Another year has come and gone in the world of barista competitions. PTs Coffee Roasting Co. was well represented again this year by Pete Licata, PTs - Jayhawk Central - location Manager; and Robin Seitz, Barrington Village Manager.  Pete took 2nd, for the second year in a row, at the United States Barista Championship. Robin performed well but had some bad luck and didn’t finish as high as he expected or wanted to finish. We are very hopeful for Robin, in the future, as he has all the skills and desire to perform well. PTs ultimate goal is to represent the United States in the World Barista Championship. This year the WBC was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. There were 52 baristas from all over the world competing in the competition held last weekend.  In the end it was Stephen Morrissey, of Ireland, that took home the coveted title of World Barista Champion. We at PTs Coffee Roasting Co. would like to pass along our heart felt congratulations to him for his worth performance and outstanding coffee.  In 2009 the competition will be held in Atlanta as part of the Specialty Coffee Association of America annual conference and trade show.  Stay tuned as PTs Coffee Roasting Co. hasn’t given up on it’s goal yet! Pete is retiring from competition, we believe, but Robin is already focusing on the 2009 title. See you in Atlanta! 

Summer has officially arrived and it’s the perfect time for one of my favorite brewing methods: Cold Press.

The last couple of days I have put aside my usual coffee habits, and switched my daily imbibing to cold press.  What is it? It’s a method of brewing coffee with cold water rather than hot, which means that it will take longer for the flavor to be extracted since hot water expedites the process. The generally accepted brewing time frame is between 12 and 24 hours. While it seems like a long time to wait, it produces a rich and dense coffee beverage, almost like a cold version of espresso. It is versatile, as you can drink it straight, or add water to create the equivalent of a cold brewed coffee. It can also be used as a replacement for espresso in iced beverages, like lattes and mochas. In a commercial setting, it is excellent for making frozen coffee drinks, such as frappes. It can also be heated up if you are in the mood for a warmer beverage. Today, through some research on this method, I also discovered that it has a much lower acid content due to the length of the brew time.

Some of the basic rules I follow when brewing cold press are-

-The coffee should always be coarsely ground. As a general rule in any form of coffee brewing, the coarseness of your grind will correlate with how long the grounds are in contact with the water.

-Choose the right coffee. When it comes to cold press, some coffees work better than others. During our time of making cold press, we have tended to lean towards medium to full city roasted Central or South American Coffee. Right now, we are huge fans of Brazil Ipanema Dulce, for its deep chocolate notes, rich sweetness, and velvety mouth-feel.

-Begin with the end in mind! When you start a batch of cold press, consider how many hours that you want it to brew and make sure you (or someone else) will be available to drain it at the ideal moment.

-Taste is the important thing. For the flavor I want, I personally shoot for 18 hours brew time, but I suggest trying it at different amounts of time and taste it. As far as the boundaries of time limits, if it tastes overly bitter, you steeped it too long, and if it’s overly sour, you didn’t steep it long enough.

-As always, use good water! Remember that water is an ingredient. Without it there is no coffee. Make sure you use filtered water for all of your coffee brewing. It will taste better, and be better for your equipment!

If you want to make cold press at your home, I suggest our Filtron Cold Press System. It’s one of the easiest ways to brew coffee and it keeps well too. You can refrigerate it for a few weeks if you need to. All in all, it is one my favorite ways to brew coffee…well, other than espresso

Holly

Sustainable Harvest just released a video slide show about their extensive efforts to improve the quality of coffee in the Gombe region of Tanzania. Our roast of this coffee just received a 90 from Coffee Review. In the cup, we get a sweet spiciness that resembles thyme, and as it cools the sweetness is accentuated with notes of blackberries and syrupy honey. It also has a dominant tangy-wininess to it. Check out the slide show here.

A new study published in  Annals of Internal Medicine  has good news for coffee drinkers: Regular coffee drinking (up to 6 cups per day) is not associated with increased deaths in either men or women. In fact, both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumption is associated with a somewhat smaller rate of death from heart disease. Click here to read more… 

They’ve done it again! The combined skills of Adam, our roaster, and Jeff, our coffee buyer, have produced three 90+ ratings from Coffee Review. Ken David’s favorite of the three coffees that we submitted is our organic Ethiopia Limu, Gomma. He gave it a 92, saying, “Very sweet-toned aroma: honey, cherryish coffee fruit, flowering grass. In the cup quietly vibrant acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, balanced structure, with cocoa and honey notes that carry into a long, resonantly flavor-saturated finish. Who should drink it: Those who enjoy light-bodied but crisply authoritative white wines.”

Ken’s second favorite is our Reserva del Mandador, peaberry from Finca Los Planes in El Salvador. This outstanding peaberry is very lightly roasted to ensure that all of its sweetness comes through. Ken gave it a 91, saying, “Unusual profile: molasses, pine, flowers, cherry, richly low-toned acidity, syrupy mouthfeel. In the cup the molasses-like notes take on a cocoaish or dark chocolate cast. Lifts and lightens in a clean, sweet finish. Who should drink it: A deep, fruity, gently pungent variation on the classic Central America cup that may appeal to coffee romantics who enjoy Ethiopia naturals or even traditional Sumatras.”

Last, but definitely not least, is one of our favorites, from the Gombe Coffee Project’s Kanyovu Coop in Tanzania. Read more about this wonderful coffee here. Ken gave it a 90, saying, “From the Kanyovu cooperative of small-holding farmers. Owing in part to the support of several American specialty roasting companies, including PT’s, the Kanyovu farmers have emerged over the past two years as a source of a refined and distinctive new Africa coffee. A light-medium roast of a very pure coffee that preserves the taste of the coffee orchard: tartly sweet coffee fruit, honey, flowers, nut. Delicate acidity, lean but silky mouthfeel, cleanly sweet finish. Who should drink it: Delicate, breezy, spring like.”

PTs Coffee Roasting Co. is very proud to announce we were the high bidder for Lot #4 in the Guatemala Cup of Excellence online auction held Thursday, June 12th, 2008. We joined a group of outstanding small batch roasters from around the country to acquire Guatemala Finca El Socorro in the auction. Finca El Socorro was cupped and scored, by the International Jury that ranked the coffees, an 89.60 in the competition. We found this lot to be an excellent coffee and believe it is possibly under-rated. A very complex coffee with sweetness throughout and a long finish that leans towards floral.  This particular finca is no stranger to the Cup of Excellence. In 2007, Finca El Socorro, was awarded first place in the Cup of Excellence and was purchased by our good friends at Solberg & Hansen in Oslo, Norway. The coffee entered last year was a Pacamara Variety and was not entered in this years competition. The lot entered this year is from an uncommon variety of coffee known as a Maracaturra. Maracaturra was created by crossing a Maragogipe variety tree (also known as Elephant Beans) and a Caturra variety tree. Maragogipe is well known for it’s bean size but equally as well known for it’s lack of character in the cup. Caturra is an outstanding variety that is used by many producers throughout Central America. By crossing the two variety’s we get a larger than normal bean size and dramatically improved profile in the cup.  This coffee was Wet Milled and Sun dried on the patio.Finca El Socorro is located near the city of Palencia. Which is within an hour of Guatemala City. This outstanding farm also produced the #3 lot in the 2008 auction. We chose the Maracaturra variety based on the flavor balance between the two cups. We truly loved this coffee and look forward to it’s arrival sometime in late July. We hope you’ll give it a try and share your feedback with us.   Guatemala Finca El Socorro, Cup of Excellence coffee, is the third such coffee we’ve purchased this year. Previously we bought Nicaraguan Lot #2 - Finca La Gloria / Limoncillo and El Salvador Lot #6 - Finca La Lainez.  In a completely separate auction we purchased several lots in the Panama, Hacienda Esmeralda Private Auction for the Geisha variety coffee. This coffee is currently available for pre-purchase on our website. I love purchasing great coffees and will continue to source the best the world has to offer. So if you are looking for truly outstanding coffee, please bookmark our website and visit often for the lastest arrivals or reviews. Warm Regards Jeff T., Director of Coffee - PTs Coffee Roasting Co. 

Lot#: 4 Cercol, S. A. - El Socorro Y Anexos

El Socorro y Anexos El Socorro farm is located in Palencia, municipality of Guatemala department, 50 kilometers away from Guatemala city. The farm used to be part of Hacienda San Guayaba, property of Antonio López Colom in 1905. After he died, it was inherited to the youngest son Julio Colom Gómez Carillo, who sold it. For many years it was owned by different people until 1968, when Dr. Mario de la Cerda and his wife Maria Colom de la Cerda bought it back to the family. In 1980, his son Juan de la Cerda Colom began to plant coffee. This is the fourth generation of owners. Juan de la Cerda and his son Juan Diego are now in charge to produce one of the best coffees of Guatemala and the world. Why are we confident about this? Our success is the result of a strict quality control through out the whole process, since the management of the plantation, the picking and the wet mill. The farm has an efficient ecological wet mill. It depulps coffee cherries in dry, it transports the coffee and its pulp mechanically and it reuses water in the process. Then, the water is treated with clean production techniques, before throwing it away. Since 2005, we have been working on tests to uniform the fermentation process and we have obtained satisfactory results. Drying of coffee is done in patios. The farm is certified by Rainforest Alliance and Coffee Practices. The total area of the farm is 700 Hectares, divided in the following activities: 55 % is a natural reserve, which is the biggest in the area nearby. It is a natural habitat for many wild species of the region and migratory birds. Pine and oak are the primary trees of the reserve. Most of the animal and botanical species have been identified and documented. 25 % is planted with coffee (about 126 Hectares). 20 % is dedicated to other activities, like milk production, corn and vegetables. In 2007, a coffee lot of the farm was 1st place in the Cup of Excellence. With a score of 93.60 points, it was awarded with the prestigious Presidential Award. MICROCLIMATE CONDITIONSAverage temperature C: 22Annual rainfall mm: 1300Type of oil and predominant element: Loamy-Sand (Loamy: balance of clay, sand and limestone)Relative humidity %: 85Type of shade trees: Non traditionalBeginning of harvest: January End of harvest: AprilFARM PROFILEMills in the farm: Wet millDrying method: SunAnnual production (69 K): 950Temporary Employees: 80Permanent Employees: 40Certifications or awards: 2 auction awards 2007-2008, Rainforest Alliance, Coffee Practices

Property Characteristics: Coffee Characteristics: Farm: El Socorro Y Anexos Farmer: Cercol, S. A. Rank: 4 City: Palencia Country: Guatemala Farm Size: 500.00 Hectares Coffee growing area: 126.00 Hectares Altitude: 1740 masl Certification: None Variety: Maracaturra Processing System: Sun and Wet Mill Lot Size: 15 bags International Jury Score: 89.60 Cupping Number #: 154 Jury Descriptions: complex (22), sweet acidity (17), floral after taste (14), creamy (13), winey (13), tart acidity (9), mouth watering acidity (7), syrupy (7), silky (6), round (11), smooth (9), cranberry (9), dry wine (2), long lemony (2), lingering finish (13), lemony, floral flavor (13), berries(11), winey (10), tropical fruit (18), caramel (4), perfume flavor (6), strawberry (5), citrus fruit blossom (6) Please Note: If a number appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular decription.

In the last month or so, I am sure that some of you may be tired of hearing about the Gombe Coffee Project in Tanzania. We are so proud of the work that Sustainable Harvest has been doing with the Kanyovu Coop that we are telling everyone that will listen. Well, now you do not have to hear it from us; this month’s issue of Fresh Cup, a national coffee publication, features an article about this wonderful coffee. It describes the struggles of the poor farmers of the Kanyovu Coop to break into the specialty coffee industry and how Sustainable Harvest is helping them improve the quality and availability of their coffee. Libby Evans does a great job with her article, but something that I wish she would have talked more about is the quality of the coffee being produced. We joined this project with the understanding that the farmers were in the process of improving the quality of their coffee. But when we received our first shipment we were blown away by its outstanding flavor. It has a nice, tangy-wininess that is complimented with notes of thyme, blackberries and honey. This is definitely a coffee that the farmers should be as proud to produce as we are to roast.

PTs Coffee Roasting Co. is proud to announce we purchased, along with a group of roasters from the United States, Lot #2 in the Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence auction held May 29, 2008. You will be able to pre-purchase this coffee soon.  

Lot#: 2 Ethel McEwan / Maria Ligia Mierisch McEwan - La Gloria / Limoncillo

Farm: - “La Gloria / Limoncillo” - Dahlia, Matagalpa Fincas La Gloria & Limoncillo are sister farms, both literally and figuratively: they are neighboring farms and belong to two sisters. La Gloria belongs to Ethel McEwan, acquired in 1938 by their father Esteban McEwan, and Limoncillo to Maria Ligia Mierisch McEwan. This coffee is a single varietal named Java-Nica, an Ethiopian Long-Berry. Much work went into this coffee. It was a risky venture to cultivate as this varietal came from a coffee research facility and was new to this region. Only a handful of growers produce this bean. Despite the odds, it has been an experiment that has paid off. Fincas La Gloria and Limoncillo combined their limited quantity of this cultivar for the competition. This has been seven years in the making, and the family is extremely pleased with the results. These family farms are part of the Café Sol y Agua export group, which puts much emphasis on maximizing and improving quality through careful harvest selection, wet milling, and dry milling. Number of employees in farm:60 permanent (between both farms)180 - 600 temporary during harvestingAltitude: 980 to 1350 above sea level

Property Characteristics: Coffee Characteristics: Farm: La Gloria / Limoncillo Farmer: Ethel McEwan / Maria Ligia Mierisch McEwan Rank: 2 City: Yassica Norte Tuma la Dalia Country: Nicaragua Farm Size: 200.00 Hectares Coffee growing area: 100.00 Hectares Altitude: 2000 masl Certification: None Variety: JavaNica Processing System: Washed and sun dried Lot Size: 14 bags International Jury Score: 91.43 Cupping Number #: 916 Jury Descriptions: citric acidity (21), winey acidity (8), super clean and sweet (17), jasmine (15), tropical fruit (12), harmonious (11), exotic (11), luminous (10) lemon tea (10), honeydew melon (9), champagne (8) very delicate (7), honey (7), tea rose (6), ripe dark cherries (5), silky (11), creamy finish (11), sweet grape finish (9), complex (20) Please Note: If a number appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular decription.

PTs Coffee Roasting Co. is proud to announce we led a group of roasters from around the United States  and El Salvador to purchase Finca La Lainez - Lot #6 - in the Cup of Excellence auction held June 5, 2008. In the process we assisted, San Salvador based cafe and roaster, Viva Espresso to become pioneers as the first El Salvador roaster to purchase coffee in the El Salvador Cup of Excellence auction. Viva Espresso is owned by Federico and Lily Bolanos. We are very proud to be a part of this partnership in making Salvadoran history and also look forward to supporting Lily Bolanos in the World Barista Championship later this month. Lily is the Salvadoran Barista Champion and will be representing her country  later this month in Copenhagen.  To read more about the coffee we will be receiving read below or click here!  

Lot#: 6 Jaime Pedro Ginjaume - La Laínez

Overview Jaime Pedro Ginjaume was born in Santiago de María, Usulután in 1948. He started working in the coffee business at age 20, guided by the coffee tradition of his parents and grandparents, at a time when coffee was the most important economic activity of this country. The name of the farm responds to the name of the previous owner, Florentín Laínez, who in 1946 sold it to the Ginjaume family and since then it has passed from generation to generation as one of the family’s most precious heritages. Back in the 1940’s this coffee was exported to Italy, and since then it has been appreciated as one of the best in this area. La Laínez is located at the top of “Cerro El Tigre” (Tiger’s Hill) in the Tecapa-Chinameca Mountain Range, at an altitude of approximately 1,500 meters above sea level. This is the first time La Laínez competes in the Cup of Excellence, motivated by the result of the unique attributes shown by this farm in regional cupping events organized by different entities. This was the beginning of Jaime Pedro’s adventure, who, along with the help from the people from UNEX, S.A. de C.V. planned activities for the agricultural period 2007/2008. When they were starting the harvesting season, they planned to do it as timely as possible, and at the adequate ripeness to ensure a homogenous lot. The pickers were instructed to select only the best coffee available, avoiding over-ripped, immature green or defective cherries. Subsequently, his coffee was transported to the Oromontique Mill, were it was immediately processed in an eco-friendly mill, and parchment was dried in the clay brick patios. This coffee plantation is 100% Bourbon, with a density of 1,750 trees per hectare and ages that range between 30 and 60 years. The canopy of shade is built basically by Pepeto trees (Ingas) with a density of 50 trees per hectare, pruned to stimulate development of horizontal branches to form a crown-like top. Additional information Location: Cantón Cerro El Tigre, Santiago de MaríaCoffee varieties: BourbonType of Shade: Ingas, Pepeto, Cuje, etc.Average Annual Rainfall: 2,350 mmAverage Temperature: 26-18º CType of Soil: Sandy loamAnnual Production: (60kg) 47 bagsMill and company where lot was process: Beneficio Oromontique (UNEX S.A. de C.V)Other crops: Bananas Fauna: Deer, rabbit, armadillo, torogoz, different kinds of snakes, etc.GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 13º 27’ 49.5’’ NLongitude: 88º 26’ 19.3’’ W

Property Characteristics: Coffee Characteristics: Farm: La Laínez Farmer: Jaime Pedro Ginjaume Rank: 6 City: Santiago de María, Usulután Country: El Salvador Farm Size: 16.00 Hectares Coffee growing area: 10.50 Hectares Altitude: 1500 masl Certification: None Variety: Bourbón Processing System: Washed & Sun-dried Lot Size: 20 bags International Jury Score: 89.31 Cupping Number #: HLB-536 Jury Descriptions: well balanced (22), crisp acidity (17), bright acidity (16), long lasting apple taste (12), chocolate (11), caramel (10), juicy raspberry (10), apricot (7), dried berries (5), tea-like notes (5), consistent (17), long pleasant sweet aftertaste (12) Please Note: If a number appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular decription.

PTs Coffee Roasting Co. is proud to announce we have purchased a wonderful coffee in the auction for El Salvador Cup of Excellence. Along with other members of our group, we purchased lot #6 in the auction that just concluded on the internet site www.cupofexcellence.org. If you’ve never visited this site, I encourage you to tour the site and see what how this organization is changing the way great coffee is purchased and farmers are paid.  You can also visit the El Salvadoran Cup of Excellence site.

Finca La Lainez - Cup of Excellence, Lot #6

Jaime Pedro Ginjaume was born in Santiago de María, Usulután in 1948. He started working in the coffee business at age 20, guided by the coffee tradition of his parents and grandparents, at a time when coffee was the most important economic activity of this country. The name of the farm responds to the name of the previous owner, Florentín Laínez, who in 1946 sold it to the Ginjaume family and since then it has passed from generation to generation as one of the family’s most precious heritages. Back in the 1940’s this coffee was exported to Italy, and since then it has been appreciated as one of the best in this area.

La Laínez is located at the top of “Cerro El Tigre” (Tiger’s Hill) in the Tecapa-Chinameca Mountain Range, at an altitude of approximately 1,500 meters above sea level.

This is the first time La Laínez competes in the Cup of Excellence, motivated by the result of the unique attributes shown by this farm in regional cupping events organized by different entities. This was the beginning of Jaime Pedro’s adventure, who, along with the help from the people from UNEX, S.A. de C.V. planned activities for the agricultural period 2007/2008. When they were starting the harvesting season, they planned to do it as timely as possible, and at the adequate ripeness to ensure a homogenous lot. The pickers were instructed to select only the best coffee available, avoiding over-ripped, immature green or defective cherries. Subsequently, his coffee was transported to the Oromontique Mill, were it was immediately processed in an eco-friendly mill, and parchment was dried in the clay brick patios.

This coffee plantation is 100% Bourbon, with a density of 1,750 trees per hectare and ages that range between 30 and 60 years. The canopy of shade is built basically by Pepeto trees (Ingas) with a density of 50 trees per hectare, pruned to stimulate development of horizontal branches to form a crown-like top. 

 This coffee will be available for purchase in the near future. Shipping dates from San Salvador are yet to be determined, but you can expect it prior to August.

Jeff