RE : Introducing our first "Double Fermented" coffee!

Washed, Honey, or Natural? You’re likely familiar with these three coffee processing methods… beans are either dried as a cherry (Natural process), just partially milled before drying (Honey process), or fully washed and dried as a seed or “bean” (Washed process). In the past few years, specialty coffee farmers and institutions have been experimenting with even more variations on these methods, trying to achieve more sweetness, body, and complexity in the cup… and this year we encountered a coffee so interesting from a small farmer family in Colombia, that we just had to get it!

Introducing “San Isidro” - an experimental “Double-Fermentated Washed” microlot by the Leguizamo family, who hand picked their best coffees, harvested at peak ripeness and selected for high sugar content (cherries must have over 22% sugar to be suitable for a double fermentation) . This special microlot was first fermented as a cherry, fully washed, and again fermented as a “bean” (parchment), resulting in a richer body and a very interesting sweet, spiced flavor profile. It was finally sun dried in raised beds, milled, packaged in special 20-kilo bags, and flown directly from the farm to the roastery!

This coffee was sourced well beyond our High-Impact threshold, at 400% above the current “fair-trade” price, paid to the farmers - and yes, we were able to buy this microlot in its entirety for our Ethos family! We hope you love this introduction to a new processing method (if you’re a subscriber and get a variety of beans, you’ll definitely get this one next!), and look forward to your thoughts and reviews… we’ll run a little experiment ourselves and update this coffee’s page with any email reviews we get from all of you!

Hope you’re having a wonderful, adventurous summer… ours continues to be filled with joy and gratitude for getting to start each day #BrewingGreatness in the world with you!

Jolian & Lisbeth

P.S. San Isidro was originally planned as a surprise for the Holidays, yet we didn’t anticipate running out of Poaquil… and experiencing months-long delays on the new crop’s arrival - we’re truly sorry, and hope this special microlot makes it up to you a bit!

PS.PS. If you’re in the area on July 29th… we’ll be celebrating the grand opening of “Pressed Coffee” in downtown Lakeland (with special surprises for our Ethos family, of course!)

RE: Wet vs. Dry | How Processing Impacts Flavor

We’ve had an exciting week! Our new crops of Poaquil (Washed, Honey, and Natural), arrived yesterday, and we’re so ready to share them with you! Overall acidity is down across the board, the Honey is sweeter than ever, and the Natural is a fruit bomb! We’re so proud of the amazing job the Co-Op has done for us this year, so happy to report we’ve been able to reward them with even higher premiums for their Honey and Natural this year, and so eager to start roasting and drinking all these amazing coffees with all of you!

Of course, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to re-visit the topic of processing methods, and how a process that begins thousands of miles away, at the farm, impacts the flavors in your cup in such a big way! Coffee processing is what transforms a coffee cherry into a coffee “bean” (technically, a seed) that’s ready to be roasted - which means all - yes, all - the coffee in the world is “processed” (i.e. nobody brews ‘roasted cherries’). There’s two main ways to achieve this: (1) “Wet” processing - aka. “Washed”, under which coffee beans/seeds are throughly submerged - and literally - washed with water to remove any cherry and pulp components prior to drying and (2) “Dry” processing - which do not use (or use very little) water, as the cherry is not removed (Naturals) or is only partially removed (Honeys) prior to drying.

The main resulting difference is that Wet Processed/Washed coffees won’t have any sugars or enzymes that can be fermented as the beans dry… while Dry Processed/Natural/Honey coffees will have lots of them (the exact amount will depend on a few factors like cherry ripeness and sugar concentration, and the amount of pulp left behind). As a result, these coffees will undergo a series of fermentation reactions - i.e. the breakdown of carbohydrates and sugars by enzymes, environmental bacteria (mostly Lactobacillus, widely used in dairy fermentations), and yeasts (from the same awesome Saccharomyces genus also used in bread and beer production!). The end result of these fermentations (when perfectly controlled)? More sweetness and body in your cup, and a lot more flavor complexity - including stronger and more specific fruit notes (i.e. raisin) and a more lingering finish. In contrast, Washed coffees tend to be cleaner and more “well-balanced” (i.e. just the right amount of sweetness and acidity), and feature more prominently those characteristic roasted notes with chocolate and nutty undertones.

We hope you’ll give the new Poaquil crops a try! We’ll also be sampling them regularly in the next few weeks… along with our awesome new “UMOJA” from the Democratic Republic of Congo - which is another high-impact coffee changing lives (watch farmers’ testimonies @ethosroasters), and adding incredible variety and depth to our coffee offerings. It is also a Washed Bourbon (like Poaquil), yet features a completely different flavor profile (earthy, sweet, bold yet with a slight fruity/winey character), reflective of the unique growing conditions that make African coffees so special!

Thank you so, so much for making all of this possible - our travel may still be restricted - but this is still, and will always be - the journey of our lives! What an amazing privilege it is to get to make a difference for those who need it most, when they need it most… and I always hope that you can also feel that joy, and all of our gratitude and love every time you brew Ethos at home!

So deeply grateful to get to roast and Brew Greatness with you,

Lisbeth

P.S. The same day our 5 pallets of Poaquil were delivered… we also got another special delivery - of our brand new, custom-built 10-kilo roaster! This will be replacing our smallest roaster and adding more capacity, flexibility, and technology to your roastery - we’ll be working as fast as possible on the installation so it’ll be ready and at your service this Holiday season! We’re also hoping to be able to do some (limited-capacity, socially-distanced) events so you can see it in person this Winter!

RE: Coffee Processing: Washed + Honey + Natural Demystified!

You have probably seen the terms ‘washed’, ‘honey’, and ‘natural’ in our coffee descriptions, yet we thought a more in-depth explanation would make it a little more meaningful - and take your coffee connoisseur game to a whole new level!

First, some context on ‘Coffee Processing’ - this is the crucial step that transforms coffee cherries into “green coffee” that’s ready to be exported/imported/roasted! ALL coffees - yes, ALL coffees - must be processed before we can roast them! Otherwise, we would be trying to roast a ‘coffee fruit’, not a ‘coffee bean’ (technically, a coffee seed). Specifically, we need to remove three main layers (from the outside in) to get to our precious seeds: (1) pulp or exocarp, (2) mucilage or mesocarp (a sticky layer high in sugars), and (3) parchment (a papery layer protecting the seed).

There are three main processes worldwide : (1) Washed or Wet Process, (2) Honey (and variations), and (3) Natural or Dry Process. And it is when the layers are removed that makes all the difference!

Washed coffees get the first two layers, pulp and mucilage, removed as soon as possible after harvest. This is achieved by mechanically de-pulping and throughly ‘washing’ the coffee beans, and leaving only the parchment layer during the drying process (which can be under the sun, using mechanical dryers, or a combination of those two). Once beans are dried to ~12% moisture, they’re milled to remove the parchment layer and packed in 60-70 kg bags for export. This is the most popular method for Specialty coffees, as it yields incredibly clean, consistent, well-balanced cups. The highest scoring coffees worldwide are typically washed.

Honey coffees are characterized by the partial removal of the first two layers (pulp and mucilage), always leaving some pulp and mucilage around the seed to ‘ferment’ during the drying process. Depending on the amount of pulp/mucilage left, you may have a ‘Yellow Honey’ (no pulp, little mucilage, short fermentation, closer to a Washed), a ‘Red Honey’ (some pulp, most mucilage, medium fermentation), or a ‘Black Honey’ (most pulp and mucilage, long fermentation). ‘Honeys’ are very labor intensive, as they require constant monitoring and care during the weeks-long fermentation/drying under the sun. They’re also risky, as the whole harvest could be lost in an uncontrolled fermentation (i.e. yielding rotten, alcoholic, or medicinal notes). Yet, they can also yield amazing, sweet, complex, unique fruit flavors!

Natural coffees are dried with all layers! This means they’re dried as a fruit, under the sun or a combination of sun drying with mechanical dryers. Dried fruits are then ‘milled’ to remove all three layers (pulp, mucilage, and parchment) and coffee is packed for export. This is the most common method for Brazilian coffees, yet, it’s worldwide popularity has risen in recent years. It leads to sweeter, fruitier, and more full-bodied cups (vs. Washed), yet, as in the Honey process, there’s always the risk of an uncontrolled fermentation due to the high sugar content during drying.

We have excellent examples of all 3 processes currently online: try Poaquil or Kenya AA vs. Los Pinos (yellow honey) vs. Red Honey vs. Yirgacheffe, for example! We’re also working on some exciting new additions on this front with our ‘Poaquil’ partners! (we’ve been secretly experimenting for the past 2 years to bring something really unique to you… hopefully in just a few months!)

I hope this was insightful… and left you a little inspired to try something new!

Always incredibly grateful to get to roast for you, and Brew Greatness in the world with you,

Lisbeth

PS. We’re so excited about our Guatemala trip next year!!! We have a few spots before we hit our maximum number of people for the trip (which we would love to do, as we probably won’t do another one for a while!). The penalty-free deadline has been extended to 7/24… if you feel called, join us!