Sweet Maria’s Emailer Roundup – March, 2020

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

March 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.


March 3, 2020

Guatemala Gesha
We were able to get our hands on more Guatemala Gesha but we have a very limited supply so if you want some, please order ASAP because we will run out soon. By the way, as a Sweet Maria’s Emailer subscriber you are getting first dibs…you’re welcome.
Guatemala Acatenango Gesha Relaunch – As good as it gets: star jasmine, rose water, Assam, tart rose hips, pristine sweetness, fruit bubblegum, tropical aroma, and brisk acidity. We recommend keeping it light…around City to City+. Works as floral and chocolatey espresso too when roasted darker.
Gesha Origins

Where did Gesha come from? How did the coffee trade “discover” it? Check out Tom’s essay from a few years back that explores the roots of how Gesha and coffee drinkers crossed paths.

Gesha Macro

Here’s your chance to see Gesha coffee up close. It’s just macro pics of roasted coffee beans…but not just any roasted coffee beans.

March 6, 2020

March 6, 2020 - Latest Coffee
March 6, 2020 – Latest Coffee
Guatemala Proyecto Xinabajul Peaberry – Molasses, creme brûlée crust, crisp toffee and the like, bittersweet cacao nibs, dried currant and a green tea hint. A true crowd-pleaser. Good for espresso.

Rwanda Rulindo Bushoki Peaberry – Demurara and turbinado sugars, complex spice notes like cardamom, all spice and Darjeeling tea with brisk, lemon-like acidity. FC yields a spiced chocolate confectionary side.

Nicaragua Finca Buenos Aires Lot 2 – Crowd pleasing in light and middle roasts, raw cane and brown sugars, accent notes of vanilla bean, roasted almond, dried apple, mild acidity, and bittersweet finish. Good for espresso.

Colombia San Antonio Palomos Del Sur – Underlying burned sugar sweetness, Cracker Jacks, dark cocoa powder and a basil-like accent note. Full City roasts are as chocolatey as they come. Good for espresso.

Guatemala Antigua Pulcal Yellow Bourbon – Balanced flavors, rounded sweetness, notes of marzipan, caramel-coated nut, a mild pear accent, milk chocolate and lively apple-like acidity.

Ethiopia Organic Limu SWP DP Decaf – Cooked fruit aroma, rustic sweeteners, wheat puff cereal, wine-y strawberry, prune juice and bold chocolate roast tones. Great SO espresso or for a fruited espresso component.
Decent Hangout

Hang out with the folks from Decent Espresso, Decent machine owners and the Decent curious in West Oakland. It’s going to be a very casual hang out without any talks or presentations but a lot of espresso shots. Bring a half pound of your favorite beans to compare how Decent machines pull shots compared to yours. If you own a Decent, bring your machine, favorite accessories and socialize with other espresso fans.

Saturday, April 4
2pm-6pm

Paul Kirchner Studios
3003 Peralta St, Oakland, CA
Ample street parking

It’s also mentioned on this Home Barista thread.


Paul Kirchner is a furniture maker, home coffee roaster. His studio is locasted only two blocks away from our warehouse.

Six Under Six

Here’s six awesome coffees each priced under six bucks per pound. Oh, and which ones are good for both espresso and drip? All of them!


March 9, 2020

Ethiopia regular vs. decaf
We are currently offering Organic Ethiopia Dry Process Limu Kossa Farm in both regular and decaf. This is a rare opportunity to taste them both together! We recently wrote about what to expect from roasting and drinking it both ways. This coffee is also great as both drip and espresso.
Roast Chart Postcard

If you ordered from us recently, check your package for our latest informative roast chart and photos of roast levels. We have it available for download too.

Roast Chart Postcard
Ethiopia Guji Uraga Tome

Ethiopia Guji Uraga Tome is a great coffee with sweet and soothing notes of simple syrup, earl grey tea and fruit candy accents. It is available roasted as well. We brewed a pot this week in our office break room and it was delicious. Both Green and Roasted


March 11, 2020

March 11, 2020 - Latest Coffees
Latest Coffees March 11, 2020
Yemen Mokha Harasi – City+ roasts are creamy, Brazil nut and dusty cocoa, dried stone fruit, cooked rhubarb, rustic date sugar, dried tamarind, black licorice, and aromatic cedar wood. Wild espresso.

Yemen Mokha Matari – As complex as they come, chicory, date, slab apricot, tobacco, cooked rhubarb, dried tamarind, black licorice, sandalwood aroma. Wild espresso. Best with rest.

Rwanda Nyamasheke SWP Decaf – Bittering and sweet aspects of burned caramel, wheat cereal comes up, cocoa powder, molasses and chocolate malted grains. Good decaf espresso.

Indonesia Nusantara SWP Decaf – Carob chip, baking cocoa, malted milk powder, roasted barley and a long, chocolate-laden finish. Brisk tea-like mouthfeel when roasted to C+. Great as-is and fantastic blend base! Good for espresso.
Sensory Series 101
Make plans for our interactive Facebook Live event.

We plan on taking a detailed look at the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association’s) taster’s wheel and teaching you about flavor/aroma references by comparing flavor notes to foods commonly found in North American supermarkets.

Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
2pm – 3pm Pacific Time
www.facebook.com/SweetMariasCoffee/

You don’t need a Facebook account to watch. No need to register, just tune in.

Questions? Email [email protected].

Roasted Coffee

Check out this week’s roasted coffees. Our multi-faceted, customer service managing, website fixing, order processing, office manager, Vivian cooked up the awesome single origins from Ethiopia and El Salvador that we are offering this week. Buy a pound or two and feed your grinder.


March 12, 2020

March 12, 2020 - Latest Coffees
March 12, 2020 – Latest Coffees
Kenya Nyeri Kamoini AA – Raw sugar sweetness and citrus complexity are defining cup characteristics, turbinado and demurara sugars, lemongrass tea, orange juice, marmalade with an accent of fresh hops. Delicious when roasted dark too.

Rwanda Rutsiro Mushonyi – Black tea, raisin and clove spice, with a contrasting candied orange peel note. Full City roasts show spiced bittersweets, like cinnamon-spiced dark chocolate. Superb espresso.

Guatemala Proyecto Xinabajul Cruz Grande – Raw sugar and fruited sweetness come through when brewed, fruit pulp aroma, grape, orange and cherry notes to lesser extents. City+ is all it takes to develop bittersweetness without obfuscating the rest.

Papua New Guinea Kainantu Farmers – The sweetness opens up at City+ with flavors of date sugar, dried green apple, raisin, aromatic cedar and citrus-like acidity. Deeper roasts develop a chocolate-covered pear note.

Honduras Corquín Sergio Romero – Balanced brown sugar and chocolate flavors, top notes hint at raisin, candied yam, coriander and citrus rind. Compact bittersweetness. Good for espresso.

Peru Alto Pirias Juan Espinoza – Sweetness in the cup just won’t quit, caramel and toffee, apple accents, cinnamon stick hint and bright, fruited acidity. Full City roasts gush dark cocoa roast tones.
Sensory 101

Make plans to attend our online tasting event on Wed. 3/18. In this class, we will review the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association’s) taster’s wheel. Also, we will teach you about flavor/aroma references. How do we plan on doing this without everyone being in the same room? Easy, we’ll just compare coffee flavors to the flavors of items you may already have or can find at the supermarket.

Roasting Decaf
Decaf coffee is better than ever but takes a little experience to get control over your roasts. Check out our recent article where we dive into decaf roasting basics.

March 18, 2020

Ethiopia Yirga Cheffe Konga Station
Dear folks that have been waiting patiently for a restock of Ethiopia Yirga Cheffe,

It’s here!

Love, Sweet Maria’s
Ethiopia Yirga Cheffe Konga Station – Potent yet refined, Konga’s cup is loaded with notes of apricot, peach, orange juice, mango and jasmine florals. Complex sweetness of baked sugar and honey, with ginger and rue finishing flavors.
Moka Java

Deconstructing and reconstructing the world’s oldest blend, Moka Java. DIY home coffee blenders and coffee historians, you might want to check this article out. If you want to make your own Moka Java, we have some excellent green coffees for you to blend your own creation. If you just want a “Mocha”, a shot of Hershey’s syrup in your brewed coffee should do the trick.

Starter Kits

If you area roasting newbie, stepping up to a new roasting method or just can’t a pass up a good deal, our Starter Kits are the way to go. Choose from a Behmor 1600AB Plus, a FreshRoast SR540 or a Victorio stovetop popcorn popper (perfect for DIY coffee roasting), choose what green coffee sample set you want and you are good to go.


March 20, 2020

March 20, 2020 - Latest Coffees
March 20, 2020 – Latest Coffees
Colombia Buesaco Veredas Vecinas – Contrasting sweet and bittering flavors are highlighted by apple, pear and fruited acidic impression. Full City sees an increase in dark chocolate tones and body the weight of fruit juice. Good for espresso

El Salvador Finca La Esperanza – Moderate acidity, interplay of raw sugar and nut tones comes off like almond milk, with big, creamy body and loaded with chocolate roast flavors. Great espresso and blend base option too.

Burundi Mutambu Rugembe Hill – Rugembe Hill is a sweet, bright drinking coffee, with sugar in the raw, green apple and mild baking spice. Dark roasting delivers flavors of spiced cocoa. Good for espresso.

Timor Leste Dry Process Haupu – Fruit-forward and rustic sweetness, notes of palm sugar, strawberry milk powder, baked apple and pear pastries, dried strawberry, cocoa powder and more.

Brazil Dry Process Conceicao das Pedras – Middle roasts develop a big bodied cup, with flavors of chocolate-covered peanuts, hot fudge, burned caramel and hazelnut. Long, bittersweet finish.  Good for espresso.

Ask us anything live stream
Tune in on Thurs. 3/26 for our informative live stream where we will cover all things related to home coffee roasting and home brewing. We have a few topics in mind but plan on keeping it loose so you can ask us anything you want. Tell a friend!

-Coffee Storage/Freshness
-Roast Profiling
-Fun coffee experiments to pass the time
-Tips for home baristas and coffee brewers

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.

Thursday, March 26th, 2020
12:30pm – 1:15pm Pacific Time
Facebook Live on Sweet Maria’s Facebook Page

Business Updates:

We are experiencing a large volume of orders and are shipping with a 3-5 day delay from our normal fast turnaround.

Our retail space is closed; locals please order for delivery (no pickups). Thanks for your patience!

Sweet Maria’s is now donating 25% of profit to food banks, homeless support, and senior meal providers.


March 27, 2020

March 27, 2020 - Latest Arrivals
March 27, 2020 – Latest Arrivals
Here we go with another great Friday, full of green coffee arrivals. Most are great for both espresso and drip brewed coffee.
Kenya Nyeri Thageini Peaberry -Thageini opens up at City+, sweet flavors of dark caramel, torched sugar and toffee, with highlights of dried currant and cranberry, and a cinnamon-spiced finish. Great Kenyan espresso.

Colombia Inzá Las Estrellas – Honey and panela sugar give way to layers of golden apple, herbal tea and clove spice. Full City yields chocolate roast flavors with dark fruited hints. Good for espresso.

Burundi Kayanza Gahahe – Underlying creme brûlée sweetness, complex Darjeeling tea, all spice, lemon spritz and apple notes as the coffee cools. Light and bright, or dark and chocolatey. You decide! Good for espresso.

Kenya Nyeri Githiru AA – City+ roasts show berry-like vibrancy, flavors of raisin and date, brown rice syrup, tangy lemon. Bodied no matter how you roast it. Exceptional Kenya for roasting dark.  Good Kenyan espresso.

Sumatra Honey Process Bebesen Aulia – A clean sweetness atypical for Sumatra. Raw honey, raisin and tamarind, traces of bittering black tea and burned sugar in the finish. Dark roasting engages bittersweet chocolate flavors.
Live Stream ReRun

Did you miss our 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.


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