New Four Chairs v6

With the arrival of the new harvests from Central America, it also means that our seasonal espresso is due for another update to freshen things up a little. Next up on our the list of new coffees are 3 lovely gems from El Salvador and Nicaragua.

For those who are familiar with our sourcing philosophy, we hardly conform to some of the traditional ways of how one creates their blend as each version of our Four Chairs can taste quite different from the other. Due to our tiny size, things can get quite hairy when it comes to sourcing for new coffees during every new harvest season. First, we need to seek out what’s tasty on the cupping table and follow our gut feel on how each of them might work with the other coffee that we have or might not have selected, and follow that up with a forecast of how much coffee we will use and sell over the next half-year. Too little sales, we might end up with coffees stacked so high that it reaches the 2nd floor of our HDB block. If things get sold out too quickly, we might end up with the other problem of running out too soon.

For this new version, we have gone down a fairly familiar path for those folks who have been following us closely with what we have been serving. First up is one of our favourite farms from the Mierisch family in Nicaragua. This Red Catuai lot from Finca San Jose is proving to be a standout everytime we get to taste it with other of its sister farms. The immense sweetness, coupled with the cherry and peach acidity really give this blend a wonderful headstart. Second coffee in the blend is a new farm that took us by surprise on the cupping table, a Red Bourbon lot from Finca El Condor. With the farm bought over by Carlos Saca only last year, it seems like the groundwork is well in place by its previous owners. With Beneficio Tuxpal providing the right expertise in processing, we are expecting this farm to get even better in the coming years. Plenty of chocolate sweetness in a clean and very balanced cup, this coffee has provided the structure to this blend. Last but not least, we headed back to visit our incredibly hospitable friend and producer - Gilberto Baraona of Los Pirineos in the Eastern end of El Salvador. We arrived much later this year and all his coffees have already been harvested and processed. Although this also meant that we got to cup everything that he has and yet to be sold! For the 2nd year running, we have been very impressed with what Gilberto has been doing with his coffees. This lot that we have chosen is the “Cumbre” lot, located at the highest part of the farm. Clean, sweet, with a creamy milk chocolate, a taste that is slightly different from the Western growing regions, we had to slot this coffee just to round up the blend just the way it should be - tasty!

So here we are:

40% Finca San Jose (Nicaragua)

• Region: Jinotega
• Producer: Mierisch Family
• Variety: Red Catuai
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1250 - 1400 masl, 
• Landed: June 2015

40% Finca El Condor (El Salvador)

• Region: Apaneca Ilamatepec Region
• Producer: Carlos Saca
• Variety: Bourbon
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1200 - 1350 masl, 
• Landed: July 2015

20% Los Pirineos (El Salvador)

• Region: Tecapa-Chinameca
• Producer: Gilberto Baraona
• Variety: Bourbon Elite
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1450 masl, 
• Landed: July 2015

Available in store or on web.