We tried a semi-washed Brazilian first, a fresh crop sample of the bean that goes into our Espresso. Most of our cuppers thought it possessed a pleasant flavor with a very mild acidity, although a couple of us noticed a slightly smoky undertone which left an unclean aftertaste. The second coffee that we tried was a fully washed version of our Brazilian, which we are considering as a potential single origin coffee, or possibly as an espresso component. The acidity of this sample was sharp and pronounced, while the flavor was clean and refined--much like a Kenya without the complexity.

The next two samples both came from family-owned farms in El Salvador. Unlike Brazil, where most coffee is grown in vast fields on very large farms, El Salvadoran coffees are primarily grown on small plots in the midst of shade trees and other crops. The two shade-grown El Salvadoran coffees that we had the fortune to sample last week are grown alongside lime trees, bananas, avocados and rows of lettuce. The two farms in question are called Santa Leticia and El Amel, and the unanimous favorite was the sample from the El Amel farm.

Out of six cuppers, the El Amel farm coffee scored eight out of ten for three of us, and nine out of ten for the other three. Most descriptions included the adjectives rich , flavorful, creamy, and chocolaty. Because of the surprisingly positive reception to this coffee during the cupping, I am going to seriously consider it as a candidate for our next Factory Reserve. It will be something to look for this fall.

Our next cupping will take place Friday, July 27th at 9:00AM at the Stone Creek Factory and, as usual, everyone is invited to attend.