News

Hello MRC members,

The coffee is brewed, and the ski equipment is ready to come out of the garage. However, Mother Nature is waiting to bless us with that first big dump of snow. It is quite late now, but I know it will come with a bang. Similar to the coffee we have chosen for this final coffee drop of 2024. The minute we cupped this coffee, I knew it was perfect to enjoy over the holidays. It has everything I love in coffee. Smooth and round, stone fruits, and a great aftertaste. So I really hope you enjoy it!

Here are the farm notes:

Country: Guatemala

Farm: Samuel Escalante - Finca La Vega

Region:Cuilco, Huehuetenango

Variety: Bourbon,

Catimor, Caturra, Maragogype, Pache,

Altitude: 2000 masl

Processing: Washed

Tasting notes:

Panela and dark chocolate with mild dried apple and cooked red grape flavors. Mellow winey acidity and candy-like sweetness.

Hello MRC members,

From South America now back to Africa for your coffee cup in August.. Summer in the coffee world is always exciting since a lot of coffee is being shipped from Africa. I choose this coffee because it has everything in the cup. Smooth, juicy, sweet, clean, and fruity but with a beautiful balance. Great for filter and exceptional on espresso.

Coffees in Ethiopia are typically grown on very small plots of land by farmers who also grow other crops. The majority of smallholders will deliver their coffee in cherry to a nearby washing station or central processing unit, where their coffee will be sorted, weighed, and paid for or given a receipt. Coffee is then processed, usually washed or natural, by the washing station and dried on raised beds.

Origin:Ethiopia

Washing Station: Ayla Bombe

Region: Bombe, Sidama

Altitude (MASL):2200

Process: Natural

Varieties: Heirloom

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Testi Ayla Washing Station was founded in 2010 and became part of the Testi group in 2016. It now serves about 375 smallholder farmers in the village of Bombe in Sidama, near the Bombe Mountain. Producers here own an average of 2.5 hectares and grow varieties such as Mikicho and Setami, which are local coffees.

The washing stations serve as many as several hundred to sometimes a thousand or more producers, who deliver cherry throughout the harvest season: The blending of these cherries into day lots makes it virtually impossible under normal circumstances to know precisely whose coffee winds up in which bags on what day, making traceability to the producer difficult. We do, however, make every available effort to source coffee from the same washing stations every year, through our export partners and their connections with mills and washing stations.

Typically farmers in this region don't have access to and therefore do not utilize fertilizers or pesticides in the production of coffee

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.

Hello MRC members,

This months coffee is an exclusive limited lot of NM Norway Roasting Championship Competition Coffee:

Origin: Peru

Fermer: Jorge Alberca

Farm: El Cedro

Altitude: 200 MASL

Variety: Caturra

Processing: Washed

Crop year: 2022

Tasting Notes: Sweet brown sugar,

cinnamon bun, almond, citrus.

The back story is this is the first year we competed in Norways Roasting Championship. How it works is 16 roasting companys all over Norway get to compete. Each roastery is sent the same green coffee (1x69kg) and then has 30 days to roast and send in 1kg of roasted coffee to be blind cup by 7 judges. So only a small handful of people will be drinking this limited coffee all over Norway. Some of the other competitors were Soldberg & Hansen, Fuglen, KaffeBrenerit, and many more.

The Danish Coffee festival was truly an amazing event and the Alps team really made a memorable experience for everyone who attended. We got to brew on the top of the line La Marzocco, Malkhoning, and PourSteady gear. In under two hours we served just shy of 100 espresso base drinks and the guys on the filter bar lost count serving Aprils Best Cup Finalist Colombian micro-lot#11 and organic Guatemalan which was Februarys coffee sent out to members.

Everyone really enjoyed the coffees and we sold out of all retails bags and cans instantly. Everyone also thought our Alps Flannels were very cool and made us stand out from the rest of roasters. I have to admit going into the event was a bit nerve racking. What if people dont like our espresso or filters? However the fear drifted away fast when folks really had nothing but compliments for the coffee. So the best method or cure for "fear" is just face it head on and serve it with a smile and simply believe in what our offering to the universe. The hosts thought we did such a great job they invited us back for another bar session since another roaster could not make it to the event. So we actually got to showcase our coffee and extra time which was humbling and a total honour. A big shout out to the 3 other brave super Dads that did an outstanding job and made the whole event that much more fun to attend.