News

Hello MRC members,

From Africa back to South America for your coffee cup in June. The adventure & journey always continues with the f the first ever catucai varietal Brazil.

Catucai is a cross between Icatu and Catuai, existing in yellow and red form. It is a hardy variety resistant to leaf rust and characterised by vigorous growth and high productivity. Yellow and red Catucai are small in statue, with red Catucai being slightly taller. This hybrid was made in 1988 by researchers at the then Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC). This variety was created to be coffee rust resistant and requires less water than other varieties. Catucai is also known for its high productivity.

Origin: Brazil

Farm: Fazenda do Cruzeiro

Region: Santo Antônio do Amparo, Campo das Vertentes

Altitude (MASL):905-1160

Process: Natural

Varieties:Yellow Catucai, Catucai

Hello MRC members,

This month is probably my secret favorite origin from East Africa. Everyone knows Ethiopia and Kenyan as the two power houses of world class coffee. However, I would say Rwandan coffees punch well above their weight and for the month of May you get a perfect example of greatness with this lovely washed process with clean notes of burnt toffee and brown sugar, dried fruits, almond and citrus zest.

Origin: Rwanda

Rwanda, Abadatezuka COOP

Region: Cyato sector, Nyamasheke

district, Western Province

Altitude (MASL): 1850-2200

Process: Washed

Varieties:Bourbon

Abadatezuka Cooperative is a group of smallholder farmers in Rwanda's Western Province who deliver their coffee in cherry to the Cyato Washing Station, which is located in the Cyato sector of the Nayamasheke district in that region. The producers here grow coffee at elevations all the way up to 2,200 meters above sea level, and the washing station is located at 1,850 meters above sea level. The washing station was established in 2017.

One interesting facet to coffee here is that the native honeybees that live in and around the Nyungwe forest where the coffee is grown are said to be responsible in part to the "unique profile" this coffee has. The bee-assisted pollination, fertile ground (black humus and sandy soil), and cool lake-affected climate thanks to the area's proximity to Lake Kivu contribute to the flavors found in the cup. The farmers use no synthetic inputs, either as fertilizers or as pest control.

Hello MRC members,

This month is a pretty special micro-lot and the first ever Pink bourbon variety to the Club. Similar to the expensive Pink Lady apple. Members will enjoy one bag (220g) of the this unique coffee and our flagship House Blend:This must be the Place for this months coffee if you have more then 2+ bag subscription.

Country: Colombia

Farm: Manos Juntas Micromill

Region: Cauca

Variety: Pink Bourbon

Altitude: 1400-2000 masl

Taste Profile:Cocoa, fresh cranberry, and

dried cascara flavors with boozy acidity and

mellow fruit-like sweetness.

Recommended Brew method: Espresso

and milk espresso drinks

Goodbye January, which was way too cold, and it was starting to look like a true coffee-drinking winter. However, the snow and powder has arrived with joy and smiles. I have only been out a few days on snow, but there is nothing like waking up to good coffee before a powder day. Or coming home after a two-hour leg burner and brewing a second cup of coffee.

I have decided to challenge myself in 2024 and really purchase some unique and interesting coffees for the MRC members. We kick off this month with a banger and this really satisfy Brazil anaerobic. When I first cupped it, I simply smiled similar to skiing on a powder day. It just everything you want in a cup of coffee. Deep layers of complexity and almost tells a story. I think it will please the beginner getting into good coffee, but also interest the coffee nerd out there in the club.

It was a busy month to kick off the new year, with a new record of online orders. Perhaps it has something to do with the cold weather, or people are catching on to specialty coffee and never going back to the old stuff they use to buy at the grocery stores. We also added a significant amount more new members to the Club. So this will really help to see out better coffees for 2024 and in the future. Another major highlight is we are now collaborating with Skigaarden up on the mountain which for those who dont know is probably the best restaurant and members club in all of Norway. They focus on quality food and drinks and world class dining experience. So you will find a rotation of coffees on filter at the new coffee bar right when you walk in from the main entrance.

It was a great year in 2023 now looking back and reflecting on the journey. There were a lot of ups and some downs but it cant be all sunshine and rainbows. Some of the highlights were investing in a larger roaster, new espresso equipment, being a featured roaster on the La Marzocco True Artisan Bar at the Danish Coffee Festival, picking up new wholesale partners around Hallingdal and even as far as Tromso, training new staff, meeting new people in the coffee industry, and roasting over 3000kg in 2023.

The main goal for 2024 is to continue growing but at a rate that does not outpaced or lose focus on quality. I am really proud of finding 11 great coffees and roasting them with care and then having them enjoyed at your breakfast table here in Hemsedal and as far as North American. Here is the list of last years coffees sent out:

December: Guatemala 🇬🇹 washed regional waykan select

Novemeber: El Salvador honey process Roberto Reyes

October: Kenya washed Gattcha AA

September: Washed Peru: Jorge Alberca NM Roasting championship

August: Natural Papa New Guinea Kindeng Mill

July: Holiday Break

June: Washed Peru: Gilberto Mejia

May: Pulped natural Brazil : Fazenda Furnas

April: Washed Colombian Best Cup finalists: Liliana Paja

March: Washed Colombian Best Cup finalists: Alvaro Tunubala

February: Washed Guatemala ASPROCDEGUA

January: Washed Ethiopia: Kayon Mountain.

Hello MRC members,

This months coffee is a highly prized rare micro-lot honey process coffee from El Salvador:

Farm: Ricardo Reyes

Country: El Salvador

Process: Honey

Varieties: Pacamara, Obata

Elevation: 1150 MASL

Region: Alotepec Metapán, Chalatenango

Harvest: December - March

Ricardo Alberto Reyes is the owner of Finca Potrerios, a farm covering 14 manzanas in San Ignacio of the Chalatenango region. Ricardo cultivates 4200 coffee trees of the Obata and Pacamara variety. He specializes in honey processing. He dry-ferments the coffee for 16 hours to partially remove mucilage, and dries the coffee on raised beds for over two weeks and then dries the seeds on raised beds.

The relatively recent emergence of a processing style known as Honey has become prominent throughout Central American coffee-producing countries, perhaps most notably Costa Rica. In many respects, the Honey process is similar to the Brazilian post-harvest process known as Pulp or Pulped Natural. Similar to the Pulped Natural methodology, Honey coffee is depulped to remove the skin of the cherry, and the coffee seed is allowed to dry with some or all of its sticky fruit mucilage intact. This process retains some of the desirable characteristics of a full Natural coffee (heavy body, sweet fruitiness with lower acidity, deep chocolate notes) while also speeding the drying process considerably, and reducing some of the risks of spoilage, mold, and other defects that can occur with fully intact coffee cherry on the drying patios or tables.

In Costa Rica (and increasingly in El Salvador and Honduras, among other places worldwide), some producers will remove a particular amount of the mucilage material in order to manipulate the coffee’s finished profile. Others focus on modulating the drying process to achieve different Honey levels, assigning differentiating terms to correspond with the results, from Yellow/Golden Honey (the mildest, perhaps closest to Washed coffees), Red Honey, and Black Honey (which is arguably most comparable to the Brazilian Pulped Natural).