the name. And if we import a container with a verified organic but the other lots are not certified, nothing can be called organic. So there’s technicalities that really have nothing to do with how the Coffee‘s grown. It’s paperwork.
Hi Lee, we have a few more decafs on deck, so I’m glad you asked. We have a new lot of our Central America blend (“Cordillera Central”) going up mid-November, and I’m hoping to get our Sidama Ethiopia blend up by the end of the month. And you’re right, the demand limits the amount we can offer to a great extent. We wish we could have a little of ALL our coffees decaf’d! But the bag minimums for processing our own coffee create some limits on how many different lots we can have.
-Dan
I am interested in Ethiopians. I see five are available now. Are more Ethiopians expected in the next two or three months?
Hi Brian! Yes, we have a washed Yirga Cheffe and natural Kaffa going up this week (Wednesday/Friday respectively). We have at least two more Ethiopia’s scheduled before the end of the year too, and will keep rolling them out in the new year.
Best,
Dan
I keep watching in hopes that the dry process Yrga Cheffe from Mengesha Farm I roasted back in 2022 will come back. That was the best danged stuff ever. Please tell me it’s not lost for good.
Hi Matt, no Mengesha this year. What stood out to me about that dry process was its aroma. I remember it being distinctly floral, which isn’t something that often comes through in naturals. I think a really nice replacement would be this year’s Dry Process Korate. While technically a Guji coffee, these two stations only have about 20 miles between them, so no surprise we find similar flavors.
Hope that helps. Maybe we’ll see nice offers from Mengesha this year.
Best,
Dan
Hey, Dan. I bet you are busting at the seems with all the new coffee arrivals. That being said, I’m impatiently inquiring about the next outlook. Sorry to be that guy but I really look forward to these Outlooks. Keep up the great work! Happy Christmas ti everyone at Sweet Maria’s.
Just fyi, I recently purchased the automatic hand grinder you all recently revealed and it is awesome. That’s a great find!
Hey Todd! No worries at all 🙂
Posted the December Outlook last Friday, so your timing is perfect.
Hope all is well!
-D