Cupping Notes

Christmastime is here!

Our annual Christmas blend has returned. . . and this year, it can't be oversold!

When we say we labored over this blend, we aren’t merely talking it up. We went through an extremely thorough set of tests and trials to land on our final combination.

What do we mean by that exactly?

Well, here are the different combinations of coffees we tried:

  • 50/50 of Papua New Guinea B-15 & Peru Yolanda Alvarez Microlot
  • 50/50 of Nicaragua Cabo Azul & Peru Yolanda Alvarez Microlot

and finally, our winner. . .

  • 50/50 of Brazil Veloso Natural & Peru Yolanda Alvarez Microlot

Going into our cuppings, we were extremely excited about each of the above combinations—and yet, each time we knew they could be better.

Finally, we are able to present the final product—one that we take great pride in.

Sangre de Christmas is a 50/50 blend of a Peruvian coffee from Yolanda Cabrera Alvarez’s microlot and a Brazilian natural-processed coffee from the Veloso Colecta.

Now, let’s get into what we’re tasting. . .

Sugar Cookie. There is something distinctly "warm" about a cup of Sangre de Christmas. In tasting this coffee, we were immediately reminded of Christmastime cookies left out for Santa. When you have a sugar cookie, you realize just how apt the name is. You taste sweet, sugary goodness. You taste soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth richness. The flavors of a sugar cookie are simple but comforting.

Caramel Apple. As is often the case, these South American coffees present strongly with a malic acid mouthfeel. The malic acid in coffee is most often described to be like that of an apple. It is tart, and in this case, most like a Granny Smith apple. Paired with a sweet caramel note throughout the cup, we're reminded of caramel apples, which seemed extremely appropriate this time of year.

Roasted Peanut. This is a note we were so excited to taste! It was a little tough to nail down exactly what kind of nutty flavor we tasted, but we kept in mind that Brazil (especially) is known to provide peanut notes. What we eventually settled on here was tasting a note most similar to roasted peanuts with salt and spices.

If that doesn't sound like the ideal Christmas coffee, I don't know what does.

We can't wait for you to taste it!

Merry Christmas!