Our first Nicaraguan of the season and we knew this was destined for our Familiar programme from the first slurp - if coffee could give you a comforting cuddle, this would be the one holding you close. 

The Ayarza growing region is an almost perfect environment for producing high quality coffee situated at 1,400 to 2,000masl with rich volcanic soils, ideal amounts of rainfall and a wide community of smallholder generational coffee producers contributing to consistent cherries year after year. Most specialty-grade coffee originating from here passes through our importers’ centralised wet mill for processing and grading with this washed lot offering the crispest example of what Santa Rosa is capable of.

Reliably delicious and easy-going with the silkiest texture we've come across; the perfect antidote to being trapped by bed.

We taste

Black: Caramel, shortbread, lime
Milk: Milk chocolate, biscuit, citrus

Guatemala never disappoints when it comes to Familiar coffees and this washed number from Lago Ayarza is absolutely no exception. Tasting like a hot chocolate fudge smoothie with a body to match, we've yet to find such a widely enjoyed coffee along our roasting journey.

Guaranteed delicious defined.

We taste

Black: Chocolate, caramel, fudge
Milk: Milk chocolate, dulce de leche, honeycomb

Very rarely do we feature two coffees from the same farm in one growing season however the experimental lots coming from Juan Pablo Velez at Finca La Luisa are so wild we couldn’t help ourselves. Similar in profile and process to Strawbmisu, our other Finca La Luisa co-ferment, this lot substitutes the strawberry addition for coconut and lemon to produce a cup bursting with tropical flavour and a silky texture to match.

Post-harvest the hand-picked cherries undergo a double carbonic maceration, a technique borrowed from the world of wine-making that boosts natural sweetness and acidity through anoxic fermentation. First the cherries are fermented alone in CO2 flushed tanks for 120 hours to preserve their inherent characteristics before pulping and a second 72 hour fermentation in a similarly CO2 rich environment together with fresh coconut and lemon. Finally, the cherries are dried via a golden honey process that again accentuates sweetness and mellows the additional citrus notes from the lemon co-fermentation.

The resultant cup is silky, sparkling and creamy - almost reminiscent of piña coladas on the beach, especially when brewed over ice. We’re very much looking forward to sampling the experiments Juan has planned for the next years’ harvest and bringing you even more out-of-this-world coffee.

We taste

Black: Lemon radler, coconut, silky 
Milk: Coconut milk, lemon curd, cream soda

Would we even be a northern roastery without a coffee that tastes like Vimto? Good job we found this exceptional Peru that reminds us of those classic blackcurrant-y Kenyan profiles with an additional candied fruit acidic kick.

Hailing from the northwestern corner of Peru at the tip of the Andes mountain range, Norbil Perez’s farm La Chirimoya sits at the incredible altitude of 2,250masl allowing for slowed cherry development throughout the growing season, bringing sweetness and complexity to the cup. Processing only adds to the complexity with solely the densest, highest quality cherries progressing from harvest to pulping and a 92 hour wet fermentation stage before final washing and 17-18 days drying on raised African beds.

This is a coffee that we’ve genuinely struggled to brew badly; espresso, batch filter or pourover - it excels at all of them. If sweetness, complexity and versatility are what you’re looking for, these are the beans for you.

We taste

Black: Blackcurrant, pear, banana
Milk: Blackberry jam, raisin, almond

Summer time means strawberries and this carbonic maceration strawberry co-ferment from our friends at Finca La Luisa brings some serious fruit to the table. Imagine a massive bowl of the sweetest strawbs you've ever had covered in a caramel chocolate glaze with a dollop of greek yoghurt on top and you're pretty much there.

An outstandingly delicious cup however you have it.

We taste

Black: Strawberry laces, caramel, yoghurt
Milk: Milk chocolate, strawberry compote, cream

Last year we stumbled upon Finca Las Garzas from a surprise selection of samples that eventually became our delightfully weird Balsamic Glaze and we've been eagerly awaiting this years' harvest since we said goodbye to that savoury goodness.

This year brings less savoury and way more elegance as evidenced by this fruity little number. Imagine if your favourite peach iced tea and coffee hooked up one late summer evening and this is probably the concoction you'd end up with.

We taste

Black: Peach, honey, lemon 
Milk: Peach candy rings, tropical fruit punch