With spring has come a change in Stumptown's Coffee offerings. Here's a tasting of four new Latin to choose a successor to Stumptown Guatemala Antigua Buenavista (Direct Trade). Ultimately we only choose one coffee to be the Stumptown office coffee representative for Latin Delegation. Below are notes on the new Stumptown Coffee.
Bolivia Buenavista (Direct Trade, Organic)
Altitude: 1600-1830m Varietals: Caturra, Catuai and Typica Appearance: Milk Chocolate coloration with remarkable uniformity. Taste: Muscat Grape, Macademia, Caramel and the Latin-american standard, milk chocolate.
Columbia El Jordan (Direct Trade)
Altitude: 1500-1800m Varietals: Caturra, Typica and Columbia Appearance: Light to medium chestnut brown. Variations in size from heirloom-small to average. Some Pea-berries. Bouquet: Sweet stone-fruit aromas Taste: Simultaneously sweet and tart. Strong flavors of lemon, green apple and salted caramel.
Columbia Finca San Ignacio (Direct Trade)
Altitude: 1600-1670m Varietals: Caturra and Typica Appearance: Medium to Dark coloration withmodest variation in size from small to medium sized beans. Cleanly washed. Bouquet: Floral with hints of apple Cider Taste: A sweet mouthful with honey, cane sugar and caramel infused into a milk-chocolate cup.
Peru Cecovasa (Direct Trade Organic)
Altitude: 1200-2000 Varietals: Typica Appearance: On average, smaller beans with numerous pea-berries. Moderately washed with a medium-brown coloration with darker patches. Bouquet: A nutty bouquet of nutmeg and toasted almonds. Taste: Flavors of Shortbread and peach are balanced against notes of bittersweet cocoa and white wine.
Conclusions: Stumptown has delivered a pretty strong lineup for the coming season. The advent of more organic coffee offerings seems to have lead to an increase in bean shape and size variety, but not to a change in qualtiy. For more information on these coffees please take a look at the Stumptown Website. Ultimately we chose the Peruvian Cecovasa (Direct Trade, Organic), for its complicated sweet and savory notes. The Cecovasa will make a great office coffee and provides a wonderfully nuanced cup out of a Fetco Brewer. Stay tuned; next week I'll post our review on the new African Beans.