November 2012 Tasting Box

San Francisco, California

Finca El Zarzal has been growing coffee on the land lining the San Vicente volcano for over 100 years. The mineral-rich volcanic soil offers perfect growing conditions for coffee plants and many of El Salvador’s other crops. In 2005, the family-operated business added a processing mill to the farm, allowing them to closely monitor the coffee beans from the moment they are planted until the moment they are sold to the roaster. This coffee, roasted by San Francisco’s Sightglass Coffee, is sweet and elegant with notes of fresh leather and pine. The silky body finishes in milk chocolate.

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• Producer

  Finca El Zarzal, farmed by Benjamin Argueta

• Origin

  Tepetitán, San Vicente, El Salvador

• Varieties

  Bourbon, Typica

• Elevation

  1400-1520 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  This coffee is sweet and elegant with notes of fresh leather and pine. The silky body finishes in milk chocolate.

Cobble Hill, British Columbia

Other roasters often rely on computers to determine when their beans have been fully roasted. But Geir Oglend of Drumroaster Coffee, lets his beans do the talking. Oglend carefully listens for the “first crack” – the moment when the beans reach a certain temperature and begin to make a small cracking sound. This allows each bean to get just the right amount of time and temperature it needs. Applying this method to these Caturra and Catuai beans from Guatemala’s Finca La Esperanza brings us a coffee that is graceful on the palate with apricot and dried red fruit undertones and a lingering taste of honey-coated marcona almonds.

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 La Esperanza, farmed by Octavio Herrara

• Origin

  San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango, Guatemala

• Varieties

  Caturra & Catuai

• Elevation

  1500 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed

• Our Notes

  With apricot and dried red fruit undertones, this coffee is graceful on the palate with a lingering taste of honey-coated marcona almonds.

Ithaca, New York

At just 21-years-old, Jorge Arturo Benitez Miranda may seem pretty young to be managing an award-winning coffee farm, but for him it comes naturally. Jorge has been working on his family coffee farm, Las Peñitas, in Honduras ever since he was a boy. In 2010, shortly after taking over the farm from his father, Jorge continued his father’s legacy by winning the Honduras Cup of Excellence competition. These beans, roasted by Ithaca’s Gimme! Coffee, yield a full-bodied yet smooth cup. This well-balanced coffee is defined by midnotes of pineapple and cane sugar, with a creamy base that carries into a clean, sweet finish.

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

  Las Peñitas, farmed by Jorge Arturo Benítez Miranda

• Origin

  Santa Bárbara, Honduras

• Varieties

  Pacas

• Elevation

  1600 meters above sea level

• Process

  Washed, fermented, and sun-dried

• Our Notes

  Full-bodied yet smooth, this well-balanced coffee is defined by midnotes of pineapple and cane sugar, with a creamy base that carries into a clean, sweet finish.