February 2010 selection

Single Estate

Costa Rica, Lourdes de Naranjo, Herbazu Farm

This surprising single estate coffee from Costa Rica behaves quite a bit like a top Kenyan!  The cup starts with distinct citrus and mixed fruit aromas with a clear sweetness.  The brightness in the cup is definitely lemon blended with berries following with deeper caramel-sweetness notes – very Kenya!  A great example of a bright, complex Costa Rican.

From the Importer:

“Cafetalera Herbazu is a well-known farm in the West Valley region, the Lourdes de Naranjo area to be exact. It is on of the early pioneers in independent, small mill coffee farms, the work of the Barrantes family. They grow a type of Villa Sarchi cultivar that they have used for so long, it has become their own mutation in a way. It’s quite a short plant (Villa Sarchi is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon, as is Caturra). The mill and drying patios are right in the center of the farm, which ranges from 1550 to 1700 meters. They don’t employ much shade on the farm, and their particular type of Villa Sarchi seems adapted to this exposure. This offering is a wet-process style estate grade, which is a forced demucilage process (as opposed to traditional fermentation wet-process).”

Bolivia, Caranavi
Nakhaki Estate Lot “C”
Nelson Olori, Farmer

Here is another fine micro-lot coffee from Bolivia. The complexity of this coffee starts with the first whiff from the cup. There are florals, chocolate and nut with meaty-earthy notes along with a typical coffee aroma. A touch of black cherry and caramel is also present. The flavors reflect Autumn: maple and brown sugar, caramel and fruit. A pinch of lemony citrus comes through too. The mouthfeel is thick, rich and balanced. There are hints of nuts and caramel on finish. This coffee is predominantly deep and dark with occasional bright notes.

The distinctive Nakhaki coffees come from the Uchumachi, Colonia Kantutani, Caranavi Province in the Yungas of La Paz, Bolivia. They are expertly tendered and carefully processed by this small group of organic farmers that protect their environment with shade trees and ecological processing. Their micro-lot coffees include Typica and Red Caturra varieties.

Importer comments: Citric acidity (meyer lemon), sweet, syrupy, balanced body with hints of dark chocolate, sugar cane and red wine. Its silky texture carries forward reminders of vanilla, floral essence and green apple.

Click here to see the pdf of the article.

Peregrine Coffee is please to announce a partnership with Green Aisle Grocery.
Our India Monsooned Malabar will be available by the bag.

Green Aisle Grocery
1618 East Passyunk
Philadelphia, PA, 19148

This outstanding organic coffee starts with a sweet, fruity, floral smell combined with some dustiness.  The cup is balanced with a slight tilt toward the acidic, which fades fast.  The flavors are big with loads of dark, dark chocolate and bright cherries mixed with a fruit flavor that comes from the tropics – perhaps mango.  There are also subtle, delicate floral tones that sneak in.  The mouth feel is thick and viscous and provides a nice juiciness.  The finish is super clean with slight fruits, dark chocolate, and slight caramel and dulce-de-leche notes.  A superb Indonesian.

This unique organic peaberry from Café Cascada starts with an elegant combination of aromas of fruit and nuts.  Once in the cup, the flavors include cocoa, a mix of tart and sweet cherries, nut meat, malt, and subtle hints of spice and herbs.  The mouthfeel has a light and airy texture and is perfectly balanced, reminding one of chiffon.  Although not overtly acidic, a welcome brightness emerges as it cools.  The finish is long with cocoa and tart cherry tones. This is a superb, very well balanced coffee.

Importer comments:  Sweet chocolate, black cherry, sugar cane, dried stone fruit, syrupy mouth feel, clean, syrah wine, pecans, malt.

We are happy to announce that Peregrine Coffee is now available through the Roaster’s Club.

The Best Coffee from the Best Roasters!

Click here to visit their site.

We are thrilled to be highlighted in the Fall 2009 issue of Philadelphia Magazine Wedding.

El Salvador Finca Malacara
2008 Cup of Excellence #5
Roberto Dumont Alvarez (Chantuc, S.A. de C.V.)
Malacara Lote “B”

The first sniff of these beans say “nuts and toffee.”  Once brewed, there is a floral, sweet, tropical fruit aroma that continues into the cup.  The complexity of flavors flawlessly moves from one note to another, with the most prominent being strawberry.  This progresses to an orange citrusy acidity combined with pineapple and passion fruit.  There is a brightness that is present throughout which is nicely balanced with a creamy mouthfeel.  Most striking is the flavor transformation from hot to cold.  The cup cools into rounder tones including caramel and milk chocolate. Very distinct toffee/caramelized sugar finish. This is an exceptional coffee.

Top Jury Descriptions: citrus aroma (9), very clean and sweet (15), floral (12), tropical fruit (11), strawberry (10), sugar cane (7), peach (7), berry (7), chocolate (6), caramel (5), creamy (10), delicate (8), complex (12)
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Overview from Cup of Excellence
The history of this farm goes back to the beginning of last century with the Álvarez Prunera family’s great-grandfather.  On its 49 hectares today, the average age of coffee trees is 40 years, with densities of 3,500 trees per hectare and yielding some 25 quintals per hectare.

For third year in a row Malacara “B” achieved an award in the COE event. In the COE event in 2006 it placed 13th, in 2007 it ranked 20th and now in 2008 it has jumped to 5th place. With these awards won in a row, Malacara “B” shows the high quality of coffee that the estate produces.

The Alvarez family association, Chantuc S.A., helps support a school and a health center within the farm that was originally donated by the first Malacara’s owners. This farm is planted with 95% Bourbon and 5% Pacas on a sandy-loam soil.  Harvesting usually takes place between January and March, while flowering goes from April through May. The shade canopy is mainly made up of Ingas and mountain trees such as cedar, walnut, gravileo and avocado, among others.

There are two stories regarding the origin of the name of this farm: one says that “Malacara” was named after one local chief who lived in the area and who was known as the “Cacique Malacara”. The other talks about the relation between the farm appearance when Rafael Álvarez (grandfather of Francisco Arturo) bought it, and the face expression that his friends made when they saw the farm for the first time. The story told that it was so chaotic that everyone gave no hope on the farm and everybody made an “ugly face” or “Mala-Cara” because they imagined how difficult would be to establish a coffee farm there.

BBBD (Best Beans for the Best Dad)
Your Dad’s the best.  And he deserves the best.  So for Father’s Day, spoil him a little bit with a large bag of award winning coffee from El Salvador’s La Laguna Estate (description below).  A 2008 Cup of Excellence Winner, La Laguna is hands-down one of our most delicious beans, with a balance between caramel and fruit that pleases a variety of palates.  And in honor of Dad, we’re offering a large bag of this special bean for $5 off the regular price — $25 for 500 grams of one of the finest coffees the world has to offer.

El Salvador La Laguna Estate
2008 Cup of Excellence Winner Lot #7. On grinding and brewing, the aromatics are floral and reminiscent of baking spices. In the cup, this is a big coffee with a lot of flavor. The complex, winey acidity is perfectly balanced with exceptional structure and body. The thick and creamy mouthfeel carries the berry/fruit acidity straight through the cup. And as it cools, subtle hints of tart raspberries or pomegranate are drawn out. This is a supremely elegant and sophisticated combination of flavors with a nice dark tone running through the middle. The finish is like a slow trip down a long, winding road. Fabulous.

Jury Descriptions: strong aroma (12), Very balanced (13), very clean and sweet (16), floral (11), caramel (9), dried fruit (6), red raspberry (6), champagne (5), perfume (4), full and creamy body (14), juicy (14), long finish (7), improved as it cooled (11). Please Note: The number that appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular description.

This superb Indonesian seems to evoke the rainforest. The fragrance begins with clean, semi-sweet and rather earthy notes. In the cup, the body is big with a smooth, syrupy mouthfeel.  The flavors start with a vegetal, earthy woodiness combined with a touch of fruit. The lack of acidity plus a hint of sweetness makes for a very smooth finish. The final reward is unmistakable chocolate.  In fact, as this cools, it is one of the most distinctly chocolate tasting coffees we’ve encountered.

We are proud to announce that Peregrine Coffee was featured in the May/June issue of Brides Magazine for our Bepsoke Coffee service, where we work with the bride and groom and the baker to pair coffee with the flavors of the wedding cake.

Peregrine Coffee is proud to support the Lansdowne Friends School 2009 fund raising event through an auction donation.

Peregrine Coffee is happy to support Friends Select School 2009 Fund Raising Auction.

Peregrine Coffee is very happy to support Stratford Friends School 2009 fund raising through an auction donation.

We are very happy to announce that Cafe DiLuna will be selling Peregrine Coffee by the cup.  Cafe DiLuna is a wonderful, new coffee shop on the 2nd Street Restaurant Row in Harrisburg, PA.  Please stop by and have a cup!

Cafe DiLuna
402 N. 2nd Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
717-701-9868

The sweet smells from the cup evoke honey and peaches, and some of that is reflected in the cup as soft floral tones.  The dominant flavors that come through are dark and smoky chocolate notes combined with the more traditional nuttiness. The mouthfeel is smooth with no discernable acidity at all.  The finish starts off with a slight peppery edge in the throat, switching to a dark and earthy, long lasting aftertaste of quintessential coffee.  A very drinkable, not-too-complex decaf.