Your coffee is coming to you from the beautiful Nelson this month. We're collaborating with Guy from Crossbow Coffee Roasters who has 16 years experience in the coffee world and the 2013 NZ Brewers Cup title under his belt!
What stood out to us when beginning to work with Crossbow was their commitment to sourcing green beans ethically and with traceability. Besides Crossbow's delicious coffee, the other thing that sealed the deal for us was the passion Guy has for coffee, in sharing the experience with others, and educating people about what is involved in producing quality coffee.
This month you'll be enjoying the Crossbow blend, using a mix of the current single origin offerings on their menu. With a base of darker roasted Brazil to create body and a combination of lighter roasted Ethiopian and Colombian to add a more complex and dynamic flavour, you get a blend designed to have an all round profile of flavour and is ideal for any use from black and white espresso to filter. The flavour profile for our current blend is light apple, grape and citrus notes with rich body.
Keep reading for a deep dive into each origin and the best brewing methods.
The three origins used currently are listed below:
Ethiopian Sidamo
Region: Sidamo/Guji-Ardi
Varietal: Heirloom
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1950 m.a.s.l.
Flavour Profile: Earthy with red apple and a green grape finish
The Guji region runs along the Mora Mora River and is well-known for its wild growing coffee trees, known as “forest coffee”. Like most other Ethiopian coffees, this region is comprised of many small farmers that consolidate their coffees for processing and export. However, unlike other dry-process Ethiopian coffees, these coffees are dried on raised beds instead of the ground, which is a much cleaner method.
Colombian Gaitania
Region: Tolima
Varietal: Castillo, Caturra
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1700-1900 m.a.s.l.
Flavour Profile: Peach iced tea and citrus
Produced by Rafael Amaya and his son, this microlot was exposed to a long dry anaerobic fermentation of 60 hours with the pulp on. This fermentation takes place inside the bags which the pickers use to collect the coffee and at the coldest part of Rafael’s farm where the temperature never exceeds 15 deg. celsius. The coffee is pulped and then exposed to a further 90 hour fermentation. This second fermentation takes place inside ceramic tanks below 16 deg. celsius and the coffee mass is not agitated at all. Afterwards the coffee is placed on raised beds and dried to the ideal moisture content This microlot is 100% Caturra. This variety originated in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a natural mutation of Red Bourbon. Caturra produces more coffee and is more resistant to disease than Bourbon.
Brazil Caldas Royale
Region: Micro Region of Pocos De Caldas
Varietal: Various
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1000-1200 m.a.s.l.
Flavour Profile: Berry and rich molasses with velvety body
The volcanic micro region of Pocos de Caldas in Minas Gerais has an authentic Brazilian coffee terroir where farms are scattered along slopes of one of the most geologically rich volcanic calderas (Caldas) in the world. With average heights from 1000 to 1350 metres, a rich combination of volcanic minerals, rainforest soil and a rare climate condition creates this unique spot with ideal conditions for growing excellent and exquisite profiles of specialty coffee. Of all Brazilian coffee growing regions, the subtropical altitude climate offers this terroir an excellent rainfall rate and the largest thermal amplitude each day. This creates outstanding conditions for the maturation of the beans and triggers a burst of flavours within this coffee.
Brewing Methods
The best way to enjoy this blend is espresso but its versatile and can be enjoyed using any brew method. From French Press, Aeropress, or V60 to the latest offering of dosed single serve filters - all brew gear can be found at Crossbow Coffee's website www.crossbowcoffee.nz
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