September Roaster's Journal

 

My buddy in Colorado just sent me a picture of a bull elk standing under a crab apple near Estes Park. 12 points, cinnamon sides and dreadlocked with mud. Super majestic. Also, super autumnal. The bull had just wallowed; the fall rut is on over there.

Fall happens faster at high altitude, but our leaves are already changing, the days are growing shorter and cooler, and the school zone lights are flashing again. Pumpkin spice (or maple spice) season is upon us, y’all--and, sure, football--and thus a brief calm before the holiday rush. I’m stoked (big fan of fall here)! I hope you are, too.

Other than our bi-annual delivery of amazing Colombian coffee (including our EA Decaf) from our friends at Coffee Quest arriving next week, the roastery has been relatively quiet, save for the usual happenings of roasting and bagging and cupping. Big shoutout to Sam, Michael, Ellie, and Brayden for helping us keep things moving forward at the warehouse. They’ve been a huge addition to the production staff since joining. Beyond that, I do have a new coffee in the works, and I’m very excited about it. Looking at a mid-to-late October release. Stay tuned.

 

 

None! No new releases, nor runouts. We are sitting with our current, stellar line-up until about mid-October when said mystery coffee from this month’s tasting exercise will make its debut! Again, stay tuned.

 

 

It’s Ruth’s turn to shine! Ruth Reyes’s coffee became a quick hit last year. This is the second year in a row that we are highlighting Ruth's natural process coffee in retail--and boy is it awesome. If you recall: Ruth along with her husband, Ramon Enamorado, are the pioneers of natural processed coffee in their region of Honduras and have been producing coffee for Aldea since 2017. Some of you had a chance to cup Ruth's coffee with me in the profile trials, and all of us were blown away by its honey-like sweetness and bright, fruity flavors of pineapple and raspberry. I chose to highlight these unique characteristics this year, updating the profile to be a bit brighter overall.

Please let customer’s know, like for all of our natural processed coffees, that it is best to let Ruth’s coffee rest about 1-2 weeks after the roast date before enjoying. Naturals produce more C02 than a washed coffee after roasting, and that gas can bind up extraction. In general, it’s best to let coffee “degas,” or release some of that carbon dioxide before enjoying (this phenomenon is why there are degas valves on our bags. They would explode otherwise). More degas time = more goodness (up to about a 5 weeks post-roast for natural processed coffees).

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to try the mystery coffee and do the tasting exercise (if you did)! I hope you enjoyed the process. Your notes are always very helpful as we work on a profile for a new coffee.

Without further ado, you all tried coffee from a new producer in the Aldea line-up. His name is Walberto Alvarado! When I first sampled his coffee, it may have been the sweetest coffee I’ve had yet. Light brown sugar, almond, pear, and rich milk chocolate stood out to me while cupping. Since then, I’ve been chasing that sweetness in a larger, production batch, aiming for a light-medium roast, which is what you all tried. Since I am still tweaking the profile, I look forward to seeing your notes and adjusting accordingly.

We are seeking more info about Walberto currently. I’ll give you the full download upon the retail release!

Thanks for reading. As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Coffee on folks,

-Scott