Our monthly digest from the Sweet Maria’s Email list, announcing new coffees, new content and new events!
February 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.
February 3, 2020

It’s important to keep your BehmorA popular electric drum roaster designed for home use, with variable batch sizes (from 1/4 pound to 1 pound) and a smoke-reduction system. It has been modified and... clean. Removing baked on oils, chaffChaff is paper-like skin that comes off the coffee in the roasting process. Chaff from roasting is part of the innermost skin (the silverskin) of the coffee fruit... and dust will extend the life of your machine, resulting in awesome (and safe) roasts. Here’s a step-by-step video about keeping your Behmor in good shape.

If you got a little busy over the weekend and didn’t get a chance to check out the coffees we added, here they are…still in stock…still delicious. |
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... Esmeralda 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... – Indisputable floralFloral notes in coffee exemplify the connection between taste and smell. Describing the taste of a specific flower is near impossible...we always default to “it tastes like it... jasmineA very positive and intensely floral quality in coffee, usually with a strong aromatic component, reminiscent of jasmine flower or tea. There are many forms of jasmine; the... notes. Simple syrup, sugar, lemonLemon notes, as well as other related citrusy flavors or acidities, are prized in coffee. These usually express themselves as a bright accent in the cup, or aromatic..., mandarin, ginger powder and pink bubblegum aromaAroma refers to sensations perceived by the olfactory bulb and conveyed to the brain; whether through the nose or "retro-nasally": The aromatics of a coffee greatly influence its.... 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... Karongi Gitesi – Raw sugar sweetnessSweetness is an important positive quality in fine coffees, and is one of five basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Savory (Umami). In coffee, sweetness is a highly..., green tea, mandarin orangeOrange aromatics and flavors are prized in coffee, whether they take the form of sweet orange flesh and pulp, or orange peel. Orange flavors or aromatics can range... and appleAn acid that adds to favorable perceptions of cup quality; malic acid often adds apple-like acidity, and perhaps other taste aspects recalling apples. Malic acid is yet another... accents and a 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,... finishSimilar to aftertaste, but it refers to the impression as the coffee leaves the palate. Aftertaste is the sensations gathered after the coffee has left the mouth. We.... Rwanda Kivu Kageyo – Versatile in roast level and brew methods, with layers of brown sugarBrown sugar is a type of sweetness found in coffee ...a sweetness characterized by a hint of molasses, yet quite refined as well. Since Brown sugar of the..., cinnamon, cane juice, clove, blueberryBlueberry flavors in coffee take different forms. Dried blueberry was something we first encountered in natural Harar coffee from Ethiopia. It seemed to be most potent in fresh... and chocolateA general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of chocolate. But what type? Usually described with more specifics.: Chocolate is a broad, general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of.... Good 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.... 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... Guji Uraga Tome – Floral tuberose, star jasmine, simple syrup sweetness, Earl Grey, fruitedIn some coffee taster’s lexicon, “fruity” means the coffee is tainted with fruit, and “fruited” means a coffee is graced by positive fruit notes. We don't exactly see... hard candy accents and black tea with lemon acidityAcidity is a positive flavor attribute in coffee, also referred to as brightness or liveliness. It adds a brilliance to the cup, whereas low acid coffees can seem.... 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... Chimaltenango Concepcion Buena Vista – A crowd pleasing coffee, caramelCaramel is a desirable form of sweetness found in the flavor and aroma of coffee, and is an extension of roast taste. Extremely light or dark coffees will..., toffee, 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..., dried green appleApple-like flavors in coffee can take on many different forms. The more common ones we use relate to malic acid brightness, which can recall different apple types: green... accent, hefty chocolate flavors. Good espresso. |

Listen to the Craft Your Own Coffee podcast for great insights on coffee culture, brewing, drinking and now, home roasting. We had the pleasure of bring interviewed and featured in their latest (and upcoming) episodes about home roasting basics.
February 5, 2020


Aillio Bullet owners should open up their roaster on occasion to clean out all that fuzzy chaff dust and coffee oil residue. Doing so will give you accurate readings, the best tasting coffee and a safe machine. We just put together a pdf guide covering the basics of how to clean your bullet and it’s infrared bean temperature sensor. By the way, we are eagerly awaiting our next shipment of Bullets and hope to have more in stock some time this spring.
February 7, 2020

Rwanda 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... Rusizi Nyakarenzo – Intense dry process, blueberry jam, maraschino 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..., natural dried stone fruit, dark spices and red wine accent. Light roasts yield a vibrant, citrus-like acidic impression. 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 FazendaFazenda is the Portuguese word for farm, hence it is the term used in Brazil. Fazenda is not a coffee-specific term. Alta Vista – Nuanced chocolate roast tones are complimented by burned caramel, pecan cookie, chocolate-covered peanut and a mild fruit accent. A full-bodied brew. Good espresso. 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... Acopio Suyatal – Layers of bittersweetBittersweet is from the language of chocolate, and describes the co-presence of positive bittering compounds balanced by sweetness. It is directly related to caramelization, but has inputs from... cocoa and brown sugar, a hazelnut accent and walnut finishing flavor. Dark roasts have a flavor of chocolate walnut brownie. Good for espresso. 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 Sebastian Renan Perez – PungentRefers to an aggressive, intense aroma or flavor, often related to spices (pepper) or roast tastes. Pungent foods are often called "spicy", meaning a sharp or biting character,... burned sugars, sugar-coated almond, celery soda, dried apple, full-bodied, chocolate roast flavors with deeper roast development. |

We know you. You want a great coffee. You want a good deal. Use the code YUKIRO2020 (for Sweet Maria’s Emailer subscribers only, because we love you for reading them) and take 10% off of Ethiopia Yukiro Cooperative. It’s a high scoring, well balanced coffee with a lot of sugary, citrus and fruit notes like pink grapefruit, green apple and nectarine. You can expect a nice, delicate floral aroma as well.
YUKIRO2020
expires on Feb.15, 2020
February 10, 2020

Have you listened to the Craft Your Own Coffee podcast? They just released the second part of an interview with Byron, our marketing manager, about how simple and easy home coffee roastingThe application of heat to green coffee seeds (beans) to create palatable material for brewing a great cup!: Coffee roasting is a chemical process induced by heat, by... can be.

Outside Magazine posted an article about home coffee roasting. If you ever set off your kitchen smoke alarm or evacuated your Vienna roastVienna roast occurs at the beginning of second crack. The Vienna stage is where you begin to find origin character eclipsed by roast character.: Vienna roast occurs at... to the backyard when you were getting started as a home roaster, reading this might bring you back to when you were learning the ropes. BTW, they misheard us during the phone interview. First crackFirst crack in one of two distinct heat-induced pyrolytic reactions in coffee. It is distinguished by a cracking or popping sound in the coffee, and occurs between 390... sounds like twigs snapping, not “Twix”.

We added four delicious coffees last week. Lucky you…they are still in stock. |
Rwanda Dry Process Rusizi Nyakarenzo – Intense dry process, blueberry jam, maraschino cherry, natural dried stone fruit, dark spices and red wine accent. Light roasts yield a vibrant, citrus-like acidic impression. Brazil Dry Process Fazenda Alta Vista – Nuanced chocolate roast tones are complimented by burned caramel, pecan cookie, chocolate-covered peanut and a mild fruit accent. A full-bodied brew. Good espresso. Nicaragua Acopio Suyatal – Layers of bittersweet cocoa and brown sugar, a hazelnut accent and walnut finishing flavor. Dark roasts have a flavor of chocolate walnut brownie. Good for espresso. Honduras San Sebastian Renan Perez – Pungent burned sugars, sugar-coated almond, celery soda, dried apple, full-bodied, chocolate roast flavors with deeper roast development. |
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Use the code YUKIRO2020 (for Sweet Maria’s Emailer subscribers only…yes, you) and take 10% off of Ethiopia Yukiro Cooperative. It’s a high scoring, well-balanced coffee with a lot of sugary, citrus and fruit notes like pink grapefruit, green apple and nectarine. You can expect a nice, delicate floral aroma as well.
YUKIRO2020
expires on Feb.15, 2020
February 12, 2020

Seriously, we are doing our best to not flood your inbox with marketing emails but it’s hard when there are so many exciting coffees arriving at our warehouse. For instance, we have these two fantastic coffees from 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... that we added today. By the way, they are great for both drip and espresso.
Burundi Mutambu Colline Migoti – Sparkling acidity shines through a foundation of chocolate and dark sugars, with accents of lemon grass tea, semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa-covered raisins. Good for espresso. Burundi Rwiri Yagikawa Station – So much flavor to unpack; dried stone fruit, cinnamon powder and clove spice, pink grapefruit and perfumed floral hints, mouth-cleansing black tea-like acidity. Good espresso. |

Speaking of Burundi, a few years back Tom recorded this informative podcast episode about Burundi’s coffee production systems. Give it another listen.
February 14, 2020

You ? coffee. We ? you. Three great new arrivals from Rwanda, 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.... and 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.... |
Rwanda Nyamasheke Mutovu – Aromatic butterscotch sweetness, vanilla-caramels, accents of peach and Earl Grey tea and a smattering of baking spices. Dark cacao bar at Full City (and beyond). Good for espresso. Colombia Urrao Finca Los Palomos – Deliciously-fruited Urrao coffee, stewed plum and dried fig, a soft citrus note, dense sweetness of panelaPanela is the minimally processed sugar with floral and vanilla accents: Found in Colombia (and noted to be best in Pitalito and Pedregal), Panela is tan-colored cakes of... and molasses. Chocolate and berry when roasted dark. Peru Alto Pirias Graciela Espinoza – Middle roasts have candied toffee and chocolate flavor notes like Almond Roca or Heath Bar. Subtle hints of all spice, dried cherry and black tea. Don’t forget about the duo of Burundis we added a few days ago. We love them and we think you will too. |

Ever wonder what coffees the Sweet Maria’s staff enjoys? Ryan, our merchandise manager and Coffee Shrub sales team member, has a few that she really likes.

A few weeks back, we launched a program where we tacked a few cents onto the price of our Rwanda Kivu Kageyo coffee so we could contribute the proceeds to the Kageyo washing station. The fundraiser’s been very successful and thanks to everyone’s help, we were able to donate over two times the amount we did last year. An even bigger thanks goes out to the long time Sweet Maria’s customer (who wished to remain anonymous) that contacted us and contributed $1000!
February 18, 2020

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... Rwandan coffees are in house and along with them, we have the return of Rwanda Nyamasheke Mutovu, a coffee with great butterscotch sweetness, vanilla-caramels, peach, Earl Grey tea, baking spices and dark cacao bar at darker roasts.
We’ve been lucky enough to buy coffee from the Mutovu 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... station since they started in 2012. Mutovu is one of the most consistent Rwandan coffee processing stations and each year’s coffee scores at the upper range of all our Rwandas. A meticulous process and improvements made to the washing stationIn Rwanda and some other East African countries, a wet mill is called a Washing Station.: In Rwanda and some other East African countries, a wet mill is... are apparent each time we visit.

On Valentine’s Day, we told you that we loved you and that we were adding these great coffees. We still love you and the coffees are still in stock. |
Rwanda Nyamasheke Mutovu – Aromatic butterscotch sweetness, vanilla-caramels, accents of peach and Earl Grey tea and a smattering of baking spices. Dark cacao bar at Full City (and beyond). Good for espresso. Colombia Urrao Finca Los Palomos – Deliciously-fruited Urrao coffee, stewed plum and dried fig, a soft citrus note, dense sweetness of panela and molasses. Chocolate and berry when roasted dark. Peru Alto Pirias Graciela Espinoza – Middle roasts have candied toffee and chocolate flavor notes like Almond Roca or Heath Bar. Subtle hints of all spice, dried cherry and black tea. |

Here’s a blast from the past. For those of you that have been home roasting for over 10 years, you probably remember the iRoast air roaster made by Hearthware. Do you remember the machine that came before it? It was called the Hearthware Precision. We wrote about it back in the day and never deleted the page from our library…because that’s how we roll.
February 19, 2020

Hey! Real quick, we wanted to let you know we just added a trio of new coffees to the list. The Colombia is fruited and chocolatey at dark roasts, the 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... is complexThe co-presence of many aroma and flavor attributes, with multiple layers. A general impression of a coffee, similar to judgments such as "balanced" or "structured" with tea, cherry, a lot of 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... and the the decaf is just plain super. There’s a lot of 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... going on here. |
Colombia Inzá Rio Paez – Raw cane sugar and fruited sweetness, notes of dried cherry, black currant, apple and a creamyCreamy is a mouthfeel description indicating thickness and soft, rounded texture. See also buttery. macadamia note in the finish. Chocolatey dark roasts. Good for espresso. Burundi Collines SWPSWP means Swiss Water Process is a patented water filtration decaf method, not a chemical solvent method. The plant is in Vancouver, Canada. Decaf – This decaf is all about chocolate bittersweets, City+City+ roast is an ideal roast level that occurs roughly between 425 and 435 degrees Fahrenheit in many coffee roasters with a responsive bean probe where First Crack.../Full City roasts bring out flavors of high % cacao bar, chocolate-malted grains, baking cocoa, chocolate muffin and more! Good for espresso. Sulawesi Red HoneyThe 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... Tana Luwu – Light roasts are complex, notes of cherry pulp and wheat ale, green tea, 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... tea, green apple and fruited acidity. Full City shows rock solid bittersweetness and massive body. |
February 21, 2020

Hello. Here’s three great coffee for those of you that are into big, heavier flavor notes. The 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... has a heavy body with deep notes of chocolate. The 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... is surprisingly bright and our latest Espresso Workshop Blend was designed to give you great shots with lots of bittersweet and acidic fruit notes. If you were hoping for coffees on the opposite end of the flavor spectrum, CLICK HERE. |
Flores Wolo Wio – Big body and weighty mouthfeelHow a coffee feels in the mouth or its apparent texture, a tactile sensation : A major component in the flavor profile of a coffee, it is a..., balanced undercurrent of unrefined sugar and bittering cacao nibs, chocolate muffin, cocoa powder, toasted pumpkin seed and long, bittersweet finish. Good for espresso. Java Sunda Frinsa 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... – Surprising acidity for the 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... and velvetyA mouthfeel description indicating elegant softness, refined smoothness: A mouthfeel description indicating elegant softness, refined smoothness. See Silky as well. chocolate flavors are easily developed. Chocolate-macadamia, Nutella, cocoa covered raisin and a lemon twist. Good espresso. Espresso Workshop #46 Hama-O-Rama – Start with Full City, balanced bittersweetness, rich chocolate flavors, high % cacao bar, bracing acidity, subtle floral aroma, tart lemonade, orange peel, berry juice, aniseAnise seed is highly aromatic and has a flavor similar to fennel and licorice, used to flavor various foods and liquors: Anise is a flowering plant in the... and more. Fantastic espresso. |

The new Capresso Infinity Plus burr grinderA coffee grinder that grinds by passing a flow of beans between a pair of rotating metal discs.: A coffee grinder that grinds by passing a flow of... packs the most bang for your buck compared to other $100 grinders. Sure, it’s not made to withstand commercial use. Sure, we are skeptical about it producing a perfect espresso grind but if you serious about not spending a fortune on a grinder that will make your daily pour over tasty, this is a great choice.
February 26, 2020

Flores is an Indonesian island we have sourced coffee from for years, but now with an increased focus. The co-ops we buy from include many small-holder farmers that do a range of processing methods. Some producers in Flores tend to fermentAs an aroma or flavor in coffee, ferment is a defect taste, resulting from bad processing or other factors. Ferment is the sour, often vinegar-like, that results from... their coffee for a lot longer than necessary which can result in off fruityIn some coffee taster’s lexicon, “fruity” means the coffee is tainted with fruit, and “fruited” means a coffee is graced by positive fruit notes. We don't exactly see... notes. Nonetheless we do find great micro-lots of coffee from Flores and are currently working with a group who provides farmer training in hopes of better processing and consistent quality. Flores coffees are known to have crowd pleasing flavors with well-rounded notes so roasting some is sure to result in a cup every end of your palate will enjoy. This means a range of flavors, from the more subdued and clean tasting wet-process coffee to the more fruity and rusticA general characterization of pleasantly "natural" flavors, less sophisticated and less refined, but appealing. : What is Rustic? This is a general term we came up with... Dried... honey and natural methods.

If you have a an active roasting schedule and grind through your weekly batches within a few days, you don’t have to obsess over how you store your coffee. Zipper bags, paper tin tie bags, deli tubs or food storageGreen coffee can be stored much longer than roasted coffee: Roasted coffee starts to lose its aromatics in 10 days after roasting. Green coffee can be stored months... containers will do the trick. If you are looking to preserve your roasted coffee for longer than a week, consider looking into a storage container with airtight seals and a one-way valve. Check out our archived article on coffee storage for more info.

You have probably seen them before…those tan beans that occasionally appear among dark brown roasted coffee beans. They are called QuakersA quaker is an industry term to describe under-ripe, undeveloped coffee seeds that fail to roast properly.: A quaker is an industry term to describe under-ripe, undeveloped coffee.... Check out our recent blog post to learn about quakers and why we think you shouldn’t stress out about seeing a few of them in your roasts.
February 27, 2020

This week’s arrivals are really impressive. We have dry processed coffees from Ethiopia and Brazil along with sugary, sweet choices from Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Guatemala. |
Colombia Buesaco Luis Fernando Benavidez – Bodied and sweet at a broad range of roasts, caramelized sugar, candied pecan, raisin, pistachio torrone and nut brittle candies. A ribbon of bittering chocolate at Full City. Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Buku 13 Screen – Light roasts have a floral aroma, with allusions to dried strawberry and prune, tamarind paste, burdock root, anise and molasses. Rustic fruited notes like Harar with the delicate side of a Guji too. Wild espresso. Costa Rica Los Crestones Finca Alaska – Interplay of unrefined sugar and bittering roast tone, semi-sweet chocolate, malted barley syrup, oatmeal cookie finishing flavor of raw cacao nibs. Fantastic dual-use coffee. Good for espresso. Peru Huabal San Francisco – Pungent toasted sugars, cacao bar, baking cocoa with fruited notes hinting at dried apple and golden raising when roasted light. Holds up extremely well to darker roasting too (BIG chocolate flavors). Good espresso. Brazil Dry Process Fazenda Agua Limpia – Burned brown sugars, baking cocoa, nuttyNutty is a broad flavor term, reminiscent of nuts ... but what kind exactly?: Nutty is a broad flavor term, reminiscent of nuts. It is tied intrinsically to... accents of almond and peanut, fruited hint, cheap chocolate in the finish. Good for espresso. Guatemala Proyecto Xinabajul Bojonalito – A demurara-like, raw sugar sweetness underscores subtle top notes of dried apple, a mild black tea flavor and date pieces. Robust chocolate character at Full City with subtle dark fruited accents. |