If you’ve been a fan of our pour over program, you may notice that we’ve been featuring some peculiar coffees. Many have been exquisite, rare, or hard-to-find, and none have been available for sale by the bag. What gives? We have been working with Scott Rao at Facsimile Coffee - a monthly subscription program designed to make folks better coffee tasters. This relationship has allowed us to get our mitts on beans a small shop like us wouldn’t otherwise have access to.
We are extremely honored to be able to serve a coffee from Finca Kilimanjaro, the farm in El Salvador run by Aida Batlle. The beans are composed of 70% Kenya mix - SL-28 & SL-34 - and 30% Bourbon. Aida Batlle had made waves in the coffee community by winning the Cup of Excellence competition back in 2003 - her first year producing coffee. She was also the first woman to win this award. The merits continued to pour in, as she was also the first person to win the El Salvador Cup of Excellence, and her coffees were continually selected by competition baristas.
Ms. Batlle’s relentless curiosity has led to developments across the industry. Thanks to her, coffee processors experiment with cherry selection as well as fermentation techniques to increase quality and flavor rather than just prepare beans for export.
The coffee we are serving has been processed four different ways, giving us four different options for brewing. The washed version is depulped, dry fermented for 18 hours, washed and dried for nine days on shaded beds. From the Facsimile website, the “Burundi-style” process “undergoes two 24-hour fermentation cycles--one dry, one wet--interrupted every 12 hours with a rinse of cold water. After washing, the coffee soaks for another 24 hours before drying for nine days on shaded beds.” The natural process includes soaking the fruit to remove any unripe fruit, then leaving the beans to dry on shaded beds for 10-11 days. The fourth process is called an “Iced Cascara Tea” process, where the hot cascara (which is made from spent coffee pulp/skin) is brewed, brought to room temperature, and then frozen into giant iced tea bricks. The coffee is depulped and the cascara ice cubes join the beans in the fermentation tank for an 18-hour soak. Unwashed, the coffee is happily put to bed for nine days.
As you have likely surmised, the different styles of process enhance different qualities inherent in the beans and fruit of the coffee. The washed process reveals classically dark chocolate, nutty, and stone fruit notes. The Burundi process encourages a more pronounced floral character, with a clean finish and amazing aroma. The natural process is incredibly fruity, showing off with notes of pineapple, banana and chocolate. The iced cascara is perhaps the most complex – with the processing becoming both colder and more wet, the floral, orange, blueberry and red apple notes are dynamically connected flavor experiences.
All four processes create standout coffees. We are selling these as a set – two pour-overs in about 6oz portions are available of the washed and Burundi style, as well as the natural and cascara style. They are available as online order only coffees on our website, www.constellationpickup.com.
These coffees will be brewed to order, so we thank you in advance for your patience and using our online ordering system.