Well-dialed cups of Calagual are dynamic in experience, a lovely combination of process and terroir. Grown in Santa Rosa, Guatemala, this anaerobic natural pache opens with a soft and bright apricot and raspberry yoghurt, reflecting its process, and finishes with a vanilla and cashew-like sweetness and texture. There is clarity to the flavor profile, while carrying a velvety texture and slightly thicker mouthfeel. 

A well-dialed La Maravilla La Cumbre is a great example of what we look for in our Orange label series. It’s remarkably chocolatey, with the creamy sweetness and richness of a good cup of hot chocolate. Perceived acidity is relatively low, and the cup leans on flavors of vanilla, caramel, and dried dates. Milk chocolate lingers on the palate, giving the coffee a long, pleasant finish. Sweet and full-bodied, it works as an everyday coffee on either pour over or espresso.

For a natural processed coffee, well-dialed cups of San Joaquin are quite chocolatey. And much like our other El Salvador offerings, this coffee is very sweet and has a nice creamy texture. You can expect a lot of candy bar flavors like milk chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. There’s also an underlying red fruit characteristic that adds complexity to the cup. Pay special attention to subtle notes of cherry and red apple when dialing. On the finish, you’ll find some cola, maple syrup, and pecan-like notes.

A well-dialed cup of Esperanza Kenya will present with a lot of fresh fruit-like sweetness similar to peach juice, clementines, and ripe strawberries. Compared to most naturally processed coffees, there is also a unique pop of citrus acidity that reminded me of lime. This fruit characteristic is paired with a lot of candy bar flavors like milk chocolate and nougat mousse, making the overall cup profile one of fruit and chocolate notes working very pleasantly together with a creamy, relatively heavy body. On the aftertaste, you should get some subtle florals and a lot of chocolate bar.

Dose: 20g
Ratio: 1:17
Grind: Slightly Finer than Neutral
Brew Time: 3:12
TDS: 1.38%
Extraction: 20.3%

Sensory Description:

Well-dialed cups of Wasa Natural have a juicy raspberry lemonade note that combines the lively brightness of citric acidity with a red berry sweetness. In both flavor and texture, you can expect some wild honey, making it complexly sweet and medium to medium-high bodied. I also got some more subtle notes of watermelon and green grape that made the cup feel crisp and fresh. On the finish, I got a unique combination of golden raisin and delicate florals.

Dial Notes:

Under-extracted cups of Wasa Natural came across a little “green” in their flavor, reminding me more of slightly under-ripe raspberries and limes. This left the cup still relatively sweet but overly tart. One of the main clues of under-extraction in this coffee was the difference in texture. The body/mouthfeel came across as slightly thin compared to the more syrupy honey-like texture of better dialed cups. In this instance, I would recommend grinding a little finer for the next brew.

Over-extracted cups of this coffee lost a lot of complexity. The more subtle notes of watermelon, grape, and florals were overpowered by a cocoa-powder flavor. This made the cup lose some sweetness and brightness, while still retaining some of the red fruit characteristics. The overall cup was slightly muted and muddled compared to the high clarity of better extracted brews. For the next brew, I would grind slightly coarser.

Dose: 20g
Ratio: 1:17
Grind: Slightly Coarser than Neutral
Brew Time: 3:12
TDS: 1.37%
Extraction: 20.3%

Sensory Description:

Well-extracted cups of Wasa Honey have a sweet and juicy flavor profile that reminds me of red berry, clementine, tangerine, and strawberry. In typical honey fashion, the brews are quite sweet and have a medium intensity, silky mouthfeel. This is a slightly more vibrant cup than most honey processed coffees that I’ve tried. You can also expect some unique candied ginger notes contributing to an overall complex and interesting flavor profile.

Dial Notes:

Over-extracted cups of Wasa Honey still presented as quite sweet, but less vibrant. This can be an easy thing to miss on this coffee if you’re expecting a “typical” honey-processed flavor profile. The juicy citrus notes got muddled by the over-extraction, making it predominantly sweet but with a slightly drying aftertaste on the finish. For the next brew, I would recommend grinding slightly coarser.

Under-extracted cups lost quite a bit of sweetness, which should be the predominant characteristic of this coffee. It came across as slightly thin, overly bright, and lacking complexity. This made the coffee taste very citrusy but without the juicy texture of better dialed cups. It also had a very quick finish as opposed to the long sweet finish of the well-extracted brews. On the next cup, I would grind slightly finer.

Dose: 20g
Ratio: 1:17
Grind: Slightly Coarser than Neutral
Brew Time: 3:10
TDS: 1.33
Extraction: 19.8%

Dose: 20g
Ratio: 1:16
Grind: Significantly Finer than Neutral
Brew Time: 3:05
TDS: 1.32
Extraction: 19.6%

Dose: 21g
Ratio: 1:16
Grind: Significantly Finer than Neutral
Brew Time: 3:00
TDS: 1.40
Extraction: 20.2%

Dose: 20g
Ratio: 1:17
Grind: Slightly Coarser than Neutral
Brew Time: 3:40
TDS: 1.32
Extraction: 19.7%

Ratio: 1:16
Grind: Finer than Neutral
Brew Time: 3:15
TDS: 1.45%
Extraction: 20.23%

Aldea La Chota delivers a sweet, structured cup with honeyed texture and bright green apple acidity.

Dose: 20g
Ratio: 1:17
Grind: Significantly finer than neutral (Same grind size as the Chili)
Brew Time: 3:30
TDS: 1.27%
Extraction: 19.2%