April 2014 Tasting Box

Asheville, North Carolina

This coffee screams 'Yirga Cheffe.' It's floral, bright, and sweet, and with loads of fruit flavors that change dramatically in the cooling cup. This is one amazing cup of coffee. The fruits are lively, the sweetness is like pure honey, and the finish is pristine. -Mountain Air Roasting

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• Producer

  Various smallholders

• Origin

  Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

• Varieties

  Heirloom

• Elevation

  1,800-2,000 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  A perfumed nose of orchid, lime, and apricot opens into juicy red berry and silky lemoncello flavors, playful acidity, and a lingering hard candy sweetness.

Seattle, Washington

While naturally processed coffees often contain funky, off-flavors, they can display a stunning intensity of flavor when handled properly. Aricha is firmly in the second camp. Grown on the fertile soil of the Yirgacheffe highlands, this coffee was slowly dried, preserving the unparalleled flavors produced by the heirloom varieties. This coffee tastes like dessert. Soft and velvety like angel food cake, the Aricha offers a remarkably sweet dried strawberry foundation, punctuated by moments of hops and green tea. Remarkably clean throughout, Aricha leaves you with lingering thoughts of powdered cocoa.

Craft Coffee subscriptions are the best way to drink better coffee for less money. With prices as low as $7.99 per 12oz bag, Craft Coffee's subscriptions are the best coffee deal anywhere -- online or offline.

• Producer

  Various smallholders

• Origin

  Aricha, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

• Varieties

  Heirloom

• Elevation

  1,950-2,150 meters above sea level

• Process

  Natural

• Our Notes

  Light, pillowy and clean, with flavors of dried strawberries, confectioner's sugar, and breakfast cereal.

New York, New York

Ben Colbran founded Baroida Estate in 1965 when the government of Papua New Guinea began encouraging the settlers of the area to grow coffee as a sustainable crop with long-term potential. Successive members of the family have managed the farm, which sits between 1600 and 1850 meters above sea level. In 2005 Chris, Ben’s grandson, moved back to the farm to oversee several projects, but it wasn’t until 2010 that the quality of the coffee as truly discovered by the outside world. In that year the family began exporting their own coffee – not allowing it to be blended – and took the process into their own hands, thereby allowing the uniqueness of the origin to be expressed.

Craft Coffee subscriptions are the best way to drink better coffee for less money. With prices as low as $7.99 per 12oz bag, Craft Coffee's subscriptions are the best coffee deal anywhere -- online or offline.

• Producer

  Baroida Estate

• Origin

  Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea

• Varieties

  Typica, Bourbon, Arush, Heirloom

• Elevation

  1,650-1,800 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  Articulate cranberry acidity leads through deep brown sugar and delicate caramel sweetness into a clean, dry walnut finish.

San Francisco, California

This coffee, from the Cotecaga washing station in the Nyamasheke District, represents Ritual's first direct sourcing efforts from Rwanda! As a land-locked nation in central east Africa, Rwanda has long fought to fulfill a very promising potential with regard to their coffee production. Despite excellent varieties of coffee and neatly ideal growing conditions, Rwanda has struggled to build the needed infrastructure and quality standards to deliver on that potential. Over the past few years, different projects throughout the country have finally started to create opportunities for these coffees, and their producers, to flourish. Cotecaga is one of several excellent washing stations in the mountains above Lake Kivu in the very west of the country.

Craft Coffee subscriptions are the best way to drink better coffee for less money. With prices as low as $7.99 per 12oz bag, Craft Coffee's subscriptions are the best coffee deal anywhere -- online or offline.

• Producer

  Cotecaga Washing Station

• Origin

  Nyamasheke, Rwanda

• Varieties

  Bourbon

• Elevation

  1,500-1,900 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  Hibiscus and lime acidity settle into intense cane-syrup sweetness and a clean, green-tea-like finish.Hibiscus and lime acidity settle into intense cane-syrup sweetness and a clean, green-tea-like finish.

Riverside, California

Bordered by Ecuador to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Nariño region in western Colombia boasts conditions that other coffee growing regions around the world could only dream of. The high altitude (up to 2,300 meters above sea level), ample sunshine, plenty of ainfall, and nutrient-rich soils produce coffees that display a poignant balance between sweetness, acidity, and body. This particular coffee comes from an estate called Finca San Francisco that’s situated outside the town of Santacruz. At 5.5 hectares Finca San Francisco is larger than the average farm in Nariño, but it’s quite small compared to the country’s other growing regions.

Craft Coffee subscriptions are the best way to drink better coffee for less money. With prices as low as $7.99 per 12oz bag, Craft Coffee's subscriptions are the best coffee deal anywhere -- online or offline.

• Producer

  Finca San Francisco

• Origin

  Santacruz, Nariño, Colombia

• Varieties

  Caturra

• Elevation

  1810 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  Aromas of caramel and demerara sugar complement tart raspberry acidity and flavors of tangerines, almonds, and cinnamon toast.

Brooklyn, New York

The Andino association was founded in 2002 to support the small-scale coffee farmers around the town of Bruselas, in the southern reaches of Colombia’s famed Huila region. Today the association has over 100 members who tend small farms (from 1-7 hectares) and process their coffees at local micro mills instead of larger, centralized mills. Because of this diversity in growing and processing there’s a tremendous amount of variation between each farmer’s coffees, but only the best lots made the cut for this delicious brew.

Craft Coffee subscriptions are the best way to drink better coffee for less money. With prices as low as $7.99 per 12oz bag, Craft Coffee's subscriptions are the best coffee deal anywhere -- online or offline.

• Producer

  Grupo Asociativo Cafe Andino Especial

• Origin

  Andino, Colombia

• Varieties

  Caturra, Typica, Colombia

• Elevation

  1,500-1,900 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed, sun-dried

• Our Notes

  Delicate and articulate, with almond aromas opening into flavors of cherries and light brown sugar, a silky body, and a finish like toasted oats and red grapes.