Coffee Shrub
Region | Cautivo, San Ignacio, Cajamarca |
---|---|
Processing | Wet Process (Washed) |
Drying Method | Patio Sun-Dried |
Arrival date | February 2018 Arrival |
Lot size | 30 |
Bag size | 69 |
Packaging | GrainPro liner |
Grade | SHG EP |
Appearance | .4 d/300gr, 16-18 Screen |
Roast Recommendations | City+ to Full City+ |
Recommended for Espresso | Yes |
The village of El Cautivo is located in one of two coffees we bought from the San Ignacio District, Cajamarca, a region known for producing specialty grade coffee. The groupin El Cautivo are one of several who together have formed a coffee farmer's alliance, "Finca Santuario". The goal of this association is to aggregate resources in order to not only gain the small farmer transparent access to the global market, but also work as a collective to increase their coffee's value by planting cultivars with cup quality in mind, and improve harvest techniques as well as processing and drying conditions. This is a fully washed coffee, meaning that after most of the fruit is mechanically removed from the seed, the remaining sticky layer of mucilage is broken down by overnight fermentation and then washed away the next day. Most of the farmers wet-process and dry their coffee at home, and then deliver their dry pachment to the local association arm in town where it is stored until export. This is one of four lots of coffee we bought from Finca Santuario this year, most of which we're finding to be versatile in the roaster, as well as working well in many brew methods (this one is a fantastic espresso!).
Loose leaf tea comes to mind when grinding a City roast of this coffee, a smell that's like popping a box of bagged black tea. You get a sense of caramel malt sweetness and bittering coffee tones too, and City+ strikes a nice balance between these two characteristics. City+ and Full City is where I found the most balanced cups in general, a bittersweet cocoa aroma that plays out in the finish, with an undercurrent of raw sugar finding equal footing. I also roasted to City level, but found the coffee's sweetness to be underwhelming. But middle roasts is where El Cautivo opens up to flavors of brown sugar and a raw Brazil nut, and an interesting sweet yam note in the finish. Full City shows a delicious hazelnut chocolate flavor like Nutella. I enjoyed an espresso shot with my FC roast, finding flavors of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and creamy nut tones in the long aftertaste.