Our Official Organic Certification

We are proud to announce that we have been certified by Baystate Organic as being in compliance with the USDA’s National Organic Program.  Wahoo!  The process took a little longer then we had hoped, but we are thrilled to finally have the certificate in-hand, and can now roast and package as a fully certified Organic roaster! What does this mean going forward?  Well, we will undoubtedly look to expand our Organic offerings in 2011.  We will continue to carry the non-organic coffees that we love, because for us, the final determination on sourcing our coffee is always the final cup.  However, look for more exciting Organics in the near future!

Just arrived, and this is one of our new GrainPro stored coffees! More description to follow as we figure out our roast profile, but we know you will love this special lot.   Here are the vitals:

Farm: Finca Chichupac

Varietal: bourbon, caturra, catuai

Altitude: 1600-1800m

Owner: Association of 25 small growers

Region: Aldea Chichupac, Municipality of Rabinal

Just Arrived - El Salvador Finca El Carmen

EL SALVADOR, Finca El Carmen

We are excited to have several new coffees arriving at the roaster in the next ten days or so, one of which is a fully washed bourbon varietal from Finca El Carmen, located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, in Ataco, El Salvador.   We should have roasted samples ready to go in about two weeks time, if you are interested, please drop us an email or give us a call at the roaster.

Cupping Notes: clean with a more than subtle sweetness, buttery and rounded mouthfeel, hint of vanilla.

El Carmen Estate is located in the heart of the primary biological corridor that extends through El Salvador, a part of the Mesoamerican Life Corridor System that stretches from Mexico to Panama. In El Salvador, where more than 80% of its coffee is produced under shade, this eco-system is based mainly in the coffee forest. This region is considered an important sanctuary for many species of fauna, especially for migratory birds that travel between North and South America every year.

El Carmen is located 1,300m above sea level in one of the finest Strictly High Grown (SHG) coffee production areas of Central America. It is organised with the classic estate concept where great emphasis is given to maintain the identity of each lot from the time its coffee cherries are harvested until the green beans are ready for export.

El Carmen combines all of the ideal ingredients required to produce a genuine specialty grade estate coffee. The red and orange Bourbon cherries are hand-picked only when optimally ripe and de-pulped the same day. The red and orange varietals are processed separately. Red and orange (also known as ‘pink’) Bourbon coffees are widespread through El Salvador but are typically inter-planted and are picked as they ripen and processed all together. They are then naturally fermented, washed with pure spring water, and sun-dried on clay patios. The coffee is stored in parchment in wooden silos to protect the freshness of each individual bean, left to ‘rest’ for a minimum of 60 days under ideal conditions to reach uniform humidity and colour. Finally, the beans are prepared and all defects removed and screened to uniform size according to clients’ specifications.

Thanks to Mercanta for sourcing this great coffee and providing me with a plethora of information.

The GrainPro bags are a multi-layer plastic bag (a vapor barrier sandwiched between two layers of polyethylene) made to prolong the storage life of dried grains and seeds.   According to GrainPro, “commodities can be stored for prolonged periods without the use of chemicals and refrigeration and without the risk of moisture ingress. The result is that aroma, color, freshness, germination is preserved”.

I’ll be honest, I was skeptical if the GrainPro bags could provide a noticeable improvement in crop freshness.  After all, to me anyway, it just looked like a plastic bag lining the inside of the traditional jute bag.  When the first GrainPro stored coffee arrived, Guatemala Chichupac, and I opened the GrainPro bag – my skepticism began to fade.  The fresh, vegetal scent of fresh-crop coffee hit me full force.  I was excited to get the coffee into the roaster, and the results did not disappoint.   The resulting coffee was full of wonderful exciting dry aromas, and when cupped, full of sweetness and a clarity that is hard to duplicate without fresh-crop coffee.

We are believers in the GrainPro storage bags, and will look to source as many of our coffees as we move forward in GrainPro.  All coffees stored in GrainPro will be marked as such on packing slips and invoices, so that our customers will know that this coffee has arrived in as close to fresh-crop condition as possible.  We are really excited about these coffees, and will share them with you as they become available.

As usual, we have them at a great price and for a limited time, we are offering FREE SHIPPING (lower 48 States) via UPS Ground!  Just enter the Code TRUBRU2 at checkout and the freight will be on us!

Sorry, no P.O. Boxes for the free shipping.