The Coffee Life

 If you remember a blog post from last year on Wild Heart Coffee via Dog and Hat (read that post here!), you'll know how much I fell in love with their experimental coffees that of course I had to purchase some more. 

This is one of two coffees I picked up from them, so look out for another blog post soon!

Who are Wild Heart Coffee?

"After starting roasting in Northern Ireland, at home, in a custom built roasting device for a rotisserie oven back in 2016... it's safe to say Sam has come a long way.

After a couple of aborted attempts to launch Wild Heart, Sam finally took the plunge at the end of 2019 ready to launch in April of 2020, which obviously posed a number of challenges as the first national Covid lockdown came into effect.

Undeterred, the first bags of coffee rolled out of the Roastery in May 2020 and the adventure continues. It's great to see Wild Heart is growing nicely and is already a team of three.

As for coffee, Sam has a real eye for the more unusual side of things and you'll regularly see experimental processing and rare lots on the Wild Heart menu.

Roaster - Giesen

The Coffee

"The Peralta Family coffee-growing history dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, but it was only in 2008 that brothers Julio and Octavio shifted focus to developing unique specialty preparations. From single plot, single varietal separations to carefully controlled extended fermentations, the Peralta family continue to position themselves at the forefront of specialty coffee innovation.

This lot was produced using natural process with an extended anaerobic fermentation. First, ripe cherries are sorted and washed. Afterward, they are introduced into airtight 450L tanks to ferment for up to 72 hours in an anaerobic environment. To lower the temperature down to approximately 15 degrees Celsius, the tanks are placed inside water-filled fermenting pools to slow the fermentation and avoid spoilage or risk of taints for 72 hours. After the fermentation period is finished, the cherries are taken out of the tank and transported to the dry mill for the drying process which may take up to 30 days. Initially, the cherries are spread on a single layer for a three day period to allow them to shed off the excess water. Once the excess water is eliminated and the cherries begin to dry, these are placed on the covered drying beds for the remainder of the drying period. The cherries are moved by hand three times a day to allow them to dry evenly and prevent mould of over-fermentation.

The El Bosque farm is situation in the San Fernando, Nueva Segovia Region of Nicaragua, close to the Honduras border. The farm is nestled within lush dense forest and rolling hills, making this a prime specialty coffee country. Nicaragua has a long history with coffee but over the past few years has become increasingly well know for top specialty coffee, due to the influence of producers like Julio and Octavio.

The Beans

Farm: Finca el Bosque

Origin: San Fernando, Nueva Segovia

Process: Anaerobic Natural

Varietal: Catuai

Altitude: 1250-1560 MASL

Taste: Winey, Fruity, Funky

Let's Brew!

Brewer: V60

Recipe: 15g/225g 

3 Minute Total Brew Time

Ratio: 1:15

This coffee definitely lived up to the funky wine vibes promised - HOT DAMN this was an incredible brew.

White wine vibes all the way through this cup, with some super zesty undertones and a super prominent lemon acidity, it was so crazy to be tasting such vibrant and different notes to coffees that aren't experimentally processed. 

This bag went down way quicker than I'd ever like to admit, but damn it was so worth it. 

This coffee is still available to purchase through the Wild Heart Website - grab a bag here!

Find Wild Heart 

Website - here

Instagram - here

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 The last coffee to feature from the September Dog and Hat box is from River City, and again another company I have not tried! 

So who are River City Coffee

"We created hand roasted, amazing fresh coffee for all without the smoke and mirrors (and high prices!) we seemed to find everywhere in the coffee industry.

After a year we moved into our first industrial premises and set about creating our own micro-roasters based around our 5kg production roaster (nicknamed Harold) in 2017.

Fast forward to today, and another huge upgrade project later, and we are operating from our purpose built commercial capacity Roastery in the heart of Hull with our own on site barista training facility. Harold is still with us but takes a well earned rest for the most part after we upgraded to a new 15kg double walled drum roaster (Bertha, Bertie for short) in summer 2019.

We are still passionate artisan coffee roasters through and through."

RoasterBesca BSC-15 (named Bertie) 

The Coffee

From smallholders from the Rwenzori Mountains region of Uganda.

These direct trade beans from the slopes of the Rwenzori mountains in Uganda find their way to our Roastery through the careful stewardship of Martin from the Rwenzori Coffee Company

Older heritage varietals of coffees are grown on often remote areas of the mountainous landscape by small farming cooperatives. Martin has been working hard with the farmers to develop more sustainable commercial coffee farming and driven the investment in better growing practices, harvesting protocols and processing methods to produce one of the best coffees we've ever tasted.

The wild, high altitude growing climate and natural processing method the beans is evident in the fruit explosion they offer in the cup. Roasting this bean to a 'fast and light' profile produces a crisp strawberry acidity moving through a creamy body to a sweet caramel finish. 

The Beans

Uganda Rwenzori Mountains

Process: Natural 

Altitude: 1600-1800MASL

Varietal: Nyasaland, Bugisu, SL28, SL34

Taste: Strawberry Ice Cream, Caramel

SCA Score: 86

Let's Brew!

Brewer: V60

Recipe: 15g/225g

3 Minute Total Brew Time

Ratio 1:15

This coffee came through super smooth and creamy, with some hints of caramel immediately, as it cooled down I got more cherry acidity from the cup. The rush of flavours being berries and it became super fruity as it was cooled completely.

I tried a few different brew recipes with this one as my first recipe I felt didn't brew it to its full potential, but after taste testing a few, I think I finally got it right, delicious all round. 

Find River City Coffee

Website - here

Instagram - here

Buy the Coffee! - here

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 Continuing the September Dog and Hat box, we have Brew Coffee Plus, who I'd never heard of before, but again that is the fantastic thing about subscription boxes, you get to find and try lots of new exciting roasters!

So who are Brew Coffee Plus? 

"Brew Coffee Plus opened in April 2019, with Enea's vision and mission to roast the best quality coffee possible with full flavours and a focus on transparency and ethics.

With  every cup you drink, you are actively supporting local communities, small farmers growing coffee instead of narcotics (Myanmar with its history in Opium and Colombia with its association of Coco plants) and in the case of our Organic range, the environment as well.

We have three main areas of focus - Origin interlinked with premium quality, education and support and collaboration.

Our three key values are - Transparency, Integrity and Community"

Roaster - Diedrich IR-12

The Coffee

From Don Mauricio Rosales's Finca Bremen farm in the Baja Verapaz region of Guatemala.

The coffee farm Finca Bremen was founded almost 130 years ago and is now in the third generation of the family, for whom the sustainable cultivation of coffee and in particular the organic quality is essential.

Ever since, Finca Bremen has contributed to the economical development of its local surroundings, generating job sources that help more than 350 families.

Their purpose is to generate a sustainable change in the form of production of Specialty Coffees in the region of Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, improve the quality of life to the more Han 350 head of households, run an educational program for the children of these families, provide medical campaigns and constant training regarding new coffee growing methods. 

The Beans

Guatemala Finca Bremen

Process: Washed

Altitude: 1100MASL

Varietal: Caturra, Catuai 

Taste: Red Apple, Vanilla, Biscuit

Let's Brew! 

Brewer: V60 

Recipe: 15g/225g

3 Minute Total Brew Time 

Ratio: 1:15

This coffee came through with some super sweet acidity, super smooth and balanced in flavours. The creaminess of the cup reminded me slightly of oats, but in a good way. As it cooled, the cup became more syrupy sweet, with a sweet apple acidity, which was absolutely delicious

Find Brew Coffee Plus

Website - here

Instagram - here

Subscribe to Dog and Hat!

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A company I've been following on Instagram for a long while now is Saints of Mohka, it wasn't even coffee that pulled me into discovering the greatness behind Saints of Mokha - it was actually a particular piece of latte art, a beautiful tulip with 4 words underneath red velvet hot chocolate. Since then they've had me hooked.

(I should also mention that this is a very late blog post, it was actually meant to be posted last year, however life has got in the way, but as I always say, better late than never!)

The lovely Omar got in touch with me about a particularly special coffee coming to Saints of Mokha with a revival of a forgotten coffee's history and asked if I wanted to be part of sharing this beautiful story, and of course I did.

So to start - Who are Saints of Mokha?

"Established in 2016, Saints of Mokha is a young, family run business. We're excited about the intricate history of coffee, and passionate about sourcing and roasting the highest quality coffee available

For us it's more than coffee."

The Coffee

In the 16th century, Yemen had a monopoly on coffee. Coffee beans were roasted or boiled prior to export so that they could not be planted and grown elsewhere. On his travels back to India from the Hajj pilgrimage, a Sufi Saint named Baba Budan discovered the wonders of coffee during a brief stay in Mokha, Yemen. He fell in love with the drink, so he smuggled 7 coffee beans out from Yemen, hidden in his beard.

He planted them on the hills of his home town, which still grows coffee today. The area has come to be known as Baba Bundangiri: Hills of Baba Budan.

Grown by Ravi Ramu on his 550 acre farm in Chikmagalur; in the Baba Budangiri region of India. Being over 125 years old, the farm has a strong heritage and very good relations with the surrounding villages, providing necessities and free healthcare to villagers. 

The farm is located in the higher Baba Budangiri hills, which is one of the best places in India to grow speciality coffee. This region is in the Shola Forest, which is known for high density forest trees and rich volcanic soil. The coffee here is shade grown, which gives it a unique and beautiful flavour profile.

The Beans

Process: Natural

Varietal: Chandragiri

Altitude: 1280MASL

Supports Indian farmers with amenities and healthcare.

Taste notes - a magical array of blackcurrant, raspberry, vanilla with a sweetness of golden syrup.

Let's Brew!

Brewer: V60

Recipe: 15g/225g

3 Minute Total Brew Time

Ratio: 1:15

Taste: This coffee as soon as it was brewed gave off some super berry aromas, with a delicious jammy taste. 

As it cooled slightly, the super berry sweetness came through with a really nice blackcurrant acidity, with some tasty syrup aftertastes. 

I went through this bag of coffee super quickly (it was the only coffee I drank for days!!) and its definitely on my re-order list for 2022!

This is a super exciting coffee to be involved with the story! It's still available to buy via Saints of Mokha (click here!)

Find Saints of Mokha

Website - here

Instagram - here

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 Skipping back to the September Dog and Hat Box, we are featuring Onyx Coffee Lab, this one I was super excited to try as they were quite high on my Instagram to try list. 

So who are Onyx Coffee Lab?

"It was some years ago that we, Jon and Andrea, began to dream of serving a sweet, black cup of coffee to our customers in Arkansas. 

Out of this dream is how Onyx Coffee lab was born in October 2012. Back then, we were struggling to get access to the kind of green coffee samples we were interested in. When no one knows who you are, no one wants to take a chance on you. We came out blazing with siphons, Kyoto cold brew towers and weekly cuppings and classes, anything we could do to get customers asking why. Today we consist of a roasting facility, three stores with another on the way, 59 baristas, 2 roasters, a delivery guy, a warehouse grandpa, and a toddler"

Roaster - Diedrich

The Coffee 

From Aman Adinew's Metad farm near Hambella in the Guji Zone region of Ethiopia.

The Hambella estate is now world-famous for producing he best coffees in Ethiopia, no small part to the commitment of the Adinew brothers to elevate these coffees to height unknown previously. METAD sets the standard for quality at each washing station they own, adapting practices from all over the world to grow and process coffee to the highest standard. Doing such great and harmonious work in the sometimes dissonant setting of Ethiopia is what sets them apart, and they strive to elevate not only the coffees but the people as well.

Over the past few years, they've adopted a local elementary school that provides over 400 students with supplies and financial support through Grounds for Health. It's clear that each action they take in Ethiopia elevates not only the coffees they grow but the people they work alongside. We are honoured to continue to work with them each season. 

Ethiopia Hambella Buku 

Process: Washed

Altitude: 2000MASL

Varietal: Heirloom

Tasting Notes: Apricot, Elderflower, Black Tea, Lemon

SCA Score: 88

Let's Brew!

Brewer: V60 

Recipe: 15g/225g

3 Minute Brew Time

Ratio: 1:15

Taste: 

This coffee hit with some delicious lemon zest notes, with sweet hints in the after taste and next to no acidity. Overwhelmingly this coffee was like a liquid lemon tart, absolutely delicious, and super refreshing, I reckon this would be delicious as an iced V60 too! As it cooled slightly it became more syrupy sweet with more honeydew melon notes, and a subtle sweet tea undertone. 

Onyx are clearly producing some incredible coffees out of their Roastery, and it's definitely made me want to try so many other coffees out from Onyx!

Find Onyx Coffee Lab

Website - here

Instagram - here

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 Now I know what you're thinking "Jass, it's January, Christmas is over" ... sure, sure, however there was one coffee that I didn't get time to blog about in December, but I wanted to showcase it on here, no matter how late it was, not only because it's a lovely brand who I worked with last year, but it's pretty damn tasty too. 

Two Chimps coffee were kind enough to send over a bag of their Christmas Coffee over to me in December, there have been a few posts including Two Chimps Coffee which you can read here

If you are new here, and haven't been introduced to Two Chimps, allow me:

The Coffee

Let's Brew!

This coffee came out super smooth and sweet, a huge pudding taste, and slightly almond-y much like marzipan. The acidity was welcomed by a delicious sweet cherry taste which lingered for a while after sipping. As it cooled, it almost became citrus-y, with a prominent orange taste which added to the Christmassy feel of this coffee. It was absolutely delicious, and I hope Two Chimps can get this back next year because I will definitely be getting some! 

 It's the last bag in the Birthday celebration box from Dog and Hat!

The last bag in this box is an exciting one, they have been on my to try list since Dog and Hat last had them in their box. 

Yellow bags just hook me in.

Who are Rabbit Hole Roasters?

"We know very little about coffee, and we are okay with that. 

That's one of the reasons we called this company Rabbit Hole. It's because we want to dive infinitely deep in all thing’s coffee, from sustainability to tasting notes, from equality across the chain to brew ratios, etc.

We can all be interested in coffee for different reasons and that’s ok.

But what we know, we are willing to share. We are trying to create a company where there is no gatekeeping, where all drinkers are welcomed and where any questions can be asked.

The truth is we are too small to go to the farm yet and too new to pretend to be the best. We are figuring it out as we go and we do our best to share our journey with you as openly as possible.

Our goal is to build an honest business and dear we say, different.

We want the general public to be more curious while also satisfying the coffee geeks."

Roaster: Loring S15

The Coffee

From Ms Nanu's farm near Kaku in the Yunnan Province area of the Menglian region of China.

Kaku is in a Wa region bordering Myanmar. Traditionally, the Wa people lived mid mountain, with the Dai living on the plain level and the Lahu higher up.

The name Kaku is the new name we will use since the farmers decided it was what represented the coffee best. Kaku is a reference to the Lahu people who pick this coffee.

In 1998, a severe frost killed 90% of the cherries, making lots of farmers abandon coffee production altogether. Ms Nanu persevered and now offers what might well be the cleanest and tastiest washed coffees in all of Yunnan.

The Wa people have a close relationship to the land, and they are always looking for new processing techniques with what is available to them. 

The Beans

Processing: Washed

Altitude: 1400MASL

Varietal: Catimor

Cup Score: 85

Tasting Notes: Cherry, Almond and Vanilla

Brewer: V60

Recipe: 15g of Coffee, 240g of Water, total brew time 3 Minutes

Tasting: This coffee hit me with an incredible stone fruit acidity, with some definite nutty after tones. As it cooled, the nut flavour was more distinctive, like sugared almonds, and the whole cup became a sweeter brew, with vanilla tones with a lovely chocolate finish. This was a super lovely Chinese coffee - and I'm glad I've frozen a few brews worth of beans for a later use.

Find Rabbit Hole Roasters

Website - here

Instagram - here

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Phew its been a little while since we finished off the last Dog and Hat box, like I always say, better late than never! 

My favourite thing about the Dog and Hat box will always be discovering new roasters that I typically wouldn't discover on my own (top perk of having a subscription coffee box!)

Who are Gold Box Roastery?

The simple philosophy at the centre of our business is less swagger, more substance; Our coffee speaks for itself.

It's the creativity, warmth and mastery of the farmers we meet along the way that inspires our approach to speciality coffee. They're the real heroes of our trade. From Ecuador to Bolivia: Kenya to Ethiopia, each new origin we visit teaches us something new. Reinvigorating our passion to create coffees as unforgettable as the locations they originate from.

It's not simply the country of origin that factors unto the flavour of your coffee. Everything from the altitude it's grown at, to the soil and the techniques used to farm it can distinctly change the flavour. We only select ripe beans from altitudes where they grow at their finest to bring you incredible coffees with chocolate to fruity notes, and everything in between. 

Roasting coffee is an art form. That's why we use watercolour paintings to represent the complex flavour profiles of each new specialty roast. 

Roaster - Probat P25

From the Pegasing washing station in the North Sumatra region of Indonesia. 

This washing station and farm belonging to Hendra and his family is an island of specialty experimental processed coffee in a sea of conventional wet hulled coffee the area is typically known for.

Hendra and the family have invested heavily in the farm and post harvesting facilities where they have built a small wet will with two pulpers, gravitational washing channels and several raised beds in large poly tunnels for drying coffee.

Hendra has continued to experiment and now has around 8-10 different processes that he produces. The small washing station will produce up to 40 tons of green coffee every year. The coffee is purchased from 70 farmers around the area who want to work with Hendra and pick ripe cherries as he has incentivised them to do this by rewarding good picking. If any farmers have travelled further to get to Hendra's farm then they are paid extra for this as well.

Process - Anaerobic Natural

Altitude - 1300-1500MASL

Varietal - Typica

Taste Notes - Tropical Fruit and Spice 

Let's Brew! 

Brewer: V60 

Recipe: 15g / 225g 

Total Brew Time: 2 Minutes 3 Seconds

Ratio: 1:15

Taste: This coffee was unlike any other Indonesian coffee I've had (in the best way!). The initial taste was a wave of dark brown sugar tartness. When the cup had cooled slightly, I got notes of fruit that is super rare to find in coffee (my favourite kind of coffees!) super sweet honeydew melon, with sweet pineapple notes to accompany. It was super tropical in flavour which is an absolute delight (and haven't had a coffee like this since Bailies released Stephens World Brewer Cup roast!) it was a pure delight to have an absolutely delicious coffee and it's safe to say that this bag of coffee went down very quickly!!

Find Gold Box Roastery

Website - here

Instagram - here

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