Arguably Brazil's Daterra Farms runs the world's most thorough, soup-to-nuts turnkey coffee operation, from seed to cup. Their Penta system assures quality control in every stage of development and the results are stunning, organically produced and Rainforest Alliance®-certified coffees. Sweet Blue is produced from exclusively Mundo Novo cultivar, which for single origin espresso offers a near-perfect balance of mouthfeel, acidity, chocolatey sweetness. We are bringing back a small quantity of this year's harvest which will arrive at the roastery mid-week (Feb. 13th). With permission of Sweet Maria's you can read a lot about this estate and see archival photos taken by Thompson Owen in his exhaustive trek of their operation from several years ago.

...finally!  Started its long journey back in late December and hit the roastery today.   Vacuum seals all intact,  green as fragrant and beautiful as usual. First roast. spot on....a few days rest will tell, but as always with Daterra coffees, the cupping samples tell the complete story; that's why we covet them!   Now onto the fun part...consuming!

The excellent mixology and all-drinkables magazine Imbibe features our Daterra Sweet Blue in the current (Jan) issue.  An interesting roundup of 5 varietals, including Mundo Novo, of which Sweet Blue is one of the best on the planet. the 2009 crop is set to land here right about now, and there'ssome of the 2008 still at the roastery in its nitrogen-flushed mylar container which has been keeping it totally fresh since it left the mill in Brazil.

an extraordinary coffee as a single origin espresso as well as a fabulous french press prepation.  I could drink this stuff all day and frequently do!

After much soul-searching, sampling and slurping, we have found some really exceptional new coffees, notably decafs.  It's hard for most staff sergeants in the java army to get excited about decaf but these two are boat floaters....an organic Sumatra Mandheling and an organic, Fair Trade Peru.  The Sumatra is from the Descamex mountain water processing facility in Veracruz, but offered now in an organic selection.  This newly-landed Peru is decaffeinated using the super-critical CO2 method...a first for us...and relatively new to the US market, which has only seen organic CO2 in the past year.  It comes from the Maximus Group plant in Houston, a ginormous facility cranking out massive quantities of commercial-grade and proprietary coffee.  So now at least we FINALLY have access to organic, US-processed decaf...Swiss Water production is in Burnaby, British Columbia and the MWP in Mexico. Andrea and I were cautious when we first heard about the use of CO2 but have now had decisive discussions with not only the head of the Maximus company but one of our most stringent importers, Elan Organic.  "Doesn't taste like decaf" has been a yada yada thing until now...this is wonderful COFFEE.  To my mind tastier that the vast bulk of caffeinated Peruvian product out there.  Elan, always a big believer in the best Peruvian co-ops, has outdone themselves in specifying superb green to decaffeinate and the cup results will delight you. I will add these to the product list when we receive them....

On the rocket fuel side we have an exquisite wet-processed organic/FT Yirgacheffe coming in in the next couple of weeks, as well as a nicely blueberry/curranty-toned Harar from the Oromia co-operative.  We have sold out of last year's Yirgacheffe Anbassa Bunna, a stellar offering which was not brought into the US for 2009 crop as it didn't come up to Dominion Trading's high standards and profile.  The ECX is mostly to blame for this, apparently, but we all hope the kinks get worked out for 2010 shipments, since this very high-grown, small co-op java was superb in '08. Also gone is the Daterra Sweet Yellow, but that leaves us with Sweet Collection and Sweet Blue still from our phenomenal partners in Brazil (www.daterracoffee.com.br) 

Daterra Estate…the consummate expression of Brazil terroir?

We are fanatical about cup quality at Badbeard’s and it should surprise no one that we’re excited to offer several coffee from arguably the most progressive and consistently excellent producer in the world, Daterra Estate.  They micromanage their vast hectareage, respectful of the land, the people who tend and live in it, and as a result have created a wonderful portfolio of special coffees, all organic and Rainforest Alliance® certified.  They have pioneered agricultural development from seed to package (see Penta® System ...page loads somewhat slowly!)) and risen to the top in a country which this year, despite estimates of crop reduction, will likely produce more than 3.5 BILLION pounds of Arabica coffee.

One of the great joys of the coffee business is taking in the smell of the green beans when they first arrive at the roastery.  In the case of Daterra products, this means breaking the seal of the 25 lb, nitrogen-flushed foil bag (packaged as such at origin) and getting a noseful of fresh grassy sweetness.  The beans have been painstakingly picked, processed and moisture-stabilized and arrive in optimal condition for roasting.  Shelf-life is greatly extended with the Penta packaging and the coffees have been known to improve over years. For the espresso connoisseur in particular, the Daterra experience is a must. We were particularly jazzed by the Sweet Blue microlot (pulped natural Mundo Novo varietal, less that 8,000 lbs. produced) and the Sweet Collection.  Both stand on their own cupping merits, notably for their distinct chocolate and fruity overtones, but as primary espresso components really shine.  Sweet Yellow is still shining. Exceptionally tasty in milk and soy-based drinks! No wonder several of the last world champion baristas have used Daterra coffees in their signature blends….enjoy!