June 2011 Tasting Box

Traverse City, Michigan

Only around 5 percent of the world’s coffee beans are peaberries—an oval-shaped bean that isn’t squished flat by another seed in the coffee fruit. So the beans of this all-peaberry coffee, a Bourbon variety grown at an elevation of 1200 meters in El Cuarenteño, Nayarit, Mexico, are super carefully selected and dry processed before being roasted by Great Northern Roasting Company from Traverse City, Michigan. A slightly wild coffee is the result—the mild body delivers stone-fruit sweetness enrobed in spicy aromas of cinnamon and cocoa, with subtle hints of bergamot and rum. Um, yum.

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• Producer

  Smallholder farmers

• Origin

  El Cuarenteño, Nayarit, Mexico

• Varieties

  Typica, Bourbon

• Elevation

  1,200 meters above sea level

• Process

  Dry

• Our Notes

  The stone-fruit sweetness of this peaberry coffee is enveloped in the spicy aromas of cinnamon and cocoa with hints of bergamot and rum. Earthy notes follow in the lingering finish.

New York, New York

Volcanoes, by definition, are epic. And they’re part of why this Red Bourbon varietal coffee from Jose Antonio Salaverría of Las Cruces in El Salvador is excellent - It’s grown at 1450-1750 meters in hills that are loaded with billionaire-rich volcanic soil from the nearby Santa Ana volcano. Then it’s sorted three times after being washed in one of El Salvador’s most modern processing facilities. Roasted by New York’s Irving Farm, the result is zesty, sweet and spicy, followed by notes of chocolate, stone-fruit and citrus—all in one cup.

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

  Jose Antonio Salaverría of Las Cruces

• Origin

  Las Cruces, El Salvador

• Varieties

  Red Bourbon

• Elevation

  1,450-1,750 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  Spicy aromatics are followed by notes of chocolate, stone-fruit, and citrus in this sweet and zesty cup.

Sacramento, California

Ten years ago, what remained of the coffee industry in Rwanda produced crappy stuff, which was also difficult to export to the U.S. But over the last few years, small farmers and coops like the Musasa Cooperative (80 percent of whom are women!) have rejuvenated Rwandan coffee with high quality goods, like this crazy delicious washed Bourbon variety grown at 1160 meters in Rushashi and roasted by Sacramento’s Temple Coffee: It’s super clean, dropping notes of currant and cherry in a body so smooth it’s creamy. It finishes sweet, then lounges around in your mouth like it’s summer.

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

  Musasa Cooperative

• Origin

  Rushashi, Rwanda

• Varieties

  Red Bourbon

• Elevation

  1,160 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  A very clean cup, dominated by notes of currant and cherry. The creamy body is followed with a sweet, lingering finish.