Hasbean Coffee Beans

Costa Rica: Arbar - El Manantial, Villa Sarchi, Honey A zing of lemon and white sugar softens into sweet Cantaloupe melon on the finish. As it cools, there are hints of orange and white grape too, for a sweet, bright and clean cup. Arbar was the first coffee farm that our Green Buyer Roland ever visited. In many ways it is characteristic of everything we’ve ever tried to do with coffee buying and is at the heart of what we’ve always been about. The lot we have here for you is a Honey processed Villa Sarchi. A Revolution In Traceability The Arbar mill is located in Costa Rica’s West Valley, near Lourdes de Naranjo, at an elevation of 1,600 metres above sea level. Owned by Carlos and Maria, the name Arbar is a blend of Carlos ARrieta and Maria BARboza. When they first inherited the coffee farm, it wasn’t really making them any money. At that time, almost all Costa Rican coffee was sold to large cooperatives for processing. You could buy regional lots (e.g. Tarrazú) but there was little traceability and not much incentive for individual producers to achieve exceptional results, as their work would be batched together with everyone else’s. In the 2010s, Costa Rica saw the "micromill revolution", where various producers realised that building their own mills could enable them to process their own coffee and gain recognition for their hard work. A Lucky Introduction The road that Arbar is situated along is well known among exporters and buyers as it’s a checklist of Cup of Excellence-winning farms and their award-winning coffees. On that road is Vista Al Valle (owned by Oldemar Arrieta Lobo, Carlos’s cousin), Herbazu (owned by Tonio Barrantes Zuñiga, Carlos’s neighbour), and a bit further down is Sumava (owned by Francisco Mena, farmer, Cup of Excellence winner, and our exporter). All amazing farms that we buy delicious coffee from on repeat. Carlos and Maria saw the success that other local farms were having from processing their own coffee and thought, "Hey, maybe we should try something." We were lucky enough to find their coffee early and started buying it right away because, as it turns out, their hunch was correct. It’s delicious. Initially we bought it without really knowing much about where it was coming from. Francisco had introduced us and essentially said, "Hey, do you like this coffee?" We said, "Yes!" He said, "Great, here’s the producers." And that was that. The first year we bought it, it was simply called Carlos Arrieta because they hadn’t yet decided on a name for their mill. The following year it became Arbar. Pura Vida Roland first visited Arbar in 2015, the year he participated on the Costa Rica Cup of Excellence jury, and it remains one of the most memorable experiences of his life. On that first trip he didn’t yet speak any Spanish and was accompanied by the lovely Wayner from Exclusive Coffees who, at that point, didn’t speak much English. Carlos and Maria both only speak Spanish, so communication was a challenge. They bridged that gap almost immediately. Before any introductions, Carlos gave Roland a huge hug and said, "Welcome. You’re one of us, this is your home now." He was shown around the farms, sat at the head of the table for dinner, and learned a few Spanish phrases. The most important, of course, was "Pura Vida!". Literally translating to "pure life", it’s the ultimate Costa Rican catch-all phrase. How are you? Pura Vida. Had a bad day? Pura Vida. It’s a wonderfully upbeat phrase that can be used for almost anything and perfectly captures the spirit of Costa Rica. Looking To The Future We started buying from Arbar in 2013 and they have produced amazing Costa Rican coffee for us ever since. Each year they have steadily moved forward, never overdoing things or moving too quickly. They started planting new varietals and we’ve now enjoyed Villa Sarchi (as this lot is), Caturra, Catuai, Geisha, and Kenya lots from the farm. They’ve also got small amounts of Ethiopian Landrace coffee and several other experimental plantings. Starting with their first two farms, Manantial and Oasis, they have since added La Isla, owned by Maria’s niece, and Pedro, a farm they purchased after the previous owner passed away and named in his honour. It’s been wonderful to see that progression. Roland’s favourite example of the impact of these developments is Esteban, the eldest of the four Arrieta-Barboza children: Yessica, Karen, Esteban, and Jose Ignacio (Nacho). When Roland first met him, he was working in the cattle industry. It’s not unusual to see children move away from coffee farming because there often isn’t enough money in it. A few years later, Esteban started working at the nearby Sumava mill and excelled. He then moved on to work for an exporter and today works for Exclusive, our exporting partner. He has even purchased some land of his own right next to Oasis. Seeing Esteban choose a future in specialty coffee is a powerful reminder that paying fair prices can create opportunities for the next generation. Good People Make Good Coffee When we first started buying Costa Rican coffee from Arbar, we took every bean they produced. Today they are far more efficient and produce a much larger crop, so while we no longer buy all of it, we still purchase a significant proportion. That reality is incredibly satisfying for us to see, and spending time with the family remains precious and personal. It reminds us how far relationships can progress when producers are paid fairly for their coffee. That’s all we’re doing, paying them what they deserve and showing up year after year. It’s wonderful to see them continue to thrive. Maria and Carlos have also expanded into tourism, running coffee tours on the farm, and have become largely self-sufficient. They keep goats, chickens, and fish while striving to be as self-reliant as possible. The family are deeply involved in their local community. On a recent visit, Paul (our Head Roaster in New Zealand) and Roland attended a local rodeo fair, a major event in the rural agricultural community. Sadly, there are no photos of Roland falling off anything. On that same trip, while sharing coffee outside the house, the local firefighters stopped by to buy coffee from Maria, who roasts her own coffee in a small roastery behind the house. As she roasted, they shared a coffee and a chat before heading back to work. It was a lovely snapshot of rural life and community spirit. Everyone at Arbar is genuinely woven into the fabric of their community and they remain some of the loveliest people we know. It’s a constant reminder of why maintaining these relationships matters so much. Traceability Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley City: Lourdes de Naranjo Micromill: ARBAR Farm: El Manantial Producer: Carlos Arrieta & Family Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Villa Sarchi Process: Honey Cupping Scores Cupping Notes: Lemon, Melon, White Grape Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 6.5/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 6.5/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 6.5/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 87/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting Information Medium – Through the gap and don't let this go too far towards second crack. Let the simple sweetness shine.

Costa Rica: Arbar - La Isla Crisp green fruit flavours begin with lime marmalade before white grape cuts through and a gentle gooseberry on the aftertaste wraps things up with a crisp but sweet finish. Arbar was the first coffee farm that our Green Buyer Roland ever visited. In many ways it is characteristic of everything we’ve ever tried to do with coffee buying and is at the heart of what we’ve always been about. The lot we have here for you is a Honey Process Caturra and Catuai blend. A Revolution In Traceability The Arbar mill is located in Costa Rica’s West Valley, near Lourdes de Naranjo, at an elevation of 1,600 metres above sea level. Owned by Carlos and Maria, the name Arbar is a blend of Carlos ARrieta and Maria BARboza. When they first inherited the coffee farm, it wasn’t really making them any money. At that time, almost all Costa Rican coffee was sold to large cooperatives for processing. You could buy regional lots such as Tarrazú, but there was little traceability and not much incentive for individual producers to achieve exceptional results, as their work would be batched together with everyone else’s. In the 2010s, Costa Rica saw the "micromill revolution", where various producers realised that building their own mills could enable them to process their own coffee and gain recognition for their hard work. A Lucky Introduction The road that Arbar is situated along is well known among exporters and buyers as it’s a checklist of Cup of Excellence-winning farms and their award-winning coffees. On that road is Vista Al Valle (owned by Oldemar Arrieta Lobo, Carlos’s cousin), Herbazu (owned by Tonio Barrantes Zuñiga, Carlos’s neighbour), and a bit further down is Sumava (owned by Francisco Mena, farmer, Cup of Excellence winner, and our exporter). All amazing farms that we buy delicious coffee from on repeat. Carlos and Maria saw the success that other local farms were having from processing their own coffee and thought, "Hey, maybe we should try something." We were lucky enough to find their coffee early and started buying it right away because, as it turned out, their hunch was correct. It’s delicious. Initially we bought it without really knowing much about where it was coming from. Francisco had introduced us and essentially said, "Hey, do you like this coffee?" We said, "Yes!" He said, "Great, here’s the producers." And that was that. The first year we bought it, it was simply called Carlos Arrieta because they hadn’t yet decided on a name for their mill. The following year it became Arbar. Pura Vida Roland first visited Arbar in 2015, the year he participated on the Costa Rica Cup of Excellence jury, and it remains one of the most memorable experiences of his life. On that first trip he didn’t yet speak any Spanish and was accompanied by the lovely Wayner from Exclusive Coffees, who at that point didn’t speak much English. Carlos and Maria both only speak Spanish, so communication was a challenge. They bridged that gap almost immediately. Before any introductions, Carlos gave Roland a huge hug and said, "Welcome. You’re one of us, this is your home now." He was shown around the farms, sat at the head of the table for dinner, and learned a few Spanish phrases. The most important, of course, was "Pura Vida!". Literally translating to "pure life", it’s the ultimate Costa Rican catch-all phrase. How are you? Pura Vida. Had a bad day? Pura Vida. It’s a wonderfully upbeat phrase that can be used for almost anything and perfectly captures the spirit of Costa Rica. Looking To The Future We started buying from Arbar in 2013 and they have produced amazing Costa Rican coffee for us ever since. Each year they have steadily moved forward, never overdoing things or moving too quickly. They started planting new varietals and we’ve now enjoyed Villa Sarchi, Caturra, Catuai, Geisha, Kenya, and other experimental lots from the farm. They’ve also got small amounts of Ethiopian Landrace coffee and several other trial plantings. Starting with their first two farms, Manantial and Oasis, they have since added La Isla, owned by Maria’s niece, and Pedro, a farm they purchased after the previous owner passed away and named in his honour. It’s been wonderful to see that progression. Roland’s favourite example of the impact of these developments is Esteban, the eldest of the four Arrieta-Barboza children: Yessica, Karen, Esteban, and Jose Ignacio (Nacho). When Roland first met him, he was working in the cattle industry. It’s not unusual to see children move away from coffee farming because there often isn’t enough money in it. A few years later, Esteban started working at the nearby Sumava mill and excelled. He then moved on to work for an exporter and today works for Exclusive, our exporting partner. He has even purchased some land of his own right next to Oasis. Seeing Esteban choose a future in specialty coffee is a powerful reminder that paying fair prices can create opportunities for the next generation. Good People Make Good Coffee When we first started buying Costa Rican coffee from Arbar, we took every bean they produced. Today they are far more efficient and produce a much larger crop, so while we no longer buy all of it, we still purchase a significant proportion. That reality is incredibly satisfying for us to see, and spending time with the family remains precious and personal. It reminds us how far relationships can progress when producers are paid fairly for their coffee. That’s all we’re doing, paying them what they deserve and showing up year after year. It’s wonderful to see them continue to thrive. Maria and Carlos have also expanded into tourism, running coffee tours on the farms, and have become largely self-sufficient. They keep goats, chickens, and fish while striving to be as self-reliant as possible. The family are deeply involved in their local community. On a recent visit, Paul (our Head Roaster in New Zealand) and Roland attended a local rodeo fair, a major event in the rural agricultural community. Sadly, there are no photos of Roland falling off anything. On that same trip, while sharing coffee outside the house, the local firefighters stopped by to buy coffee from Maria, who roasts her own coffee in a small roastery behind the house. As she roasted, they shared a coffee and a chat before heading back to work. It was a lovely snapshot of rural life and community spirit. Everyone at Arbar is genuinely woven into the fabric of their community and they remain some of the loveliest people we know. It’s a constant reminder of why maintaining these relationships matters so much. Traceability Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley City: Lourdes de Naranjo Micromill: ARBAR Farm: La Isla Producer: Carlos Arrieta & Family Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: Caturra & Catuai Process: Honey Cupping Scores Cupping Notes: Lime Marmalade, White Grape, Gooseberry Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 7/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 7/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 6/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 87.5/100 If you’d like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you’d like to try cupping yourself, we’ve got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting Information Medium - Keep this nice and steady and aim for midway through development, keeping the coffee’s flavours crisp, clean, and bright.

Costa Rica: Arbar, San Roque Kenya, Honey Bright and crisp from the first sip, there's a lively zing of lemon and lime balanced by a delicate white sugar sweetness. As the coffee cools, the citrus softens and a gentle apricot note begins to emerge on the finish. Clean, refreshing and beautifully elegant throughout. A familiar face from a familiar family If you’ve been drinking with us for a while, the Arrieta Barboza family will need no introduction. We’ve been buying from their Arbar micromill in Lourdes de Naranjo, in Costa Rica’s Western Valley, since 2013, and their Kenya lots have become some of the coffees we look forward to most each year. We’ve had their Kenya as a honey and as a natural before, and San Roque Kenya from Allan Oviedo’s Don Joel micromill too. This year’s honey lot is the cleanest and sweetest version we’ve had from Arbar, scoring higher on both counts than the last. We've also got a naturally processed version still to release too, how exciting! We don’t often lean in one set direction when it comes to brewing methods, but for this coffee we wanted to make an exception. We think it’s at its best as a filter. The San Roque Kenya, grown at 1,600 metres in the Western Valley, brings the lemon and lime. The slow, closely watched honey process at Arbar brings the white sugar sweetness. Brewed as a filter, it’s reminiscent of sugar-coated lemon and lime fruit jellies, with apricot joining the citrus as it cools. If you're an espresso brewer, don't let this put you off - it makes a delicious fruit-forward espresso too! With the lemon and lime giving it plenty of citric pop and the white sugar pulling it towards candied lemons and limes. The Arrieta Barboza family The name ARBAR is a blend of Carlos ARrieta and Maria BARboza, the couple at the heart of the operation. Their family home sits in the middle of El Manantial, the largest of their five farms, with the drying beds, depulper and nursery laid out around the house. The other four farms, El Oasis, La Casa, La Isla and Don Pedro, each have their own microclimate and varietal focus, and all of their coffee comes back to the same small mill to be processed. It wasn’t always this way. For years Carlos sent his cherries to a local cooperative and never met a buyer. That changed in 2013, when a sample labelled simply “Carlos Arrieta” turned up on the cupping table at the offices of our exporting partners, Exclusive Coffees, and stood out immediately. A year later the family were processing their own coffee, and we’ve been buying from them ever since. Our Green Buyer Roland first visited in 2015, the year he sat on the Costa Rica Cup of Excellence jury. He didn’t speak Spanish yet, and Carlos and Maria don’t speak English, but before any introductions had been made Carlos gave him an enormous hug and told him he was one of them now, and that this was his home. That’s pretty much how it’s been ever since. It’s very much a family effort. Maria leads much of the processing and roasts coffee for the local market on a small roaster at the back of the house, a skill she learned as a child roasting beans over a fire with her dad. Carlos splits his time between the farms and the mill. Their son Nacho has developed a real interest in cupping and quality control, while Esteban works for Exclusive Coffees and has recently bought a plot of land of his own, right next door to El Oasis. Seeing the next generation choose coffee as a career is about the best sign there is that a relationship is working. Why Kenya, and why here When you’re selling cherries into a cooperative, it makes sense to grow safe varieties like Caturra, Catuai and Villa Sarchi: resilient, productive and reliably good in the cup. Once the family began selling directly to us at prices that reflected their quality, they had room to take a few risks. One of those was small plantings of more unusual varieties, including Geisha and Kenya. That gamble has paid off. Their La Casa farm is now planted mainly with Geisha and Kenya, two varieties that need more looking after than Caturra or Catuai but thrive in its particular conditions, and Kenya also grows on La Isla alongside Villa Sarchi, Geisha and Ethiopia. The family farm mostly organically, though they aren’t certified. Fruit trees are planted among the coffee for shade, soil health and food for the family, and there are sheep, goats, chickens and fish on the land too. It’s as close to self-sufficient as a coffee farm gets. The San Roque Kenya varietal Kenya (sometimes written Kenia, or even Quenya, in Spanish) has a slightly mysterious backstory. In Costa Rica, the name San Roque Kenya, or SR Kenya, is used for all of the country’s Kenya coffee. The San Roque part most likely refers to where the original seedlings came from, though the trail goes cold quickly. Our best guess is that it descends from SL28, or possibly SL34, the Kenyan varieties behind the juicy acidity, citrus and blackcurrant of the best Kenyan coffees. What’s much less mysterious is how it performs. It’s harder work and less productive than Caturra or Catuai, though far less fussy than Geisha, and it seems very happy at the medium altitudes of the Western Valley. Lots from the region have placed among the top spots in competition over the last few years. Allan Oviedo’s honey-processed San Roque Kenya, which we bought last season, placed third in the Traditional Semi-Washed, Honey and Natural category at the 2024 Costa Rica Cup of Excellence. The two lots above it were both Geishas, and it finished just over half a point behind second. Across all the San Roque Kenya lots we’ve tasted from different Western Valley farms, one thing crops up almost every time: a crisp, zingy lime. It’s there again here, joined this year by lemon, and it’s the backbone of the cup. Honey processing at Arbar Honey processing sits between washed and natural. The cherries are depulped to remove the skin, but some or all of the sticky mucilage is left clinging to the bean as it dries slowly on raised beds. That mucilage brings extra sweetness and body to the cup, while the removal of the skin keeps things cleaner and brighter than a natural. It also uses far less water than fully washed processing, which matters in this part of Costa Rica, where water is scarce. The trade-off is that it needs constant attention to avoid over-fermentation, with the coffee turned regularly on the beds as it dries. Maria and Carlos handle it all themselves, a few steps from their kitchen. Traceability Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley Area: Lourdes de Naranjo Producer: The Arrieta Barboza family Micromill: Arbar Elevation: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Varietal: San Roque Kenya Process: Honey Cupping Scores Cupping notes: Lemon and lime, white sugar, apricot. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean cup: 7/8 Sweetness: 7/8 Acidity: 7/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 6/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 87.5/100 If you’d like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you’d like to try cupping yourself, we’ve got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting Information Medium - keep this nice and steady and you're looking for mid-way through the gap, keeping the coffees flavours crisp, clean and bright.

Costa Rica: Don Joel - Finca Carmela This cup opens with silky, sweet wine gums and the zingy lift of lime and raspberries. Juicy black grapes come in on the finish of this well-rounded and fruity coffee. We were lucky enough to first buy excellent Costa Rican coffee from Allan Oviedo Rodriguez just shy of a decade ago. We have been building a relationship with him and his family ever since that first purchase in 2017. This year we have three different lots produced by Allan. This is a Honey-processed Villa Sarchi coffee from Finca Carmela. Finca Carmela: The Details Allan has two farms in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica’s famous Western Valley: Finca La Cumbre and Finca Carmela. Their Don Joel micromill, named in honour of his late father, is situated on La Cumbre. The mill provides expert processing for both farms, plus small lots for neighbouring producers when there is capacity to take in extra cherry. This coffee was grown on Finca Carmela. The farm sits at 1,600 metres above sea level and is just three hectares in size. The small plot is planted mainly with Villa Sarchi and Typica, along with small trials of varieties such as SL28. Microclimates Are Key Despite Allan’s two farms being only five minutes’ drive from each other, their locations on opposite sides of the same hill mean they experience vastly different microclimates. Weather fronts arriving from different directions will often affect one farm but not the other. Even small variations in rainfall, sunshine, and wind can have a profound impact on how coffee trees grow and fruit. These subtle differences lead to distinct characteristics in the cup and give Carmela’s harvests their own unique personality. To learn more about Finca Carmela and Allan’s coffee journey, check out his Producer Story here: Allan Oviedo & Family Producer Story. Finca Carmela may be small, but it perfectly embodies Allan’s approach: careful attention, deep respect for the land, and a vision for producing coffees that express a genuine sense of place. We’re proud to share it with you. Traceability Country: Costa Rica Region: Western Valley Province: Alajuela Canton: San Luis de Grecia Farm: Finca Carmela Micromill: Don Joel Producer: Allan Oviedo Elevation: 1,600 m.a.s.l. Processing method: Honey Varietal: Villa Sarchi Cupping Scores Cupping notes: Wine gums, lime, raspberry, black grape. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 6.5/8 Sweetness: 7/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6.5/8 Balance: 6.5/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Total: 87.5/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, have a read of What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?, and if you fancy trying cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too: What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting Information Medium - through first crack and keeping it steady before you drop midway into the gap. Recommended Resting Time Our coffee is roasted fresh and ships quickly – which means it might arrive a little lively. Freshly roasted beans are still busy releasing carbon dioxide (a natural byproduct of roasting), and all that activity can make your brew taste a bit sharp or unsettled. Give it a few days to calm down and something lovely happens. Those brighter, edgier notes mellow out, sweetness develops, and the flavours you're actually after can really come into focus. We recommend resting your coffee for at least 5-7 days from the roast date on the bag before brewing. A little patience goes a long way. That said, this is just what we've found works best – not a rule. If you can't wait, we completely understand. Tuck in whenever you like. .coffee-product-description { font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6; color: #333; max-width: 800px; } .coffee-product-description h2 { font-size: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: #2c1810; } .coffee-product-description h3 { font-size: 1.4em; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; color: #2c1810; } .coffee-product-description h4 { font-size: 1.2em; margin-top: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: #4a3326; } .coffee-product-description p { margin-bottom: 1em; } .tasting-notes { background-color: #f9f6f2; padding: 1.25em; border-radius: 4px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; } .tasting-notes p:last-child { margin-bottom: 0; } .coffee-product-description hr { border: none; border-top: 1px solid #e0d5c7; margin: 2em 0; } .traceability-list, .cupping-scores { list-style: none; padding-left: 0; } .traceability-list li, .cupping-scores li { padding: 0.4em 0; border-bottom: 1px solid #f0ebe5; } .traceability-list li:last-child, .cupping-scores li:last-child { border-bottom: none; }

Costa Rica: Don Mayo Micromill - La Ladera, Catuai, Honey This dessert in a cup begins with soft, cooked down peach before finishing with a sprinkle of brown sugar. On the aftertaste is a delicate strawberry edge, rounding out this well balanced, all day coffee. Our relationship with the Bonilla Family and their Don Mayo micromill stretches all the way back to 2012, we couldn’t be prouder to still buy Costa Rican coffee from them all these years later. During that time, Don Mayo has gained a huge reputation across the world as a producer of delicious coffee, and this lot is a perfect example of the great cup quality they are famous for. A favourite for us year on year, their Honey processed Catuai. The mountain landscape provides perfect conditions for the production of high-quality specialty coffee beans. The plants thrive in rich, volcanic soils at an ideal average temperature of just under 20°C and the steep slopes providing the right balance of high altitudes for slow cherry maturation and shelter for the delicate Arabica trees. Tarrazú - Iconic For Costa Rican Coffee The Tarrazú canton sits halfway down Costa Rica, towards the western coast. Located in a stunning valley surrounded by mountains that are part of the Talamanca Sierra. It is famous for producing some of the very best coffee in the country, with coffee production being the main industry for local residents, making up a whopping 95% of the local economy. During the harvest in December, January and February, the area’s population triples with seasonal workers needed to bring in the crop. On The Farm La Ladera, located in the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica, is owned by Pablo Bonilla. The farm spans 20 hectares and is situated at an altitude of 1,850 meters, which allows different coffee varieties to thrive at various elevations. Catuai coffee plants grow well at higher elevations, while Caturra is suited to medium and lower areas. In previous years our lots from La Ladera have been a mix of Catuai and Caturra but for the last 2 harvests the varietals were separated and we have been able to buy just the higher growing Catuai crop. The farm emphasises sustainable coffee production by planting native species alongside coffee crops to maintain ecological balance. Additionally, wastewater is treated to prevent pollution, and a small hydroelectric plant is used during peak harvest. La Ladera employs a team of 120-130 pickers during the harvest season, primarily from Panama. The farm has been hiring the same core group of pickers for the last two decades, providing them with transportation and accommodation. At The Mill After harvest, the single origin coffee is processed at the Don Mayo micro mill, also owned by Pablo Bonilla. The Don Mayo micro mill is one of the oldest and most respected micro mills in the country. Established in 2003 by Hector Bonilla and his sons, the mill has been innovative in creating an economically and environmentally sustainable farm-to-mill operation under the Bonilla Family Estate. The mill processes coffee from its own farms, such as La Loma, and also buys whole cherries from local coffee farmers to sell as individual micro-lots. Don Mayo is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and is committed to producing high-quality coffee. This commitment is demonstrated through the mill’s success in Costa Rica’s Cup of Excellence competition, having auctioned more than 35 lots through the competition and placing first in both 2009 and 2020. Environmental conservation is a key focus at Don Mayo. The mill minimises water usage due to government restrictions and uses coffee pulp and parchment as fuel for cooking and mechanical dryers, as well as fertiliser. This approach ensures that nothing goes to waste and supports sustainable coffee production. Traceability Country: Costa Rica Zone: Los Santos Province: San José Canton: Leon Cortes Farm: La Ladera Micromill: Don Mayo Producer: Pablo Bonilla Variety: Catuai Process: Honey Elevation: 1,850-1,900 m.a.s.l. Cupping Scores Tasting notes: Peach, brown sugar, strawberry. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: (1-8): 6 Sweetness: (1-8): 6.5 Acidity: (1-8): 6 Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6 Flavour: (1-8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1-8): 6.5 Balance: (1-8): 6.5 Overall: (1-8): 6 Correction: (+36): +36 Total (max 100): 86 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roast Information Medium - Through the gap and don't let this go too far towards second, let the simple sweetness shine.

Costa Rica: Granitos - Ortiz 1800, Catuai, Yellow Honey A gentle peach sweetness on the first sip slips seamlessly into marzipan. Sultanas and a dash of cream on the aftertaste round it out, but it's that sweet marzipan you'll keep coming back for. The Tarrazú region sits halfway down Costa Rica, towards the western coast. The region is made up of the Dota, San Marcos (Tarrazú) and Leon Cortes Cantons, thread through by beautiful mountains that are part of the Talamanca Sierra. The mountain landscape provides perfect conditions for the production of high-quality specialty coffee beans. The plants thrive in fertile volcanic soils at an ideal average temperature of just under 20°C and the steep slopes providing the right balance of high altitudes for slow cherry maturation and shelter for the delicate Arabica trees. This Yellow Honey Catuai from Granitos de Altura del Ortiz is a fine example of the region’s coffees. A Family-Run Micromill in the Mountains of Tarrazú Sitting at 1,800 metres above sea level in Tarrazú you’ll find Granitos de Altura del Ortiz. The family-run micromill is managed by sisters Johana and Joyce Calderón, known for producing elegant, expressive coffees that reflect both the meticulous care that goes into growing and processing them and the exceptional terroir. The farm is a fine example of the characteristic cup profile gleaned from the cool mountain air and rich volcanic soils - ideal conditions for slow cherry maturation and more complex cup profiles. The name “Granitos de Altura” translates to “High Altitude Little Beans” - a nod to both the terrain and the fastidious care that defines their approach. This small but mighty operation is a shining example of Costa Rica’s micromill revolution. Women in Coffee: Johana & Joyce Calderón The mill was originally run by Joyce and Johana’s father, Omar Calderón, until they asked if they could take the reins. Since he said yes (of course!) just over a decade ago, the sisters have run the business with a deep commitment to quality over quantity. Omar still plays a vital role, managing the farms where the coffee is grown. Rather than expanding production, Joyce focuses on refining every step of the process - from cherry selection to drying - to ensure each lot meets their exacting standards. The family’s philosophy is rooted in connection: with the land, with the coffee, and with the people who come to visit and share in the experience. “When the harvest is in full swing, the days are long and the workloads are heavy,” Joyce says. “But we’re energised by people visiting, sharing their time, and connecting over coffee.” Granitos de Altura is also part of a wider movement in Costa Rica: one that champions traceability, sustainability, and women-led coffee businesses. While we source this coffee through our long-standing export partner, Exclusive Coffees, the Calderón family’s commitment to quality and transparency is clear in every lot. Their work reflects a new generation of producers who are elevating Costa Rican coffee through innovation, care, and connection - and we’re proud to share their story and their coffee with you. New Developments At Granitos Roland’s last visit to Granitos was in 2024. The last couple of years have been relatively low harvests in Costa Rica, which meant that by the time he got to the farm in May the harvest was already finished. The visit was a little later than he would normally go, and with the lower quantity of coffee to be brought in the staff had already picked everything. At Granitos, as with a number of other farms we work with, this means that they have been using the spare days to take on some additional projects to improve the farm and mill whilst they have the time. This is a very positive sign as it shows that they’re earning enough from the normal years that, when they hit a tough year like this one, they don’t feel like they have to put a halt on any supplementary projects. At the mill, this has resulted in some new drying tables and a colour sorter. The extra drying tables give Johana and Joyce the freedom to always choose the processing method that they think is right for the coffee on hand. The additional capacity means that they don’t need to worry about running out of space - the choice is based on flavour and quality rather than rigid practicality. The colour sorter is a machine that uses an electronic eye to spot damaged coffee beans and automatically separate them out before batches go on to Exclusive Coffees, our export partners. Joyce and Johana have also begun a new side project they’re calling Dos Semillas (“Two Seeds” in English). This involves buying coffee cherries from other local farms to be processing at their mill themselves. This side project alongside the main work at Granitos is intended to help build up some extra funds with the goal of eventually buying their own farm. Omar has been very supportive of the plan and has even donated some Geisha seeds for them to plant there once they buy. Up until now, all of the Granitos farms are his, so this will be the first farm the sisters will have bought and owned independently. They've also been working with Omar to plant some new varietals on the existing farm. They're not expanding the size of the estate, but they are trying out small plantings alongside the existing plant stock. These include Milenio, Starameyer, Catigua, and ParaisoI. These are newer Catimor varietals that are reported to have good cup quality. Roland noted having noticed particularly Starameyer and Milenio around on a few other farms he visited in the area. There are a number of farms trialling very small amounts of these to begin with - this will be an experiment to see if they actually hold up or not, only time will tell. Honey Processing We always love the Honey-process coffees we get from Granitos. As in previous years, this one stood out on the cupping table and was a must-buy. For the Honey process you run the cherry through a special depulper that removes the skins while leaving the mucilage intact on the seeds. That layer of sticky fruit then stays on throughout the drying process on raised beds. The more mucilage left, the darker the colour goes during drying - this version keeps a small amount of pulp, hence “Yellow” Honey. That fruit contact means that in the final cup you get a little more fruit character and a little more body and texture than with a Washed coffee. Traceability Country: Costa Rica Region: Tarrazú Province: San José Town: Santa María de Dota Mill: Micro-Beneficio Granitos de Altura del Ortiz Producers: Calderón Family Farm: Ortiz 1800 Growing altitude: 1,800 m.a.s.l. Soil type: Loamy Average annual rainfall: 2,050mm Plant age: Around 10 years Harvest months: January to February Variety: Catuai Processing method: Yellow honey Export partner: Exclusive Coffees Relationship since: 2022 Cupping scores Cupping notes: Peach, marzipan, sultana. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 6/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6.5/8 Balance: 6.5/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 86.5/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, have a read of What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?, and if you fancy trying cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too: What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting information Medium - keep this to the middle of the gap, slowing it a little to help develop the layered sweetness. Recommended Resting Time Our coffee is roasted fresh and ships quickly – which means it might arrive a little lively. Freshly roasted beans are still busy releasing carbon dioxide (a natural byproduct of roasting), and all that activity can make your brew taste a bit sharp or unsettled. Give it a few days to calm down and something lovely happens. Those brighter, edgier notes mellow out, sweetness develops, and the flavours you're actually after can really come into focus. We recommend resting your coffee for at least 5-7 days from the roast date on the bag before brewing. A little patience goes a long way. That said, this is just what we've found works best – not a rule. If you can't wait, we completely understand. Tuck in whenever you like.

A Colombian EA decaf with cream, hazelnut, and cocoa powder notes, offering a smooth cup without the caffeine.

El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Centroamericano H1, Natural Imagine a slice of banana bread spread with thin-cut marmalade and topped with a few pomegranate seeds. Sweet, tangy, and beautifully balanced, this is a coffee you'll keep coming back to. Roland last visited El Salvador in February as the harvest at Finca Argentina was just coming to an end. The farm is at a lower altitude than other producers we work with in El Salvador, so that shifts the harvest a little earlier than San Jose or Nejapa, for example. He travelled with Mauricio to visit the Los Ausoles mill to cup the various seasonal coffee lots available this year. This Natural Process Centroamericano H1 lot cupped incredibly well and is a great example of what we love about Salvadoran single origin coffee. On The Farm Near the town of Turin, in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador, you’ll find Finca Argentina. It’s located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, surrounded by natural hot springs at an altitude of 1,300 metres above sea level. The farm’s 35 hectares are separated into 7 distinct areas or "tablons". Each of these individual plots has its own character, shaped by the landscape and the small peculiarities of microclimate that come with changes in altitude, aspect, soil, and even local volcanic activity. Over time, the team at Finca Argentina have put a lot of effort into exploring different varietals, discovering what grows best on each of the farm’s 7 tablons. The Guachipelin tablon spans 6 hectares and was replanted in 2016 with H1 (Centroamericano), Yellow Bourbon, Icatu, and a small amount of SL-28. The Martinez Family The farm was first acquired by the Martinez family in 1967. Dr Luis Guillermo Martinez bought the estate, and it quickly became his favourite and produced well. By the time his son, Mauricio, inherited it in 2008, cherry yields had dropped significantly and he was unsure how best to proceed with his newly owned farm. It was here that his son, and our now good friend, Alejandro, stepped in. He had just relocated back to El Salvador after working as a city banker in New York and decided to lend a hand to his father’s business interests while looking for work. Ale’s interest was piqued when he saw that the farm had been classified for a Q auction in 2005, showing it had the potential for great coffee. He and his cousin, based in London, set about sending green coffee samples to roasters wherever they could, seeking a specialty buyer. One of those samples landed with us in 2008, and we’ve been buying ever since. Mauricio and Alejandro both now live in Canada, but Mauricio still owns and oversees the farm remotely. He relies on his farm manager and the on-site team to handle day-to-day operations and to keep him up to date, while visiting El Salvador regularly to check in. The Martinez family employ 50 people during harvest and 30 throughout the rest of the year. Mauricio's daughter Beatrix, who hadn't previously been involved in coffee, is also now stepping in to help with the family business. Processing of the coffee is carried out at the Los Ausoles dry mill, a cooperative facility in Ahuachapán. They have a very good relationship with Mauricio and have shown great consistency and reliability for us as buyers. Highly Skilled Workers Throughout the growing season at Finca Argentina, individual workers are given a lot of responsibility over pruning and managing trees. On many farms, pruning would be quite regimented, for example every other tree receiving a skeleton prune in a particular section. At Finca Argentina, these decisions are left much more to the knowledge of the staff, who decide on a plant-by-plant basis what kind of pruning is needed as they work through an area. It is easy to ruin coffee production if the wrong pruning choices are made, so this demonstrates a huge amount of trust and is only possible because the farm retains and develops workers’ skills over the long term. El Salvador has been hit hard by the wider labour shortage affecting other Central American countries. Fortunately, Finca Argentina is currently managing well, although they continue exploring ways to retain sufficient staff during harvest season. The Martinez family employ 50 people during harvest and 30 throughout the rest of the year. They contribute labour and materials to improve local infrastructure and grow 25kg of corn annually for each worker. They’re also implementing more ecological management practices, using compost and other organic products to minimise environmental impact while intercropping beans to enrich the soil. Their work has improved biodiversity and cup quality, and the future for coffee production at Finca Argentina is looking very bright. Centroamericano H1 The Centroamericano varietal might not be the best known, but we think it's certainly worth paying attention to. Sometimes misunderstood, Centroamericano H1 is one of the more exciting developments in coffee breeding, offering resilience for farmers and the potential for exceptional coffee when grown in the right place. To give it its full name, Centroamericano H1 F1 Hybrid is a Sarchimor. The Catimors and Sarchimors are a large group of coffee varietals created by crossing Arabica varietals with the Timor Hybrid, a naturally occurring hybrid of Arabica and Robusta discovered nearly 100 years ago in Timor. In the case of Centroamericano H1, its parents are T5296 (a Timor Hybrid crossed with Villa Sarchi) and Rume Sudan, an Ethiopian landrace. H1 is part of a new generation of F1 hybrids, developed through collaboration between CIRAD (France), CATIE (Costa Rica), PROMECAFE, World Coffee Research, and other partners. After years of trials, it was officially released to Central American coffee farmers around 2010, with the goal of combining high yields, disease resistance, and excellent cup quality. There are clear reasons it has become popular on specialty coffee farms across the region: the plant is quick-growing, resistant to leaf rust, and high-yielding. Trials have shown H1 can produce 22-47% more yield than traditional varieties, with hybrid vigour often leading to 30-50% more output and earlier fruiting. While Catimors and Sarchimors as a group sometimes suffer from a reputation for lower flavour potential, Centroamericano H1 has proven it can deliver excellent brews in the right conditions. A lot from Nicaragua scored 90.5 in the 2017 Cup of Excellence, earning a Presidential Award, proof that resilience and quality can go hand in hand. This balance of practicality and potential is why we're excited to share the Centroamericano H1 from Finca Argentina. For the Martinez family, H1 is both insurance against leaf rust and a proven success in the cup. The coffee produced is comfortably on par with the farm's other varietals, and we hope you really enjoy this lesser-known varietal from our wonderful friends. Traceability Country: El Salvador Region: Apaneca-Ilamatepec Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest Town: Turin Farm: Finca Argentina Producer: The Martinez Family Dry Mill: Los Ausoles Elevation: 1,300 m.a.s.l. Variety: Centroamericano (H1) Processing Method: Natural GPS: 13°56'29.4"N 89°47'04.1"W Cupping Scores Cupping Notes: Banana Bread, Marmalade, Pomegranate Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 6/8 Sweetness: 7/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 6.5/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6.5/8 Balance: 7/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 88/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?. Roasting Information Medium Dark - Give this coffee a confident push through first crack and into development, right up to the edge of second crack before you drop.

El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Icatu, Natural Picture a warm slice of apple strudel. Soft, sweet cooked apple folded into flaky pastry, finished with a scattering of almonds and a drizzle of toffee for a deeper, darker sweetness. That’s this coffee. It’s gentle, rounded and eminently quaffable. It’s also a bit of a rarity. This is Icatu, a Brazilian varietal through and through, and you very rarely see it outside Brazil. Finding it on a hillside in western El Salvador, grown by friends we’ve bought from since 2008, was too good to pass up. A Brazilian a long way from home Icatu is a proper slow-burner. Breeders at Brazil’s Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC) started work on it in 1950, and the first cultivars weren’t released until 1992. That’s over four decades of patient crossing and selecting. The goal was to bring the disease resistance of Robusta (Coffea canephora) into Arabica without losing what makes Arabica worth drinking. Breeders crossed Robusta with Red Bourbon, then backcrossed the offspring with Mundo Novo, generation after generation, keeping the plants that held onto that resistance while growing and tasting more and more like Arabica. The result is a tall, vigorous, productive plant with useful resistance to coffee leaf rust. It was built for Brazil, though. Its height suits big, spaced-out plantations where machines do much of the harvesting. Steep Central American hillsides, usually picked by hand, are a very different proposition. So why grow it here? Leaf rust tore through Central America in the early 2010s, and El Salvador was hit particularly hard. Farms built on traditional varietals like Bourbon saw huge losses, and many producers started looking for plants that could stand up to the disease. Icatu fits that brief neatly. It even carries Bourbon in its family tree, the varietal El Salvador’s coffee reputation was built on. In the cup, Icatu tends towards sweet and rounded, with chocolate, caramel and nutty notes and a generous body. Natural processing, where the whole cherry dries around the seed, pushes it further into soft, cooked fruit, and that’s exactly what’s happened here. Grown at altitude in volcanic soil, it’s a world away from the Brazilian plantations it was bred for, and it’s all the better for it. On the farm Finca Argentina sits near the town of Turin, in the Ahuachapán department, high in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range at between 1,150 and 1,350 metres above sea level. Its neighbours include the Los Ausoles geothermal field, more than 130 mud pots, fumaroles and steam vents, and those volcanic soils are a big part of why the region’s coffee is so good. The landscape also gives its name to El Beneficio Los Ausoles, the cooperative dry mill in Ahuachapán where the family’s coffee is hulled, sorted and readied for export. It’s been doing this for over four decades, and in recent years it has been chosen to dry mill and export El Salvador’s Cup of Excellence winning lots. The team there have a long relationship with Mauricio and have been consistent, reliable partners for us as buyers too. The farm is split into seven tablones, individual plots each with their own character. This Icatu comes from Guachipelin, a six-hectare plot replanted in 2016 with Icatu, Centroamericano H1, Yellow Bourbon and a little SL-28. If you caught our recent Natural H1, this is its next-door neighbour: same plot, same weather, same hands, very different family tree. The experimenting hasn’t stopped. In 2023 the family planted Mundo Novo, with a first harvest expected this year in late 2026. So Icatu and one of its own parents are now growing on the same Salvadoran farm. The Martinez family The Martinez family have owned Finca Argentina since 1967. By 2008 its yields had slumped, until Alejandro, back home after banking in New York, found records showing the farm had been classified for a Q auction in 2005. He started sending samples to roasters across Europe, and one landed with us in Stafford. We’ve been buying ever since. Today his father Mauricio runs the farm from Canada with a trusted team on the ground, who are given real responsibility over how each tree is managed. Traceability Country: El Salvador Region: Apaneca-Ilamatepec Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest town: Turin Farm: Finca Argentina Producer: The Martinez Family Dry mill: El Beneficio Los Ausoles (COAUSOLES) Elevation: 1,150 to 1,350 m.a.s.l. Variety: Icatu Processing method: Natural GPS: 13°56’29.4”N 89°47’04.1”W Cupping scores Cupping notes: Apple strudel, almond, toffee Cup of Excellence cupping scores Clean cup: 6/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 7/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 6.5/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 86.5/100 If you’d like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you’d like to try cupping yourself, we’ve got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting information Medium dark: Take this one steadily through development and right up to the brink of second crack. A pop or two as you drop is fine, but no further.

El Salvador: Finca Argentina, SL28, Natural Expect a sweet but crisp honeydew melon, backed up by gentle yellow plum. A smooth and silky coffee, the darker sweetness of dates and figs comes through on the finish and aftertaste. Roland last visited El Salvador in February as the harvest at Finca Argentina was just coming to an end. The farm is at a lower altitude than other producers we work with in El Salvador, so that shifts the harvest a little earlier than San Jose or Nejapa, for example. He travelled with Mauricio to visit the Los Ausoles mill to cup the various seasonal coffee lots available this year. We absolutely had to buy this Natural SL28 lot once we tasted it. On The Farm Near the town of Turin, in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador, you’ll find Finca Argentina. It’s located within the Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, surrounded by natural hot springs at an altitude of 1,300 metres above sea level. The farm’s 35 hectares are separated into 7 distinct areas, or "tablons". Each of these individual plots has its own character, shaped by the landscape and the small peculiarities of microclimate that come with changes in altitude, aspect, soil, and even local volcanic activity. Over time, the team at Finca Argentina have put a lot of effort into exploring different varietals, discovering what grows best on each of the farm’s 7 tablons. The Guachipelin tablon spans 6 hectares and was replanted in 2016 with H1 (Centroamericano), Yellow Bourbon, Icatu, and a small amount of SL28. The Martinez Family The farm was first acquired by the Martinez family in 1967. Dr Luis Guillermo Martinez bought the estate, and it quickly became his favourite and produced well. By the time his son, Mauricio, inherited it in 2008, cherry yields had dropped significantly and he was unsure how best to proceed with his newly owned farm. It was here that his son, and our now good friend, Alejandro, stepped in. He had just relocated back to El Salvador after working as a city banker in New York and decided to lend a hand to his father’s business interests while looking for work. Ale’s interest was piqued when he saw that the farm had been classified for a Q auction in 2005, showing it had the potential for great coffee. He and his cousin, based in London, set about sending green coffee samples to roasters wherever they could, seeking a specialty buyer. One of those samples landed with us in 2008, and we’ve been buying ever since. Mauricio and Alejandro both now live in Canada, but Mauricio still owns and oversees the farm remotely. He relies on his farm manager and the on-site team to handle day-to-day operations and keep him up to date, while visiting El Salvador regularly to check in. The Martinez family employ 50 people during harvest and 30 throughout the rest of the year. Mauricio's daughter Beatrix, who hadn't previously been involved in coffee, is also stepping in to help with the family business. Processing of the coffee is carried out at the Los Ausoles dry mill, a cooperative facility in Ahuachapán. They have a very good relationship with Mauricio and have shown great consistency and reliability for us as buyers. Highly Skilled Workers Throughout the growing season at Finca Argentina, individual workers are given a lot of responsibility over pruning and managing trees. On many farms, pruning would be quite regimented, for example every other tree receiving a skeleton prune in a particular section. At Finca Argentina, these decisions are left much more to the knowledge of the staff, who decide on a plant-by-plant basis what kind of pruning is needed as they work through an area. It is easy to ruin coffee production if the wrong pruning choices are made, so this demonstrates a huge amount of trust and is only possible because the farm retains and develops workers’ skills over the long term. El Salvador has been hit hard by the wider labour shortage affecting other Central American countries. Fortunately, Finca Argentina is currently managing well, although they continue exploring ways to retain sufficient staff during harvest season. The Martinez family employ 50 people during harvest and 30 throughout the rest of the year. They contribute labour and materials to improve local infrastructure and grow 25kg of corn annually for each worker. They’re also implementing more ecological management practices, using compost and other organic products to minimise environmental impact while intercropping beans to enrich the soil. Their work has improved biodiversity and cup quality, and the future for coffee production at Finca Argentina is looking very bright. A Kenyan Varietal In El Salvador SL28 is a tall coffee plant with wide-spreading branches. It produces relatively large, deep red cherries among large leaves on leggy branches that tend to droop with age. It is a low-yielding cultivar with a susceptibility to coffee leaf rust, Coffee Berry Disease, and nematodes, but its phenomenal cup quality means that it remains a favourite among specialty coffee drinkers. Despite its demanding nature, the results in the cup are one of the key reasons farmers continue to grow it. In 1931, A.D. Trench, the senior coffee officer at Scott Agricultural Laboratories in Kenya, travelled through Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and found coffee trees in the Moduli district that appeared to tolerate drought, disease, and pests better than other plants he had observed. He collected seeds from these specimens and returned them to the laboratory in Kenya. Testing confirmed their superior drought tolerance compared with other varietals under evaluation. This population became known as Tanganyika Drought Resistant and was distributed to farmers for planting. Between 1935 and 1939, Scott Laboratories began selecting individual trees from different coffee populations to evaluate characteristics such as yield, cup quality, drought tolerance, and disease resistance. Each selection was assigned an "SL" number. SL28 was selected in 1935 from a single tree originating from the Tanganyika Drought Resistant population. That tree went on to become one of the most important varieties in specialty coffee, renowned for its pronounced acidity, vibrant fruit character, and exceptional quality when grown at high altitude. Want to learn more about SL28? Check out our Varietal Guide here: Coffee Varietal Guide: SL28 Traceability Country: El Salvador Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest town: Turín Mountain Range: Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec Farm: Finca Argentina Producer: Mauricio Martinez Dry mill: Los Ausoles Elevation: 1,300 to 1,360 m.a.s.l. Variety: SL28 Processing method: Natural GPS: 13°56'29.4"N 89°47'04.1"W Cupping Scores Tasting notes: Honeydew melon, mango, papaya. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 6/8 Sweetness: 7/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 7/8 Flavour: 7/8 Aftertaste: 6.5/8 Balance: 6/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 88/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roast Information Medium dark - give this coffee a confident push through first and into the gap, right up to the edge of second before you drop. Recommended Resting Time Our coffee is roasted fresh and ships quickly – which means it might arrive a little lively. Freshly roasted beans are still busy releasing carbon dioxide (a natural byproduct of roasting), and all that activity can make your brew taste a bit sharp or unsettled. Give it a few days to calm down and something lovely happens. Those brighter, edgier notes mellow out, sweetness develops, and the flavours you're actually after can really come into focus. We recommend resting your coffee for at least 5-7 days from the roast date on the bag before brewing. A little patience goes a long way. That said, this is just what we've found works best – not a rule. If you can't wait, we completely understand. Tuck in whenever you like.

El Salvador: Finca Argentina, SL28, Washed Beginning with a sweet and sticky hit of lime marmalade, the cup gains a more complex sweetness as it cools, shifting into milk chocolate, with a little shoulder of walnut. Roland last visited El Salvador in February as the harvest at Finca Argentina was just coming to an end. The farm is at a lower altitude than other producers we work with in El Salvador, so that shifts the harvest a little earlier than San Jose or Nejapa, for example. He travelled with Mauricio to visit the Los Ausoles mill to cup the various seasonal coffee lots available this year. We bought both the Natural and the Washed SL28 lots on offer, and it is the Washed SL28 that we have for you here. On The Farm Near the town of Turin, in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador, you’ll find Finca Argentina. It’s located within the Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, surrounded by natural hot springs at an altitude of 1,300 metres above sea level. The farm’s 35 hectares are separated into 7 distinct areas, or "tablons". Each of these individual plots has its own character, shaped by the landscape and the small peculiarities of microclimate that come with changes in altitude, aspect, soil, and even local volcanic activity. Over time, the team at Finca Argentina have put a lot of effort into exploring different varietals, discovering what grows best on each of the farm’s 7 tablons. The Guachipelin tablon spans 6 hectares and was replanted in 2016 with H1 (Centroamericano), Yellow Bourbon, Icatu, and a small amount of SL28. The Martinez Family The farm was first acquired by the Martinez family in 1967. Dr Luis Guillermo Martinez bought the estate, and it quickly became his favourite and produced well. By the time his son, Mauricio, inherited it in 2008, cherry yields had dropped significantly and he was unsure how best to proceed with his newly owned farm. It was here that his son, and our now good friend, Alejandro, stepped in. He had just relocated back to El Salvador after working as a city banker in New York and decided to lend a hand to his father’s business interests while looking for work. Ale’s interest was piqued when he saw that the farm had been classified for a Q auction in 2005, showing it had the potential for great coffee. He and his cousin, based in London, set about sending green coffee samples to roasters wherever they could, seeking a specialty buyer. One of those samples landed with us in 2008, and we’ve been buying ever since. Mauricio and Alejandro both now live in Canada, but Mauricio still owns and oversees the farm remotely. He relies on his farm manager and the on-site team to handle day-to-day operations and keep him up to date, while visiting El Salvador regularly to check in. The Martinez family employ 50 people during harvest and 30 throughout the rest of the year. Mauricio's daughter Beatrix, who hadn't previously been involved in coffee, is also now helping with the family business. Processing of the coffee is carried out at the Los Ausoles dry mill, a cooperative facility in Ahuachapán. They have a very good relationship with Mauricio and have shown great consistency and reliability for us as buyers. Highly Skilled Workers Throughout the growing season at Finca Argentina, individual workers are given a lot of responsibility over pruning and managing trees. On many farms, pruning would be quite regimented, for example every other tree receiving a skeleton prune in a particular section. At Finca Argentina, these decisions are left much more to the knowledge of the staff, who decide on a plant-by-plant basis what kind of pruning is needed as they work through an area. It is easy to ruin coffee production if the wrong pruning choices are made, so this demonstrates a great deal of trust and is only possible because the farm retains and develops workers’ skills over the long term. El Salvador has been hit hard by the wider labour shortage affecting other Central American countries. Fortunately, Finca Argentina is currently managing well, although they continue exploring ways to retain sufficient staff during harvest season. The Martinez family employ 50 people during harvest and 30 throughout the rest of the year. They contribute labour and materials to improve local infrastructure and grow 25kg of corn annually for each worker. They’re also implementing more ecological management practices, including using compost and other organic products to minimise environmental impact and intercropping beans to enrich the soil. Their work has improved biodiversity and cup quality, and the future for coffee production at Finca Argentina is looking very bright. A Kenyan Varietal In El Salvador SL28 is a tall coffee plant with wide-spreading branches. It produces relatively large, deep red cherries among large leaves on leggy branches that tend to droop with age. It is a low-yielding cultivar with a susceptibility to coffee leaf rust, Coffee Berry Disease, and nematodes, but its phenomenal cup quality means that it remains a favourite among specialty coffee drinkers. Despite its demanding nature, the results in the cup are one of the reasons farmers continue to grow it. In 1931, A.D. Trench, the senior coffee officer at Scott Agricultural Laboratories in Kenya, travelled through Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and found coffee trees in the Monduli district that appeared to tolerate drought, disease, and pests better than other plants he had seen. He collected seeds from these specimens to be taken back to the laboratory in Kenya. Testing confirmed that the drought tolerance was indeed superior to other varietals being studied. The population became known as Tanganyika Drought Resistant and was distributed to farmers for planting. Between 1935 and 1939, Scott Laboratories began selecting individual trees from different coffee populations to evaluate characteristics such as yield, cup quality, drought tolerance, and disease resistance. Each of these selections was assigned an "SL" number. SL28 was selected in 1935 from a single tree that originated from the Tanganyika Drought Resistant population. That tree went on to become one of the most important varieties in specialty coffee, renowned for its pronounced acidity, fruit character, and exceptional quality when grown at high altitude. Want to learn more about SL28? Check out our Varietal Guide here: Coffee Varietal Guide: SL28 Traceability Country: El Salvador Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest town: Turín Mountain Range: Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec Farm: Finca Argentina Producer: Mauricio Martinez Dry mill: Los Ausoles Elevation: 1,300 to 1,360 m.a.s.l. Variety: SL-28 Processing method: Washed GPS: 13°56'29.4"N 89°47'04.1"W Cupping Scores Tasting notes: Lime marmalade, milk chocolate, walnut. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean cup: 6/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 6.5/8 Mouthfeel: 6.5/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6.5/8 Balance: 6.5/8 Overall: 6/8 Correction: +36 Total: 87/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roast Information Medium-dark - give this coffee a confident push through first and into the gap, right up to the edge of second before you drop. Recommended Resting Time Our coffee is roasted fresh and ships quickly – which means it might arrive a little lively. Freshly roasted beans are still busy releasing carbon dioxide (a natural byproduct of roasting), and all that activity can make your brew taste a bit sharp or unsettled. Give it a few days to calm down and something lovely happens. Those brighter, edgier notes mellow out, sweetness develops, and the flavours you're actually after can really come into focus. We recommend resting your coffee for at least 5-7 days from the roast date on the bag before brewing. A little patience goes a long way. That said, this is just what we've found works best – not a rule. If you can't wait, we completely understand. Tuck in whenever you like.

El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Yellow Pacamara, Natural Fresh, sweet pear fills this elegant cup, but there's a restrained funk from the natural process which adds a miso caramel edge to the finish and then a delicate bite of bitter orange on the aftertaste. Roland last visited El Salvador in February as the harvest at Finca Argentina was just coming to an end. The farm is at a lower altitude than other producers we work with in El Salvador, so that shifts the harvests a little earlier than San Jose or Nejapa for example. He travelled with Mauricio to visit the Los Ausoles mill to cup the various fresh lots from the farm and everybody agreed that the Yellow Pacamara was tasting terrific this year. On the table at the time the samples included a Washed and a Natural, both of which cupped very well. You can buy Natural Yellow Pacamara coffee right here. On The Farm Near the town of Turin, in El Salvador's Ahuachapán department, you'll find Finca Argentina. Set within the Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec and surrounded by natural hot springs, the farm sits at 1,300 metres above sea level. Its 35 hectares are divided into seven distinct areas, or tablons. Each of these plots has its own character, shaped by the landscape and the subtle differences in microclimate that come with changes in altitude, aspect, soil, and even local volcanic activity. Over time, the team at Finca Argentina have invested heavily in exploring different varietals, learning which perform best in each part of the farm. The Martinez Family The farm was first acquired by the Martinez family in 1967. Dr Luis Guillermo Martinez bought the estate, and it quickly became his favourite and produced well. By the time his son, Mauricio, inherited in 2008, the cherry yields had dropped significantly, and he was unsure how best to proceed with his newly owned farm. It was here that his son (and our now good friend) Alejandro stepped in. He had just relocated back to El Salvador after working as a city banker in New York and decided to lend a hand to his father’s business interests while looking for work. Ale’s interest was piqued when he saw that the farm had been classified for a Q auction in 2005, showing it had the potential for great coffee. He and his cousin based in London set about sending green coffee samples to roasters anywhere they could, seeking a specialty buyer. One of those landed with us in 2008 and we’ve been buying ever since. Mauricio and Alejandro both now live in Canada, but Mauricio still owns and oversees the farm remotely. He relies on his farm manager and the on-site team to handle day-to-day operations and to keep him up to date, while visiting El Salvador regularly to check in. The Martinez family employ 50 people during the harvest and 30 the rest of the year. Mauricio's daughter Beatrix, who hadn't previously been involved in coffee, is also now stepping in to help with the family business. Processing of the coffee is carried out at the Los Ausoles dry mill, a cooperative facility in Ahuachapán. They have a very good relationship with Mauricio and have shown great consistency and reliability for us as buyers. Highly Skilled Workers Throughout the growing season at Finca Argentina, individual workers are given a lot of responsibility over pruning and managing trees. On many farms, pruning would be quite regimented (for example, every other tree gets a skeleton prune in this section), whereas Finca Argentina are leaving these decisions much more up to the knowledge of the staff, deciding on a plant-by-plant basis what kind of pruning is needed when they work through an area. It is easy to ruin coffee production on trees if you don’t make the right pruning choices, so this shows a lot of trust and is only possible when they retain and develop their workers’ skills long term. El Salvador has been hit hard by the wider labour shortage impacting other Central American countries. Luckily Finca Argentina are currently managing well, but they are having to consider more ways to retain necessary numbers of staff during harvest season. The Martinez family employ 50 people during the harvest and 30 the rest of the year. They contribute labour and materials to improve infrastructure in their community’s towns, and grow 25 kg of corn annually for each person. They’re also implementing more ecological management: using compost and other organic products to minimise environmental impact, and intercropping beans to enrich the soil. Their work has improved the land’s biodiversity and cup quality, and the future for sustainable coffee from Finca Argentina is looking very bright. What Is Yellow Pacamara? The Yellow Pacamara coffee trees are mostly planted in the upper sections of the Finca Argentina, in the San Jorge tablon and upper parts of the adjacent tablons. The San Jorge tablon has been planted exclusively with Yellow Pacamara since 2018. The seeds for the Pacamara plants growing here were sourced from the Mierisch family in Nicaragua. You may well have previously enjoyed a Limoncillo Yellow Pacamara roasted by us. These plants are cousins! The varietal has been performing very well on the farm in El Salvador. The team at Finca Argentina love it for its productivity and hardiness, which fascinatingly are not qualities you would expect from this varietal when grown back in Nicaragua. The varietal originated from a cross between Pacas and Maragogipe. Its initial selections were made by the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in 1976 but were never completed following the Sandinista revolution. Further selections were later made by private producers in Central America, but the variety has never been stabilized, meaning that the plant's genetics are not stable from generation to generation. It is grown primarily in El Salvador, where it often dominates Cup of Excellence competitions for its high cup quality. Check out our Varietal Guide for more information on Yellow Pacamara here: Coffee Varietal Guide: Pacamara Traceability Country: El Salvador Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest Town: Turín Mountain Range: Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec Farm: Finca Argentina Producer: The Martinez Family Dry Mill: Los Ausoles Elevation: 1,300 m.a.s.l Variety: Yellow Pacamara Processing Method: Natural GPS: 13°56'29.4"N 89°47'04.1"W Cupping Scores Cupping Notes: Pear, Miso Caramel, Bitter Orange. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 7/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 6.5/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 87/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting Information Medium - Through the gap and let this develop a little, paying close attention to the heat and dropping well before second crack.

El Salvador: Finca Argentina, Yellow Pacamara, Washed A mix of candy and fresh fruit, this cup starts with tinned peaches and strawberries up front, which shifts into pineapple as it cools. There's a lingering sweetness to it like Fruit Salad sweets - a super sweet and elegant coffee. A mix of candy and fresh fruit, this cup starts with tinned peaches and strawberries up front, which shifts into pineapple as it cools. There’s a lingering sweetness to it like fruit salad sweets - a super sweet and elegant coffee. Roland last visited El Salvador in February as the harvest at Finca Argentina was just coming to an end. The farm is at a lower altitude than other producers we work with in El Salvador, so that shifts the harvests a little earlier than San Jose or Nejapa for example. He travelled with Mauricio to visit the Los Ausoles mill to cup the various fresh lots from the farm and everybody agreed that the Yellow Pacamara was tasting terrific this year. On the table at the time the samples included a Washed and a Natural, both of which cupped very well - you can buy Natural Yellow Pacamara coffee right here. On the Farm Near the town of Turín, in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador, you’ll find Finca Argentina. It’s located within the Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, surrounded by natural hot springs at an altitude of 1,300 metres above sea level. The farm’s 35 hectares are separated into 7 distinct areas or ‘tablons’. Each of these individual plots have their own character, shaped by the landscape and the small peculiarities of microclimate that come with changes in altitude, aspect, soil, and even local volcanic activity. Over time, the team at Finca Argentina have put a lot of effort into exploring different varietals, discovering what grows best on each of the farm’s 7 tablons. The Martinez Family The farm was first acquired by the Martinez family in 1967. Dr Luis Guillermo Martinez bought the estate, and it quickly became his favourite and produced well. By the time his son, Mauricio, inherited in 2008, the cherry yields had dropped significantly, and he was unsure how best to proceed with his newly owned farm. It was here that his son (and our now, good friend) Alejandro, stepped in. He had just relocated back to El Salvador after working as a city banker in New York and decided to lend a hand to his father’s business interests while looking for work. Ale’s interest was piqued when he saw that the farm had been classified for a Q auction in 2005, showing it had the potential for great coffee. He and his cousin based in London set about sending green coffee samples to roasters anywhere they could, seeking a specialty buyer. One of those landed with us in 2008 and we’ve been buying ever since. Mauricio and Alejandro both now live in Canada, but Mauricio still owns and oversees the farm remotely. He relies on his farm manager and the on-site team to handle day-to-day operations and to keep him up to date, while visiting El Salvador regularly to check in. The Martinez family employ 50 people during the harvest and 30 the rest of the year. Mauricio’s daughter Beatrix, who hadn’t previously been involved in coffee, is also now stepping in to help with the family business. Processing of the coffee is carried out at the Los Ausoles dry mill, a cooperative facility in Ahuachapán. They have a very good relationship with Mauricio and have shown great consistency and reliability for us as buyers. Highly Skilled Workers Throughout the growing season at Finca Argentina, individual workers are given a lot of responsibility over pruning and managing trees. On many farms, pruning would be quite regimented (e.g. every other tree gets a skeleton prune in this section) whereas Finca Argentina are leaving these decisions much more up to the knowledge of the staff, deciding on a plant-by-plant basis what kind of pruning is needed when they work through an area. It is easy to ruin coffee production on trees if you don’t make the right pruning choices, so this shows a lot of trust and is only possible when they retain and develop their workers’ skills long term. El Salvador has been hit hard by the wider labour shortage impacting other Central American countries. Luckily Finca Argentina are currently managing well, but they are having to consider more ways to retain necessary numbers of staff during harvest season. The Martinez family employ 50 people during the harvest and 30 the rest of the year. They contribute labour and materials to improve infrastructure in their community’s towns, and grow 25 kg of corn annually for each person. They’re also implementing more ecological management: using compost and other organic products to minimise environmental impact, and intercropping beans to enrich the soil. Their work has improved the land’s biodiversity and cup quality, and the future for sustainable coffee beans from Finca Argentina is looking very bright! What Is Yellow Pacamara? The Yellow Pacamara coffee trees are mostly planted in the upper sections of the Finca Argentina, in the San Jorge tablon and upper parts of the adjacent tablons. The San Jorge tablon has been planted exclusively with Yellow Pacamara since 2018. The seeds for the Pacamara plants growing here were sourced from the Mierisch family in Nicaragua. You may well have previously enjoyed a Limoncillo Yellow Pacamara roasted by us, well these plants are cousins! The varietal has been performing very well on the farm in El Salvador. The team at Finca Argentina love it for its productivity and hardiness, which fascinatingly are not qualities you would expect from this varietal when grown back in Nicaragua! The varietal is a cross between Pacas and Maragogipe, made in 1958 by the Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC). Several generations were selected before the fifth generation was distributed to farmers, and the plants can still be variable, with some seedlings showing the traits of one parent or the other. It is grown primarily in El Salvador, where it regularly tops the Cup of Excellence for its high cup quality. Check out our Varietal Guide for more information on Pacamara here. Traceability Country: El Salvador Department: Ahuachapán Municipality: Ahuachapán Nearest town: Turín Mountain Range: Cordillera de Apaneca-Ilamatepec Farm: Finca Argentina Producer: Mauricio Martinez Dry mill: Los Ausoles Elevation: 1,300 to 1,360 m.a.s.l. Variety: Yellow Pacamara Processing method: Washed GPS: 13°56'29.4"N 89°47'04.1"W Cupping Scores Tasting notes: Tinned peaches, strawberry, fruit salad sweets. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 7/8 Sweetness: 7/8 Acidity: 6.5/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 6/8 Overall: 7/8 Correction: +36 Total: 88/100 If you’d like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you’d like to try cupping yourself, we’ve got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roast Information Medium - push this steadily through the gap but finish the roast before second crack gets going, to preserve the complex fruit flavours.

Ozone's 2026 Festive Single Origin Bursting with sweet lemon, passionfruit and dried apricot, this vibrant coffee is packed with juicy yellow fruit character. A subtle note of malted milk biscuit on the finish brings balance to a cup that's bright, expressive and full of festive cheer. Every Christmas in Sweden and across the Nordics, roasters release a julkaffe: a Christmas coffee chosen to mark the season. Our Festive Single Origin borrows that idea, and each year we pick one coffee to sit alongside our Festive Blend. The Blend is all about cosy comfort. The Single Origin stands on its own, a bright counterpoint to everything else on the Christmas table. This year’s coffee represents an unprecedented level of nuance and traceability for a coffee from Ethiopia, something we’re very excited to be able to share. Last year’s Festive Single Origin came from Mike Mamo’s Telila washing station in Jimma, Ethiopia, grown by smallholders in Genji Challa. It went down so well that we’ve gone back to Telila for 2026, and to an old favourite. We’ve come back to the Yukro kebele. The first time we cupped our way through a table of Telila coffees, back in 2020, the lot from this little village in the hills of Jimma stood out. We bought it that year and for several harvests after, before giving Genji Challa its turn last Christmas. We’re very glad to have it back. There are plenty of wild, experimental ferments and processes in specialty coffee at the moment, and we love lots of them. But there’s something really beautiful about a classic, clean washed Ethiopian like this one. Nothing gets in the way, so the coffee speaks for itself and you can taste the hills of Jimma it was grown in. That’s what makes it such a good counterpoint to the Festive Blend, our big, comfy coffee. We’re keeping the roast on the lighter side, at medium-light, so the lemon and passionfruit really pop and there’s plenty of fruit acidity and sweetness in the cup. Our limited-edition Festive Single Origin is a sparkling counterpoint to traditional Christmas flavours and comes beautifully packaged in a giftable box*, making it the perfect treat or present for every coffee lover in your life. Go on, 'tis the season! *Please note that 500g and 1kg coffee options do not come in a giftable festive box. Ethiopia: Telila Yukro - Coffee Information Telila Washing Station The Telila washing station does things differently. Nearly all Ethiopian washing stations blend everything that comes through the gate and sell it under the station’s name. Telila keeps cherry separate by kebele (Ethiopia’s smallest administrative area, roughly a village and its surrounding farms), and often by delivery day too. So, when we say this coffee comes from Yukro, we mean every cherry in it was grown by smallholders there and processed as its own lot. Mike knows which specific smallholder farmers contributed to this coffee, that level of traceability is nearly unheard of in Ethiopia. We know them too. This lot is the cherry that 27 Yukro farmers delivered to Telila, and they deserve the credit by name: Abdu Musa, Abebe Makiso, Ali Hussain, Aliyi Hasan, Ansar She Ahmed, Arbise Desalegn, Ayisha Hasan Muhe, Buzayehu Cane, Endris Umar, Gazagn Habtamu, Hayalnech Desalegn, Ibrahim Said Muhe, Jamal Ali, Jamila Endris, Jamila Hussain, Mahammed Zeki, Mamadamin Mulat, Mansur Shekamal, Mohamed Hussain, Mohamed Said, Nuru Mohamed, Said Ali, Said Hussain, Said Ibre, Shishig Kiros, Umer Ali and Umer Indris. Telila sits near Kecho Anderacha in the Gera woreda, surrounded by forest and smallholder plots in Ethiopia’s lush south-west. Mike Mamo bought the station in 2019. Reforms in 2017 had made it possible for small, traceable lots to be exported directly rather than vanishing into the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange. Mike grew up around the trade (he now runs Addis Exporter, the milling and exporting business his father founded), and it shows in how fussy Telila is. Ripe cherry is floated to weed out anything underripe. It’s then pulped and fermented for around 24 hours in tile-lined tanks. After washing, the parchment dries slowly on raised beds for 18 to 20 days, turned constantly. Finally, it’s sealed into Ecotact hermetic bags for storage, a step that’s still rare in Ethiopia. The bags keep moisture and air out between drying and shipping. Osito, the importer Mike is a partner in, puts 10 US cents from every pound of Telila coffee it sells towards projects at Kacho Tulla Primary School in Kecho Anderacha. The fund is run jointly by Addis Exporter, Telila and the school’s leadership. This year’s harvest presents more of what we have come to expect from this excellent washing station. Mike and the team at Telila are consistently raising quality standards in Jimma, now producing washed, honey, natural, and anaerobic lots all to a high precision. Their exceptional attention to detail during the drying process results in a cup profile that’s clean and clear, a shining example of what’s best about Jimma coffees. What are JARC 74110 and 74112? The trees are mostly JARC 74110 and 74112. Catchy names, we know. Both began as single mother trees in the Metu-Bishari forest of neighbouring Illubabor, picked out by the Jimma Agricultural Research Center in 1974 after coffee berry disease started tearing through Ethiopia’s crop. They were released to farmers in 1979 for their resistance and reliable yields. They’re now among the most common coffees across the south-west, and at Ethiopia’s 2021 Cup of Excellence, 74110 placed second and 74112 fourth. There’s something rather neat about drinking them from Gera, too. JARC is headquartered in Jimma and runs a research sub-centre in Gera itself, so these are local trees in more ways than one. If you fancy going deeper, our guide to Ethiopian landraces untangles the whole heirloom, landrace and JARC puzzle. Traceability Country: Ethiopia Region: Oromia Zone: Jimma Woreda: Gera Kebele: Yukro Washing station: Telila Washing station owner: Mike Mamo Exporter: Addis Exporter Importer: Osito Producers: 27 smallholders of Yukro kebele Elevation: 2,000 m.a.s.l. Varieties: JARC 74110 and JARC 74112 Processing method: Washed Fermentation: Around 24 hours in tile-lined tanks Drying: 18 to 20 days on raised beds Storage: Ecotact hermetic bags Cupping Scores Tasting notes: lemon, passionfruit, dried apricot. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean cup: 7/8 Sweetness: 7/8 Acidity: 7/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 7/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 6/8 Overall: 7/8 Correction: +36 Total: 89/100 If you’d like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you’d like to try cupping yourself, we’ve got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Espresso Brewing Recommendation Dose: 17.5g Time: 28-30 seconds Yield: 36g Roast Information Medium-light: keep this one a steady pace and look for the end of first crack or just into the gap, keeping that fruit acidity and sweetness at full volume.

Guatemala: El Bosque A deeply quaffable mug of milk chocolate digestive and pecan nuts is rounded out with just a little shoulder of green apple. We first began buying coffee from El Bosque nearly 20 years ago. Steve’s first visit to the farm in 2007 introduced us to a firm favourite coffee and one of our longest-standing producer relationships. Every year we look forward to this trusty Washed Bourbon treat. Bourbon on the Amatitlán Hillside Since 1932 Finca El Bosque (meaning "The Forest" in Spanish) is a Guatemalan coffee farm that has been in the Flores family for three generations. The story began in 1932, when Julian Flores planted 14 hectares of Bourbon coffee on the Amatitlán hillside, and those 14 hectares are still producing coffee today. After his death in 1947, the farm passed to his son José Eladio Flores, who continued growing the same Bourbon varietal while extending the farm by another 23 hectares. Following José's death in 1996, El Bosque passed into the care of the third generation. The farm is led today by José’s wife Martha Stalla and her sons Julio, José, Francisco, and Mario. The first two generations cultivated and sold their coffee only in cherry form. The third generation has since innovated, building a mill for processing cherries under strict environmental guidelines. El Bosque Today El Bosque sits on a hillside that runs parallel to the main road to Guatemala City, close to Lake Amatitlán and just a few miles from the town itself. Being so near the capital, it faces pressure from urban expansion. Over the time we've worked with El Bosque, however, coffee prices and returns have helped make the farm a top priority for the family, and they remain highly motivated to protect and sustain it. Five local workers look after the farm year-round, with around 20 more joining during harvest. The hillside is too steep for a mill, so coffee cherries are driven down to the family's wet mill in Amatitlán, where they are depulped, washed, and dried before moving to the warehouse for storage. Don Francisco and his brothers have moved away from generic commercial coffee by continually raising both their farming and milling standards, and the payoff in the cup is undeniable. Diverse Yet Focused Alongside their delicious Guatemalan coffee, the Flores family also cultivates avocados, lemons, and roses for local consumption, a reflection of their resourcefulness and deep ties to the community. Bourbon has always been the backbone of El Bosque. Over the years, the family has also planted some Pache, a compact mutation of Typica first discovered in Guatemala, alongside Caturra and Catuai. The Bourbon remains our favourite, but each of the other varietals has its own strengths in the field, and maintaining a diverse mix of coffee plants is a sensible hedge against pests, disease, and an increasingly unpredictable climate. Traceability Country: Guatemala Department: Guatemala Department Nearest Town: Amatitlán Anacafé Region: Antigua Farm: El Bosque Producer: Francisco Flores Farm Size: 37 hectares Altitude: 1,400-1,645 m.a.s.l. Variety: Bourbon Processing System: Washed Cupping Scores Cupping Notes: Milk Chocolate Digestive, Pecan, Green Apple Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 6/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6/8 Balance: 7/8 Overall: 6/8 Correction: +36 Total: 86/100 If you’d like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you’d like to try cupping yourself, we’ve got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting Information Medium Dark - Push this steadily through development and up to the cusp of second crack, perhaps just a pop or two as you finish the roast.

Guatemala: San Patricio El Limón, Caturra, Natural Black cherry yoghurt sits at the heart of the cup, with plum and currants bringing layers of rich fruit character. The warmth of brandy and sweetness of almonds round out this luscious cup. A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons that we love buying coffee from San Patricio El Limón; we've been sourcing coffee from them since 2013. They were the first producers we ever bought from directly in Guatemala, and they just keep getting more awesome each year. This season we've purchased three lots of delicious Guatemalan single origin coffee from El Limón. This lot is a Natural Process Caturra. On The Farm Tucked into the rolling hills of Palencia, just a short drive east of Guatemala City, lies San Patricio El Limón. This Guatemalan specialty coffee farm has been owned and operated since the late 1990s by Guadalupe "Beto" Reyes and his family. El Limón spans 18 hectares and sits at an altitude of 1,350-1,850 metres above sea level. The farm mainly produces Caturra and Bourbon but has also started growing SL28, H1, H3, Maracaturra, Maragogype, Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra, and Catuaí (Yellow and Red). With its high altitudes, volcanic soils, and temperate climate, Palencia has all the natural ingredients required for producing exceptional coffee, despite not being one of Guatemala’s eight officially recognised coffee-growing regions. Meticulous Milling The dedication and care devoted to each stage of production is reflected in the fact that the family also operates its own wet mill, allowing them to separate different lots and maintain full control over coffee quality. They have the capacity to process multiple lots simultaneously while keeping separate days' pickings, processing methods, and varietals isolated within their own individual parcels. The wet mill also benefits the wider local community, with neighbouring producers from the Palencia region bringing their coffees to be processed there. Over time, El Limón has become one of our favourite producer relationships. We believe this farm is a shining example of what happens when passion, innovation, and collaboration come together. Beto’s approach to specialty coffee is rooted in care and curiosity. To dive deeper into the story of Beto and El Limón, check out our Producer Story here: The Reyes Family Producer Story. Traceability Country: Guatemala Region: Palencia Farm: San Patricio El Limón Producers: The Reyes Family Altitude: 1,350-1,850 m.a.s.l. Coffee growing area: 9 hectares Varietal: Caturra Processing method: Natural Cupping Scores Tasting notes: Black cherry yoghurt, plum, almond. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean cup: 6.5/8 Sweetness: 7/8 Acidity: 6/8 Mouthfeel: 6/8 Flavour: 7/8 Aftertaste: 6.5/8 Balance: 6.5/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 88/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roast Information Medium-dark - this coffee needs steady, consistent heat through the gap and taking it into the first pops of second should get you where you need to be. Recommended Resting Time Our coffee is roasted fresh and ships quickly – which means it might arrive a little lively. Freshly roasted beans are still busy releasing carbon dioxide (a natural byproduct of roasting), and all that activity can make your brew taste a bit sharp or unsettled. Give it a few days to calm down and something lovely happens. Those brighter, edgier notes mellow out, sweetness develops, and the flavours you're actually after can really come into focus. We recommend resting your coffee for at least 5-7 days from the roast date on the bag before brewing. A little patience goes a long way. That said, this is just what we've found works best – not a rule. If you can't wait, we completely understand. Tuck in whenever you like.

A half-caffeine blend with milk chocolate, brown sugar, and biscuit notes, built for an easy everyday cup.

A tribute blend to Ozone and Hasbean roots, combining Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Kenya components for milk chocolate, brown sugar, and soft red fruit notes.

Nicaragua: Finca Limoncillo, Ethiosar, Natural There's a big punch of rum and raisin fudge up front, rich and indulgent with a beautifully creamy texture. Sweet sultanas bring extra depth and sweetness through the middle of the cup, while a gentle note of red apple keeps everything balanced and bright. The coffee we have here hails from the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua, grown and processed for us by our good friends the Mierisch family. This is one of our longest continuing producer relationships, as we’ve been buying coffee from their farm, Finca Limoncillo, since 2007, and we foresee that continuing for many years yet. The third single origin coffee we’re releasing from this year’s harvest is a Natural-processed Ethiosar. On The Farm All of the Mierisch family's Nicaraguan coffee farms are spread across the Jinotega and Matagalpa regions in the northwest of the country. They’re dotted on either side of the mountain range that forms the border between the two departments. When Roland travels to visit the farms, he’ll generally see Limoncillo on the same day as La Huella and Mama Mina, as they are close to one another. The journey typically starts at Mama Mina, continues through La Huella, and finishes at Limoncillo, the largest of the three farms. Finca Limoncillo is a premium coffee farm and jewel of the Mierisch family, nestled at 1,200 metres above sea level in the lush mountains of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Spanning 171 hectares, 109 of which are dedicated to coffee cultivation, the farm is known not only for its breathtaking landscape, with nine waterfalls crossing its terrain, but also for its role as a benchmark in Nicaraguan specialty coffee. Owned by the highly respected Mierisch family, known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffees, Limoncillo is home to a wide range of varietals including Caturra, Red Bourbon, Pacamara, and Java. People The very first Mierisch farm was founded in 1895 by German émigré Ernst Bruno Mierisch Boettiger. He was compensated by the Nicaraguan government for his engineering work on the construction of the Pacific railroad between Masaya and Diriamba with a parcel of land, including a goldmine and a farm he named "Sajonia" (the Spanish spelling of his home region in Germany, Saxony). In 1908 he planted his first coffee tree. Today, Fincas Mierisch operates nine coffee farms in Nicaragua and three in Honduras. More than 100 years later, the family business is run by his grandson, Dr. Erwin Mierisch Buitrago (third generation), and great-great-grandson Erwin "Wingo" Mierisch (fifth generation). Wingo has been involved with the farms since 2017, contributing to everything from post-harvest processing to roasting, cupping, and green coffee sales. His passion for innovation and research has led him to head the development of new post-harvest processing methods at the mill and refine quality control protocols to increase both quality and consistency. With Wingo’s input, the team at the Don Esteban mill have heavily invested in processing experimentation. Erick Lopez is the Head Agronomist of the Mierisch farms. He started his career at entry level 22 years ago, working in the fields. Recognising his talent and commitment, the family promoted him and funded further education, enabling him to progress into his current leadership role. He now oversees much of the day-to-day operation of the farms. The Fincas Mierisch team includes many employees who have worked with the family for years, and their expertise and dedication make the high quality of both product and service possible. The family employ more than 3,000 staff during harvest, and at Limoncillo over 60 families live on the farm full-time. They are genuinely loved by the people who work for them. More than any other producer we buy from, there is a clear sense of mutual respect and appreciation between the family and their workers. The fact that the Mierisch family are our friends allows us to see the finer details of how they care for their team, continually reinforcing our belief that good people grow good coffee. Sustainable Coffee Beans The family have numerous policies and initiatives in place to make their operations as sustainable as possible. Chemical use is kept to a minimum, and environmental impact is carefully managed through thoughtful land stewardship. In 2024, the farm completed a 15 kW hydroelectric plant, furthering its commitment to sustainability by supplying renewable energy to both farm operations and the 60 on-site families who live and work there. Alongside its coffee-growing areas, the estate also supports cattle and horses, while large sections of preserved forest help maintain biodiversity. The Mierisch family’s commitment to social responsibility is equally impressive. They provide housing, meals, childcare, education, and healthcare for workers year-round, and pay wages that exceed the local minimum by 30%. Precision Processing The Don Esteban mill, located on Finca Limoncillo, is the central processing hub for the Mierisch family’s farms in the Matagalpa region. Named in honour of the family patriarch, the mill is engineered with precision and flexibility in mind, allowing the team to adapt processing methods to suit each varietal and lot. Coffee cherries are carefully hand-picked before being depulped using state-of-the-art eco-pulpers, which significantly reduce water usage while offering precise control over the amount of mucilage left on the bean. Depending on the desired outcome, whether washed, natural, or honey processed, coffees are either fermented in tiled tanks or dried slowly on covered African-style raised beds. This approach allows for clean, traceable expressions of origin and varietal character. To read all about Natural processing, check out our article here: Naturally Processed Coffee Explained What Is Ethiosar? We’ve been roasting Ethiosar coffee from Finca Limoncillo for several years now, and it’s a varietal with a fascinating backstory rooted in innovation and resilience. It was developed through the collaborative efforts of the Mierisch family and their cousin Ricardo, who owns a nearby farm at a much lower altitude, just 800 metres above sea level. Ricardo noticed his coffee plants were struggling. Yields were dropping, and disease pressure was increasing. He attributed this to a combination of factors, including climate change, increased rainfall, and the inherent challenges of growing specialty coffee at lower altitudes in Nicaragua. Amidst these challenges, one experimental plant stood out. It was thriving, producing more fruit and showing strong resistance to disease. That plant was Ethiosar. Ethiosar is a stable hybrid varietal, carefully developed to combine exceptional cup quality with strong disease resistance. It begins with a cross between: Sudan Rume – an heirloom Ethiopian coffee variety known for its complex, floral flavours. Sarchimor – a hybrid of Villa Sarchi and Timor, bred for resilience. This hybrid is then crossed again with Villa Sarchi, a dwarf mutation of Bourbon from Costa Rica, prized for its sweetness and compact growth. The result is a varietal that is not only resilient and high-yielding, but also delivers a delicious, nuanced cup profile, making it a fantastic choice for lovers of single origin coffee and specialty Nicaraguan coffees. Traceability Country: Nicaragua Region: Matagalpa Municipality: Yasica Norte Farm: Limoncillo Producers: The Mierisch Family Farm size: 171 hectares Coffee growing area: 109 hectares Protected Rainforest: 54 hectares Varietal: Ethiosar Process: Natural Elevation: 1,200 masl Harvest Months: October-February Diurnal Temp. Cycle: Avg High 25C, Low 17C Awards: Cup of Excellence 2008 (2nd Place) Cupping Scores Cupping Notes: Rum & raisin fudge, sultana, red apple. Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores Clean Cup: 6/8 Sweetness: 6.5/8 Acidity: 6.5/8 Mouthfeel: 7/8 Flavour: 6.5/8 Aftertaste: 6.5/8 Balance: 6/8 Overall: 6.5/8 Correction: +36 Total: 87/100 If you'd like to find out more about how we score coffees, make sure to read our blog post “What Do Coffee Cupping Scores Actually Mean?” and if you'd like to try cupping yourself, we've got a guide to that too! What is Coffee Cupping. Roasting Information Medium-dark - fudgy, and deliberately so. Steady through first crack, good consistent pace into the gap between the cracks, then off the heat just before second. That steadiness is where the body and the creamy pecan finish come from. The early drop is what saves the yellow plum acidity from disappearing under all that richness. Rich and lively at once, which is a harder balance than it sounds. Recommended Resting Time Our coffee is roasted fresh and ships quickly – which means it might arrive a little lively. Freshly roasted beans are still busy releasing carbon dioxide (a natural byproduct of roasting), and all that activity can make your brew taste a bit sharp or unsettled. Give it a few days to calm down and something lovely happens. Those brighter, edgier notes mellow out, sweetness develops, and the flavours you're actually after can really come into focus. We recommend resting your coffee for at least 5-7 days from the roast date on the bag before brewing. A little patience goes a long way. That said, this is just what we've found works best – not a rule. If you can't wait, we completely understand. Tuck in whenever you like.

A washed organic single origin currently centred on Cajamarca, Peru, with milk chocolate, cookies and cream, and caramel notes.

A seasonal house blend with milk chocolate, caramel, and roasted nut notes, built to be balanced and easy to brew.

A darker-roasted blend of Brazilian and Costa Rican coffees, built for a rich, smooth cup with toffee, cacao nib, and dark chocolate notes.

A seasonal blend of fresh arrivals from trusted producer partners, currently combining Kenya, Bolivia, and El Salvador components for red grape, green apple, and honeycomb sweetness.