Over the last ten years, I've roasted and cupped countless small-farm coffees from the Huehuetanango and Quetzaltenango regions of Guatemala. I enjoy these coffees because they tend to be lively, flavorful, bold, and bright. This peculiar varietal from Finca Agua Tibia, however, is infinitely more delicate. Palo Alto Azul - literally translated as the "tall blue tree" - is a much more primitive process coffee; all sorting is done by hand, yielding subtle undertones and a mild acidity.

Guatemala is home to some of the most clearly "flavor-identifiable" micro-climate coffees in the world. This is due to the combination of young active volcanic soils, extremely high altitudes, bright direct sunshine, and early morning clouds. We also have the dense, early morning fogs, heavy dew, and steep mountainsides that create rare micro-climates. The result is a highly distinguished cup of coffee, with a quiet complexity. I truly love this coffee, and the Guatemalan currently on our shelves is among the highest quality from the region we have to offer this year.

Roast Profile: Smooth, Rich, Full Bodied. Medium Dark Roast Color. Sweetness: Well Balanced Bold Flavors.

El Salvadorian Cerro Las Ranas coffee has been finely cultivated by the Salaverria family for over one-hundred years. Nurtured in a highly volcanic region in western El Salvador - the Apaneca-Llamatepec Mountain Range - these high-altitude coffee beans slowly absorb nutrients from the enriched volanic soils, resulting in exceptionally rare flavors.

Situated on the mountaintop above the coffee plantation is a lagoon whose inhabitants inspired the farm name and the coffee it produces, Cerro Las Ranas, which means "The Hill of Frogs." The coffees produced here are grown with extreme respect for the environment, harvested and milled in accordance with Rainforest Alliance guidelines.

This exotic varietal is grown under a rich canopy of trees under ideal conditions for elegant, specialty coffees. Constant breezes, full sunchine, and cool, dry nights contribute to the slow, elegant evolution of these cloud-forest coffees. Allowed to mature slowly and naturally, the ripe coffee cherries are harvested, wet-processed, and sun-dried, locking-in the essential oils of the coffee bean. This results in an extremely rich seed full of dazzling aromas and surprising flavors.

Pulped naturals are stripped of the cherry skin and placed on drying patios with the mucilage intact. The beans are raked several times a day in direct sunlight until properly dried, lending to a brighter, juicer, sweeter finish. Balanced acidity, medium-bodied, this is an incredibly solid coffee. Enjoy the deep, rich flavors and soothing fragrances; a pleasant, earthy aroma with hints of cocoa and cinnamon in the cup. Enjoy!

It has been a year since we've offered this unusually enjoyable peaberry. The country of Papua New Guinea is speckled with a constellation of small-farm "Coffee Gardens," each cultivating these beautifully original beans, usually in the rolling hills and mountaintops. There's a unique wild note in this particular cup and - compared with it's other Indonesian coffees - there's an unexpected sweetness here.

Papua New Guinea is the second-largest island on earth. It lies just north of Australia and is split down the center into two nation-states: Papua New Guinea (on the east) and Irian Jaya (on the west). Richly endowed with natural resources, Papua New Guinea has one of the most rugged and spectacular topographies in the world - high peaks, active volcanoes, frequent earthquakes, and an extreme rainy season. Coffee cultivation began here after the introduction of coffee seeds from Jamaica's Blue Mountain region.

The coffee industry relies on tens of thousands of small farms. In the 1950's, policies encouraged the establishment of village coffee gardens, especially in the highland regions where the rich soils and high elevation provided ideal growing conditions. Two million people - nearly half of the population - are engaged in the coffee industry. The typical village-based grower makes use of rudimentary, traditional growing methods - mean that no artificial fertilizers or chemical sprays are used. These growers own their farms outright; input consists mainly of their own personal labor and the implementation of few simple tools. The Papua New Guinea coffee farmer is very much his own man, incredibly independent in an increasingly complex world.

Peculiar conditions - including wildly erratic weather patterns and a forced early harvest - has resulted in reduced coffee yields in Sumatra. This is also a staple coffee, and people have been clambering to keep it stocked in their coffee shops and on roasters' shelves. Sumatran coffees are among the most sought-after, unique, and rewarding coffees on the market.

Sumatran coffees are processed in an unusual way. For most washed varietals, the coffee is picked and the cherry skin is pulped off - fermentation is complete when the fruit surrounding the parchment of the bean has completely dissolved, at which point the fruit-free parchment is rinsed off. The beans are dried, shipped, stored, and eventually roasted.

In most places, the seed is dried in the parchment and the parchment is milled off of the beans when they're dry - this simply is not so in Sumatra.

In Sumatra, the bean is still very wet when the parchment is hulled. The bean comes out of the parchment quite soft, white, and spongy. These wet soft beans are then sun-dried on raised screens. Typically, drying conditions in Sumatra include on-and-off sessions of fierce tropical sun, interrupted regularly by torrential thunder showers. This slow, inconsistent drying is what provides the essence of a Sumatra Mendheling, both in flavor and appearance. The coffee is incredibly musky and, preferring a darker roast, it is the perfect early-morning brew.

Timor-Leste (East Timor) gained independence in 2000 after a 25-year-long occupation by Indonesia. And while progress has been made, the region is still quite distressed. I'm always excited to offer fascinating varietals from places liks this - not solely because of the cup complexity - but because each purchase I make supports a highly fragile economy. The coffee industry in Timor is the most stable, and the sale of this coffee directly supports Cooperativa Café Timor - an organic growing association - and its dedicated farmers and their families.

Maubesse is a higher-altitude coffee compared to other Timor varietals, and it's also a little brighter - simply put, the quality of this coffee is definitely up. The cooperative mills have invested in new organic facilities, wet-processing equipment, and improved standards of receiving and sorting only ripe, red coffee cherries. This cup has an initial hint of its Indonesian roots with a delicate touch of woody flavor and slightly pronounced sweet herbal aroma.

This is a distinctly traditional Panamanian coffee from a small family farm in Chiriqui, Panama. Finca la Florentina is dedicated to the preservation of traditional, organic growing methods which yield distinct, high quality coffee beans with complex flavors and enchanting aromas. Operating under the auspices of Casa Ruiz, Finca la Florentina has contributed greatly to the local community with socially progressive, economically sustainable, and ecologically friendly farming methods. Three generations have dedicated their lives to natural-system growing methods, producing the finest Central American coffee beans on the market.

What was once a single farm in Boquete is now a family owned & operated coffee crafting enterprise. Over three-hundred small-scale family farms partner with Casa Ruiz to process, roast, and market their coffee. The headquarters, located in the Boquete Valley at the skirts of the Baru Volcano, occupies Western Panama. The Ruiz Family is dedicated to cultivating the most consistently flavorful coffee possible, to maintaining a healthy natural environment, and to the sustainability of the farms and region.past.

This natural, dry-process coffee is one of the most exquisitely cultivated beans we have ever served. The cooperative, Operation Cherry Red, incorporates small family farms and regional micro-lots, producing coffees solely from fully ripened, red coffee cherries. This leads to a greater price for the farmers, and a superior cup quality. The ripe cherries are plucked directly from the tree and immediately laid out on raised screens to dry naturally in the sun. The beans are rotated on these African Drying Beds several times a day, locking the flavors inside.

Prolonged contact between the ripe fruit and the coffee seed produces a wonderfully complex flavor experience. In fact, I would go as far as to say that this coffee - sun-dried and infused with fruit - has a wine-like quality to it. The raw beans are moist and musky with a beautiful aroma of bananas and citrus fruit. Once roasted, an unexpectedly thin body provides for a clean and fruity cup.

The whole husk and parchment is removed in one step and all defective seeds are carefully removed by hand. This is what makes Ethiopian coffees so alluring and glorious - with no wet-mill equipment to sort the coffee, everything is done with the hand and with the eye. The result of this labor-intensive process is nothing short of sublime.

This Sidamo has beautiful floral characteristics, unusual among Ethiopian varietals. It's flavors are lively with a brilliant, well-defined acidity. The body is thrilling & light, complimented by a bouquet of charming aromas. The scent is strong, with pulp-fruitiness and a lemon-blossom sweetness, complete with delicate hints of dried peach and lemon rinds. Expect subtle accents of spicy ginger & clove, which serve to round-out the unusually powerful citrus quality, along with wine-fruit in the aftertaste and a mild cocoa finish. As it cools, the chocolate evolves, resulting in an intensified aftertaste akin to confectioners' chocolate. To taste this coffee is absolute joy!

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and Harar is the wild cousin of other, typically thinner-bodied Ethiopian varieties. In fact, it's regarded by many as one of the great and distinctive experiences of the coffee world. The arabica tree originated across the Red Sea in western Ethiopia, on high plateaus where country people continue to harvest the wild berries. Your Queen City Harar is a high-quality longberry with a distinguished balance between the classic, crisp sweetness & mild earthiness. It's dry-processed, where the ripe red coffee cherry is picked from the tree and put out in the sun to dry, fruit and all. The traditional method of natural or dry processing promotes a tart quality, as well as a delicate and mellow fruitiness. Often, the fruit is allowed to dry directly on the tree.

A common concern when cupping Harars is the possibility of an "irrational exuberance" in the flavor - this is a direct result of the crude process of this variety, which allows little to no mechanized intervention. Everything is done with the eye and with the hand. Beans are individually sorted, hulled out of their husk by hand, and pounded in a wooden mortar rather than by machine. The unpredictable nature of Harars, in my opinion, is what makes them so wonderful; they make up in character what they lack in perfection.

The result of this old-world process is an exotic and enjoyable flavor. Queen City Harar is wild, fruity, and complexly sweet, with a slightly fermented aftertaste. You will taste a hint cocoa as well, along with a touch of cinnamon. Enjoy these wild cup flavors and the brilliant acidity, complete with a rough, fruity quality.

Brazilian coffee is intriguing, to say the least. It's smooth, complex body and milk-chocolate color has led many experts to describe it as among the more romantic of the Latin American coffees. And in the canon of intriguing coffee destinations, the Mogiana region is especially fascinating. It's named after the rail line that was established here in 1882, whose chief purpose was to expand Brazil's coffee industry. It ran crops from the central plantations further into the northeast of São Paulo State. It never fully recovered from the Depressions, but was taken over by the state in 1952, and ultimately absorbed by FEPASA, a state-run railroad company.

Along with luscious, velvety textures and a unique sweetness, many coffee lovers are pleased to learn about Brazil's remarkably strict employment policies. Every employee has a "work passport," complete with photo identification. Before hiring, an employer must provide three months of sick pay up-front as a down-payment for future benefits. Brazil has minimum wage regulations, sick- and maternity-leave, and vacation time, as well - all labor protections one would expect as an employee in the United States.

The experience of drinking this coffee is nothing short of breathtaking - there's almost no way to adequately explain it to the uninitiated. There's a powerful - and delightfully unusual - aroma to this coffee. The dry fragrance from these coffee grounds is incredibly sweet, filling the room with coffee fruit notes. This is a wonderful coffee in the cup - simple, soft, luxurious. The cup aroma is hefty, with molasses and brown sugar, vanilla bean, and a bit of cardamom. There's chocolate, as well, with milk caramel. Given it's moderate acidity and intense aroma, you taste this coffee more in the back of your mouth than on the tip of your tongue, adding to it's mystique. These beans are perfect for espresso, too, producing a huge head of soft, rich crema. This is an experience you'll want to share with others. Enjoy!