Our Hunapu comes from a highland valley near the colonial city of Antigua, one of Guatemala’s premier tourist attractions due to its heritage and scenery.  Antigua is situated between three impressive volcanoes, Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego. The unique dry climate, magnificent landscape, and excellent volcanic soil  provide optimal conditions to produce some of the best coffees in the world.

Hunapu is a name established by Beneficio Bella Vista for a group of small producers that got together to separate their Bourbon varietal cherries and offer one of the best Antigua coffees available. The name Hunapu derived from the natives name for the Agua volcano.

The Hunapu Bourbon is the result of the hard work to separate 100% Bourbon varietal fully ripe cherries and deliver them to Beneficio Bella Vista, where the traditional washed process is used during the wet stage and fully sundried to bring out the best of the Antigua Bourbon profile.

The Hunapu has strong chocolate notes, a fine complex acidity with a tender orange aftertaste and a unique roundness characteristic of a high altitude Bourbon.

Our exclusive Passport line of coffees gives you the opportunity to taste the best the world has to offer. All the travel, cupping, and know-how we have is poured into spotting these rare coffee gems and bringing out the best in each.

First
For our Passport offerings, we specifically seek out coffees that are rare, exceptional, or have a limited offering.

Then
We roast them to the peak of perfection, in small batches, and on specific roast dates to ensure freshness and quality.

And Then . . .
We ship directly to you. You’ll be able to taste each mastered step of PT’s Passport coffees from tree to cup.

SOLD OUT!  More expected in coming weeks. What a great day for Hawaiian coffees!  Our Micro-Lot of Rusty’s Hawaiian just arrived and we plan to launch it next week. We are now accepting pre-orders for this exceptional coffee.

Lorie Obra next to a sign that denotes her family farm. The farm is named in honor of her late husband, Rusty.

For years customers have asked why we don’t carry Kona Coffee on our offering sheet, in our store, or on our website. I’ve always had the same answer. “The samples of Kona coffee that I’ve received  just don’t cup well enough to justify the price that is paid for a coffee carrying the Kona Coffee brand.”

I tell customers that “we make every attempt to offer coffees that are worthy of the price, not just the name.” Kona Coffee has had a tremendous reputation for years. But in recent years the samples I have received and tasted on our cupping table just didn’t measure up. So despite the pressure to offer a Kona Coffee or Kona Coffee Blend, we chose to stay the course and only offer coffees of exceptional quality.

Coffee cherry harvested by Lorie at her family farm in Hawaii.

Today, we are very proud, a coffee we’ve now carried for 2 years from the Hawaiian Islands placed 1st place in a Blind Cupping competition. I noted when we first bought this coffee that we had finally found a coffee worthy of the price from the Hawaiian Islands. Rusty’s Hawaiian Coffee is an outstanding coffee that is grown and harvested by Lorie Obra in the District of Ka’u. Lorie takes incredible pride in the coffee she grows and processes and is always willing to go the extra mile to make it exceptional.

So this blog post is for you Lorie: CONGRATULATIONS from your friends at PTs Coffee Roasting Co.!

Lorie strives to make her late husband proud and produce not just a coffee crop, but one that is exceptional. Today her dream was realized in a blind cupping competition. We are proud to work with you Lorie and look forward to working with you for years to come.
For more info see the local stories about the competition.

Our Micro-Lot of Rusty’s Hawaiian just arrived and we plan to launch it next week. We are now accepting pre-orders for this exceptional coffee.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Jeff Taylor

PTs Coffee Roasting Co.

As of Monday, July 19^th you will see some new names added to our blend offerings, while some will seem to disappear. No worries though, fundamentally these coffees aren’t changing…just getting a fresh look and feel. The coffees you have come to know and love will still be available, but here’s a run down of their new identities-

Thunder Road

Formerly our Rolling Thunder, this blend’s new identity is in homage to Jeff’s favorite musician- Bruce Springsteen. Hearty and smooth, this blend is still “The Boss”.

Ol’ 93

You will have known this blend as Moka Java, a classic blend of opposites. Sweet and earthy, this is our rendition of the oldest coffee blend in recorded history, and the new name reflects the year of our inception as PT’s Coffee.

Farm Girl

Bright but balanced, this blend has been loved by many. Previously our Sunrise Blend, the Farm Girl is still sweet and sultry and filled with character. We are currently out of this blend but it will return soon!

B-ville House Drip

This take on an approachable and well rounded drip coffee has been previously known as Coffeehouse Blend. Still a Direct Trade offering, this standard is still what we serve daily in our original café- Barrington Village, which has been coined “B-Ville” as our term of endearment for it.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email at info@ptscoffee.com or call at 888-678-JAVA!

Fazenda Ipanema in Sul de Minas is located near the cities of Alfenas & Machado. It has become one of the premier sources of all preparations of Brazilian Coffee in both Europe and the United States. One of the Ipanema coffees received the Cup of Excellence Award in the 2002 Cup of Excellence competition.

The Farm was established in 1970 and has embraced old growing techniques and modern quality controls, which have resulted in an excellent and consistent coffee. The Furnas Reservoir on the farm provides the coffee with a thermal protection from some of the potential damage of frost.

Fazenda Ipanema gained UtzKapeh certification for its environmental and social practices. Utzkapeh Certification certifies that the farm maintains the environment, food safety standards, education and training for the workers and their families as well as health care and cultural diversity on the farm. These criteria are in place for seasonal as well as permanent workers.

Prepared with washed, semi-washed, and natural coffees, this blend was trial run for three years before it reached its current make-up. When perfectly roasted and ground its low acidity, accentuated body and sweetness comes across due to the balance achieved by using the three coffee components, having an extremely pleasant aftertaste.  With distinct acidity, its creamy and velvety body brings you a pronounced orange honey finish.

LONDON (March 1, 2010) – Colombia has been selected to host the 12th annual World Barista Championship, which will be held in combination with the 2011 EXPOESPECIALES conference in Bogota.

Seven countries vied to host the 2011 event. “Choosing a winner from the very competitive site proposals we received was an extremely difficult task for the WBC board,” commented WBC Executive Director Cindy Chang.

The World Barista Championship (WBC) event is the annual destination for barista champions hailing from more than 50 countries. In each national competition and dozens of local and regional preliminary events, baristas prepare espressos, cappuccinos and original signature drinks to exacting standards for a panel of international judges.

“We are delighted to host the 2011 Championship,” said Luis Muñoz, CEO of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC). “It will be an opportunity for baristas and visitors to keep discovering the world of Colombia Coffee, and also to support our domestic coffee consumption program.”

“The barista movement is worldwide,” said Ric Rhinehart, Executive Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which co-owns the WBC alongside the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe. “We are delighted to see the event take place in a coffee producing country for the first time in its history.”

About World Barista Championship UK Ltd.

The World Barista Championship is the preeminent international coffee competition. Founded by the Specialty Coffee Associations of America and Europe, the event organization promotes excellence in coffee, advancement of the barista profession and engages a worldwide audience with an annual championship that serves as the culmination of regional and national events held in more than 50 countries.

The 2010 World Barista Championship will be held June 23-25, 2010 at Olympia Exhibition Centre in London. For more information, visit the WBC website at http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com.

Keurig B60 Brewer

For those who are not already familiar with Keurig, it is the latest in single cup brewing technology for home use.  It delivers a cup of coffee in less than a minute, using pods called “K-cups” that hold a pre-dosed amount of ground coffee. While they have selections from a handful of roasters on their site, they have made an accessory available that allows the user to try any coffee they like in their Keurig. This attachment is called “My K-Cup” and is available at  various online retailers for about $15.00 on average (some higher priced and some lower, some used and some new).  The attachment is user friendly and allows you versatility in your dose, depending on what size brew you are doing. This offers more precision of flavor than using the pre-portioned K-cups from other roasters. I weighed a few different coffees from various K-cups I received with the brewer and the doses ranged from 10-12 grams depending on brand. Since the brew sizes are 6, 8 and 10 ounces the flavor will vary using the prefabricated k-cups from size to size. I played with the My K-Cup doses at all three sizes to find the best flavor balance for each, something an ordinary K-Cup cannot offer. Here’s the run down of how I used the attachment to make a pretty tasty cup of coffee with our Ethiopian Sidama Ardi Natural…

For the best results you will want to weigh out your dose. Scoops can get you in the ballpark, but are not a completely accurate way to measure your coffee, as a darker roast will weigh less per scoop than a lighter roast (due to weight lost during the roasting process). On the B60 model, the sizes and doses came out to the following-

6oz size (”small cup”)- 8 grams coffee

8oz size (”small mug”)- 12 grams coffee

10oz size (”large mug”)- 15 grams coffee

If your coffee is whole bean you will want to grind it a little finer than the automatic drip setting. It will end up being a little finer than sugar in the raw. The setting I used on our grinder was for the Melitta style (conical filter) brewer. I recommend grinding into something pliable so that you can funnel it into the My K-Cup filter basket (I tapped the basket as I filled it to settle all the coffee in). To retrieve the basket take the My K-Cup attachment and unscrew the lid and pull it out. Once you have filled it, place it back in the holder and screw the lid back on.

Now you’ll want to pop out the K-Cup holder, which is very easy. Open the cover and then push up on the K-Cup holder (where you put your normal K-Cups) from underneath.  Now you should be able to place the My K-Cup housing into the same spot that you removed the holder from. Once it’s in you just shut the lid and press the button for the brew size you dosed for. While it’s not as simple as placing a plastic predosed pod in the machine, it’s still very easy and took me no more than 2 minutes to accomplish.

All in all I was impressed with the result. I wasn’t sure what to expect with a shorter extraction time and a little bit lower temperature, but it was pretty tasty. I tasted it against another Ethiopian K-Cup from a name brand company and the difference was astounding. Ours was lush, sweet and juicy while theirs was heavy bodied and lacked the expected sweetness usually associated with Ethiopian coffees.  I will be doing a few other comparative tastings between pre-made K-cups and our comparable alternatives. Keep a look out!

Step By Step Instructions-

Step By Step- Using the "My K-Cup"

1- Remove the K-Cup holder and set aside

2- Retrieve the filter basket from the “My K-Cup” accessory

3- Weigh your dose of PT’s Coffee according to your brew size:

6oz size (”small cup”)- 8 grams coffee

8oz size (”small mug”)- 12 grams coffee

10oz size (”large mug”)- 15 grams coffee

4- Grind your coffee for a conical filter (a little finer than auto drip)

5- Put your grounds into the “My K-Cup” filter basket

6- Reassemble the “My K-Cup” accessory (put filled filter basket back in and screw on lid)

7- Place “My K-Cup” in Keurig brewer

8- Select Brew

9- Wait for coffee…

10- Enjoy!

These are photos from a recent origin visit to Finca Las Mercedes in El Salvador. I visited producer Lucia Ortiz and her family with staff members Holly Bastin and Morgan Smith. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the visit with our friends.

Jeff

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I love this time of year.  We have cupping tables filled with beautiful coffee potential almost every day, and we are developing roasts on others.  One of the most exciting new developments has been the arrival of our new natural Ethiopian from the Guji region of Sidama.  Natural Ethiopians are famous for their fruit-bomb nature, but Ardi (named after the oldest human skeleton ever found that was recently unearthed in Ethiopia) is so much more.  Its fruitiness is reminiscent of pomegranate, but it has a depth and breadth that lingers on your palate.  The multidimensional character of this coffee has made it one of our favorite coffees from Ethiopia.  Try Ethiopia Sidama ARDI here!

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