Overview
Monthly Features
Filter (Drip)
Pour-Over
Holiday Feature Drinks
- The Cardinal Mocktail
- Rosemary Mocha
Coffee Fun Fact
After the coffee fruit is harvested from the tree, there are many ways to alter its final flavor profile before it makes it to your cup. This can happen at origin, at the roastery, or even in how it’s brewed at home. One of the main forms of flavor manipulation comes in the form of coffee processing. At Aldea, we primarily roast coffees that are Washed (aka wet) processed, but we also carry a relatively rare coffee from Honduras called Natural (aka dry) processed. Unlike Washed coffees—the most common form of processing, where the coffee cherries are briefly fermented, pulped, rinsed (washed) and then dried—natural processed coffees undergo an intensive drying process where the fruit is left on the seed (bean) and solar dried (pictured above) for about 5-6 weeks before it is milled and processed to the bean as we know it. This makes for a unique and delicious cup of coffee that is often big-bodied, fruit-forward, and deeply rich.
If you want to try one of our awesome naturals, I highly recommend Ruth Reyes’ coffee which will be released this month. Read on to learn more about Ruth.
A Letter from the Founders of Aldea Coffee
November 2024 marks the 15th anniversary of Aldea Development, our sister entity and the inspiration for Aldea Coffee in West Michigan. Aldea, Spanish for village or community, began as a nonprofit in 2009. Focused on supporting small-scale farmers through microfinancing in La Union, Lempira, Honduras, Aldea Development was started by a small group of dedicated individuals (Andrew, Patrick, Mike, Bret, Dan, Charlie and Jeremy), seeking to make an impact on the world.
After settling in the community of La Union, this group took on a few hundred microloan clients. They listened and learned about the obstacles farmers faced to find sustainable growth and stability as small lot farmers in La Union. It soon became clear that coffee—the primary cash crop of Honduras—was the key to best supporting the community.
Aldea Coffee was started in 2015 to provide a consistent outlet for all that coffee. Now, almost ten years later, with the opening of two cafes, a solar-powered micro-roastery, and a B Corp Certification, Aldea Coffee is the main outlet for the annual harvest of specialty coffee for the producers of La Union.
We wanted to take this opportunity to personally thank you for your support over the years. It is not an overstatement to say the successes we have achieved are a direct result of your support.
Below is a list of Aldea Development’s specific accomplishments since 2009:
We are so proud of our community and all we have accomplished–all of it, together.
In 15 years, we have refined our impact in the community of La Union. As our anniversary approaches, we are working toward a fundraising goal of $50,000 to continue the future success of Aldea Development. We are asking you to consider contributing to this goal.
Though we remain a small organization, your contribution will have a direct impact in building upon a solid foundation of selfless work and dedication for years to come.
If you want to learn more or donate, click this link.
Thank you for your continued support,
- Jeremy & Andrew
NOVEMBER RELEASES & RUNOUTS
November Runouts
Bayron Castellanos | Estimated Runout Date: November 20.
November Releases
Ruth Reyes | Release Date: November 22, 2024.
This is the third year in a row that we are highlighting Ruth Reyes’s natural processedcoffee in retail, and wow, is it awesome! Ruth Reyes and her husband Ramon Enamorado are pioneers of natural processing in their region of Honduras, a rare processing method for their relatively wet climate (see Coffee Fun Fact above to learn more about “naturals”). It’s a fantastic harvest this year, and I’ve been anxious to share it. Our team was blown away by its honey-like richness and notes of tropical fruit, characteristic raspberry, and balancing vanilla and milk chocolate. I chose to showcase these unique origin flavors, roasting it on the lighter side this year.
Try it on Pour Over or grab a bag of Ruth’s coffee starting on November 22nd.
15 Year Anniversary Blend | Release Date: November 15, 2024 | Available for a limited time only.
In the spirit of the holidays and in celebration of the 15th Anniversary of our nonprofit that started it all, we created a blend to showcase and honor the remarkable work of Aldea Development and the coffee farmers of La Union that make all of what we do at Aldea Coffee possible. With rich notes of chocolate fudge, almonds, coconut, and stone fruit, this is the greatest hits album of coffee from the Lempira region of Honduras.
From Experiment to Final Product
Crafted from Single Producer coffees from our partners in La Union, both washed- and natural-processed, the Anniversary Blend was made with balance and fanfare in mind.
Ames Goldman and I started by tasting several coffees alone and then together, blending them in various ratios (equal parts, then 3:2:1, then 2:2:1 etc.) until we found a very balanced, exciting, and crushable cup of coffee. This was exciting but only the beginning: wet blending like this is all just a controlled experiment. It does not represent a final product, just a framework.
So, from there we tried roasting the coffees together to a particular profile (pre-roast blending)—light, medium, dark—and then tried roasting them separately and blending afterward (post-roast blending). Eventually after a few sample roasts, a couple more tasting sessions and extensive notes, we found the ticket: a post-roast blend of sweet, comforting, and balanced proportions.
We are all very excited about this blend and this opportunity to celebrate the incredible work of the team at Aldea Development and the talented coffee producers they have supported over the last 15 years and counting.
We have a limited stock of this unique blend—get it while you can! It will be available online with 1-pound or 5-pound options, and in the cafes by the bag and from the drip brewer throughout the holidays.
Cheers!
Happy Holidays and coffee on,
