Bird Rock Coffee Roasters

During his February trip to Colombia, Chuck was invited to be a judge for the Best of Huila Competiton in Pitalito. Through this event, we were reconnected with the Asocampo farming group - the group we worked with for the inaugural Roasters United Competition!! This group, headed by Yuir Maryeth Cuellar, excels at quality control and are driven to not only export the finest Colombian coffee, but they also hope to get more Colombians excited about what they do. The group runs a roastery and cafe in Timana that serves their coffee exclusively to the locals. Though there were some outstanding micro-lots - including some outstanding nano-lots we brought in like a Purple Caturra or Pink Bourbon - this blend is in line with how we approached Roasters United in ensuring that farmers don't have to rely on having auction-winning lots every year to be able to sell their lots for a good price. The florally on this cup presents intoxicatingly thick when ground fresh (think magnolia), with delicate cream and crisp chocolate in aroma. In the cup: very silky with a mélange of floral notes, butter, honey, and caramel.

This is the fifth year we have worked with the Salaverria family, who own several farms and a large mill in Santa Ana called JASAL. This Direct Trade offering is from their farm Finca Las Nubes. The family is obsessive about quality and eager to experiment with different processing methods. Among other very successful experiments, the Black Honey processing the past few years has been a favorite of ours and this year is no exception. For "honey processed" coffee, a small amount of the mucilage (the innermost layer of fruit) is left to dry on the bean. For a black honeyed, more mucilage is left on the bean during drying which can lead to a deeper, sweeter coffee, very similar to a natural but silkier. In the cup we have persimmon, cinnamon, and dark rum.

Earlier this year, our Head Roaster, Heather Brisson-Lutz made the trip down to El Salvador to visit our long time Direct Trade partners, the Salaverria family, who own several farms and a large mill in Santa Ana called JASAL. The family is obsessive about quality and eager to experiment with different processing methods and new varietals. This is the fifth year we have worked with them and we look forward to a continuing our long relationship with the family. Unfortunately, El Salvador was devastated by Roya, with some estimates claiming the country lost close to 70 % of the crop in 2013. The trickle down effect is profound, not only for the farmers themselves, but everyone who depends on coffee for employment, the harvesters, truckers, those who work at mills. The Salaverria family lost close to 50% of their harvest. The Santa Rita Farm is located on the slopes of the Ilamatepec Volcano in northern El Salvador and is shade-grown, like all of their coffees. While quantity was down, the Salvaerria did an incredible job to maintain the high quality for the coffee they did produce.This washed processed lot is a fairly indicative example of what we look for in El Salvadoran coffee, with honeysuckle, star fruit, and almond.