2024 B&W Advent Calendar
TASTE ALONG WITH KYLE RAMAGE
How it Works
This advent box contains a set of 4 bags of coffee. You can choose between a 12oz set or a 100g set.
Every week in December, join us online as we reveal the details for each bag of coffee, along with a recipe and brew video!
Description
With this box, we have endeavored to reimagine the spirit of the holiday season through hope, peace, joy, and love. Hope is represented by a thermal shock coffee, a process which inspires our hope for the future of innovation, processing, and flavor profiles. Peace is embodied by our Holiday blend, a coffee that feels comfortable, familiar, and inclusive every time we share it with friends and family. Joy is expressed most exuberantly by a co-fermented coffee, a process that excites and delights us time and time again. And Love, of course, is embodied by a beautiful Gesha coffee - the variety that stole our hearts from the very beginning and remains a beloved fixture to this day.
We hope this box leaves your heart as full as Eddie’s shi… well, you know.
Happy holidays everyone. Play ball!
Advent Week One - Hope
Kyle reveals week one of the Advent Box. Taste along as we walk through this truly delightful coffee.
Jhonatan Gasca - Thermal Shock Pacamara
Origin | Bruselas, Huila, Colombia
Process | Washed Thermal Shock
Variety | Pacamara
Altitude | 1750 masl
Brew Recipe
Brewer | Origami
Grind Size | roughly 660 microns. We did 22 clicks on a Comandante C40z
Water Temp | 200 F
Water Quality | 1 pack of third wave water to 2 gallons of water
Filters | Sibarist fast cones
Ratio | 20g Coffee : 300g Water
Brew Timing
0:00 | 60g bloom | 60g total weight
0:40 | 120g pulse | 180g total weight
1:20 | 120g pulse | 300g total weight
2:30 | Total Brew Time
Jhonatan Gasca is no stranger to failure. In 2010, he failed in his attempt to become a professional soccer player. After re-routing his future and graduating from the Colombian National Technical Institute, Jhonatan returned to his father's coffee farm and started experimenting with fermentation methods. At first, this did not go well. After a couple of years of running trials and being turned away by coffee buyers, Jhonatan grew discouraged and gave up his newfound interest in processing methods for a long time.
Finally, in 2018, Jhonatan was encouraged by his friends from El Diviso and Las Flores to start experimenting again. And this time, he thrived! Jhonatan found the right buyers (our new friends at Lohas Beans) and is quickly becoming a leader in processing innovation in his home country of Colombia. In fact, this coffee was served on the barista competition stage earlier this year by our very own (and dearly loved), Jake McFarland.
After being picked at peak ripeness, the coffee cherries are placed in 200-liter tanks with water, where floaters and other impurities are removed. The water is then drained, and a second round of quality sorting (by hand) ensues. The cherries are left to oxidize for 48 hours in open bags, giving them time to warm up and thus enhancing both sweetness and fruit flavors. After two days, the bags are closed to prepare the cherries for 150 hours of anaerobic fermentation. During this time, the sugar present in the still-intact mucilage interacts with lactic acid bacteria and microorganisms in the fermentation environment, further intensifying those fruity flavors. This second round of fermentation abruptly ends when the cherries are "quenched:" a specific method of cooling down coffee cherries, wherein first hot (50 degrees Celsius) and then cold (20 degrees Celsius) water is used to wash the cherries, eliminating the microbial load and opening the pores in the bean (with the hot water) before rapidly sealing them (with the cold water), locking in all of those delicious fruit flavors. Finally, the cherries are spread out two dry on African beds for two weeks, being closely monitored for humidity.
Floral, like lilies, this coffee maintains some red fruit character - think rainier cherries - from the thermal shock it underwent, but it also has a nice sweetness and vibrant acidity, reminding us of meyer lemons and tangerines. This carefully and uniquely processed coffee brings together the two worlds of naturally processed coffees and traditional washed lots, giving us a lovely flavor profile that is somehow loyal to both.
Advent Week Two - Peace
Kyle reveals week two of the Advent Box. Taste along as we walk through this surprising coffee.
Esteban Zamora - Cinnamon Anaerobic + Shady & Elias Bayter - Juicy Cherry
Origins | Tarrazu, Costa Rica | Tolima, Colombia
Process | Co-ferment
Variety | Various
Altitude | 1350-2000 masl
Brew Recipe
Brewer | Fellow Aiden Brewer
Grind Setting | 5 and 1/3 roughly on Fellow Ode
Water Temp | 200 F
Water Quality | 1 pack of third wave water to 2 gallons of water
Filters | Fellow Aiden Filters
Ratio | 1:16 Coffee to Water
Brew Timing
Bloom | 1:3 bloom at 190F Water temp, 60 sec duration
SS Pulses Number | 2
SS Pulses Temp | 200F
SS Pulses Time Between | 25 sec
Similar to our beloved Holiday Blend, this coffee is a blend inspired by many of our sense memories from Christmases past. To invoke those feelings of nostalgia and calm, we blended two co-fermented coffees from some of our favorite producers:
- 65% Esteban Zamora - Cinnamon Anaerobic
- 35% Shady & Elias Bayter - Juicy Cherry
Esteban Zamora is a mechanical-engineer-turned-coffee-producer, and he processes all of the coffee grown on his family's five-hectare plantation by hand! He is perhaps most renown for this cinnamon anaerobic co-fermentation endeavor, and you’ve seen it on our meny for several seasons now.
Shady and Elias Bayter grew up watching and learning from their parents, who originally grew avocados. In 2012, however, the brothers turned their eyes to coffee and never looked back. Fast forward to today: Shady and Elias manage a beautiful farm called El Vergel, which sits on the slope of an inactive volcano in the Tolima department of Colombia.
Both lots used in this blend are delicious examples of co-fermentation endeavors that have been executed beautifully by the producers who championed them.
Cinnamon Anaerobic | After being picked at peak ripeness, coffee cherries are brought to the wet mill where the fruit is pulped, but mucilage is not washed from the seed. Everything but the cascara (coffee cherry skin) is added to GrainPro bags and combined with 1 kg of cinnamon powder for every 46 kg of coffee cherries. This mixture is left to ferment in an anaerobic environment for six days before finally being moved to concrete patios to begin drying. This drying process is finished in stationary mechanical dryers at the mill because reactions between the cinnamon powder and the mucilage form a seal around the coffee seed, making it more difficult to dry and requiring the use of mechanical dryers.
Juicy Cherry | After being picked at peak ripeness, the coffee cherries underwent three rounds of fermentation: first, a pre-fermentation in plastic bags for 24 hours, followed by an additional 24 hours of aerobic fermentation in cherry. Finally, the cherries were de-pulped and left to ferment in anaerobic environment for five days, alongside dehydrated, ground cherries. Drying took place over the course of ten days using mechanical dryers.
Just like time spent with family over the holidays, this coffee is fun, sweet, and complicated (err…complex). The aroma smells intensely like cinnamon and cherry pie filling, and those two notes are also the first to greet you as you take your first sip. It’s boozy and spiced, reminding us of birch beer - or even a rye Manhattan. Taken together, the cinnamon and cherry co-ferment flavor profiles have blended together to give us a tasting experience not unlike cherry cordials - which is kind of perfect, because those things are just about as familiar to our holiday traditions as the tree itself.
Advent Week Three - Joy
Kyle reveals week three of the Advent Box. Taste along as we walk through this delightful coffee.
Sebastian Ramirez - Mandarine Gesha + Sebastian Gomez - Dragonfruit Gesha
Origin | Quindio, Armenia, Colombia
Process | co-ferment
Variety | Gesha
Altitude | 1700 - 1800 masl
Brew Recipe
Brewer | V60 switch
Grind Setting | ~720 microns | 24 clicks on a Comandante C40
Water Temp | 205 F
Water Quality | 25 gH, 28 kH
Filters | CAFEC Abaca filters, rinsed with cold water
Ratio | 20g coffee: 300g water
Brew Timing
Start with switch closed
First Pour | 0:00 • add 100g water
Second Pour | 1:00 • add 200g water
Third Pour | 2:30 • open switch
Total Brew Time | 3:15
Sebastián Ramirez and Sebastián Gomez have a lot in common. They share a first name, a hometown, and a love of experimental processing methods. For week three of advent, we wanted to showcase one of those such processing methods which has brought us so much joy around the cupping table this year: co-fermentation. And when we settled on this, we couldn’t resist blending two lots from two of our favorite Sebastiáns… because they’re some of the best co-fermentation wizards in the game.
- 50% Sebastián Ramirez - Mandarine Gesha
- 50% Sebastián Gomez - Dragonfruit Gesha
Sebastián Ramírez is a fourth-generation coffee producer who began as a traditional grower over twelve years ago, but he soon started exploring the nuances of fermentation and today is regarded as a master of processes like co-fermentation and carbonic maceration. His mission is to make coffee both accessible and exciting, and Sebastián champions those efforts both in his processing endeavors and as a mentor for the Young Producer Program.
When it comes to exceptional and experimental processing methods, Sebastián Gomez is a pioneer. He has been perfecting these unique methods on his farm in the southern region of Quindio for years, and we have had the privilege of featuring many such experiments in processing by Sebastián and his counterparts over the years.
As previously mentioned, both of these lots underwent unique takes on co-fermentation:
Ramirez’s Mandarine Gesha | After being picked at peak ripeness, this lot underwent anaerobic fermentation with added CO2 injection, nestled alongside wine yeast, fruit glucose, and dehydrated mandarines. The coffee was later dried in two phases: first under shade for 20-25 days, and then in Grain-Pro bags for stabilization for 15 days.
Gomez’s Dragonfruit Gesha | In this unique adaptation of co-fermentation, whole coffee cherries are placed in GrainPro bags around the mill for about four days, where they are kept at a fairly consistent temperature. During this time, dehydrated dragonfruit powder is added to the bags to co-ferment, but this fermentation takes place slowly and more delicately, given that less osmosis is occurring due to the cherries remaining intact. The coffee was later spread out on patios to dry for 20-25 days.
With this blend, we sought to create a truly joyful cup of coffee that invites everyone to the party, and this coffee certainly does that. Florals? Check. Citrus? Check. Red fruits, purple fruits, and tropical fruits? Check, check, check. The result is a very complex, pretty intense cup that reminds us of so much sugary gas station goodness: think white gummy bears, blue razz candies, and bright red slushies.
Advent Week Four - Love
Kyle reveals week four of the Advent Box. Taste along as we walk through this memorable coffee.
The Peterson Family - Hacienda La Esmeralda
Origin | Boquete, Panama
Process | Washed
Variety | Gesha
Brew Recipe
Brewer | Orea V3 with Melodrip
Grind Setting | 660 microns • 22 clicks on a Comandante C40
Water Temp | 205 F
Water Quality | Apax lab washed process recipe
Filters | Sibarist fast flats
Ratio | 1:16
Brew Timing
Start | 0:00 • 50g bloom
First Pour | 0:45 • 50g pour | 100g total weight
Use Melodrip for next series of pours
Second Pour | 1:15 • 50g pour | 150g total weight
Third Pour | 1:45 • 50g pour | 200g total weight
Fourth Pour | 2:15 • 50g pour | 250g total weight
Total Brew Time | 2:45
In 1967, Rudolph Peterson originally purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda as a retirement venture. Comprised of three farms, the land was first allocated as pasture for beef cattle, but the Peterson family later transitioned it to pasture for dairy cattle and eventually, coffee. 2004 marked a pivotal turning point for both the Peterson family and the Panamanian coffee industry, when the first Gesha seeds were planted on Finca Jaramillo, one of Esmeralda’s three farms. In their own words, the Petersons acknowledge they are grateful and proud to call Hacienda La Esmeralda the “true origin of the wonders of Panama Gesha.” It only seemed fitting, then, that we feature one of their storied microlots as our own expression of love for this special variety which is so near and dear to all of our hearts.
After being picked at peak ripeness, whole coffee cherries are placed in a receiving tank and floated to remove unripe, overripe, and lower-density beans. After a period of underwater fermentation, the pulp and mucilage are mechanically removed, and the cherries rinsed. The coffee is then mechanically dried until optimal moisture content (10-12%) is achieved.
The resultant cup of coffee is an ode to everything we love about the Gesha variety. Intensely floral and remarkably tea-like, it features a vibrant acidity like complex citrus and delicate stone fruit, like white peaches.
