To me there's almost nothing more satisfying in the cup that a great Ethiopian...heritage has merit!  The dedicated farmers there could easily sit back and produce average coffees to meet world demand but many refuse to do so.  The current washed Yirgacheffe Kochere Co-operative has moved into first place in the last couple years' hauls...very cocoa-y and classical floral/bergamot notes, the latter reminiscent of Earl Gray tea. Easy cup to swig every day, long finish and nice body.  The natural (full patio-dried fruit) process Limu from vaunted producer Nigusie Lemma continues to amaze in complexity, lending an unmistakeable arc to the Mondocello and Stradivarius espressos.  This Limu is even cleaner...very few defects...than last year's crop, which was amazing too. Both offerings came in in GrainPro bags for long-term storage but have been flying out of the roastery.

To me there's almost nothing more satisfying in the cup that a great Ethiopian...heritage has merit!  The dedicated farmers there could easily sit back and produce average coffees to meet world demand but many refuse to do so.  The current washed Yirgacheffe Kochere Co-operative has moved into first place in the last couple years' hauls...very cocoa-y and classical floral/bergamot notes, the latter reminiscent of Earl Gray tea. Easy cup to swig every day, long finish and nice body.  The natural (full patio-dried fruit) process Limu from vaunted producer Nigusie Lemma continues to amaze in complexity, lending an unmistakeable arc to the Mondocello and Stradivarius espressos.  This Limu is even cleaner...very few defects...than last year's crop, which was amazing too. Both offerings came in in GrainPro bags for long-term storage but have been flying out of the roastery.

Badbeard's Shakespearean characters from Ethiopia (Harar "Queen City"), Brazil ("S.O.B." blend), Nicaragua (Organic "Flor de Cafe") and the current Savories offering Sumatra Red Badger will be available at the Ashland Market of Choice after tomorrow.  Thanks William!

No, I won't be jumping out of one of Jill Younce's fabulous cheesecakes but certainly close enough to sneak a piece.  Some time around 5:30 during her open house...from Bach to Zepp.

@ Painted Lady Coffeehouse

2045 SE Washington St., Milwaukie, OR

Since the catastrophic Indonesian tsunami in 2004 coffees from Sumatra and the Far East in general have been rather spotty in quality.  We are partnering with the importer Red Goni to bring you Red Badger, an excellent product which has restored my faith.  I have always prized the bold-bodied, not-so-earthy and definitely not-so-funky Sumatranas for their appeal in my espresso blends and Red Badger stands out as a single origin coffe with the best of 'em. Spicy and chocolatey.  From the Takengon, Aceh sector and comprising "Old School" Ateng varietal, this triple-picked, semi-washed coffee shows nice depth in th medium-dark roast profile.  

Catch it at most of the Oregon Markets of Choice if you're there...roasted and delivered yesterday.

Back by popular demand and a year away from home, the wonderful "trio Terruno"...washed, natural process and decaf.  Arguably the best coffees produced in Mexico, and the only ones arriving with bar-code tracking down to the spot in the finca from whence the coffee.  No other farm management program in the world comes this close in traceability! Read about this unique feature here. Jim and Devorah of San Cristobal Coffee Importers in Kirkland, WA have made a fantastic sustainable, life-changing project with the producers of Nayarit since the early 'nineties and we're glad they forge on...this is a limited offering, get 'em while we have 'em!

Arrived yesterday, SWEET new organic Nicaragua from umbrella cooperative Prodecoop as well as one of the highest rated Ethiopia Grade 2 Sidamo washed offerings in recent memory...fruit fruit fruit body body body.  The Nic is OCIA organic certified and a composite of two smaller coops, "20 de Abril" and "Flor de Cafe" in the Nueva Segovia region.  The bags say Flor de Segovia to add to the confusion, but there's no doubt this is a sweet-ass coffee!

The Tanzania Coffee Board announced this week that the country's coffee production is expected to double next year, from 32,000 to 61,000 metric tons. The increase in output is due to natural bi-annual growing cycles and favorable weather. 

Tanzanian production is famous for peaberry, historically, but recent harvests have not produced excellent coffee. Coffee is generally exported through trade groups and large bundlers, and very little estate coffee of quality is separately available. Badbeard continues to sample roast Tanzanian coffees, but it seems that higher quality beans are coming from Burundi and Rwanda.

Much anticipation and outright drooling when we heard our fave importer, Royal Coffee, rave about this new crop arrival of their proprietary "Queen City" longberry Harar.  Harar's output in recent years has been spotty at best, especially in the post ECX (Ethiopia Coffee Exchange) era.  The strawberry/cherry/blueberry notes are excellent, and characteristic of this varietal when well-produced.

Anticipating arrival on our dock on tuesday, May 22, will be roasting and shipping Wednesday the 23rd.

Tried and true and different, this week we rolled out a fun and espresso-friendly blend of three fine Brazils (from Cerrado, Mogiana and Minas Gerais) plus El Salvador Santa Rita natural process.  SOB indeed, Sweetness Obrigado Brasil! The fruit-bomb El Sal compliments the cocoa puff-chocolate-spicy nature of the Brazils and also makes a richly textured drip or pourover.

Appearing on the Market of Choice shelves in 7 of the 8 Oregon locations! (yes, Ashland peops, tell them they need to join the crowd...we can crack the Southern Oregon code together...)

Online customers, if you are interested write me at badbeard@badbeardscoffee.com