$ 20.00
Peru is one of the most exciting coffee producing countries in the world right now, with both loads of quality and tons of untapped potential. With the world’s second highest mountain range running North-South through the country, Peru has the altitude to continue producing great coffee in the face of global warming, the country has largely embraced organic farming practices, and as the coffee industry works to single out small farmers from the country’s tradition for large, regional lots, we’re tasting some true gems. This is year 2 for us showcasing Mavila Peralta's delicious coffee.
Each year, Huckleberry purchases a relatively large (for us, at least) amount of coffee from smallholder farmers in the village (or aldea) of Laurel, outside of Jaen. Aldea Laurel is a great coffee in its own right, and forms the backbone of Blue Orchid and Sound and Vision, but we also have the chance to taste coffee from some of the group’s best individual farmers.
This past year we were lucky enough to visit the Laurel community and Mavila, and after our first run with her coffee last year, it continues to impress. In comparison to the floral Yellow Caturra lot we have from Ulises Nayra, Mavila's coffee strikes a bit more comforting and expected - we’re tasting milk chocolate, caramel, plum, and golden delicious apple in our mugs. The fruit’s there, but it’s the backseat driver to the chocolate.
We’re excited to work towards to the future with Mavila, the other farmers in Laurel, and Origin Coffee Lab, an exporter dedicated to transparency, farmer assistance, fair pricing, and full traceability. While great farm location, varieties, and farm practices are undeniably a huge factor, there’s always some level of chance when it comes to microlot-quality coffee. So it’s important to us to not just cherry-pick from the top, but also support growers at a level that’s a bit more attainable without the fortune of good luck. This is our ideal purchase model, and close to what we strive for in other origins like Guatemala: commit to buying coffee from a group of farmers at a level they can consistently attain, and showcase the gems.
Mavila's coffee is just sweet and approachable, but complex enough to keep things interesting, and it's great to have this everyday drinker back for year 2.
$ 23.00
It kinda makes us feel old to say it, but this is the eighth year in a row that Huckleberry has roasted coffees from the Long Miles Coffee Project in Burundi. We’ve been with Long Miles since their first harvest in 2013, and look forward to new and innovative coffee from the group every year - this our second harvest roasting a delicious Long Miles honey.
Honey-processed coffees lie somewhere between a washed- and natural-process coffee. The outer layer of the coffee is removed (depulped), but rather than washing off the sticky fruit on the outside of the bean, the coffee is dried with this sticky layer, often called either mucilage or honey, still on the seed. In this case, Long Miles added a couple days of oxygen-reduced fermentation between depulping and drying, and the result is one of the most complex honeys we’ve tasted from any origin, and one of the best coffees of any process we've tasted from Long Miles.
The Long Miles Coffee Project was founded by Ben and Kristy Carlson, an American couple living in Burundi. Upon seeing the difficulties farmers faced while Ben was working as a coffee trader, the Carlsons built two washing stations in the region, and have worked with area farmers to help them fetch better prices. By working with the farmers to develop stringent quality practices at the farm level, then washing and milling the coffee with meticulous care, Long Miles is able to ensure that the coffee is of the highest quality possible. By working with Huckleberry and other roasters who commit to coffees before they've shipped from Burundi, the Long Miles Coffee Project is able to pay the farmers a higher price for their coffee than they would receive on the open market and from other washing stations.
Mikuba is a specific hill near Long Miles' Heza washing station, and this coffee comes exclusively from the Long Miles farmers living on that hill. This is our first year roasting coffee from Mikuba, but we’re stoked to let another hill shine here at Huck.
Mikuba Honey is bright, sweet, fruity, and complex - we're tasting apricot, date, tangerine, and sweet, subtly-floral honey in our mugs!
*** 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. ***
Photos of Mikuba Hill and Heza Washing Station courtesy Long Miles Coffee Project.
View full product details$ 21.00
El Desarollo is back - one of our favorite coffees for the last 6 years. While we called this coffee Matambo for a few years, it's always come from the El Desarollo Growers Association, and this group of farmers has produced a coffee that's deeply sweet and subtly complex, year-after-year!
The best Colombias - and particularly the best Huilas - pull off a balance between approachability and exciting flavors that few other origins can match. This latest crop is a perfect example of that balance, popping with red berry and green apple fruitiness, but rounding out the pop with dark honey and buttery pie crust sweetness.
This past December our head roaster, Shelby, visited El Desarollo with Caravela, one of our favorite sourcing partners in Latin America. This was Huck's second visit to Gigante de Huila, and we're continually impressed with the coffees, and the people behind the coffees. Plus, this year we're also gonna have something special from one of the growers within the El Desarollo association, Dario Rodriguez. So keep your eyes peeled for a limited release in the lineup this summer!
Dario's coffee's gonna be dope, but so is El Desarollo in its own right. We think it has something for everyone. Plenty of traditional coffee flavors and sweetness for those who prefer a more approachable or milk-friendly mug, but also packing juicy, fruity flavors and high-end brightness to please folks who prefer more adventurous coffees. Year 6 of this gem from Gigante, and we’re looking forward to brewing it for the next few months!
*** 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: The Cuadrado family, Jair Polania, Dario Rodriguez, Uilmar Andres Garcia
View full product details$ 21.00
*** 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. ***
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