Exciting news for those living in Springfield, Missouri! This weekend, Jason Johnson will be holding free public coffee cuppings (tastings) in Springfield, Missouri. He holds public cuppings three times a week at our retail location in Topeka, Kansas, but it is rare that he has the opportunity to actually visit another coffee shop that carries our coffee. In Springfield he will be holding public cuppings at three coffee shops that use our coffee.

All of the cuppings will be free of charge. During these cuppings, he will discuss the origins of the coffee, how it is processed, and how regional and processing differences translate into the cup. Here is the list of the coffee shops that he will be visiting, the coffees that they will be cupping, and the times of the coffee cuppings. We hope to see you there.

The Coffee Ethic on Saturday the 21st at 11am.

Panama Esmeralda Special Mario Carnaval

El Salvador Finca Los Planes Pacamara

Ethiopian Amaro Gayo

Sumatra Tiger

Tanzania Kanyovu Coop

Panama Elida Estate Natural

Guatemala Finca El Soccorro

Nicaragua Coop 15 de Septiembre CoE #18

*The Coffee Ethic is also going to be offering a free small drink to anybody who attends the cupping.

Hebrews Coffee on Saturday the 21st at 3pm.

Panama Esmeralda Special Mario Carnaval

El Salvador Finca Los Planes Pacamara

Ethiopian Amaro Gayo

Sumatra Tiger

Costa Rica Finca Cerro Paldo

Tanzania Kanyovu Coop

Dancing Mule Coffee on Sunday the 22nd at 9am.

Panama Esmeralda Special Mario Carnaval

El Salvador Finca Los Planes Pacamara

Ethiopian Amaro Gayo

Sumatra Tiger

Costa Rica Finca Cerro Paldo

Tanzania Kanyovu Coop

It is always an exciting moment when you are able to meet with the creator of something you love.  Last Thursday presented us with just such an opportunity.  Lucia Ortiz, from Finca Las Mercedes, flew up to Topeka, Kansas to share her story with PT’s customers and to support PT’s Barista Competition Competitor Robin Seitz, who is using her coffee in the competition.  We had a wonderful morning where customers were able to meet Lucia and listen to her intriguing story.

Lucia Ortiz’s family, like many in El Salvador, was steeped in the traditions of the coffee industry.  This heritage, along with a desire to set an example for her children, led Lucia to jump at the chance to take over her in-laws’ coffee farm.  Her leadership, marketing skills and attention to detail has helped the farm become an exemplary farm within the specialty coffee industry in El Salvador.  Her secret (don’t tell anyone) is that she yells at, and occasionally coddles, the trees.  Well, whatever she does, we want her to keep doing it.  Her El Pepinal 1 is a true eye-opener.  It has the distinct aroma of coriander seed and black currant. In the cup, it combines slight floral notes with a bright spiciness. Its effervescent acidity sparkles with notes of peach.  Try El Pepinal 1 from Finca Las Mercedes here!

You can also read Topeka’s Food+Flicks coverage of the visit here!

Join us this Thursday, October 29th at our Barrington Village shop for casual coffee with Lucia Ortiz from Finca Las Mercedes in El Salvador.  She will be available to meet and chat between 8:00 and 10:00 am.  Come to enjoy her spectacular coffee, El Pepinal 1, and great conversation.  We are brewing up her coffee all week, so if you cannot make it on Thursday, stop by another time for a cup or two!

Finca Las Mercedes - El Pepinal 1 won 1st place in the 2006 El Salvador Cup of Excellence with a record-breaking score of 94.  Our relationship with the producers of El Pepinal 1, the Oritz family, began in 2008.  From their history with the Cup of Excellence, we knew they had great coffee, but it was not until we tasted it for ourselves that we realized how fortunate we were to roast and sell this spectacular coffee.  El Pepinal 1 is a very complex coffee. It has the distinct aroma of coriander seed and black currant. In the cup, it combines slight floral notes with a bright spiciness. Its effervescent acidity sparkles with notes of peach.  You can purchase Lucia’s coffee at our Barrington Village Store or online here!

PTs Coffee Roasting Co. and the Gombe Coffee Project, along with travels to Burundi and El Salvador, are featured in the Fall 2009 TKBiz Magazine. Click through the pages and check out the “postcards from coffees origin.”

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If you were not able to make it to last Thursday’s Gombe Coffee Project Video Launch Party, Channel 49 News is here to the rescue!  You can check out Ben Bauman’s coverage of the Party on their website here, and you can view the full Gombe Coffee Project Video in our Media Room here.  And you can always support these hardworking farmers by purchasing their coffee here!

You are invited to join PT’s Coffee Roasting Co and Gizmo Pictures to celebrate The Gombe Coffee Project Video release!  Gizmo Picture’s David Kitchner traveled with PT’s Jeff Taylor on a coffee sourcing trip to Tanzania, documenting the lives and work of these hardworking farmers.  That night will be the first viewing of this incredible documentary!  Join us at 6:00 pm on Thursday, October 15th at the Blind Tiger Brewery for great food, coffee and discounted Java Porter!

Whenever we receive a new coffee, we roast it to different profiles in order to figure out where the coffee shines with perfection. For this year’s crop of Esmeralda Special, we took a small amount of both lots to a slightly darker roast profile. Although we decided that it wouldn’t quite work for our normal roast, we tried it as a Single Origin Espresso, and it shown through with distinction. Although we have very little of that roast left, we decided that it would be unkind to hoard it all for ourselves. So, while it lasts, you can purchase a pound of either lot for just over cost. We will also include a pound of La Bella Vita Espresso to help round out this unique espresso experience. Purchase this coffee here!(This coffee was roasted on Wednesday, August 12th.)

Mario Carnaval - Mario Carnaval is grown in the area that traditionally produces the top lots of Esmeralda Special. It was harvested during Panama’s Carnaval season in February. As a Single Origin espresso, Mario Carnaval jumps out of your demi. Pulled at 14 or 15 grams for about 20 seconds, it tastes like a super sweet lemondrop. We are selling this special roast in full pound packages, and we will also include a pound of La Bella Vita! This roast will sell out quickly, so purchase it now here!

Mario Pascua - Mario Pascua is also grown in the area that traditionally produces some of the top lots of La Esmeralda Special. As its name suggests, Pascua (Spanish for Easter) was harvested during Eastertide in the month of April. As a Single Origin espresso, Mario Pascua tastes like sweet nectar with just a hint of lemon. We are selling this special roast in full pound packages, and we will also include a pound of La Bella Vita! This roast will sell out quickly, so purchase it now here!

Jason Johnson, a PT’s Coffee’s employee, was visiting Hacienda La Esmeralda during the auction.  Here is his first hand account:

I got up this morning at 6 am with nervous anticipation.  Daniel was picking me up around 7 and then we were going to the farm to watch the auction.  This year’s crop production was down because it was hit by some high winds, but there was also a new part of the farm that was producing enough to be sold as a separate lot for the first time, so there was a lot of excitement around that.

We got to the house and had a quick breakfast, then it was short walk to the office.  The auction began at 8:30 a.m., and it was obvious that there was not going to be a repeat of last year’s marathon.  People knew there wasn’t a lot of the Geisha, so no need to mess around.  As we watched the screen Daniel told me how the auction worked.  The Geisha was separated into 7 batches and those batches had various lots of 300 pounds, for a total of 47 lots or 14,100 pounds.  As we watched the prices go up across the board, Daniel Peterson was very excited.  In the next room all of the workers were talking excitedly in Spanish, and Rachel Peterson continued to message Daniel with things like “everything is above 20, unbelievable!!” The whole auction lasted for only a couple hours, but it must have seemed like years to the buyers.  The low coffee received an incredible $24 a pound and the high was $117.50.  After it was done, the family got together for lunch.  Monday the staff had asked if there was going to be a bonus this year, the answer at lunch was… “Yes!”

While you wait in eager anticipation of the new crop of Esmeralda Special, be sure to try out the current crop while it is still available!  You can purchase a bag here!

- Jason Johnson

The excitement level at the roasting facility always rises when we receive a large, white envelope (or box) filled to the brim with green coffee samples.  This white envelope represents a great potential; it represents the great potential for amazing coffee.  Needless to say, when said white envelope arrived from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama, a low buzz resonated among the staff.  “When are we going to cup the samples?  When is the auction?  How are these coffees going to compare to last year?  How will the newer harvest areas compare to the traditional Esmeralda Special areas?” 

For those of you who are unaware of the significance of samples from Hacienda La Esmeralda, let me fill you in on a little bit of the back-story.  In 1996 the Peterson Family bought a coffee farm in the Jaramillo region of Panama.  They knew that the farm contained many different varietals and that it produced an overall good quality cup.  In 2002, Daniel Peterson had the idea that the overall “good” quality of the cup might be due to one spectacular variety of coffee or area of the farm bringing up the overall quality of the cup.  That year, Daniel went around cupping the coffee from different sections of the farm.  Much to his excitement, he discovered that one section of the farm, and specifically one special varietal, produced an amazing cup.  This special varietal was an Ethiopian varietal called Geisha.  When the Peterson’s entered their Geisha coffee into the 2004 Best of Panama competition, the judges were stunned.  That year it sold for record prices, topping $20 a pound green.   The buzz around this coffee did not stop after that year.  It continued to win ALL the possible awards in the specialty industry, distinguishing itself as one of the best coffees in the world.  Just last year, the top lot sold for another mind blowing record price of $130 a pound green.  We have been fortunate to purchase this coffee for years, and this year we are looking forward to another great crop.

Back to the samples…  During the last 2 years, the Petersons have withheld their Esmeralda Special from the Best of Panama competition in order to give other farmers a chance.  Instead of using the Best of Panama competition and auction to sell their coffee, they have created their own auction system, dividing their Geisha variety coffee into separate batches that represent different parts of the farm, different altitudes and different harvest times. 

Last week, we roasted and cupped this year’s Esmeralda Special harvest samples, and we were blown away.  We do not want to give away too many specifics, but we were very happy with this year’s harvest.  Most of the batches that we cupped were bursting with flavor.  There were beautiful floral notes abounding.  Strawberry, bright orange citrus and peach highlight these coffees.  It looks like we will have another year of astounding Esmeralda Special.  The auction is coming soon, May 19^th, and we will keep you updated about which batches we purchase and when we expect them to arrive.  If you would like to watch the auction live, go to http://coffee.stoneworks.com/auction/index.cfm on May 19th.

You can also learn more about this coffee by visiting their website, here.

Last night, the Topeka Chamber of Commerce hosted an awards reception for PT’s Coffee where it presented Jeff Taylor and Fred Polzin with the Business of Excellence Award.  Food, drinks and macchiatos were had all around during this two hour celebration held at PT’s Coffee Roasting Co’s Roasting Facility.