2007 Colombia Cup of Excellence first Place winner La Esperanza to be roasted this Monday, Oct 8th

La Esperanza is a jammy ripe dark plum-saturated coffee, layered with tropical fruits, blueberry and streaks of honeyed raw sugar cane tapering into a long complex blossoming finish. It is among the finest of any Colombian I have had, an exemplary coffee revealing a peak expression of Colombian terroir.

Farmer Isaias Cantillo recounts how he went from coffee picker to farmer with an ambition to excel. To read this click here.

The La Esperanza micro-lot is pristine fresh, having been specially packaged at origin and then, upon arrival here, immediately cold-stored to prevent any aging. Taste what the international jurors tasted in Colombia during late February 2007.

La Esperanza will be roasted this Monday, October 1. $41.95 per 12 oz Please call (866) 444-5282 to make reservations or click here to order.

Farmer: Isaias Cantillo Osa
Region: Huila
Altitude: 5,000 ft.
Rainfall: Moderate+
Soil: Franco Arciloso
Arabica variety: 75% Caturra, 25% V de Colombia
Size of Farm: 37 acres; 7.4 acres of coffee
Roast: Full Flavor

Terroir Coffee has purchased several micro-lots at dramatically greater expense because of their outstanding exemplary quality - well worth sharing with those in search of the ultimate cup. All except one of these are top place winners in the Cup of Excellence, referred to as the "Olympics of coffee competitions" in the New York Times a few days ago. The exception is Panama's La Esmeralda which hit instant fame in Panama's 2004 competition. Here was a new variety of Arabica coffee plant, called Geisha, with a stunningly different and exceedingly attractive flavor-profile. The folks at La Esmeralda have produced this coffee each year since. I believe this year is their best quality yet and have purchased some for our mutual delight. All of these limited edition coffees have been received in our roasting facility in pristine condition and are being kept that way using our special packaging and cold storage techniques.

We have placed these coffees on our website under their country names and also under Special Limited-Edition Coffees where you can order online . You can also call (866) GHH-JAVA to make reservations for any of them.

This summer has been especially intense, with Peter and me blind-cupping over a hundred Colombian micro-lots to choose only the very best for Terroir Coffee. Some of these lots were as small as 150 lbs! Our results are very promising in that they showed a remarkable consistency in the blind cupping results. First, we chose Maria Santos' coffee for the third year (without knowing it was hers) in a row. Ditto for El Descanso. Then we fell in love with all four lots produced by newcomer Marco Aurelio Ortega; his largest lot was 209 lbs. Other exciting groupings showed up as well which we will be writing about as we offer them. All in all, we will have a full year's supply of some pretty extraordinary coffee from Colombia.

The massive Andes mountain chain marches up past the Equator out of Ecuador into the southwestern Colombian state of Nariño, tumbles into the contiguous states of Cauca and Huila where it quickly branches into three ranges, the Occidental, the Central and the Oriental Cordilleras, enfolding two valleys whose rivers, the Cauca and the Magdalena, descend ever northwards for hundreds of miles to conjoin and disgorge into the Atlantic Ocean, while the sole remaining Oriental range finally comes to rest in Venezuela.

Dense clouds form from the Pacific releasing heavy rainfall on the west-facing slopes of the Cordillera Occidental. They glide over the Cauca valley, and are squeezed again as they ascend the Central Cordillera. The process happens a third time with the Cordillera Oriental where Pacific moisture mixes with moist streams from the Amazon. Coffee grows on all three ranges throughout Colombia, ranging in altitude from 4,000 to over 6,000 feet and with a hefty yearly rainfall averaging 80 inches or more. Colombia's proximity to the equator results in two coffee harvest seasons per year a main one, in which the best qualities are produced, and a minor one, referred to as the "mitaca." The main harvest occurs April to July for some regions and during September to December in others.

For over one hundred years Colombia has been one of the world's largest producers of coffee, often ranking second and providing approximately 10% of the world' supply, all higher quality Arabica. The northern coffee regions such as Antioquia, Bucaramanga and Medellin are today dominated by large relatively efficient farms producing very good commercial qualities, while more Southern states, such as Huila, Cauca, Tolima and Nariño, are composed nearly entirely of very small farmers. Just about all of Colombia's coffee is sold by grade (size beans and number of defects) and, for more upscale markets, by region. Thus my Coffee Connection (1975 - 1994) used to sell Colombian Supremo (large size beans with the fewest defects) from Nariño. Quality pioneers such as Terroir Coffee have now taken the search for quality a crucial step further.

Most small farmers have well under 10 acres of land, many only 2 or 3 acres. Each farm, no matter how small, produces finished green coffee ready to be sorted and exported. Their outputs, for obvious economic reasons, have always been lumped together to produce large easily exportable lots.There has been no incentive to produce more than what is acceptable. This has led to generally good commercial qualities lacking standouts. Terroir Coffee is now drilling down to the individual farmer level, meeting with them individually and in groups, cupping micro-lots consisting of as little as 100 lbs. and selecting the very best for which it pays prices to the farmers at far higher rates than Fair Trade and on a rising scale based strictly on quality. We are finding certain farmers who are naturally inclined craftsmen are also naturally committed towards ecological farming. It really is in the cup!

Colombian coffees are generally lively, mild yet distinctly flavored with notes of honey, tropical fruits and molasses. I believe Colombia has huge potential for the emerging single origin quality market.

Most of what follows is a combination of both common sense, and that information as learned from the food industry in general.  These observations will likely change over time, but are representative of current best practices as we know them today. Please feel free to write us with your comments and suggestions, as we are always interested in learning something new!

Material Sciences

Material sciences are responsible for miraculous improvements in technologies, including packaging of foods. We use what we believe to be state of the art packaging. We use 4.5-mil aluminized-mylar bags, with one-way valves (allowing CO2 out, but no air in). Used properly, this packaging will keep roasted whole bean coffee fresh far longer than previous incarnations of packaging for coffee, whether they be waxed, foil or plasticized paper, metal cans, or plastic bags.

Process we use at Terroir Coffee

Within a few hours of roasting, the roaster will evacuate the bag of all air (containing oxygen), and flush it with inert gas such as nitrogen (to fill the voids that used to be taken up by air), and then thermally seal the bag.  This is all done on a single, specialized food processing machine.  An important detail is the addition of a one-way valve to let CO2, a natural by-product of fresh roasted coffee, to continue to escape, but not let air back into the bag. Without this valve, the bags will inflate hard as CO2 builds up considerable pressure, but cannot escape. CO2 emission is a sign of relative freshness, and can also be seen as it creates a brown froth during brewing. Why nitrogen? Have you ever gone to the farm stand for apples late in the fall, long after your apples at home are starting to get soft and mealy to find fresh, crisp tasting apples from the farm stand? Those apples were harvested at the same time as the ones in your fridge - nitrogen environment cold storage.

These sealed bags can be stored at normal room temperatures, or in a refrigerator or freezer. One interesting issue here is that with time, the CO2 will displace some of the nitrogen.  Without getting too deep into the chemistry, it is the initial oxygen we are interested in removing, to preserve freshness.  The CO2 also serves to displace the oxygen in this application. Nitrogen is widely used because it both displaces oxygen as well as inhibits the growth of fungus or bacteria, neither of which are a problem for roasted coffee.  Displacing oxygen, however, seems to be a universally recognized benefit [for longer term coffee storage]. We have taste-tested our coffees packaged this way at 1-week increments stored at room temperature and found them to remain fresh tasting for many weeks, with little discernable difference from the same coffee roasted fresh to the same profile.

What we Recommend for Storage

Coffee packaged in one-way valve bags as we have described can be stored in a cool dry place, or stored in a fridge or freezer.

Once the bag has been opened, the remaining whole bean coffee can be stored until used up in any of the following ways:

1. Re-seal in the Aluminized Mylar bag by tightly folding the bag several turns, then folding over the wire-tie. Finally, gently squeeze out the air that was allowed to enter the bag when it was opened, taking care not to crush the one-way valve or to force out the air too quickly and damaging the valve.  If your coffee was fresh, you will notice the bag will seem to re-fill with air over time.  This is actually not air, but CO2 being emitted from the freshly roasted beans. The valve operates only when adequate back pressure needed to open the valve has been reached, i.e., until it is inflated to a pressure that will operate the valve and vent excess CO2 gas.  This CO2 buildup SHOULD NOT be expelled, as CO2 is somewhat inert, and will keep the beans fresher longer, when compared to Air containing more oxygen.  

1. For longer term storage beyond four or five days after opening, place the coffee in the freezer either packaged as described above, or, better, repackaged into zip-locked one-day portions. This way no condensation will occur as you pull out only what you need.

We do not recommend storing beans in an air-tight container under any circumstances, as it virtually guarantees that air from the room is not removed nor displaced from the storage medium, allowing plenty of oxygen to accelerate the staling process.  Further, it does not provide for venting the CO2, so pressure will build up inside the jar.

It is also recommended not to re-freeze, or cycle the beans back and forth from the freezer to room temperature.  This temperature cycling will also break down the beans, and accelerate aging. 

Final Notes

Storing pre-ground coffee greatly accelerates the staling process, because the entire surface area of the bean's cellular structure is now exposed to oxygen.  So, always, always (did we say ALWAYS) grind just before brewing. Some studies have found shelf life of less than one (1) hour when ground coffee is placed into an airpot, or filter, and left for hours before brewing. Best to throw it into the compost, and start anew.

Improve your coffee brewing quality at home

New Compact Design (CD) by Technivorm Designer Gerard-Clement Smit, includes your choice of one (1) Terroir Coffee (priced up to $15.95), a package of 100 Filtropa #4 Filters, a thermometer and scoop ($15 value). Everything one needs to brew fantastic coffee at home! Only $215.

All traditional Technivorm Models back in stock and on sale now!

The Technivorm line of automatic drip coffeemakers is the state-of-the-art for brewing perfect drip coffee time after time. These 1,475-Watt machines brew at the correct temperature of 200˚ F every time from start to finish, unlike others which are not powerful enough. A full pot of coffee brews in 6.5 minutes flat, it is simple to use and easy to maintain. One year warranty. We carry two models of the Clubline: one with a glass carafe and one with a vacuum stainless thermal carafe.

Clubline Model (KB741 Glass Carafe) NOW  $172.00 (plus shipping, regularly $182.00)
Thermal Model (KB741T) NOW  $195.00 (plus shipping, regularly $205.00)

Free Thermometer and Scoop with any model Technivorm brewer!($15 value)

Taste seven great coffees of the world side by side, including the much talked about, raved about Panama La Esmeralda and the Colombia #1 Cup of Excellence 2007 prizewinner La Esperanza.  Taste what "fresh" really means in the new quality world of coffee that Terroir is creating.  And finally enjoy from a bevy of exquisite espressos, all without bitterness, made by baristas extraordinaires Peter Lynagh and Jennifer Howell.  Please call for reservations: (866) GHH-JAVA.

Click here for DIRECTIONS to our roasting plant at 312 School Street, Acton, MA.

Flat Rate shipping program continued…indefinitely

Due to popular demand, and your support, we have made the Flat-Rate Shipping program permanent

$4 for shipments of 3-7 coffee items, to a commercial address;
$5 for shipments of 3-7 coffee items, to a residential address
via UPS Ground service.

For more than 7 coffee items, just add $1 per bag.

All other types of shipment are at standard rates.

Please help us continue this well received program by changing your ship-to address to a commercial address , and help to reduce green-house gases. If you would like us to modify your ship-to address to a commercial one, please e-Mail instructions to Jenny@terroircoffee.com or call us at (866) GHH-JAVA.