Blends/Multiple

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #40.

BuyWell is a relative new-comer to the sustainable coffee arena, established in Colorado Springs in fall 2007. They focus exclusively on certified organic, Fair Trade coffees. BuyWell purchases Green-e certified renewable energy certificates from 3Degrees
to offset 100% of the electricity used for their entire operation. Further, they support a number of coffee-related charities such as Coffee Kids, Cafe Femenino, and Roots and Wings International.

Roots and Wings was a new one for me — a secular organization working to provide university scholarships in southwest Guatemala. I was impressed with this program; please visit their web site for more on what they do and how you can make a direct donation. You can also do it through coffee purchases: BuyWell donates $3 per bag of coffee sold online when customers type ”RootsAndWings” in the coupon/promotion code.

We tried out several of their coffees.

Nicaragua Picaflor — These beans come from the 100-plus-member Cooperativa 5 de junio, in the the Las Sabanas region of Madriz department (a.k.a., Segovias coffee-growing area), in northern Nicaragua. The coop is part of a larger farmers association,  Aldea Global (AssociaciÁ³n Aldea Global Jinotega), which practices sustainable agriculture and has other Fair Trade products.

In 2006, Cooperativa 5 de junio scored an 84.46 in the Cup of Excellence competition. They grow mostly Caturra and Maracatu at 1200 to 1400 m in “extensive shade.” (Maracatu is a Caturra x Maragogype hybrid.)

The Picaflor is billed as a light roast. I was really pleased to see that “light” meant “light” for BuyWell. A gentle roast is often best for these more delicate Central American beans. A nearly unanimous flavor reported by tasters was “caramel”. There was also some citrus when piping hot, leaning towards orange for one taster. It had a silky mouthfeel, and was my personal favorite of the three coffees. 3.25 motmots.

Guatemala Fuego — These beans are sourced from the NahualÁ¡ cooperative (Cooperativa de Servicios Varios Nahuala) in the Quetzaltenango region of southwest Guatemala near the city of Pasac. Ninety percent of the 126 members are organic, and they also produce organic bananas and honey. The members have been working on a riparian reforestation project as well. The coffee varieties Catuai, Bourbon, and Caturra are grown at 1200 to 1500 m.

This was a medium roast — not too dark for a Central. It had an interesting aroma, which reminded me of American Robins (I know this is odd, but remember, I’m a bird bander, and I’ve handled tens of thousands of birds…some do have distinctive odors), sort of organic and leafy. Having made this rather esoteric comment aloud, a coworker actually agreed with me, in a more generic way: “Yeah, like the apartment I shared with Dale and Edgar the Crow. Sometimes we’d take in a starling or two.” Okay, strange descriptions of what are actually nice smells aside, we also had some consensus on taste, with three people volunteering they got a subtle cherry flavor. Nutty was also mentioned more than once. It had a creamy mouthfeel, also described as “round” and “smooth.” 3 motmots.

Sumatra Canopy — The Canopy coffee is from the Gayo Organic Coffee Farmers Association (Persatuan Petani Kopi Gayo Organik, or PPKGO) near Takengon in Aceh province, Sumatra. This is a big co-op, with nearly 2000 members, and all are organic. The farms are located at between 1100 and 1500 m in the buffer zone to Gunung Leuser National Park. Shade grown coffee in Sumatra is especially important because illegal logging threatens remaining forests, including those in protected areas. The demand for timber has been particularly acute since the 2004 tsunami. PPKGO grows a number of varieties of coffee: Bergendal (they typica variety most often grown in Sumatra), Sidikalang (I presume this is another typica cultivar from the named region near Lake Toba), and the hybrids Catimor and Caturra.

This was a medium-dark roast. It’s been awhile since we’ve reviewed a dark roast, and a long while since we’ve done an Indonesian coffee. The origin was instantly recognizable earth (one person specified loam), leather, pepper or spice, and resin. I liked it much more than I expected I would, given that this isn’t my favorite flavor profile. But the roast was handled correctly, so the characteristic Sumatran taste came through without being all about a “rich” or burnt taste. The score of 2.75 motmots in part reflects one taster who just couldn’t come to grips with an Indonesian coffee; she described it as tasting like “those little hard sesame breadsticks.” I’m going to temper that comment by saying that this coffee will please anybody who does like Indonesian coffees, as it’s probably one of the most approachable I’ve had.

Overall, I was pleased with BuyWell’s selections, the information on their web site, and their commitment to sustainability in their business practices. I was also impressed with the way their roaster handled each bean. I think sometimes working with beans from co-ops, which are likely to vary in quality because they come from so many producers, leads some roasters to over-roast to cover up or even out the impact of the lowest-quality beans. I thought BuyWell honored the origin and the bean and did a really nice job.

You can also check out BuyWell’s blog, Screaming Monkey.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #39.

We did a quick take on Counter Culture’s Finca Nueva Armenia a couple of years ago, as it was used in their Sanctuary shade-grown coffee line. We liked it then, we like it now.

This certified organic selection from the Huehuetenango region in Guatemala is now one of Counter Culture Direct Trade Certified coffees. FNA was founded in the late 1800s. The current owners, the Recinos family, have had it since the 1940s and are now in the fourth generation of coffee farming. The farm went organic in the 1990s — one of the first organic farms in the country.

Coffee grows under multi-tiered shade with 50 species of shade trees recorded on the farm. The farm was very recently qualified for Smithsonian Bird-Friendly status. This is significant, as the farm is quite large — 113 ha. FNA grows mostly bourbon and typica varieties, at 1500 to 1833 m (click on this map for a satellite image).

As a family-owned farm, Finca Neuva Armenia doesn’t qualify for Fair Trade certification, which only covers small farmers that are part of a cooperative. But the Recinos family pays their workers 30% more than surrounding farms during the harvest, including even better rates at the end of the harvest when the per-person picking yield drops, in order to encourage picking for quality as opposed to quantity. And the Counter Culture Direct Trade program pays farmers well above Fair Trade prices.

On the package, this is described as a “classic breakfast coffee. It is certainly that — very well-balanced, light-bodied, the last drop tasting as good as the first without turning bitter in the cup. It was gently sweet, with milk chocolate tones and a short finish. But it is what I like to call a “classic ++”, as there were just these hints of other flavors that made it stand out from the typical classic Central American profile. For several tasters, there was an apple or apricot aspect. One person thought it was “spicy”, but another put his finger tongue on it with “cinnamon”. For me there was also a spicy/savory aroma and flavor, especially when the coffee was prepared as a pour-over or French press, that I really liked. I found myself chasing after that taste in sip after sip. I was never able to describe it more specifically, but sure enjoyed trying! It averaged out at 3.75 motmots; my score is just over 4 motmots.

If you are looking for a really great quality, super-tasting, affordable coffee that is farmed under the most stringent environmental criteria — this is it!

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #23.

Higher Ground is an Alabama roaster that carries only certified Fair Trade, certified organic, and shade grown coffee. Shade coffees are not labeled certified, although some do come from Smithsonian (SMBC) certified sources; unfortunately the fee to use the seal can sometimes be cost-prohibitive to a small roaster in the same way that the certification fee can be unaffordable for farms and co-ops. Because so few Rainforest Alliance certified coffees are also certified organic and Fair Trade, as well as the company being uncomfortable with some of RA’s certifying practices, these have not been on the offering list.  Instead, Higher Ground partner Alex Varner visits source farms (and knows his birds, by the way!), or relies on his importers to evaluate shade. He is actively working to find ways to improve this system, and is surely one of the most committed-to-sustainability and candid roasters I’ve ever corresponded with.

Higher Ground is a member of a number of environmental/sustainability organizations, including 1% For The Planet. Among other initiatives, they also offset their energy usage by purchasing renewable energy, use 100% recycled materials and biodegradable corn plastics as often as possible, and donate their waste as compost to local organic farms (I presume that means coffee waste!). They partner with a number of non-profit organizations, donating a good chunk of the proceeds from special-label blends for fundraising. I am extremely impressed with this company! (More on Higher Ground: Cup of coffee with a conscience — Birmingham Business Journal.)

We tried three of their coffees.

Bolivia. This medium roast is from the familiar CENAPROC co-op in the Yungas region. This co-op has twice won the Cup of Excellence, and grows on land once used for coca production on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Occidental. The co-op has fewer than 90 members, and farms are typically about nine hectares.

Remember that our most highly-rated coffee was Bolivian, the beautiful Cup of Excellence winner Calama Marka, from Paradise Roasters. We’ve yet to find a coffee that really holds a candle to that, but it seems most Bolivians we try are real winners, as was this one.  It had awesome chocolate tones not only in the French press, but even when brewed in our crappy office pot. The first sips were quite bright, then it settles into a mellow medium-bodied cup, with a lingering sweet candy-like aftertaste.  Can coffee be yummy? This is. 3.5 motmots (one person scored it 4.5!).

Mexico. A light roast, hailing from the ISMAM (Indigenas de la Sierra Madre de Motozintla) co-op in Chiapas, made up of over 1200 Mayan farmers. Average coffee plot size is less than four hectares.  Fair Trade and organic certification has made a huge difference in the lives of farmers in Chiapas, an acutely impoverished region.  The higher prices paid for their beans has paid for schools and other community projects, not to mention boosted personal income. Benefits to the environment include improved soil conditions, as well as protecting the forest, because traditionally coffee in Chiapas is grown under native trees.

Mexican coffees are usually pleasant and enjoyable, and this was typically simple and smooth, with mild caramel and vanilla undertones. While not complex, a couple of us found it evocative, bringing to mind a bright, fresh spring morning filled with soft bird song.  In fact, this is our new gig — to match a bird song to the coffees we review. My immediate response to this was House Wren — but not the energetic full song, but the gentle murmurings of a contended wren rummaging through the fresh spring shrubbery. A perfect breakfast coffee, 3 motmots.

Peru. This was a dark roast from the CACVRA co-op (Cooperativa Agraria Cafetalera Valle Rio Apurimac), grown in the Apurimac River valley. The Apurimac is one of the headwaters of the Amazon, and this is considered the southern zone of coffee growing in Peru. This coffee comes from the co-op’s higher elevation farms, at 1300 to 1800 meters, from mostly small holders (less than five hectares), grown under mixed shade which includes various fruit trees.  I’ve cautioned that even organic Peruvian coffee may lean toward shade monoculture, but farmers in the Apurimac Valley are said to use an average of nine shade tree species on their farms. When Varner visited, he found some farms growing coffee under fruit and cacao trees in typical mixed family plots and others growing under various native tree species.

This coffee illustrated to me my complete transformation from a dark roast lover to a light roast fanatic. A year ago, I would have been crazy about this.  Today, I enjoyed it but my tastes have changed so much that I know I didn’t appreciate it fully. However, the folks who are into darker roasts were enthusiastic. The final tally: 2.75 motmots, higher from dark roast fans.

Higher Ground exemplifies the situation with sustainable coffee today. They are trying to minimize their own impact on the environment; striving to work with a hodgepodge of seals and lack of seals and searching for ways to improve transparency in this system; fostering relationships and understanding at the source; and providing great coffee.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #14. A review in our conservation organization coffee series.

Wild Birds Unlimited Birder’s Blend. Certified Fair Trade and Certified Organic. Shade grown, as determined by roaster (see the review on other Songbird Coffees for that story) from regions that typically grow in shade (Matagalpa in Nicaragua and (Lake Atitlan in Guatemala).

Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) is the largest franchise system of retail stores catering to the backyard bird feeding hobbyist in the U.S.  The stores are well-stocked with a lot of very high quality products, and employees, while often not bird experts, are well-trained and knowledgeable about bird feeding and its apparatus. WBU funds the Pathways To Nature grants which fund projects in the National Wildlife Refuge system, and partners with various organizations to support a number of bird conservation initiatives.

One partner is the American Birding Association (ABA), and a portion of the sales of the WBU Birder’s Blend go to the ABA, since this coffee is one in the line of Songbird Coffees, one of which we reviewed here. But since many people may first encounter a Songbird Coffee at a WBU store, we thought we’d review it separately.  It also gives us a chance to try one more in this line of a number of choices.

This was described as a light roast, but it was clearly full city, with all beans shiny with oil and medium-dark brown.  The package had no roast date, but there was a decent amount of bloom in the French press, so the beans were quite fresh.  However, this is unlikely to be the case if purchased at a WBU store, which probably don’t have huge turnover.

The first sip was pleasantly citrusy, very lively and bright. It had a nice sweetness with just a hint of caramel.  I think we were all happily surprised, and we found it better than the Panama blend Songbird Coffee.  Like that coffee, it also did turn a bit bitter as it cooled, and was better in a drip machine, as it lost some of the  brightness and liveliness in a French press. It earned 2.5 motmots, and we think it would turn at least some people on to sustainable coffee, except real cheapos.

An addendum: Curiously, the package uses a portrait of the Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), a warbler that nests over much of North America.  It winters in the southern U.S. and much of Latin America from Panama north (although there are a number of resident subspecies in the tropics).  However, it is a species generally found wet areas, including marshes, reed beds, and mangroves — typical lowland habitats –not habitats where coffee is grown.  I found only a couple references to this species being found on coffee plantations (in Jamaica), where they were actually much more common in sun coffee than shade coffee.  It is certainly not a species characteristic of coffee farms.

Update: As of late 2016, this line of coffee was re-launched and is now certified Bird-Friendly (and therefore also organic) as well as  Fairtrade certified. It is still roasted by Thanksgiving Coffee Company. There are currently four varieties/roast levels.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #12. A review in our conservation organization coffee series.

American Birding Association Song Bird Coffee

The American Birding Association is a nearly 40-year-old group that caters specifically to recreational birders. In recent years, the ABA has focused more on bird conservation. One aspect of that initiative was the promotion of Song Bird Coffee, roasted and sold by Thanksgiving Coffee Company. Fifteen cents of each package sold goes to ABA education and conservation projects, and another fifteen cents is returned to the growers [as of 2016, this has been changed to a percentage of each sale].

Song Bird Coffee is sold in 7 varieties, including decaf and flavored; each package depicts a different North American breeding bird species that winters in Latin American coffee-growing regions. Most coffees are certified organic, many are Fair Trade. They are all advertised as shade-grown, although none of them are certified by Rainforest Alliance or Smithsonian even though the descriptions list “shade grown” under “Certifications.”  The web site says,

Thanksgiving Coffee uses verified shade grown coffee. This means that its CEO, Paul Katzeff, or the importer has personally inspected the farm to insure that the plants are properly grown in the shade.

Well, you all know what I think about that. Song Bird Coffees are only labeled to country of origin, but the web site provides further information. All the Song Bird Coffees I investigated do appear to be sourced from areas that typically do grow under shade. However, they are not labeled as Smithsonian Bird-Friendly, which is the only true shade certification. This is a little unsettling, especially since they are targeted at consumers who may just be entering the sustainable coffee market.

We tried the Panama Blend, in large part because it was sourced from Finca Hartmann, a farm whose coffee we have already reviewed.  This was billed as a medium roast, and the beans were on the dark side of medium brown, with a sheen of oil.  Our impression from other Thanksgiving Coffee varieties is that they tend to roast a little on the dark side, which probably helps make these so acceptable to American consumers.

We found this coffee to be substantially similar to the other Finca Hartmanns: a classic cup, soft and smooth, with no remarkable qualities.  It did not cool very gracefully, becoming a little bitter, but less so when brewed in a drip machine, which is likely how most people will drink it.  In fact, when brewed in a drip through a paper filter, it was at its smoothest and most muted.  Although none of us were blown away by it, we think people would find this a nice step up from grocery store coffee, and it could certainly win some converts. It earned 2.25 motmots.

A couple of other Song Bird Coffees have been reviewed at Coffee Review, and received higher kudos, they are noted in this list of the other varieties of Song Bird Coffee, with source information. Many birders know them by their bird labels, which are given in parentheses, along with a link to information about the bird.

• Decaf (American Redstart) — CEPCO Cooperative, Oaxaca, Mexico.
• *Guatemala (Black-throated Green Warbler) — GUAYA’B Association, Hueheutenango. It is my understanding that half of the crop from this coop is certified organic (as is this Song Bird selection), and at least
  some of the crop is certified Bird-Friendly by Smithsonian, although I don’t think this coffee includes any of these beans.
• Hazelnut (Baltimore Oriole) — Nicaragua (no details, but probably one of the sources below).
• *Costa Rica (Indigo Bunting) — Tarrazu, via Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers.  Reviewed at Coffee Review.
• French Roast (Ovenbird) — Cooperative Solidaridad de Aranjuez, Matagalpa, Nicaragua.
• Nicaraguan (Wilson’s Warbler) — SOPPEXCCA Cooperative.

*If I had to pick one of these as the most biodiversity-friendly, it would be the Guatemalan. If I wanted to avoid one, it would be the Costa Rican. Real shade coffee is uncommon in Costa Rica; about 30% of Costa Rican production is sun coffee, and about 50% more is in shade monoculture…they allow very minimal shade to be labeled “shade coffee.”  I was unable to determine a precise source for this coffee, although the importer notes the varieties are bourbon, typica (both those require some shade), cataui, and caturra (both of those used in CR for sun coffee). I’ll be writing more about Costa Rica in the future.

Every month, I like to try out a new shade-grown coffee.  This month, it was from the Good Coffee Company of South Carolina, which sells only Rainforest Alliance certified coffee. Since their coffees are available in 8 oz. packages, I tried two: El Salvador and their Costa Rica/Brazil blend.  I wish more roasters would offer small packages like this for folks to try, especially online vendors.  I don’t like to buy several pounds of coffee if I might not like it, not to mention I can’t drink that much in a week and hate to evaluate stale coffee. But just buying one pound and paying shipping is pretty pricing.  The option of buying several small bags is really appealing to me.

I ordered these beans as dark roasts.  A peek at the beans when they arrived showed a lighter color than what I’m used to seeing in a “dark roast.”  Only a few beans with oils barely showing on the surface, and a flat, milk-chocolate brown color.  The roast description on the Good Coffee site is a close match to this…I should have read it first! I tried the El Salvador first, noted to be of mild acidity and medium body.  I thought it was really nice when prepared as a strong cup in an Aeropress.

The Costa Rica/Brazil blend was described as an “Experimental blend. This product is a blend of our 05-06 crop RA Costa Rican SHB and Brazil NY2 Screen 19 coffees with a dash of RA Guatemalan and Kenya AA for balance.”  The beans were roasted to an identical medium, not dark, roast like the El Salvador, but I actually liked it a little better, and it was especially good in the Aeropress.   Both of these coffees “aged” better than a dark roast, I must admit, whether cooking in the pot or sitting in a thermal mug.  Since I like strong coffees, I actually liked them better a little old.  They also made a fine blend with a darker roast.