News Archive
Spring is in the Air ... or on a Boat!
5-11-12
In recent years, we've increased our focus on coffee seasonality to the point that we roast each year's harvest of a coffee for about 6 months after it arrives, then eagerly await it next year. With the return of Finca Nueva Armenia a few weeks ago, coffees have begun to arrive from the northern hemisphere, and the next few weeks and months will bring an incredible influx.
Coffee Buyer & Quality Manager Tim Hill posted an update about upcoming coffees along with relevant photos on flickr, sharing his unique insight into coffees as varied as a Finca El Puente Yellow Catuai Microlot from Honduras to a Thiriku Peaberry lot from Kenya. These northern hemisphere arrivals reflect the amazing breadth of coffees (sometimes from a single farm) made possible by the long-term relationships our coffee department works to strengthen each year, as well as by their persistent pursuit of new and exciting coffees.
Perennial favorites like Finca Mauritania and Idido Natural Sundried are on their way, along with soon-to-be favorites like Las Milpas and a tiny 400 pound lot of Santa Elena Kenya Type Microlot. Read Tim's coffee update on flickr for details.
Thanks,
Nathan
Nathan
A New Video for Iced Coffee Season
5-4-12
As spring becomes summer in North Carolina, a lot of folks here in our Durham office start thinking about iced coffee. (The Atlanta team is already ahead of us in this respect.) While we're firmly in "sweet tea" country, we prefer the delicious results of brewing coffee directly onto ice to lock in flavors and aromatics. Clean, fresh, sweet, and aromatic, iced coffee made by cooling the coffee immediately avoids oxidized flavors that other brewing methods can produce.
Bright and clean coffees like El Gavilán (Ecuador) are well-suited to this Japanese iced coffee brewing method, but any coffee can reveal interesting and enjoyable characteristics when prepared this way. Ask US Barista Championship finalist Travis Beckett of DC's Peregrine Espresso: he used Japanese-style iced Idido Natural Sundried in his signature beverage.
The Counter Culture Pourover Brewer which serves us so well throughout the year very handily accommodates handcrafting perfect, refreshing iced coffee. Check out our new How to Make Japanese Iced Coffee instructional video to see what we mean.
Best,
Nathan
Nathan
Do Microlots Matter to Producers?
5-1-12
Coffee Buyer and Sustainability Manager Kim Elena Ionescu and Independent Evaluation Consultant Hannah Popish worked together on an enlightening study of how coffee farmers value microlots.
The information presented in "Do Microlots Matter to Producers" derives from a study conducted by Counter Culture Coffee and published in March 2012 titled, "The Social Impacts of Microlots: A Coffee Cooperative Case Study in Ihuamaca, Peru." The study aimed to measure the social impacts of microlot selection on members of the CENFROCAFE cooperative in five Peruvian communities where Counter Culture Coffee has purchased coffee over the last five years.
Read more about the microlots study and see the results in the Sustainability section of our website.
Thanks,
Nathan
Nathan
More Articles...
- 2012 Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year
- Katie Carguilo Wins the 2012 United States Barista Championship
- Bienvenidos a Finca Nueva Armenia
- Organic Agriculture Goes Beyond Coffee
- Storytelling Beyond the Cup
- A Little Help from our Friends: Tairora Cherry Project
- Bienvenidos a La Golondrina
- Regional Barista Competitions Wrap Up This Weekend
- A Hand Grinder for Home or Travel
- Creating Quality One Small Lot at a Time
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