Sweet Maria’s Emailer Roundup -September, 2020

Our monthly digest from the Sweet Maria’s Email list, announcing new coffees, new content and new events!

September 2020 offerings are all listed here, for your reference. If you want to read about our arriving coffee, events, product and news, sign up for our emailer.


September 4, 2020

New Green Coffee Additions
Latest Coffees Sept. 4, 2020
Wow! What a lineup! African Dry processed, a Kenyan Peaberry, Guatemala Xinabajul and a delicious Panama. Most are great for espresso too!
Ethiopia Dry Process Guji Hambela – Berry flavors, fruit jams, natural dehydrated stone fruit, prune, dried tamarind and Dr. Pepper soda. Darker roasts sand the edges off the ‘wild’ cup character some. Good for espresso.

Ethiopia Dry Process Benti Nenka – Aromatic esters of ripe banana are strong in aroma, flavors of banana bread, baking spices, ripe fruits, a wonderful dried blueberry note and Dutch drinking cocoa.

Kenya Nyeri Gatugi Peaberry – Bright, citric, with a succinct, clean finish. Layers of sweetness are peeled back, revealing notes of panela, maple, sugar in the raw, cane juice, along with a hint of blackberry and a lemony twist.

Rwanda Dry Process Nyamasheke Karambi – Intense dry process cup characteristics, rustic, earth-toned, notes of palm and date sugars, blueberry, tamarind paste, cacao nibs and grape.

Guatemala Xinabajul Familia Villatoro – Notes of caramelized sugars pair well with bittersweet cacao, dense body, and accents of walnut, raisin, and apple-like acidity. Dark roasts are loaded with chewy chocolate roast flavors. Good for espresso.

Ethiopia Guji Hambella Dabaye – Impressive sweetness, demurara sugar, cream soda, mild fruited accents of nectarine and lemon, and a touch of clove in aroma. Peach-like acidity helps build out the fruited impressions. Good for espresso.

Panama Volcán Barú Estate – A crowd pleasing cup, notes of biscotti, caramel, rice cake, macadamia, chocolate graham cracker and a tannic vibrance that has a mouth feel of matcha powder. Good for espresso.
Staff Picks - Abe

Meet Abraham “Abe” Cornejo. Abe works in the Sweet Maria’s and Coffee Shrub warehouse. He roasted a few coffees and wants to share them with you.


September 9, 2020

Latest Coffees Sept. 9, 2020
When we aren’t busy supplying you with the best green coffee from around the world, we do our best to record informative coffee podcast episodes. The audio quality isn’t always high quality nor do we have the time to post new episodes on a regular basis but we do our best and we hope you enjoy them.
 

Before the long weekend, Tom Instagrammed a pic of a pair of historically famous popcorn popper/coffee roasters. The wattage is what made these classics superior to pretty much any popper on the market today. Even the popper we sell, made by Nostalgia struggles a bit in colder ambient air temps and can be particular with batch sizes when compared to these old school heroes.

Green Coffee Preview

Our crew is doing a lot of heavy lifting this week in preparation for a large selection of delicious coffees that we plan on offering on Friday. Keep an eye out for a new Panama Gesha, dry processed from Rwanda & Burundi, Costa Ricas, Java, Congo Organic and more.


September 11, 2020

Latest Coffees Sept. 11, 2020
Latest Coffees Sept. 11, 2020
This is a Sweet Maria’s world record. This is the most coffee we have ever posted at one time so get your reading glasses and scrolling finger ready. Here’s the run down. Many are great for espresso. The Panama Gesha is limited. The Congo is organic. The Panama Gesha, Rwanda and Burundi are dry processed. OK…go!
Costa Rica Chirripo Finca Jose – Convincing burned-sugar bittersweetness, creamy nut tones of Brazil nut and hazelnut, semi-sweet chocolate, raisin, baking cocoa in the finish. Good for espresso.

Kenya Nyeri Ichamama AB – Grabby citrus flavors like pink grapefruit and kumquat are buttressed by panela and caramelizing sugar sweetness, and a hint of cranberry sauce. Shimmering acidity.

Costa Rica La Casona SF 1900 – A rounded sweetness in the cup, toffee, buttery caramel, a vanilla accent, walnut, bittersweet cocoa, and acidity like lemon black tea. Full City builds a more chocolate-toned cup. Good for espresso.

Java Wet Hulled Frinsa – Excels as dark roast, smokey chocolate, earthy peat moss aroma, charred cedar, pipe tobacco, bell pepper, anise and citrus rind. A nice base for Moka Java type blend. Good for espresso.

Kenya Nyeri Chinga AB – Sweetness peaks to floral potency, butterscotch and honey notes in both flavor and aroma when roasted light, accented by golden raisin, dried apricot and lemon acidic impression.

El Salvador Santa Ana Pacamara AA – Tart and tannic tea notes, black tea with lemon, genmaicha, some matcha powder bittering, with accents of honey, nougat, golden raisin and candied lemon peel.

Guatemala Antigua Pulcal InteligenteBrown sugar sweetness, apple-like acidity, a balanced brew with intimations of green tea, almond and fig. Dominant bittersweet chocolate when roasted dark. Good espresso.

Congo Organic Kivu IsaleComplex sweetness and rounded mouthfeel, brown sugar, creamy caramel, root beer and a slight sprinkling of cinnamon and five spice powders accent an otherwise sweet finish.

Burundi Dry Process Murambi – Top notes built on a platform of rice syrup sweetness and bittersweet roast tone include strong suggestions of rustic dried fruits, high % cacao bar and blueberry. Fantastic dark roast. Good for espresso.

Guatemala Antigua Finca Cabrejo – Bodied and balanced, sugar cane sweetness, top notes of oatmeal cookie, dried date, raisin and a lemon tea note that offers a touch of vibrance. Chocolatey dark roasts too. Good for espresso.

Kenya Nyeri Othaya Gura – Light roasts highlight a tart cup, cranberry and citrus notes, honey-sweet, Hefeweizen, and pulpy orange juice. Full City brings out darker fruit tones, spiced grape and chocolate roast.

Panama Dry Process Finca Bambito Gesha – Such a potent gesha cup, freighted with floral and fruited flavor notes like jasmine, fresia, ripe guava, mango and maracuya, and a brisk Assam tea note. Limited supply. 1LB quantities only.

Rwanda Dry Process Ngororero – A fruit-forward, wild, wine-like dry process coffee, notes of grape, cherry pulp, chocolate-raspberry and red wine vinegar. Delicious when roasted dark too.

September 15, 2020

Share your roaster pics

Check out Sweet Maria’s customer Levon’s roasting set up in Charlottesville, VA. He’s been through a few poppers and is currently roasting small batches with a Melitta Aroma Roast (Meliltta sold these in the early 80s).

Levon's setup

Do you have an interesting coffee roasting set up? How about a homemade roaster? Or how about a basic roaster, but in a unique spot? We are updating our Hot Rod Roasters page and creating a new page for pics of other attention worthy roasting rigs. Email us a photo and we’ll do our best to put it on our site. Include a very brief description, approval (or non-approval) to use your first name and the city you live in.

Send your photo and info to [email protected].

What? You haven’t seen Hot Rod Roasters page yet? Click Here to check it out.

Coffee and Climate Webinar
World Coffee Research (WCR) is hosting A New Way to Think About Climate Change, their upcoming webinar focusing on how the climate crisis is the greatest threat to the long-term sustainability of coffee agriculture.
  Register and learn about what the threat actually is and how it will impact farmers.
Dr. Walter E. Baethgen climate and agriculture expert of Columbia University’s Earth Institute will explore how we should think about the immediate and near threats of climate change for coffee agriculture—not as a distant or incremental rise in overall temperatures occurring over decades, but as a shift to greater and more extreme year-to-year variability of temperature and precipitation.

Dr. Baethigan’s presentation will be followed by a brief update from WCR on work in partnership with researchers and farmers to develop varieties and approaches that have the highest chance of success given the rise in variability and extremes that farmers are facing.

September 18, 2020

Latest Coffees - Sept. 18, 2020
Latest Coffees – Sept. 18, 2020
We hope you enjoy these offerings. Take a look at the very special Guatemala Gesha, a pair of new Ethiopias and many more. Behmor owners, take caution if you are interested in the Colombia Moka. The beans are very small and could fall through or get stuck in your drum.

Guatemala Acatenango Gesha Lot 1 – Hibiscus flower tea, dried apple, simple syrups, pectin-like sweetness, with accent notes of red plum, nectarine, green apple, with herbaceous and jasmine floral aromatics.

Ethiopia Guji Uraga Yabitu – Archetypal Guji if there is such a thing; delicate floral jasmine note, Earl Grey tea, aromatic Meyer lemon and bergamot citrus, a grape hint, and sugar in the raw sweetness all the way through.

Ethiopia Uraga Tebe Haro Wato – Raw honey flavors build out a solid backbone in the cup, with fruited accents of plum, lychee, tangerine, melon floral apple and an herbal rue hint.

Costa Rica Tarrazu Monte AltoMuscovado sweetness, caramel popcorn, raisin and lemon zest notes, malic apple highlights. Dark roasts are delicious, dense with chocolate bittersweets and dark fruit hints. Good for espresso.

Sumatra Kerinci Honey Labu Tujuh Coop – This hybrid process of honey/wet-hulled brings out flavors of raisin, stewed plum, pipe tobacco, aromatic fruits like papaya and jack fruit, with mild earth tones and cacao nib in the aftertaste.

Nicaragua Finca Buenos Aires Lot 1 – Crowd pleasing and balanced bittersweetness, brown sugar, vanilla bean, chocolate wafer, dried apple and a sweetly-disappearing aftertaste. Good for espresso.

Colombia Tolima Sandoval Moka 11 Screen – A balanced coffee, caramel sweetness, marshmallow and roasted grain aromatics, green tea ice cream, subtle hints of black currant and apple-like acidity. These beans are tiny and will probably get stuck in the metal grid of a Behmor’s drum.

September 23, 2020

Roasting Dark with a Behmor

The Behmor instruction manual discourages the user from roasting dark. Why? Mostly for safety reasons, as the darker you develop your roast, the more likely you are to start a fire in your roaster. But with preparation and a little caution, roasting to 2nd crack doesn’t have to be dangerous and the Behmor is actually quite capable of getting there in a reasonable amount of time. Check out our latest blog post and video showing you how to do it…and do it safely.

On our minds
  • Tom’s got a great video in the works. He’s taking question submissions and will do his best to answer them in a 5 minute video (yes, exactly 5 minutes). Send us your questions on social media or in our blog.
  • Remember to tune in to our “Ask Us Anything” webinar on Thursday 9/24. We’ll post the rerun after it’s over so you can watch it at your convenience.
  • Sweet Maria’s Dark Roast Sample Set was formulated for you dark roast lovers that love those heavy, chocolate and caramel notes. It’s four different coffees that are great for both drip and espresso.

September 25, 2020

New Coffees Sept. 25, 2020
New Coffees Sept. 25, 2020

Kenya Nyeri Gachatha AB – Light roasts have flavors of pulpy orange, dried currant, piquant black tea and lemon rind while Full City produces more of a berry-toned, chocolatey cup profile with accents of grape jelly.

Guatemala Proyecto Xinabajul Peaberry – Sugar browning sweetness, creme brûlée crust, crisp toffee, bittersweet cacao nib and moderate acidity that’s like green tea in the lighter roasts. A true crowd-pleaser at most roast levels.

Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Goro – Potent aromatics and intense fruited character, raspberry jam, strawberry taffy, dried dark fruits, floral berry, big body and mild acidity. Full City roasts have a flavor note of chocolate-covered dried blueberries.

Brazil Pulp Natural Pedra Branca – Unrefined sugar sweetness and contrasting roasted nut tones, notes of dried banana, almond confection, cacao, peanut sauce and mild acidity. Good for espresso.

Guatemala Honey Process Finca Los Suspiros – Impressive honey flavors and convincing apple-like acidity, notes of apricot Danish, honey granola, raisin and sweetened sunflower butter.

Kenya Nyeri Kiruga AB – Depth of sweetness (scoring 9.5!), raw sugars, fruit jam hints, fig, dried berry and a spiced grape juice note as it cools. Moderate brightness and capable of berry-laden cococa when roasted dark.

Ethiopia Gera Genji Challa – Underlying honey-like sweetness, flavor notes of fruit preserves, ripe peach, bittering fruit skins, orange peel, vibrant acidity and a complex aromatic highlights of rue herb and kaffir lime leaf.

El Salvador Santa Ana Pacas AA – Caramel sweetness, clean nut tones, marzipan, candied almond, rounded mouthfeel, chocolate-coated nut, toffee and a moderate, green apple acidic impression.

Food 4 Farmers

Food 4 Farmers is a great organization that deserves a whole lot of shine. We donate to them on an annual basis and are proud to support a cause that invests in the communities that provide the world with delicious coffee. Check out our blog and learn more about Food 4 Farmers, the great work they do, and their latest agroforestry collaboration.


September 30, 2020

New Coffees - Sept. 20, 2020
New Coffees – Sept. 30, 2020

Sumatra Dry Process Gunung Tujuh – Intense dry process cup profile, fig bar filling, dried date, sarsaparilla soda, natural dried fruits, bean pie, earth-toned underlay and rounded mouthfeel.

Nicaragua Dry Process Acopio Suyatal – Weighty texture lends to notes of strawberry milk and berry sauce, accents of tree nut and a fruit toffee flavor in the finish, appealing chocolate roast flavors when roasted dark.

Burundi Kiganda Murambi Station – A well-developed sweetness of turbinado and sucanat sugars, accented by dried black currant, grape, and tamarind, topped off with a hint of Earl Grey in the aftertaste. Good for espresso.

Colombia Inzá Veredas Vecinas – A balanced framework of raw sugar and cocoa bittering, marked by accents of roasted tree nuts and baking chocolate aftertaste. A great dark roast, dual-use coffee! Good for espresso.

DIY Moka Java Blend Sample Set – The Moka Java blend is probably the most widely produced blend in the world, and certainly the oldest. We’ve grouped together our own coffees to make classic or contemporary versions of this old standby.

Q&A Videos
Kenya Updates
  • While we receive our final Nyeri coffees, the 2020/21 harvest is about to commence.
  • Farmers from Nyeri are reporting steady rains during the wet season, though flowering wound up on the lower side, which means less coffee.
  • Overall, weather patterns are much more favorable compared to last year.
  • Last year’s crop cycle was generally low, affected to some degree by climate-related, fungal infections like Coffee Berry Disease (“CBD”).
  • The new harvest is expected to get underway in Nyeri around mid-October and we will start to cup the fruits from these harvests in the beginning months of 2021.

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