ENJOY STIRRING MOMENTS THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY WITH THESE TWO DIFFERENT COFFEES FROM INDIA and COSTA RICA. . . AND YOUR FAVORITE COFFEE OF THE MONTH CLUB . . .
INDIAN MYSORE CHIKMAGULAR A – FULL CITY ROAST —
Indian coffee has a unique history. It is said to have begun over 400 years ago when the Saint Babbudan smuggled seven beans from Yemen, making the arduous journey to Karnataka, India, and planted them in the Chandragiri Hills.
The Western Ghast, a rugged chain of mountains along the western part of India forms the backbone of India’s coffee industry. The traditional coffee growing regions, which produce 98% of the country’s crop, are the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil. The districts of Chikmagular and Coorg make up the Karnataka region.
Coffee from India has more in common with Indonesian coffee than with African or Arabian. It has acidity typical of Guatemalan, and is as full bodied as the finest Java. They also have unique, subtle flavors of nutmeg, cardamom and pepper.
This coffee is a specialty coffee that represents the best quality India has to offer. The beans are very large, uniform blush green, with a clean polished appearance. They roast beautifully, developing evenly with a rich, even brown color. In the cup, the coffee exhibits full aroma, medium body, good acidity and fine flavor with a hint of spice.
Arabica fruits are selectively hand picked at full maturity, and processed in several steps. The cherries are pulped, dry fermented for 12 hours, mechanically washed and soaked under water. The parchments are once again washed manually, using pure mountain spring water to create the unique coffee. Expert hands carefully sun dry the beans on concrete drying yards to achieve a slow and controlled drying. These efforts result in a coffee that has a medium acidity, intense flavor and chocolate notes, a hallmark of Chikmagular washed Arabicas. With the popularity of specialty coffee worldwide, standard top grade Indian coffee, Grade A, is re-sorted to remove any remaining defects.
COSTA RICAN SHB EP – VIENNA ROAST —
Coffee came to Costa Rica in the last decade of the eighteenth century. Over the many years, coffee has expanded over the highlands of the Central Valley. The development and trading of this commodity has deeply influenced the cultural and socio-economic landscape of Costa Rica. Myriad coffee plant varieties, rich soils, high altitudes and unique growing regions contribute to a popular and sought-after coffee cup profile. The interplay of these factors has allowed the country to achieve the reputation of producing some of the best coffee in all of Central America.
This month’s selection represents the standard quality for SHB EP Costa Rican Coffees. It can be grown in many regions within the country at an altitude of above 1350 meters. This is the ideal growing height for gourmet coffee. SHB coffees exhibit unique qualities like citrus acidity and its complex combination of fruit and smooth chocolate notes. This coffee type represents the classic, clean, Central American cup so many coffee drinkers have come to love.
SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) specifies that the coffee was grown at an altitude above 1350 meters. This term is also synonymous with SHG (Strictly High Grown); this classification is higher than the rating of HB.
EP (European Preparation) means that the raw beans are all hand sorted to remove any defective beans and foreign material. No machinery is used in the process.
The Arabica variety encompasses both Caturrai and Catuai. Costa Rican coffee is recognizable by its soft aromas, sweet chocolate flavors, medium body and lively acidity.
