$ 23.00
Last year marked our first foray into Indian coffee, and we're back for round two!
While coffees from India are a relative rarity on US specialty roasters' menus, coffee in India has a storied history, tracing back further than any country besides Ethiopia and Yemen. Indian coffee dates to the late 1600s when, according to legend, a Sufi pilgrim named Baba Budan smuggled coffee seeds from the Arabian Peninsula, planting them in the Western Ghat mountain range.
Despite the long history, we haven't always associated Indian coffees with the qualities we seek out at Huck, and we had steered clear of coffees from mainland Asia until last year. Over the past few years though, producers in India, China, and Myanmar, to name a few countries, have raised the bar for specialty coffee in Asia, and we've had to reconsider our preconceived notions. Gundhikan and Ratnagiri Estates are among the producers that have forced us to open our minds to coffees from mainland Asia, and both happen to lie in Chikmagalur, India, the same region where Baba Budan purportedly planted his smuggled seeds.
Saif Ulla and his farm, Gundhikan Estate, are founding members of KaadKaapi Collective, a group of environmentally-conscious farmers aiming to preserve habitats and migration corridors for native animal species. Extremely dense shade cover and the occasional downed tree - courtesy roaming elephants and Gaur (Indian Bison) - make for significantly lower productivity and higher costs, offset by pursuing quality and earning higher prices.
Gundhikan produces only a small amount of natural-processed coffee each year, and it’s a privilege to roast it for you! This small, natural-processed lot is wildly fruity and a bit boozy, with notes of red wine, honey, bittersweet cacao, and pomegranate. Only available at Huck cafes and our webstore!
*** for roasting schedule, shipping, receiving & additional information, please visit out Frequently Asked Questions . And, for a primer on coffee processing, check out our Processing Basics Guide. ***
Pictured: Saif Ulla at Gundhikan Estate, courtesy Osito Coffee.
$ 24.00
Danche Marcelo is back, and we’re running this experimental washed process alongside a full natural from the same folks and the same place. Danche is the washing station in Gedeb, and while the natural is, well, a natural, Marcelo is named after the station manager.
Ethiopia's the birthplace of coffee, with unparalleled genetic diversity, plus unique terroir and processing that can produce super floral, citric washed coffees and the cleanest, juiciest, most berry- and tropical-forward naturals.
And Snap Coffees, a quality-focused exporter and washing station operator, has been a longtime partner for us at Huck. We've featured coffees from Snap's two washing stations in the kebele of Worka Chelbesa - the eponymous Worka Chelbesa station, plus the newer Danche station - for most of the last 5+ years, and coffees from within the Snap network often make up at least some, and sometimes all, of our flagship Phantom Limb Blend.
Over the past couple years, Snap has given its washing station managers the opportunity to experiment a bit with processing, and deviate a bit from the traditional washed and natural profiles. In this case Marcelo, one of the employees at Danche, pioneered a weird take on the washed process, keeping the coffee in-cherry, but in a sealed, cool environment, for 5 full days before undergoing a more typical washed process. Risky, but it works.
Last year, we spent some time with Snap in Addis Adaba, tasting dozens of coffees from throughout their network. When we came across the Marcelo process, it was "wow, wtf is this Amanuel?, we gotta have it" at first sip. And we were tasting samples blind, so even better that it came from a station we've bought from for years. Now we’re stoked to have it back for round two!
This one's combines the things we love in both the best washed and natural Ethiopias - citrus and florality, plus bigger fruit and body - without some some of the funky wine, pushing vinegar, that we sometimes taste in super-long fermentations. We're tasting nectarine and mango front and center, with white tea florality, subtle blackberry, and bright, clementine-like citrus acidity. Crisp, bright, and just a touch more fruit than you might expect in a washed Ethiopia.
*** For roasting schedule, shipping, receiving & additional information, please visit out Frequently Asked Questions . And, for a primer on coffee processing, check out our Processing Basics Guide. ***
*washing station photos courtesy Snap Coffees.
View full product details$ 21.00
Natural Ethiopia is back in the Huck lineup, and we’re kicking things off with this juicy and complex fruitbomb from the village of Worka Chelbesa and Danche Washing Station! Sweet, juicy berry flavors are the main attraction here, and they’re complemented by some delicious florals and citrus.
SNAP Specialty Coffees has impressed us quite a bit over the last few years. They’ve exported and dry milled some of our favorite coffees from the Guji Zone, but also own a few washing stations throughout Ethiopia. This is the second year we'll be showcasing coffees from their stations in Worka Chelbesa. Worka Chelbesa is the highest kebele (village) in the Gedeb municipality, and Gedeb is well-known for producing some of the best coffees in Ethiopia's famous Yirgacheffe region.
Several years ago, SNAP built its first washing in Worka Chelbesa, and named it after the town. After a few seasons with one station, Snap decided to build a second, newer station, closer to some of the more remote farmers, and named it Danche. This year we'll have two delicious coffees from Danche - this full natural fruitbomb and the return of last year's all-star, the experimental washed lot named after station manager Marcelo.
Berries, tropical fruit, jammy goodness, with a touch of florality and citrus to mix things up. This one’s for all you fruity coffee lovers out there - we hope you enjoy this one as much as we do.
For questions about roast and ship details, please visit our FAQ page!
*washing station photos courtesy Snap Coffees.
View full product details$ 20.00
Guatemala is always on our minds here at Huckleberry, and even though the coffees from the AProCafé Aprocafé Growers Association might only be on our menu for a few months each year, these coffees represent year-round work and commitment from both Huck and the growers. After months of work and a bit of waiting, we’re always excited to drop this coffee back into the lineup.
We've been roasting coffee from AProCafé since 2015, and it’s been a hands-on relationship since day one. Several years ago we worked with the group to develop their first single farmer microlot program, and each year, have used a portion of proceeds from our holiday Sister Winter blend to help the group with a variety of projects.
AProCafé has used Sister Winter funds to purchase and apply organic-approved leaf rust prevention treatments, to build raised drying beds to improve coffee processing, and buy Brix meters to help in harvesting coffee cherries at their optimal ripeness. Three years ago, Sister Winter funds helped the group with a few final pieces of equipment at a new mini wet mill, close to the group’s more remote growers, and over the past few seasons, much of our coffees have been processed at the new station.
We’ll also have a few special single farm microlots from the group, but the coffees from AProCafé as a whole are equally special. We're tasting green apple, pastry, subtle berries, and almondy nougat in this year's crop - dependably sweet and delicious!
*** For roasting schedule, shipping, receiving & additional information, please visit out Frequently Asked Questions . And, for a primer on coffee processing, check out our Processing Basics Guide. ***
Pictured: Aprocafé co-director Pedro Isaias Gonzalez, plus the core group of Aprocafé farmers in Panyebar + Pasajquim.