Our Blog
Roastmaster's Select Club: Byron's Arabica Natural
View BY :
Roastmaster's Select Club: Byron's Arabica Natural
Once a month, members of the Roastmaster’s Select Coffee Club have the opportunity to sample unique micro-lot coffees from around the world. “What is a micro lot,” you ask? Read up on how we source the beans and what happens when they reach our roastery.
Following the harvest cycle, Roastmaster’s Club Members have exclusive access to these one-of-a-kind coffees at their peak freshness, and now it’s your turn!
This month we're sharing coffee grown in Nicaragua by Los Piños Farm and roasted here at Thanksgiving Coffee in Fort Bragg, CA.
Arabica Coffee from Nicaragua
Let's talk a bit about what it means when a coffee is "natural".
It essentially speaks for itself: coffee that's dried naturally. The pulp is left on the cherry and goes straight to drying as opposed to washed coffee, where the cherries are de-hulled, rinsed in water and then dried.
"In the natural drying process, the cherries are placed in the sun on concrete patios or raised drying beds. The skins tighten as they dry and the pulp juices move inward into the two seed in the cherry’s interior. When the mass is totally dry and crisp, and hard as a rock, they are milled like rice, cleaned and sorted and sacked. This process produces quite a different flavor profile from wet processed “washed coffee.” The coffees take on the hints of the fruit and at their best, notes of blueberry and strawberry prevail. There is a jammy sensitivity to the brew, lots of body and fruit aromas." -Paul Katzeff
We've had a working relationship with Byron and his family at Los Piños farm for over thirty years now, and the quality of their coffee speaks for itself.
"Behind every cup, there is a forest, a river to protect, a climate to conserve, many hands that work and a planet to save." - Byron Corrales
Recommended Reading
Back to the Blog-
Single Origin Club: Flor de Jinotega from Nicaragua
What is a Single Origin coffee? Simply put, these coffees are defined by the place they come from.
Single Origin coffees are from a specific farm or group of farms that make up small cooperatives. You’ll find that most of our Single Origin coffees are light roasted since this brings out their unique aromas and flavor notes.
This month, we’re sharing our Nicaraguan Flor de Jinotega with you, grown by the SOPPEXCCA Cooperative.
About the Farm
Nestled in the mountains above the regional capital Jinotega, the farmers of SOPPEXCCA grow coffee under the protective shade of bananas, mangos, and mahogany, and alongside dense forests providing home to dozens of rare orchids and winter habitat for hundreds of migratory songbirds. Jinotega is the heartland of Nicaragua’s coffee producing zone and many of the country’s finest coffees come from the thousands of small-scale family farms arrayed throughout the department’s lush mountain landscape.
This landscape wasn’t always organized this way. Before the revolution of the 1980s many of these small family farms were actually consolidated in expansive haciendas owned by foreigners and the country’s elite and farmed with the intensive use of agrochemical fertilizers and pesticides. The farmers themselves were hired labor, invariably poorly paid. In fact, the genesis of the revolution itself traces directly to these large farms, and the thousands of farmers without access to land. One of the central demands and outcomes of the revolution was a process of land redistribution whereby farmers gained access to the land they had worked for generations. Cooperatives arose out of the need to organize these small farms in larger economic unions that could market coffee, facilitate much needed financing, and serve the community’s broad social, economic, and environmental needs.
Altitude: 1,200 meters
Processing: Wet/Washed
Farmer: SOPPEXCCA
Varietal: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra
Though relatively small in membership, SOPPEXCCA has emerged as Jinotega’s leading cooperative. The cooperative represents 654 families and is recognized around the world as a leader in the movement to empower small-scale farmers, especially women and youth. SOPPEXCCA has built primary schools in its member communities, alongside pharmacies, cooperative grocery stores, and technical assistance centers. Extensive micro-credit programs offer members access to financing at a discount of 75% compared to locally available commercial finance. Long-term work to develop sustainable coffee production has resulted in a cooperatively-owned organic fertilizer production facility, innovative climate change adaptation efforts, and of course, ongoing coffee quality improvement programs.
Not ready to join the Single Origin Club? Make a one-time purchase of our Flor de Jinotega Light Roast coffee.
From the RoasterySeptember Single Origin Club: Flor de Jinotega
read more -
Single Origin Club: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
What is a Single Origin coffee? Simply put, these coffees are defined by the place they come from. Single Origin coffees are from a specific farm or group of farms that make up small cooperatives. You’ll find that most of our Single Origin coffees are light roasted, bringing out their unique aromas and flavor notes.
We are thrilled to share the fascinating stories behind each coffee. This month, Roastmaster, Jacob Long, hand-picked our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, which also happens to be one of our 2017 Roaster of the Year award winners! Join our Single Origin Club now to have only the finest of coffees delivered to your doorstep each month
Coffee from Ethiopia
Our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is one of three award-winning roasts from our 2017 Roaster of the Year prize. It's grown by the Worka Cooperative located in southern Ethiopia at about 2,000 meters above sea level. The cooperative is comprised of around 411 members, and is part of the larger Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperatives Union (YCFCU). The Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Gedeb coffee is picked and pulped and washed on the same day, then to be dried in raised beds for no more than seven days.
"Delicate, deeply sweet. Baker’s chocolate, magnolia, peach, black peppercorn, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Gentle, rounded acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The richly drying finish consolidates to baker’s chocolate and peach. An engaging coffee particularly appealing to those who value delicate, cocoa-toned coffees with gentle acidity and engaging spice notes. Reassuring environmental and socio-economic credentials.” -coffeereview.com
Altitude: 2,000+ meters
Processing: Washed, dried in raised beds
Farmer: Worka Co-op (YCFCU)
Varietal: Indigenous heirloom varietals
Not ready to join the Single Origin Club? Make a one-time purchase of our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Light Roast coffee.
From the RoasteryJuly Single Origin Club: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
read more
Single Origin Club: Flor de Jinotega from Nicaragua
What is a Single Origin coffee? Simply put, these coffees are defined by the place they come from.
Single Origin coffees are from a specific farm or group of farms that make up small cooperatives. You’ll find that most of our Single Origin coffees are light roasted since this brings out their unique aromas and flavor notes.
This month, we’re sharing our Nicaraguan Flor de Jinotega with you, grown by the SOPPEXCCA Cooperative.
About the Farm
Nestled in the mountains above the regional capital Jinotega, the farmers of SOPPEXCCA grow coffee under the protective shade of bananas, mangos, and mahogany, and alongside dense forests providing home to dozens of rare orchids and winter habitat for hundreds of migratory songbirds. Jinotega is the heartland of Nicaragua’s coffee producing zone and many of the country’s finest coffees come from the thousands of small-scale family farms arrayed throughout the department’s lush mountain landscape.
This landscape wasn’t always organized this way. Before the revolution of the 1980s many of these small family farms were actually consolidated in expansive haciendas owned by foreigners and the country’s elite and farmed with the intensive use of agrochemical fertilizers and pesticides. The farmers themselves were hired labor, invariably poorly paid. In fact, the genesis of the revolution itself traces directly to these large farms, and the thousands of farmers without access to land. One of the central demands and outcomes of the revolution was a process of land redistribution whereby farmers gained access to the land they had worked for generations. Cooperatives arose out of the need to organize these small farms in larger economic unions that could market coffee, facilitate much needed financing, and serve the community’s broad social, economic, and environmental needs.
Altitude: 1,200 meters
Processing: Wet/Washed
Farmer: SOPPEXCCA
Varietal: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra
Though relatively small in membership, SOPPEXCCA has emerged as Jinotega’s leading cooperative. The cooperative represents 654 families and is recognized around the world as a leader in the movement to empower small-scale farmers, especially women and youth. SOPPEXCCA has built primary schools in its member communities, alongside pharmacies, cooperative grocery stores, and technical assistance centers. Extensive micro-credit programs offer members access to financing at a discount of 75% compared to locally available commercial finance. Long-term work to develop sustainable coffee production has resulted in a cooperatively-owned organic fertilizer production facility, innovative climate change adaptation efforts, and of course, ongoing coffee quality improvement programs.
Not ready to join the Single Origin Club? Make a one-time purchase of our Flor de Jinotega Light Roast coffee.
September Single Origin Club: Flor de Jinotega
read moreSingle Origin Club: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
What is a Single Origin coffee? Simply put, these coffees are defined by the place they come from. Single Origin coffees are from a specific farm or group of farms that make up small cooperatives. You’ll find that most of our Single Origin coffees are light roasted, bringing out their unique aromas and flavor notes.
We are thrilled to share the fascinating stories behind each coffee. This month, Roastmaster, Jacob Long, hand-picked our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, which also happens to be one of our 2017 Roaster of the Year award winners! Join our Single Origin Club now to have only the finest of coffees delivered to your doorstep each month
Coffee from Ethiopia
Our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is one of three award-winning roasts from our 2017 Roaster of the Year prize. It's grown by the Worka Cooperative located in southern Ethiopia at about 2,000 meters above sea level. The cooperative is comprised of around 411 members, and is part of the larger Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperatives Union (YCFCU). The Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Gedeb coffee is picked and pulped and washed on the same day, then to be dried in raised beds for no more than seven days.
"Delicate, deeply sweet. Baker’s chocolate, magnolia, peach, black peppercorn, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Gentle, rounded acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The richly drying finish consolidates to baker’s chocolate and peach. An engaging coffee particularly appealing to those who value delicate, cocoa-toned coffees with gentle acidity and engaging spice notes. Reassuring environmental and socio-economic credentials.” -coffeereview.com
Altitude: 2,000+ meters
Processing: Washed, dried in raised beds
Farmer: Worka Co-op (YCFCU)
Varietal: Indigenous heirloom varietals
Not ready to join the Single Origin Club? Make a one-time purchase of our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Light Roast coffee.
July Single Origin Club: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
read moreSingle Origin Club: Guatemala Guaya'b
What is a Single Origin coffee? Simply put, these coffees are defined by the place they come from.
Single Origin coffees are from a specific farm or group of farms that make up small cooperatives. You’ll find that most of our Single Origin coffees are light roasted.
This month we're sharing our Guaya'b coffee grown in Guatemala by the Guaya'b Cooperative and light-roasted here at Thanksgiving Coffee in Fort Bragg, CA.
Guaya'b from Guatemala
The farmers of the Guaya’b Cooperative grow coffee under a dense forest canopy that doubles as the winter home for dozens of species of migratory birds as well as local flora and fauna. It wasn’t always this way.
When coffee was introduced to this remote region 40 years ago, it was promoted as an alternative to subsistence agriculture, and farmers were taught to clear forests to make way for this new cash crop. Fortunately, these farmers are closely connected to the health of their land, and have re-established their once logged forests providing much needed shade and diverse ecosystems in which coffee thrives.
Now, a new generation of farmers works to cultivate coffee and a variety of other cash and subsistence crops to increase incomes, and to protect the health of the land. Thanks to their partnership with our importer, Elan Organic Coffee, Guaya’b has perfected the art of picking, depulping and fermenting their coffee to produce deep, juicy, and full flavored coffee with a truly distinctive character.
Altitude: 1,300-1,600 meters
Processing: Wet/washed
Farmer: Asosicacion Guaya’b Civil
Varietal: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra
In fact, the farmers’ coffee is so unique that they periodically run into trouble with ANACAFE, Guatemala’s national coffee marketing wing, which tries to subdue Guaya’b’s flair and replace it with a more generic cup profile produced by less-inventive processing methods.
Not content to merely develop members’ coffee production, Guaya’b has a pilot organic honey project, which also helps to increase coffee yields thanks to improved pollination.
Not ready to join the Single Origin Club? Make a one-time purchase of our Guatemala Guaya'b Light Roast coffee.