Sweet Maria’s Emailer Roundup – April, 2020

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

April 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.


April 1, 2020

April 1, 2020 - New Coffees
April 1, 2020 – New Coffees
Guatemala Proyecto Xinabajul Familia Castillo – Intensely sweet cup, caramelized sugar sweetness, turbinado and demurara. Accents of raisin, fig and elegant, green grape acidity. A well-rounded coffee!  Good for espresso.

Guatemala Patzun Finca Las Camelias – Versatile and balanced, notes of brown sugar, baking cocoa, dark chocolate and a hint of black tea with lemon in the finish. Immense chocolate and body. Good for espresso.

Guatemala Peña Blanca Familia Villatoro – Intense sweetness at an array of roasts, sturdy core bitter and sweet flavors, berry accent notes, a green apple hint that also characterizes acidity. Good milk drink option. Good for espresso.
Heat Seal Bags at Home

Did you know you can heat seal coffee valve bags at home? Check out our latest video. We’ll show you how to do it with a household iron.


April 3, 2020

April 3, 2020 - Latest Coffees
April 3, 2020 – Latest Coffees
Ethiopia Agaro Nano Challa Lot 10 – Clover honey sweetness reaches a floral peak, with fruited notes of orange marmalade, peach preserves, apricot fruit roll ups and lemon rind. Hints of tenedam, ginger chews and Earl Grey. Good for espresso.

Sumatra Sipangan Bolon Parapat Village – An earth-y sweet, herbal-toned coffee with notes of palm sugar, dried basil, licorice and burdock roots, malted grain, aromatic cedar, peat, cacao and orange rind.  Good for espresso.

Kenya Nyeri Ichamama Peaberry – Ichamama delivers punchy acidity at a wide roast range, with flavors of blood orange, cranberry juice, tart lemon red berry and mulled grape juice. A delicious pour-over brew.

Costa Rica Chirripo Finca Jose Lot 2 – Burned sugar bittersweetness accented by raisin, hazelnut, apple tea and baking cocoa in the finish. Chocolate roast flavors are up front when roasted to Full City and beyond.  Good for Espresso.

El Salvador Perquin Finca La Victoria – A clean, balanced cup that finds parity with coffees from Central America. Toffee, caramel, cocoa powder, chocolate bread, malted grains and almond meal.  Good for espresso.

Timor Leste Haupu Lutlala– A delicious daily drinking coffee, with notes of chocolate torte, toffee-nut, Nutella and baking cocoa in the aftertaste. Balanced bittersweetness from City+ to Full City+. Good for espresso.
Air Roast Macro

New video: Here’s a close up view of roast levels produced by an air roaster.


April 8, 2020

April 8, 2020 - Latest Coffees
April 8, 2020 – Latest Coffees
Sumatra Honey Labu Aceh Mengaya – A hybrid coffee process that’s resulted in a complex mixture rustic and fruited flavors: date and palm sugars, green herbals, tobacco, raspberry, banana, a tropical fruit note. Intense!

Burundi Monge Murambi Hill – Honey and raw sugar sweetness, bittering cocoa powder flavors, accented by hints of apple, clove, all spice, fragrant orange oil aroma and black tea. Good for espresso.

Burundi Kayanza Dusangirijambo Coop – Balanced sweet and bitter flavors give way to baking spice and fruited accents, Earl Grey tea, and lemon water acidity. Darker roasts have a chocolate-cherry flavor note.

Kenya Kiambu Fram Farm Peaberry – Highlights include pineapple, blackberry and orange juice. Full City sees rich chocolate flavors, dark berry and black currant jelly. A lot to take in!
Staff Picks

Sweet Maria’s team member Julio does more than humanly possible around our office and warehouse. He managed to spare a few minutes to share what coffees he thinks are great.

Burundi Video

New video! Check out footage from Tom’s trip to Dusangirijambo Cooperative in Burundi.


April 10, 2020

April 10, 2020 - Latest Coffees
April 10, 2020 – Latest Coffees
Peru Fair Trade Organic Ysauro Tocto – Bittersweetness at the core, though light roasts have a nice apple-like undertone. Cocoa-dusted almond, chocolate bittersweets. Prime options for cafe au lait. Good espresso.

Sulawesi Organic Gunung Karua Farm – Earth-toned sweetness and woodsy character like fresh forest greenery, rice syrup, dried apple, woody spice, tobacco and a peat note in the nose.
Guatemala Overview

Guatemala is such an important coffee origin for us and it has taken us quite some time to connect with growers who consistently produce high scoring lots. Here’s an overview of our buying in Guatemala and some links to roasting fundamentals.

Getting Started

Are you a coffee roasting newbie? Our roasting basics article might be just what you need to help simplify things.  This might be a good article to forward to that friend of yours that is on the fence.

Ask us anything
Tune in on Wednesday, April 15th for another informative live stream where we will cover all things related to home coffee roasting and home brewing.

Ask us anything you want! General topics? That’s up to you. We’ll answer your questions in the live chat but are looking for suggestions for topics. Message us or email your questions to [email protected] before 4/15.

The video will be posted after the live stream is over so you can watch at your own convenience. You don’t need a Facebook account to watch. Wednesday, April 15th 1pm Pacific Time Facebook Live on Sweet Maria’s Facebook page

April 15, 2020

Rwanda Cyato

Our latest video is a montage of photos and footage from our last 4 years of visits to Cyato Station in Rwanda. Cyato is a washing station with an elevation of 1825 meters (approx. 6000 feet) in Nyamesheke region, near the Nyungwe National Forest.

Quest m6 up close

The Quest M6 is a hand built, electric roaster that can roast over a pound of coffee per batch. It’s convenient, consistent and manually controlled. It’s also heavy, hot, requires cleaning and could burn a lot of coffee in the wrong hands. Read our latest article to see if this is the right (or wrong) machine for you.

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We have some great coffees coming down the pipeline and are working hard to make them available on our website. In the next few days we are looking at launching a pair of Rwandas, a pair of organic Ethiopias and more! Stay tuned!


April 17, 2020

April 17, 2020 - Latest Coffee
April 17, 2020 – Latest Coffee

Rwanda Rulindo Tumba – Torched sugar with accents of raisin, bergamot citrus and tamarind hard candy and a smattering of baking spice notes in the finish. Spiced chocolate and dried fruit when roasted dark. Good for espresso.

Rwanda Nyamasheke Cyato – A tea-like acidic impression marks the cup, panela sugar sweetness, red raisin, Earl Grey tea and mace spice in the finish. Darker roasting lays a chocolate-y groundwork along with a grape accent note. Good espresso.

Ethiopia Organic Sidama Keramo – An exquisite pour-over brew, City and City+ roasts are honey-sweet with fruited notes of fleshy peach, dried apricot, nectarine, orange and a jasmine note that crowns the cup.

El Salvador Apaneca Finca Miravalle – An intersection of cocoa roast flavors and brown sugar that holds up to dark roasting, layers of dark chocolate, creamy nut tones and inky body. Great for milk drinks. Good espresso.

Ethiopia Organic Sidama Bombe – Aroma of fresh baked gingerbread, brown sugar and honey sweetness, nectarine, peach, moderate citrus acidity. Light roasts brew best, while Full City works for espresso.  Good espresso.

Costa Rica Helsar Leo Rojas Lot 2 – A pleasant combo of unrefined sugars with subtle bittering qualities, dark chocolate at City+ and beyond, the nose accented by hints of green apple and raisin. Good espresso.

Brazil Dry Process Sítio Alto da Serra – A “classic” Brazil cup profile, bittersweet and nutty flavors, almond milk, Brazil nut and hazelnut, dark chocolate, baking cocoa, and a rustic, dried fruit note. Good for espresso.

Moka Kadir – Rich chocolate flavors come through in layers, with fruited notes of slab apricot and plum, and finishing notes are leathery, herbal, fruited, and of course bittersweet. Creamy mouthfeel and works well for milk drinks. Great espresso.

Live Stream ReRun

Did you miss Wednesday’s Ask Us Anything live stream? Did you watch it live and need a recap? Either way, we recorded it so you can watch it again. It was really fun chatting with everyone online so we hope to do another one soon.

Support ModCup

ModCup in Jersey City, NJ is a great coffee company that is still selling coffee online even though they had to temporarily close their cafes. Read more about ModCup in the first of a few features we are posting about cafe’s that we think you should support.


April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020 - Latest Coffees
April 22, 2020 – Latest Coffees
Rwanda Honey Process Karambi – Berry sweetness that brings to mind Ethiopia naturals, traces of red raspberry, green melon, fresh date, blackstrap molasses and a wheatberry finishing note.

Burundi Dry Process Kayanza Nemba – An expressive coffee, with sticky, fruited sweetness that’s potent to say the least; canned plum, brown rice syrup, mulled berries, strawberry milk powder and banana bread.

Ethiopia Organic Dry Process Shakiso Hangadhi – Hangadhi has complex sweetness, flavor characteristics of brown rice syrup and chocolate malted grains, leading into notes of stout beer, orange peel, mulling spices and dark chocolate (especially in the darker roasts). Good for espresso.

Guatemala Xinabajul Marca Roja – High level of sweetness (9.0!) is resilient to roast. Weighty mouthfeel helps convey a caramel flavor and milky texture, toffee and dark chocolate. Impressive balance and versatility. Good espresso.
Live Stream 4/23

Tune in on 4/23 at 1pm PDT for another informative Facebook Live stream where we will dive into the topic of roast levels. Get your questions ready. We’ll answer them in the live chat & are also looking for pre-submitted questions about roast levels.

Sweet Maria's Glossary

Ever heard of nematodes? How about gabah? Batian? Check out our coffee glossary for some awesome definitions of coffee terms both familiar and unfamiliar.  It’s a good chance to learn what we mean if we say a coffee is wild, winey and woody.


April 24, 2020

April 24, 2020 - Latest Arrivals
April 24, 2020 – Latest Arrivals

This week’s offerings from Guatemala, Rwanda and Costa Rica are great dual purpose coffees! Great for both drip and espressoooooo!

Guatemala Chimaltenango San Martin Jilotepeque – High level of sweetness (9.0!) is resilient to roast. Weighty mouthfeel helps convey a caramel flavor and milky texture, toffee and dark chocolate. Impressive balance and versatility. Good espresso.

Rwanda Nyamasheke Kanyege – A nice daily drinking coffee, bittersweet and balanced, a weft of bittering cocoa, raw sugar, tree nut, sweet cream and malted chocolate milk powder. Good for espresso.

Costa Rica Tarrazu Don Mayo Cascabeles – Light roasts show nuance as they cool, a touch of honey in sweetness, lemongrass and black teas, fairly vibrant citric acidity. Full City ushers in chocolate bittersweetness. Good espresso.

Sweet Maria’s Liquid Amber Espresso BlendCane sugar and caramel sauce, hints of golden raisin, walnut and an orange twist. Full City roasts are as sweet as they are bitter. Good espresso.
Support Java Central

As the effects of Covid-19 continue to challenge the way cafes do business, we’ll continue to spotlight our wholesale clients so you can buy your roasted coffee from them. Our latest feature is about Java Central in Westerville, Ohio.

Latest Roasted

This week’s lineup of roasted coffee is great with two single origins and two of our espresso blends. Also check out our other roasted offerings from 2 weeks back, discounted to only $10 per pound.

April 29, 2020

April 29, 2020 - Latest Coffee
April 29, 2020 – Latest Coffee
Ethiopia Dry Process Suke Quto Daannisa – A powerhouse dry-process cup, intense with fruited flavors and high % cacao dark chocolate, notes of dried blueberry, blackberry pie, cooked sugars and aftertaste marked by nutmeg and all spice.

Peru Organic Agapito Rivera – Flame grape and plum notes accent caramelized sugar sweetness, with stone fruit-like acidic highlights. Darker roasts show the chocolatey side of this coffee along with a juicy berry note.
Rattleware brewer

Rattleware’s Cupping Brewer is a perfect brewing device for anyone looking to taste test their coffee with a method similar to traditional cupping. It also brews a great cup of unfiltered coffee and the rubber stopper stops any pesky grounds from floating into your mug.

Chimaltenango

In February, we trekked to the Guatemalan town of San Martin Jilotepeque to meet resident farmer, Chepe Garcia. He’s taken the job of organizing and collecting coffee cherry from the region to be sold. Read more about the great coffee from San Martin in our library.

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