Tasting Notes: July 2023 Coffees
Drop Coffee was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2009 as a coffee bar by Mariatorget focusing on serving tasty coffee. Drop Coffee started roasting their own coffee in the back of the shop in 2010, on a one-kilo roaster. Moving forward into roasting for wholesale customers in 2012, Drop Coffee then moved into a proper roastery with a 25-kilo roaster. Due to continued growth at home and across Europe, Drop Coffee moved their roastery to Rosersberg, north of Stockholm and from June 2018, Drop Coffee's roastery is proudly certified organic.
Joanna Alm, managing director of Drop Coffee, is a three times Swedish Coffee Roasting Champion who has also placed second, third and fourth art the World Roasters Championships in three different years of competing. Also as the author of the coffee book Manifest För Bättre Kaffe, it is very safe to say Drop Coffee are an excellent coffee roasters.
Drop Coffees | Sweden
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Andes, El Salvador | The coffee at Los Andes, is produced with most possible harmony with the nature. Therefor Ernesto is keeping the plants instead of planting new, this coffee is from trees that are 60-70 years old. The Kenyan coffee varietal SL28 is citric and vibrant, often with the flavor of black currant. The terroir from Santa Ana in El Salvador is chocolatey and round. This makes the Los Andes SL28 a pretty and nuanced cup profile. Los Andes is a very interesting coffee produced by an outstanding coffee producer, Ernesto "Neto" Menéndez, a well-known name in the coffee industry. He has won the Cup of Excellence several times, and we are proud to be buying coffee from him. Ernesto started separating the SL28 from the Bourbon for us a couple of years ago. In March 2020, we were in El Salvador as the pandemic hit. El Salvador is a place we love to visit every year as there is so much happening at the farm level. And many of the producers we are working with here has certainly become important friends, personally and in business. That said, El Salvador has a lot of violence and without their guidance, there is no chance we could get to buy their excellent coffees. Los Andes is exclusively a Drop Coffee. It's on about 5 hectares which is a bigger size for us to buy exclusively at the moment. We find it worth taking a little more of this coffee, for the clear cooperation between Drop Coffee and Los Andes which allows us to be more involved. Cupping, visiting the mill or walking the farm, or just having a chat over a coffee together with Ernesto is like opening a true treasure, he holds so much knowledge and skills from agriculture, processing, and to the cupping table. Los Andes has quite an interesting story. Almost 60-70 years ago, the previous owner of the farm planted SL28 trees on the land which they had brought home to El Salvador from a hunting trip in Kenya. Normally the trees we are buying coffee from are about 3 to 20 years old, and although it takes a lot of maintenance these older trees are producing extraordinarily well. The SL28 trees have of course naturally adapted to the conditions in Apaneca and El Salvador and will therefore not taste like a Kenyan coffee per se, it will taste like an El Salvadorian SL28 grown following Ernestos farming philosophy. |
Caramel, blackcurrant, rhubarb and juicy Altitude: 1720 masl, Process: washed |
Plus 87, Rest of World |
| Carmelita, Bolivia | Bolivia is a remarkable country, extraordinary high altitudes and mountains everywhere. But also it's diversity in coffee takes our breath away. We are so tremendously proud, happy and very excited to present the first honey processed coffee from Carmelita to you. We visited Carmelita for the first time in 2015, her hard work and dedication to the farm impressed us greatly. She had less than a hectare, which had a low yield, after being hit with Roja, which is why she decided to become part of the sustainability project “Sol de la Mañana”, which is run by our exporter Pedro Rodriguez with family. When we met, Carmelita had just prepared her land for a second hectare and was ready to start planting her new Caturra and Catuaí seedlings from her nursery. This time she wanted to do everything right from the beginning, with the help of the agronomists in the Sol de la Mañana project. Carmelita Urduvi has been working in coffee for 40 years. Originally she is from Omasuyos, near the lake called Titicaca. She moved with her husband to Caranavi when a government led to reform and gave the land back to thousands of indigenous families. Since then they had 8 children. Carmelita raised their children while running the farm after her husband disappeared. Carmelita told us that the management of the farm is her greatest achievement, and yes we are all impressed by her extraordinary producing standards and the farm is always clean, tidy and in great shape. Her oldest son works full time on the farm throughout the whole year, another two of her sons work for our exporter Rodriguez Buena Vista farms. Unique to anyone else we have met in Bolivia, she is known to clean each cherry after picking and before putting it into her bags and delivering it for processing at the Rodriguez mill. By producing a better quality coffee she is able to earn more money and have a better future for her and her children. She believes that joining the program has helped her to better understand what she needs to do in order to produce better coffee and keep her crops stronger and healthier. |
Milk chocolate, grape and caramel Altitude: 1850 masl, Process: honey |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light |
| San Cayetano, El Salvador | This is the fifth year we are buying the coffee from Carmen and Rafael. The family is so professional to work with and are so hardworking and the friendliest people. They have full control from the farm throughout the process and export to us. Sourcing green coffee, we meet a lot of producers and all of them are working very hard. But none we have ever met is working as focused and as many hours of the day as Rafael. He is in total running six farms and one mill. I think it is fair to call Rafael a control freak, details to picking, sorting and also as a fairest possible cupping room. Being very young Rafael got introduced to coffee, and at the age of 21 Rafael got his first farm from his father. A few years later he met his wife Carmen. The couple got married in their young 30s and since then they are running the business together. Carmen is very much doing everything in the back office, logistics, and marketing. The name of their company is Sicafé. In 2010, they decided to invest in their own mill called San Pedo. Not to make a lot of money from it, but for having full control of the full process of the coffee. Here they process coffee from their own farms separated by day lots and varietals, and they also process coffee for other producers in the area. Their two sons, Rafael Gerardo and Rodrigo and their daughter Valeria are now very involved in the business. Carmen and Rafael been winning the El Salvador Cup of Excellence for their farm La Lany in 2005, 2007, for the farm Siberia in 2010 and 2012 and for Llano Grande in 2012. And in 2017 San Cayetano won Silver in the Agenca Pour la Valoriastion des Produits Agirole. Together the couple holds over 70 years in coffee. |
Plum, blueberry and velvety Altitude: 1600 masl, Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Selected Mix, Single / Light |
| El Sunzita, El Salvador | Unavailable | Hazelnut, apple, chocolate and marshmallow Process: natural |
Selected Mix, Blend / Darker |
| Finca Nejapa, El Salvador | The success of Finca Nejapa, owned by Gloria Rodrigues, is the result of a strong family unit, together with her son-in-law Luis Rodrigues. Their hard work and skills have really paid off in the quality of their product. By working together, they can maintain and potentially improve the working conditions as well as the cup profile. The farm was inherited by Gloria’s father, José María Rodríguez Herrera in the 50’s, at that time the property was devoted to dairy cows, and it was José Maria who started growing coffee of the Bourbon variety. Little by little, he noticed coffee was extremely productive in that area, and that is where the story begins. Nejapa still farms 7 hectares reforested with cedar trees, approximately 10 years old. The farm also has a diversity of shade trees, which helps maintain and preserve both the soil conditions and a wide variety of birds and small mammals that live in that region. The Finca Nejapa farm is on the slopes of the Laguna de Las Ninfas (Waterlilies lagoon) with a spectacular sight over the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range. Every year, Gloria establishes nurseries with selected seeds to keep her farm in good shape, balance production, and secure future crops. Tablón Roma, which Drop Coffee is buying everything of, is located in the western side of Finca Nejapa but was left unplanted until 10 years ago when Gloria obtained a loan through a local investment bank to redevelop and replant this area. The variety chosen for this plot was red and yellow Caturra, planting this short-size producing tree with good yields was needed to repay the loan. The variety and terroir combination resulted in great quality coffee as well. This farm was awarded in the El Salvador Cup of Excellence in 2008 and 2009 with just this Roma lot and this Caturra varietal. At the Roma lot, both Red and Yellow Caturra is growing. This is the Yellow Caturra. The difference in fruit color is one of the reasons that makes the coffee taste different, the theory is that the red cherry is taking in more light than the yellow as the yellow reflects more light. |
Mango, jasmine and champagne Altitude: 1600 masl, Process: washed |
Selected Mix |
| Drop Tasting Box | Various | Various Altitude: various, Process: various |
Stories Special Guest Coffee |
Honest, uncompromising, remarkable coffee. MOK Coffee was founded in 2012 by two times Belgian Cup Tasters Champion Jens Crabbé and were also recently honoured as being awarded '2nd Best Specialty Coffee Roaster in Europe & Middle East'. A fantastic micro coffee roastery with cafes in Brussels and Leuven, MOK Coffee have come a long way in a short space of time, always aiming for the very best roasting and brewing to bring you the finest coffee experience.
All about integrity and quality, MOK work with the same producers year after year to create long lasting relationships, focusing on growers who understand that quality comes from hard work and sustainable practices, and are never driven by price. Plus, they're cool, very cool, and are another of GUSTATORY's personal favourites (are we allowed favourites?).
MOK Coffees | Belgium
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wosasa, Ethiopia (Natural) | Unavailable | Tea, peach, chocolate and limey Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light, Selected Mix |
| Mario Gallego, Colombia (Natural) | Mario Gallego and his family have maintained the coffee tradition with great respect and love, introducing new equipment and techniques to their processes while ensuring that each step is properly controlled to guarantee consistency in the quality of the coffee bean. Furthermore, the Gallegos have created Galician agro-industries, a leading company in high-quality coffee agriculture. The love, dedication, care, and satisfaction that goes into every cup of coffee from don Gallego is palpable. | Dark chocolate, coconut and raspberry Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World |
| Tessema, Ethiopia | Unavailable | Jasmine, apricot and black tea Process: washed |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light, Selected Mix |
| Espresso C, Guatemala | Central America or Colombia, the best of both worlds, higher acidity than the Brazil (B), with fuller body than the African (A). In 2020 we visited Julio Meléndez who is 4th generation at Finca El Zapote. His farm is situated in a micro-climate at 1700masl, across from an active volcano, named Fuego, that is nourishing the sandy soil. We love the style of Julio and his son's coffees, which is why we wanted to visit. Spending time learning and connecting with the farmers we buy from is an important and rewarding part of our process. | Chocolate, apple and amaretto Process: washed |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Selected Mix |
| Filter B, Brazil | Filter B follows our no blending policy and offers a smooth and easy going profile for your daily driver. Filter B is the same coffee as our Espresso B but roaster for filter use. Expect a smooth body with notes of chocolate, dried fruits and nuts. | Milk chocolate, hazelnut and prune Process: natural |
Blend / Darker / PERCENT |
| Espresso B, Brazil | Expect a fuller bodied chocolatey coffee with notes of hazelnut. Espresso B stands for 100% Brazil, no more blends, all credit to the producers. Great as espresso and for all your milky drinks. | Milk chocolate, hazelnut and prune Process: natural |
Blend / Darker / PERCENT |
| Kabumbu AB, Kenya | Unavailable | Blackcurrant, rhubarb and juicy Process: washed |
Plus 87 |
| Gascon, Guatemala | We couldn’t be more excited to have met Felipe in origin during harvest 2020. What we find so exciting is how accomplished and focused Felipe is at such a young age in his career. Driven by improvement in quality, processing and performance of varietals, his coffees are everything we dream about - delicate, expressive, complex and with so much clarity. This coffee is a very clean and balanced washed coffee, which means the terroir and variety is predominant in the cup. The combination of the rich Guatemalan soil and the widely grown bourbon variety results in fresh hazelnut and sugar cane flavours with a tame acidity. | Soft and balanced hazelnut and sugar cane Process: washed |
Plus 87, Selected Mix |
| Decaf, Colombia | For this decaf the process is as natural as possible, first the beans are steamed to remove chaff, then moistened with hot water to soften and swell the beans and release the caffeine. Then the beans are washed with ethyl acetate made by fermenting molasses from sugar cane and mixing it with natural acid, dissolving the caffeine. The coffee is then cleaned with low pressure steam and dried in drums before being cooled. Lastly they polish the beans with carnauba wax for protection and to help with stability. | Blackcurrant, chocolate, brown sugar Process: sugar cane decaf |
Decaf |
Rightly regarded as one of the world's best coffee roasters, Coffee Collective have many coffee competition wins to their name, including gold in both the World Barista Championship and World Cup Tasting championships, as well as winning 5 awards at the most recent championships held as part of the Danish Coffee Festival.
Creators of fantastic coffee experiences while helping farmers achieve more value, it is very fair to say that Coffee Collective shares the exact same values as GUSTATORY - the highest of quality yet affordable coffees, all sourced with impressive ethics and sustainability from seed to cup in mind. For context of their inclusion, Coffee Collective rarely partner with third party subscriptions, and so we're always pleased to see their inclusion with GUSTATORY for yet another month. You're welcome.
Coffee Collective Coffees | Denmark
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karimikui, Kenya | Karimikui factory is part of the Rungeto Society cooperative consisting of 850 small farmers and managed by Zablon Kamongo. Established in 1997, this cooperative is known for producing exceptional high quality. We have visited this factory for the last couple of years and we've been very impressed by their performance on the cupping table - and it is available on our coffee menu. At Karimikui, the coffee is carefully processed to bring out its full flavour and aroma, delivering a truly enjoyable cup of coffee. We pay a quality bonus to Karimikui that is 149% above market price ($5.94/lb FOB). The quality bonus allows the farmer to continue to produce higher quality coffee. |
Raspberry, citrus, rhubarb and floral Altitude: 1700 masl, Process: washed |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light |
| Nolberto, Bolivia | Unavailable | Plum, orange and full Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World |
| Planadas, Colombia | Fellow B Corp, Caravela Coffee has introduced us to many of the Colombian farmers we work with. The coffee exporting company sources coffee from all over Latin America. They do a wonderful job in quality control and discovering new farms. Caravela has in collaboration with us blended a coffee by seven farmers of the Tolima region. These are farmers we have worked closely with for the past years, and we call the result, Planadas. We pay a quality bonus to Caravela that is 68% above market price ($4/lb FOB). The quality bonus allows the farmer to continue to produce higher quality coffee. |
Chocolate, caramel and fruity Altitude: 1500 - 1800 masl, Process: washed |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Selected Mix |
Dark Woods Coffee is an adventurous coffee roaster, Barista school, and pop-up café nestled on the edge of Marsden village in the West Yorkshire Pennines. Dark Woods roast their coffee by hand on a 1950's Probat drum roaster in a beautifully refurbished Victorian textile mill beside the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and River Colne. The dramatic, windswept valley inspires the mood and flavours of their exceptional seasonal coffees.
Though Dark Woods was born in 2013, the history of its founding partners takes in many years' experience in roasting, sourcing, consultancy, training and machine development within the UK coffee industry. It is this collective knowledge and expertise that has allowed Dark Woods to rapidly establish a growing customer base that includes some of the country's top cafés and restaurants. More than anything, Dark Woods simply want the finest coffee to be enjoyable and accessible to everyone by offering a range of roasts and styles that truly reflects what people would like to drink.
Dark Woods Coffees | United Kingdom
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giku, Burundi | Kayanza Province is renowned for its excellent, fully washed coffees and this is a perfect example from the team at Long Miles Coffee. Working closely with coffee farmers around Giku Hills to deliver high quality coffee cherries and processing at the new community facility, Ninga Washing Station which took several years of struggles to bring to fruition. Long Miles Coffee: “Our founders, Ben and Kristy Carlson, moved to Burundi in 2011 and saw that both injustice and poor farming practices permeated the country’s newly privatized coffee industry. They also saw that roasters around the world had a difficult time getting consistently great coffees from Burundi. In an effort to see positive change in both farmers’ and roasters’ lives, Long Miles Coffee was born. |
Floral, toffee, stone fruit and crisp Altitude: 1700 masl, Process: washed |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light, Selected Mix |
| Union Pro-Agro, Bolivia | Bolivia has an exceptionally small coffee industry when compared to some of its South American neighbours, and whilst it has some of the key ingredients for specialty coffee production (high altitude, fertile soils, abundant rainfall and heritage arabica varietals, especially in the mountainous Yungas region) it is also impacted by issues such as the country being landlocked, difficult internal transport, the lure of coca production and a lack of investment in the industry. In the mid 2000’s, it looked to be an up and coming origin for specialty production with an increasing number of micro-lots available from small producers and more established farms, and also support from the Cup of Excellence program. Since then, the situation has become more challenging and quality has been known to fluctuate – Union Pro-Agro itself suffered, especially as key members stepped away. But it is now seeing a revival, and a push towards exporting more Café Femenino coffee from its women producer members once again. We’ve personally known this co-op for over a decade, and Damian has visited on a number of occasions – he worked to launch this coffee as one of the first Café Femenino retail coffees in the UK marketplace back in 2009. |
Chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut Altitude: 1100 - 1700 masl, Process: washed |
Plus 87, Single / Light, Selected Mix |
| Fazenda Passeio, Brazil | Micro-lot exclusive to Dark Woods Coffee - Adolfo Vieira and his Fazenda Passeio estate, in the rolling landscapes of the Sul de Minas, is one of our key supply partners providing our core blend ingredient “The Woodman”, a coffee we use in Under Milk Wood, Deer Hill and across our range. This micro-lot is produced on a much smaller scale – 100% Arañas arabica from Adolfo’s experimental plot, with only the ripest cherries selected and sun-dried on their patio, then finished on raised beds. Adolfo’s farm – Fazenda Passeio – has the perfect match of agronomy, production quality and natural habitat. A lot of Brazilian coffee estates can feel like vast landscapes of lifeless mono-crops heading off into the distance, but here the combination of shade trees, protected forest and evidence of wildlife amongst the coffee trees make a big difference. He grows classic arabica varietals like Yellow Bourbon, Mondo Novo and Catuai (all that are hardier varietals, but still provide a good cup profile and yield.) Much of the coffee is processed as Pulped Natural, or sundried Natural, and we buy both styles from their annual harvest. The Pulped Natural works the best when it is fresh after harvesting, and the Natural we use later in the year once it has settled into a sweet, full-bodied profile. |
Chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut Altitude: 1100 masl, Process: natural |
Plus 87 |
| Driftwood, Colombia | El Ata is our “house” Colombian coffee, grown in the shadow of the majestic Nevada del Huila, by the banks of the meandering Ata River. It’s the river and the rich volcanic soils, along with the skills of the farmers, that help make this such an exceptional coffee. | Caramel, almond and stone fruit Altitude: 1700 masl, Process: washed |
Selected Mix, Blend / Darker, PERCENT |
| Under Milk Wood, Brazil, Ethiopia | Not so much stuck between extremes as offering the best of both, Milk Wood was not only the first blend we roasted but the concept around which Dark Woods was built. A medium roast delivers familiar caramel sweetness but adventurous sourcing takes it beyond the perceived limits of this style. Validation of our approach arrived in 2016 when Milk Wood won a prestigious Golden Fork for best Northern Product in the Great Taste Awards. | Caramel, stewed fruits and praline Altitude: 2000 masl, Process: washed |
Selected Mix, Blend / Darker, PERCENT |
| Lamplight Decaf, Colombia | Our Lamplight Decaf is gently decaffeinated using the Swiss Water method. This process not only removes the caffeine without resorting to harsh chemicals but also imparts a breaded sweetness that resembles rich fruit cake. Delicious brewed in every method Lamplight is coffee without caffeine or compromise. | Sweet fruit cake Altitude: 1800 masl, Process: swiss water |
Decaf |
Milton Keynes' first speciality coffee roasters, Milk & Beans was founded by Carlo Scarito. Starting due to this lack of quality coffee offerings in the city, Carlo mentions there really wasn't any awareness of what speciality coffee even was and not many people had tried it. Previously working for a big name high street coffee chain, while falling in love with the process of what makes a coffee, Carlo soon realised that the coffee world was far, far bigger than what he knew.
Going out and learning a lot more, a lot lot more, Carlo then bought his own roaster to experiment with how far he could go on his coffee education journey. Now well equiped in knowledge and skill, Carlo has realised that coffee is about much more than just tasting great, it is also about the connections being made with great importers and producers and of course its customers. Put simply, Carlo just really enjoys making or roasting coffee for people.
Milk & Beans Coffees | United Kingdom
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gitoki, Rwanda | The Baho coffee company is made up of coffee experts led by Emmanuel Rusatira, a coffee master. With experience in experimental fermantations, Baho are able to produce some stellar results in the final cup. This particular coffee has been selectively hand-picked, followed by a step by step fermentation process starting with more strict sorting, floating and then taken to clean clay jars for fermentation, where the coffee is starved of oxygen for 72 hours. The coffee is then shade-dried (this can take up to 40 days). | Strawberry, rose and apple Altitude: 1500 - 2100 masl, Process: anaerobic |
Bloom |
Harmony is a nano roastery owned and operated by Ben Rowe. Ben has experience working in almost every sector of the specialty coffee industry, most recently as a coffee roaster for Kiss The Hippo, shortly before starting Harmony. Ben has a passion for barista competition, which he uses as a medium to extend his own knowledge and dedication to the craft.
As of 2022, Ben has won 11 open competitions across various distinctions and has recently placed 3rd in the UK Latte Art Championship in 2021 and a semi-finalist in the UK Barista Championship 2022. Harmony was born out of a desire to share great coffee with great people, and it was a chance to build something that stays true to the values which we see as the most important pillars of the coffee world: traceability, quality, ethics and partnership. More than anything, Ben wants Harmony to be a coffee company that you feel you can trust.
Harmony Coffees | United Kingdom
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fredy Correa, Colombia | For this lot, our host is Mr. Freddy Correa, who in his farm La Primavera in Bajo Encanto, decided to start since 2018, to develop processes together with us, which in effect has a great result! For this batch we used a 24 hour pre-fermentation in cherry, followed by a 36 hour fermentation in muscilage, and then sun-drying in racks for 15 days. For this second semester, we bring back our Pink Bourbon Creation, being this the 4th time we work together with Professor Cesar in Pitalito Huila, with whom we have developed together with allied producers this unique profile, which we feel reflects everything you are looking for in a pink bourbon. This Pink Bourbon was developed with 2 fermentation processes, 24 hours of pre-fermentation in cherry, and then followed by 36 hours of aerobic fermentation in bags in mucilage. To finish the process, drying on raised beds under the sun for an average of 15 days. |
Floral, grapefruit, melon and apple Process: washed |
Bloom |
GUSTATORY (adjective): curating excellence in taste.