3 lb Bundle: Tasty Value Coffees

Description Want some great coffees & stellar values? This bundle is for you! All very fresh coffee, current or new crop. Great premium screens on Co-op and Mill production coffees. Larger production coffees keep the costs down. Although these are not single farm micro lots, they are very tasty coffees giving the true terroir of their production areas and producing nations. A pleasure to drink and 100% responsibly sourced. This bundle contains 1 pound each of: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Washed Gr. 2 – Banko Chelchele A wonderful fresh bean for the price point. Not as delicate as top grades, nor floral/fruity. These beans go after the rich chocolate and spice notes, kind of the terroir of Ethiopia. In specialty coffee, grade 1 Ethiopians are prevalent but are far from average and are quite different from the premium grade 2’s and 3’s.  Grade 1’s are about light roasts, overly floral and sweet, delicate often with a fruitier aspect, while grade 2 and 3 bring in richer dark tones, less acidity, and hold medium to dark roasts much better. Farming & Practices: Gedeb is the southern‑most district of the famed Gedeo highlands, a crossroads between Gedeo and Guji whose soaring elevations and cool, misty microclimates yield some of Ethiopia’s most “explosive” cup profiles. Banko Chelchele sits in a dense corner of Gedeb known locally as “Worka,” where coffee gardens climb steep, red‑soil slopes shaded by enset (a banana relative used as a staple food) and gravilea trees. Smallholders each tending just 0.5–3 ha hand‑pick only fully ripe cherry, then deliver it within hours to the station. Tasting Notes: Good from light to dark but we thought best at a strong medium to dark roast. A good bean to go after a rich and semi-exotic chocolate tone with some wonderful aromatics and a bit of spice. Light roasts are more citric and floral with wonderful aromatics and a sweet edged, a bit punchy in the citric department and contrasts with a bit of nutty/herbal/grassy undertones. Works well but needs a much longer setup time bring out smooth and clean tastes, sharp and grassy/herbal if drank too soon. Medium roasts will bring some lovely balance to the cup and provides a clean tasting brew without waiting a week to drink it. One starts seeing the chocolate aspect but will still pull some balance with the citric and floral. Less aromatic than the light roasts, but you can still tell you have a nice Ethiopian with one sniff. Darker roasts touching or into second crack are real robust, strong and semi-sweet, more bakers-chocolate like with tea like spice in the aftertaste. Roasting Notes: An easy coffee to roast, even roasting with medium chaff. We thought it best to get some development past first crack, a nice medium roast to as dark as you want to go. The beans will darken up quickly, often appearing 1-2 shades darker then they really are. A citric edge to the cup will mean you are still in the light-medium roast range. Nicaraguan Jinotega Olomega Supreme SHG EP Washed Coming from family-owned farms organized around Asociación Aldea Global Jinotega (Aldea Global), an organization operating in the department of Jinotega, Nicaragua.  Aldea Global has more than 500 members and 47 per cent are women, the result of investing revenues in gender equality programs focused on healthcare and small business lending.  Olomega coffee is produced by descendants of an indigenous group called the Chorotegas who live in the village of Olomega. Tasting Notes: Rich, sweet and malty, a good example of Nicaraguan coffee. Best from a medium to dark roast. Medium bodied cup with lower acidity and a sweet edge. A hint of citric crispness at the medium roast level. 2nd crack or darker the cup will be bolder with no citric component, adding some complimenting smokiness into the malty dark tones. We did also enjoy this coffee at a light roast; a softer and sweeter cup but will risk a little earthy/nutty/grassy if too light. Roasting Notes: Easy bean to roast for medium or dark roast fans.  Very fresh decent looking beans with medium chaff levels but will roast pretty two toned. One can tell its a co-op production with a couple different strains & densities (altitudes the coffee came from). A little more challenging to hit lighter roast points. Touching second crack is a good & easy starting point but many will like taking it a shade or two lighter. El Salvador Ahuachapan – BCT Select Washed A classic Salvadoran mountain coffee, designed for those seeking a sweet and clean cup without complications: apple, brown sugar, and a base of roasted walnuts. This lot comes from Ahuachapán, in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, a coffee-growing corridor in western El Salvador connected to towns along the Ruta de las Flores (Route of the Flowers). This region is not only notable for its coffee history but also for its rich history in Salvadoran coffee, having been home to the first Denomination of Origin for coffee registered in El Salvador. On these volcanic slopes, the combination of altitude (this coffee is grown at approximately 1200 meters above sea level) and cool climate favors dense beans and balanced profiles: high sweetness, pleasant acidity, and a very clean finish. In terms of varieties, this lot combines Bourbon Rojo and Pacas (a Bourbon mutation identified in El Salvador, known for its sweetness and body), along with Cuscatleco, a locally developed variety designed to support the renewal of coffee plantations in the face of coffee rust pressure, without sacrificing a good cup of coffee. The process is completely washed. Tasting Notes: Expect a sweet and very clean cup, with initial notes of apple and brown sugar, and a slight transition to toasted nuts and caramel as the brew progresses. The acidity is moderate and pleasant: more juicy than bright, and tends to feel a bit lighter as the coffee cools. With a few days of maturation, the fruit integrates better and the profile becomes rounder, leaving a sweet, slightly almondy, and lingering finish. Roasting Notes: This coffee typically shines when roasted medium to medium-dark. If you want to highlight the apple and its clean flavor, opt for a medium roast and a moderate final development to keep the cup clear and sweet. If you’re looking for more comfort (caramel, nuts, and a denser mouthfeel), roast it medium-dark and add a bit more development: the sweetness intensifies and the body feels fuller, although the apple flavor becomes less prominent. In general, a break of 2 to 4 days helps the sweetness to be perceived as milder and the profile to integrate better.