New Year, More Tasty Coffee

The first month of 2017 is going to bring quite a few changes in our coffee lineup. This week we're bringing on two new coffees from East Africa, both delicious options for a morning cup.

Gitwe Washed is our first of three coffees this year from the Long Miles Coffee Project in Burundi. This is our fourth year in a row working with Long Miles and each year the coffee coming from these growers in Burundi's Muramvya province seems to get better.  David, our Director of Education, will be using this lot from the Gitwe hillside in barista competition this year, and we think it's really versatile. It packs the brightness we love in washed East African coffees, think clementine, but thanks to the Bourbon variety planted throughout Burundi and great processing at Long Miles' Heza washing station, is rounded out with deep shortbread cookie and date-like sweetness. It works wonderfully as brewed coffee and espresso.

Wenago Natural comes to us from the Wenago district of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia and it's like drinking tropical fruit punch. Similar to Ardi, this coffee is grown by various smallholders and dried in its skin, which, when done properly, gives the coffee a super fruit-forward flavor. In this case, our roaster tastes watermelon and other tropical fruit, grape candy, citrus, and sweet berries. It's super clean and makes for a refreshing, bright cup of coffee.

Soon we'll be launching two returning favorites, Alejandro Yucra from Cusco, Peru and Kanzu from Nyamesheke, Rwanda. We need to make some space in our lineup for all our new offerings this new year. Yesterday was the last roast of both Ethiopia Beriti and Guatemala Don Manuel, and soon we'll roast our final batches of Ethiopia Ardi and Guatemala Atitlán el Grano. Both of these coffees have been cornerstones of our lineup for several years now, so make sure to enjoy a cup before they're gone for the season.