Cat & Cloud New Coffee Launch 4/04/2024

Hello Partners!

 

I wanted to give you a heads up that 3 new coffees will be available to order starting Thursday, 4/04/2024! We are very stoked to have some exciting offerings coming onto the menu from Colombia, Ethipoia, and Honduras.

Samples of these should be arriving at your door soon. Feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions about them!

 

Keep reading if you want all the deep dive details on the new coffees!

Colombia, Rio Magdalena – Navel Orange, Vanilla Bean, Amaro
Central Valley, Costa Rica

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This coffee comes from a pretty special lot. Named “Arcoíris,” Rainbow in english, this lot of coffee was created through a careful union of several different micro-lots, resulting in a stunningly harmonious balance of flavors. Each lot added to this blend has its own unique sensory attributes and the team works hard to emphasize the effort put in by the farms, and producing families whose coffee contributes to the blend. The Rio Magdalena celebrates the handcrafted coffee-growing tradition of the producers and producing partners. The lot name “Arcoíris” nods to Colombia's rich diversity of origins, soils, and microclimates, and our name Rio Magdalena was selected to honor the river that winds through the western half of Colombia connecting them all. 

Bright citrus, creamy floral sweetness, and rich earthiness come together to create the beautiful harmony of flavors in the Rio Magdalena. Bursting onto the scene with Naval Orange, that sweet punchy citrus is balanced by the creamy marshmallowy sweetness of Vanilla Bean. These rich bold flavors are carried through with an Amaros symphonic blend of herbs. A unique and exciting blend of flavors that you won’t want to miss out on. 

Origin // Colombia     

Region // Huila

Producer // Various

Variety // Castillo, Caturra, Colombia

Elevation // 1,750 - 2,200 M.A.S.L

Process // Washed

Flavor Notes // Naval Orange, Vanilla Bean, Amaro

 Region : Huila

Located in the mountainous southwest of Colombia, the Huila Department is known for the quantity and quality of coffee it produces. Its high elevation and microclimates make the region ideal for growing amazing coffee. Huila’s proximity to the equator allows that quality to be produced year-round, leading to a high quantity of Cup of Excellence coffees that come out of the region each year. Coffee from Huila typically presents a complex acidity, heightened florality, and an underlying caramel sweetness. 

In the washed process, the coffee cherries are first de-pulped to remove the fruit from the seed. Next, the seeds are fermented for 12 to 48 hours (based on altitude and weather conditions) to remove the remaining layer of mucilage. After the mucilage is removed, the coffee seeds are washed and laid out to dry. Over the next 36 to 40 hours the seeds are dried mechanically before being transferred onto raised beds to dry for another 8-12 days.

The Nano Genji comes to us from the sibling mill of one of the most coveted coffees in all of Western Ethiopia, the Nano Challa. Nano Challa’s impeccable quality of production and processing quickly caused their membership to swell far past capacity, and so in 2019, they opened Nano Genji a few miles away. With 630 members between the two washing stations, they have continued to serve the producers in their community with the same level of quality and care we expect to see from a producing powerhouse like Nano Challa. 

Western Ethiopia will forever have a special place in our hearts here at Cat & Cloud. More than ten years ago, our Co-owner and Green Buyer, Charles Jack, was working in Ethiopia for the NGO, TechnoServe. It was there that he first experienced specialty coffee and visited the coffee cooperatives Nano Challa, Duromina, and many others in the Jimma region. 

Ripe plums and juicy raspberries wrapped in beautiful fragrant florality. The Nano Genji is like the perfect spring day picnic, with a small spread of juicy stone fruits, bright sweet berries, and surrounded by the delicate smell of wildflowers. The Nano Genji is a wonderfully refreshing cup, perfect for the start of spring.

Origin // Ethiopia 

Region // Jimma

Producer // Nano Genji

Variety //  Ethiopia Landraces 

Elevation // 1,900 - 2,200 M.A.S.L

Process // Washed

Flavor Notes // Plum, Raspberry, Floral

While in Ethiopia, Charles saw firsthand the positive impact that specialty coffee can have for smallholder producers. TechnoServe’s project helped double coffee incomes for many producers, helping them increase spending on their children’s education, on family medical needs, and on improved housing structures. Equitable coffee sourcing can improve producers’ lives around the world –we’ve seen it firsthand, and it’s something we’re passionate about

 Region : Jimma

The origins of coffee itself can be traced back to the Jimma Zone in western Ethiopia. Whether or not the legend of Khaldi the goat herder, who noticed his goats bounding around with excess energy after eating coffee cherries, is true, we know that the coffee plant first grew in the high-altitude peninsulas of western Ethiopia. The high elevations, steep mountains, and bountiful shade trees are the natural habitat for coffee to thrive. Coffee from the Jimma Zone typically has a delicious flavor profile of citrus, stone fruit, and black tea.

The washed process is known to create coffees that are clean, bright, with lots of sweetness, and is most often used as the best way to represent the intrinsic flavors of the coffee. This washed coffee from Jimma is first de-pulped to remove the fruit from the seed. Next, the seeds are mechanically washed in delvas before being fermented for 12 hours. After the mucilage is removed the seeds are laid out to dry on raised beds for 7-10 days.

For Nelin Guzman, everything goes back to family, Nelin is a second-generation coffee producer having learned the beautiful craft of coffee cultivation from his father Salvador. His hard work and dedication to quality in his coffee practices and life have resulted in some delicious beans and heartfelt stories. His coffee has been on our menu for six years now and in 2020, Nelin became a member of the Best Friend’s Club. With each passing year, his coffee gets better, brighter, and livelier, we’re so thankful to have met Nelin and his family and are excited to share his coffee with you.

Nelin has shared an incredibly refreshing lot of coffee, perfect for these crisp spring days. It opens up with a pointed acidity of muddled strawberry, coating your mouth with a sweet Meyer lemon, like a fresh glass of strawberry lemonade. As the coffee cools, ripe kiwi and bitter-sweet toffee bring a ton of sweetness to the finish, making you reach for that next sip. The Nelin Guzman is a bit of an adventurous coffee and will be perfect for anyone familiar with lighter roast coffees.

Origin // Honduras

Region // Santa Barbara 

Variety // Parainema

Elevation // 1,350-1,425 M.A.S.L

Process // Washed

Flavor Notes // Strawberry Lemonade, Kiwi, Toffee

With our Best Friend’s Club producers, we are committed to ensuring all of a producer’s coffee finds a home each year. We also provide additional financial support by directly sending funds for every bag of coffee we sell. This program was born out of the desire to create long-lasting sustainable friendships. It’s about working with producers through the highs and lows of farming, allowing us to support each other and grow together. Most of the money Nelin earns from producing coffee goes directly to his children’s education and supporting the rest of his family. They have been able to increase coffee quality, maintain it, and push towards a peaceful life. This year their goal is to produce enough coffee to be able to experiment with a different process of coffee, and we are stoked to watch them grow. 

Region: Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara region of Honduras is a mountainous landscape in northwestern Honduras. Nelin’s eastern-facing farm is high in the jungle and has beautiful views of Lake Yojoba. We love coffee in this region because of the microclimate and native vegetation aiding the soil with nutrients and shade. Nelin’s farm, named “Finca Zorzal” grows banana trees, guama trees, which are a type of shade tree that grow very fast and in the early morning the farm is home to quetzal birds. The parainema trees are planted on the rocky hillside of the mountain that only advanced hikers can walk through. The land's biodiversity gives the cherries notes of bright berries, a round toffee aftertaste, and an overall refreshing sweet profile. 

Processing Method: Washed
Nelin processed this coffee with his typical washed process method, producing fantastic and consistent coffees over the years. The coffee is first harvested by hand within 3-4 days, depulped using a hand-operated machine, before being fermented in water for 16-24 hours. From there, the coffee is washed in a 2-3 hour agitated washing process. Once the mucilage is fully washed from the seeds, the coffee is laid out to dry on cement patios for 12-20 days, depending on the weather.