Why We Love This Coffee:
Edwin has combined the generational knowledge learned from his father and grandfather, a university degree in agronomy, and a Coffee Quality Institute Q-Grader Certification to produce coffees that are simply unlike any others. This particular lot was harvested at over 20 degrees Brix and soaked in water for 2 hours to clean and sort. The cherries were then put in a low oxygen system for 24 hours at 18-22 degrees C to promote specific microbial growth, which then control which chemical reactions take place during fermentation, which has a dramatic impact on the final flavor profile of the coffee.
The cherries then underwent carbonic maceration for 72 hours, from which a mossto (coffee cherry juice) with a pH of 4.0 and 12.5 degrees Brix was collected. The mossto was inoculated with a specific yeast in a starter culture, and powdered Cascade hops were added.
The cherries were pulped to the black honey level and macerated with the mossto/yeast/hops for 72 hours before being sundried in a greenhouse with controlled conditions for 10 days. Finally it is stored at 18 degrees C with 65% relative humidity before export.
Unsurprisingly, if you’ve ever tasted any of Edwin’s coffees before, the results are sublime. When hot, it tastes like mango, strawberry, pineapple, and flowers, but then it cools into lemon-lime and hops. Just like your favorite IPA!
Because of the more significant breakdown of the cell structure during the processing, you don't need to rest it for very long at all, so we recommend getting started brewing right away!
Water Recommendation:
For those of you who want to get every last drop of excellence out of this coffee, our preferred brewing water is full-strength Third Wave Water (130ppm GH, 40ppm KH).
Full-strength Third Wave Water gives the most intensity of flavor and the most hoppy IPA character
Half-strength Third Wave Water (65ppm GH, 20ppm KH - very similar to Lance Hedrick’s Light & Bright water) gives a less intense, more acid-driven cup profile. The lemon and lime really shine more than the other fruit notes with this water.
Rao/Perger water (90ppm GH, 42ppm KH) is also excellent, probably our second favorite water for this coffee. As is often the case when we do these different water cuppings for our Black Label series coffees, this water gives the most complex flavor profile but it’s just slightly less sweet than full-strength TWW.
Philadelphia water (Baxter water supply) filtered with a three-stage carbon system with a little softening (somewhat similar to what a Brita pitcher would do) still gives an amazing cup profile, very similar to Rao/Perger water, but the finish fades a bit quicker than it does with Rao/Perger water.
If this is all very confusing—check out our blog post on water for coffee!
