September Greetings from the Roastery
Updated: 5 days ago
New coffees on the menu
These are our latest releases. We recommend checking them out.
Looking for a sweet and juicy coffee? We recommend Catugeisha by Imperio Rojo. Are you after a jammy yet vibrantly fruity coffee? Try our roast of the natural-processed Heirloom variety mix by Khalid Shifa. Or, are bright acidity, currants, and citrus notes the flavors you're looking for a in a cup? Then go for Gaaki AA, a washed mix of SL28 & SL34 from Gaaki washing station in Nyeri.
Catugeisha, the mysterious variety from Costa Rica
What is Catugeisha?
This September, we're featuring a washed Catugeisha from Costa Rica, produced by Imperio Rojo. This is a real treat, but what actually is Catugeisha?
Basically, Catugeisha is a hybrid of Catuai and Geisha. It's a rare and modern specialty coffee cultivar, most notably grown on experimental micro-farms in Costa Rica. It combines the highly coveted, delicate floral and fruity complexity of the Geisha variety with the hardiness, high yield, and round sweetness of the Catuai plant. The flavor profile typically features bright berries, tea-like florals, and silky, caramel-like body.
Meet the Producers: Imperio Rojo
We met Karla and José Alvarado, the owners of the Imperio Rojo micromill and the farm Las Brisas, for the first time in 2023 on our trip to Costa Rica. They are one of the producers who famously cultivate this variety very successfully in the Brunca region. During this trip we also got to witness their dedication and passion for producing high-quality specialty coffee. They cultivate a diverse selection of varieties renowned for their exceptional cup quality, including Ethiopian 47, Kenya, Geisha, SL28, Villalobos, and Catugeisha. This botanical diversity is matched by an equally ambitious processing program that includes natural, honey, washed, rested-washed, double-washed, and anaerobic methods. These techniques, executed with precision and intention, are designed to highlight the unique characteristics of each variety and micro-lot.
From Big Shot to Capim Branco
Big Shot was the name we gave our more chocolatey, heavier-bodied, seasonal espresso roast. And this is what Big Shot was for a few years, before we met our Brazilian producing parters, the Andrade family and tried their natural-processed yellow Catuai. After we started working with this coffee, there was no need to blend it. But as the Big Shot had already become a thing and was loved by many of our customers, we kept the name.
We name all our single origin coffees after the producers, farms and projects that grow them — after all, we choose to work with specific coffees not only because of the quality and flavor notes but even more importantly because of the people who grow them.
So from now on, Big Shot will be called Capim Branco, after the farm it has been grown on.
Nothing else changes: same cup profile, available year-round, same pricing, and ordering process. If you've been ordering Big Shot and enjoying it, just look for Capim Branco on the shelf or our web shop — it's the exact same coffee you already know, just wearing its producer's name instead of ours. It's a small change, but one that puts the growers — not our branding — front and center.
