Apr
24
Guatemala
San Jose Ocana
Scored a 91.5!
San Jose Ocana was ranked the #2 coffee in the Guatemala Cup Of Excellence auction. Barefoot Coffee was able to partner with a select buying group to win 2 bags of the mind blowing #2 ranked coffee “San Jose Ocana†from Roberto Sanchez Lazo in the Guatemala Cup of Excellence auction. This is an amazingly fragrant and crystal clean coffee. This coffee received a 91.5 score from the cupping jury. Mouthwatering complex layers of powerfully sweet and bright fruit acidity with pronounced cheery and ripe apricot and toasted almonds. Dessert in your cup.
San Jose Ocana was founded in 1623. Five generations of the Lazo family have worked the farm. Barefoot is very excited to be able to offer this amazing coffee to our customers. We expect this coffee to arrive with in the next 2-3 weeks so stay tuned!
In San José Ocaña, owners promote good relations with workers. In fact, in the middle of last century, they donated land (about 5 CABALLERIAS) for people working in the farm and they founded there what is actually Santa Fe Ocaña county. Quality controls are important in the farm. Visual controls, as well as humidity, fermentation and drying process are part of a daily basis routine. Coffee is wet milled and sun dried in patios. The farm also has de-pulpers, a resettler and a pulp extractor. As all Guatemalan farms, San José Ocaña has beautiful natural resources and natural forests. It also has cows, horses and vegetables.
San José Ocaña is also awarded with Illy Café for its quality. Roberto Sánchez Lazo
Property Characteristics:
Farm: San Jose Ocaña Farmer: Carlos Roberto Sanchez Lazo Y Cdños.
Rank: 2
City: San Juan Sacatepéquez Country: Guatemala
Farm Size: 225.00 Hectares Coffee growing area: 22.00 Hectares Altitude: 1905 masl
Coffee Characteristics:
Variety: Catuai, Borbon
Processing System: Milling Process: Wet, Drying Process: Sun
Lot Size: 40 bags
International Jury Score: 91.50
Cupping Number #: 329
Jury Descriptions: very clean (17), elegant (10), complex (19), sweet (18), spicy (9), intense fruit acidity (13), citric acidity (15), pleasant lingering acidity (18), abundant fruits (16), guava (6), blackberry (10), strawberry, apricot peach finish (8), fresh coffee cherry (12), dark toasted almonds (1), vanilla (13), chocolate, creamy, very fragrant (17), jasmine (11)
Taste the best in the world for only $35 for a 12oz bag.
Change your entire perspective with a single cup.
Barefoot is only roasting this exceptional coffee to order. Email info @ barefootcoffeeroasters.com to sign up to pre order a bag for yourself.
Aug
13
Panama
Kotowa
Organico
Scored a 89.6!
For the 2007 auction Barefoot was once again proud to be the top bidder on the famous Kotowa Organic Cup Of Excellence coffee. This coffee keep winning in the Cup Of Excellence and Barefoot keep loving the flavor so much that we keep buying it. This year the Koyners were the #4 coffee by score but they received the 3rd highest price in the auction. The flavors are everything we love about the non auction lot of the same microlot but magnified 4x. It is refreshingly zingy citrus acidity with a gorgeous lush body that covers the tongue. Smooth fragrance of summer fruit flowers and ripe red plums.
Ricardo Koyner, his wife Benita and his two children, Juan Diego 6 yrs and Victoria 4yrs live in the farm that carries the Kotowa name. Grown in the breathtakingly high mountains of Boquette this strictly hard bean is a shining example of world class coffee and environmental and human stewardship. Café Kotowa produces and processes their coffee taking in consideration the environment and the social aspects of the people that work for them. Kotowa protects the virgin forests in surrounding areas of their plantation and use no insecticides or herbicides. They cut the weeds manually to prevent the use of herbicidal chemicals. All the by-products from the milling activity - pulp, waste water- is used to produce organic fertilizer which is used in the Duncan organic farm. For the people that work for Kotowa, they provide free medical attention and for the kids, they have a nursery with meals and a school program.
This coffee is only available on a pre-order. So sign up to order your bag today. email info @ barefootcoffeeroasters.com
Cupping Score: 89.61 Lot #: pa2007-04 Bags: 14 Bag Weight: 22.70 kg. (50 lbs.)
Crop Year(s): 2006 / 2007 Variety: TÃpica, Caturra Quality: SHB
Elevation: 5600 fts Avg. Temp: 16 C - 60 F Avg. Rainfall: 1750 mm Growing Region: Volcancito, Boquete Owner: Ricardo Koyner
Reserve your bag now! Taste the best in the world for only $35 for a 12oz bag.
Jun
28
Barefoot was very active in this auction today. Barefoot was able to win all three of the superlative coffees we sought after. We are so darned excited!! Barefoot also was in the group that bought this amazing tongue - gasm coffee.
Lot#: 1 Raúl Ochoa Hernández - La Montaña
|
|
|
|
|
Overview
Raúl Ochoa is the owner of Finca La Montaña which is nested in the Chalatenango department, within the coffee region known as Alotepec-Metapán mountain range. La Montaña farm is cultivated with Bourbon, Pacas and Pacamara varieties, grown under a canopy of shade trees. The farm altitude is 1,385 meters above sea level and coffee grows on very fertile clay loam soils under ecological-friendly cultural practices that include organic fertilization.
Raúl inherited an uncultured land from his father many years ago, in 1986 he begun growing coffee with seeds bought in the extinct ISIC, the institute which was responsible to create the Pacamara hybrid from the cross between Red Maragogipe and local Pacas variety. At the beginning he was growing only Bourbon and Pacas, and as few as 3 1-pound bags of Pacamara seeds, it was not until 1999 that he did Pacamara nurseries again, taken from seeds selected from those earlier seeds that he recognized as Pacamara varietal.
La Montaña has an average of 15 years-old coffee trees due to some replanting and new areas. Raúl believed that Pacamara was great this year, due to size and even ripeness, that’s why he chose that varietal to enter the Cup of Excellence. He also continued another strategy, to lower the amount of chemical fertilizers and start using more organic compost. This farm has nearly 3,900 coffee trees per hectare and some 50 shade trees per hectare. There are 1.75 ha grown with Pacamara, 1.4 ha grown to Bourbon and the remaining 2.45ha with Pacas.
Raúl - 61 years old and father of five - gets help from one of them, Alexander who support him especially when the harvest approaches and the need of achieving perfect selection becomes more important to obtain the best quality. They explain their pickers about the program and emphasize the idea of picking only perfectly ripe cherries, but they also pay an extra 50% above the legal wage. The coffee lot that won was picked during 5 days; it was processed at Rene Aguilar’s mill which is a neighbor who owns a “beneficio†only 0.1 mile away from his farm. “He does a really good job processing Pacamara, he already has calibrated his depulpers for the larger bean and we trust himâ€. This coffee was naturally fermented during 12 hours and sun-dried in cement patios.
La Montaña is the first farm coming from the Alotepec-Metapán Mountain Range that wins El Salvador’s COE, it is also the first one to get the first place with Pacamara, and this is another reason for Raúl to be really proud and happy for his farm and coffee. La Montaña has been around COE event since 2004, and each year its coffee has been going nothing but up. In 2004, Alexander represented Raúl and won 31st place with a Bourbon lot, in 2005 he repeated with 5th place with a Pacamara lot, in 2006, he joined forces with José Montiel, (who also won 4th place in 2007) and reached 3rd with a Pacamara lot from both farms, and finally this year, La Montaña by itself reached the top spot as “crème de la crème†in El Salvador.
Raúl is a great example of a small hardworking coffee grower; but he is more like an artisan, taking care of his trees with an admirable passion. His humbleness is amazing, “I just want to keep working as hard as I can, and produce the best coffee to create a long-term relationship with a roaster that appreciates my coffee as much as I do†he said. This is briefly the story of Raul, his farm and his “celestial†coffee…
Other Statistics:
Coffee varieties: Bourbón, Pacas & Pacamara
Type of Shade: Ingas, Cuje, Guachipilin, etc.
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,200 mm
Average Temperature: 16º C
Type of Soil: Clay loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 150 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: Rene Antonio Aguilar’s Parchment Mill
Other crops: Maize, Peaches, Vegetables
Fauna: Deer, Armadillos, Cotuza or Central American Agouti, raccoons, snakes, spiders, birds, etc.
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: N 14º 17’ 12.65’’
Longitude: W 89º 7’ 26.38’’ |
|
Property Characteristics:
|
Coffee Characteristics:
|
|
Farm: La Montaña
|
|
Variety: Pacamara
|
|
Farmer: Raúl Ochoa Hernández
|
|
Processing System: Washed & Sun-dried
|
|
Rank: 1
|
|
Lot Size: 20 bags
|
|
City: La Palma
|
|
International Jury Score: 92.80
|
|
Region: Chalatenango
|
|
Cupping Number #: HLB-502
|
|
Country: El Salvador
|
|
Price: 15.55 USD
|
|
Farm Size: 5.60 Hectares
|
|
Winning Bidder: Cafe Imports, Terrior Coffee, Sweet Maria’s Coffee, 49th Parallel Roasters Inc., Paradise Roasters, Caffe Pronto, Barefoot Coffee Roasters, The Coffee Tree Roasters.
|
|
Coffee growing area: 5.60 Hectares
|
|
Jury Descriptions: remained very sweet all the way through (21) celestial, bright crisp acidity (15), with spine (11), transparent (14, fruity (19), stone fruit (11), floral note (15), jasmine (10), black currant (9, brown sugar (20), honey (6) creamy body (8) long resonant finish (13), mango, cherry, grape jelly, candied orange, peach
|
|
Altitude: 1385 masl
|
|
Please Note: If a number appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular decription.
|
|
Certification: None
|
|
|
Jun
28
ANDÂ Barefoot was also in the group that won the #2 coffee! Dang this is gonna be some serious fun!!!!
Lot#: 2 Julia Margarita MartÃnez Molina - Suiza
|
|
|
|
|
Overview
Suiza farm was acquired around 1952 by Carlos Menéndez and Dolores Salazar de Menendez, who had the vision to grow coffee there despite the rough access due to lack of proper roads and means of transportation, but this wasn’t as important as the idea of working hard, create jobs and give the local communities permanent support such as helping with the construction of a local school and a church. The farm was then inherited around the 70’s by Carlos Menéndez, their son, who did intensive works in the coffee fields making it one of the most productive farms in the Santa Ana volcano. In 1986, Julia Margarita Molina MartÃnez, Carlos wife, started to take care of this farm and keep the coffee heritage within the family with the help of her sons, especially Juan Francisco who has been overseeing the farm since 2005.
Coffee is harvested with extreme care, only ripe cherries are allowed and cherry post harvest selection is always done in the farm to eliminate any remaining immature bean or dry pods. Coffee is processed in the San Carlos farm, also property of the Menéndez family, under strict quality controls, beginning with depulping within few hours after harvested. Wet Parchment is dropped in tanks and stays there until it reaches adequate point of fermentation, this lasts between 10 to 12 hours. They washed the coffee with clean fresh water to remove the mucilage and dry it on cement patios for 10 to 12 days until reaches 12% humidity. After this, it is storage to secure the quality for a longer period.
La Suiza farm is grown to Bourbon, Pacamara and Catimor. Pacamara was introduced to the farm in the early 90’s, some old Typica trees are still remaining inside this farm as legacy of Juan Francisco’s grandparents. Coffee is shade grown to maintain the ecosystem in balance and they replant every year coffee trees to keep a young productive plantation. They apply to foliar fertilizations; 1 application to prevent leaf rust; two soil fertilizations, coffee appreciative pruning, shade pruning, offshoot thinning and control weeds manually.
For Juan Francisco, the bean characteristics this year were a hint that Suiza was ready to win at the COE event, he is sure that microclimate due to the positive influence of surrounding forest and the position of the sun for growing coffee was accomplice of the intrinsic properties of Suiza’s coffee. The lot was selected from the highest point of the farm during one entire month. They employ 8 permanent workers and 20 people for harvesting time.
Juan Francisco is very keen to keep researching over their farm also, to discover other factors that allow them to produce a higher quality coffee, he believe there’s still room to improve and are willing to continue doing their “homeworkâ€.
Other Statistics:
Coffee varieties: Bourbón, Pacamara, Catimor
Type of Shade: Cypress, Pepeto Peludo, CopalchÃ, Pepeto de RÃo, etc.
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,200 mm Average Temperature: 16º C Type of Soil: Sandy loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 180 bags Mill and company where lot was process: San Carlos Mill
Fauna: Armadillos, Central American Agouti, snakes, orioles, rabbits, etc.
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: N 13º 52’ 16.8’’ Longitude: W 89º 36’ 44.4’’
|
|
Property Characteristics:
|
Coffee Characteristics:
|
|
Farm: Suiza
|
|
Variety: 40% Bourbón, 30% Pacamara, 30% Catimor
|
|
Farmer: Julia Margarita MartÃnez Molina
|
|
Processing System: Washed & Sun-dried
|
|
Rank: 2
|
|
Lot Size: 22 bags
|
|
City: Santa Ana
|
|
International Jury Score: 92.13
|
|
Region: Santa Ana
|
|
Cupping Number #: HLB-534
|
|
Country: El Salvador
|
|
Price: 9.10 USD
|
|
Farm Size: 21.00 Hectares
|
|
Winning Bidder: Cafe Imports, 49th Parallel Roasters Inc., Caffe Pronto, Barefoot Coffee Roasters, The Coffee Tree Roasters.
|
|
Coffee growing area: 21.00 Hectares
|
|
Jury Descriptions: great aroma (23), sweet fruits (20),, elegant (16), complete (15), compact (9), sparkling acidity (15), winy (11) jasmine (10), berries (19), fresh coffee cherry (14), honey (21), smooth (14), creamy body (15), lingering body (6), chocolate (16), caramel (10), almond butter, vanilla, milk raspberry, lemon (11) juicy, peach, spice finish, celestial coffee
|
|
Altitude: 1650 masl
|
|
Please Note: If a number appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular description.
|
|
Certification: None
|
|
|
| |
|
Jun
28
Barefoot is VERY proud to be the winning bidder for this amazing coffee in todays El Salvador CoE auction!
Lot #10 San Jose -from Gloria Mercedes Rodriquez Fontan de Huezo!!
This coffee is simply wonderful. Powerfully sweet and lyrical. Fantastic lip smacking acidity, a remarkably deep body and neverending fruity melon and mint highlights. This was tied for us with the #2 coffee in the auction and only .5 a point less than the #1. (oh yeah and B byt the way Barefoot is also getting a few bags of both #1 and #2 coffees! WOOHOOO!)
2007 El Salvador Cup of Excellence® Winning Farms - Auction June 28, 2007
Lot#: 10 – San José / Gloria Mercedes Rodriguez Fontan de Huezo
Overview
For four generations Finca San Jose has embodied the force, faith and hope of a family of coffee producers. In 1815 Jose Maria Rodriguez and Josefina Rodriguez planted the first coffee trees with their own hands. Through the generations, the farm has passed through the hands of many committed farmers, beginning with Israel Rodriguez who, followed by Jose Maria Rodriguez cared for the farm until the most recent owner, Gloria Mercedes Rodriguez Fontan, took over. Ever the strong woman, Gloria has overcome gender barriers in an industry that has historically been the province of men and continues to personally supervise the process of cultivation.
The mountain slopes of Finca San Jose are shaded by trees that help maintain and preserve the crop and the surrounding environment. In addition to the multitude of plants, the farm is home to a variety of wild animals and birds that can be seen in their natural habitat.
More than 7 families (and growing!) live on the farm earning their livelihood from working the land. There are 10 full-time workers and many more seasonal workers who aid in the harvest process. In total, between 60-75 people work on the farm.
This is the third consecutive year that San Jose has participated in the Cup of Excellence, always reaching the stage of the international jury. This year, with great faith and a strong belief in the quality of their product, the farm won with a sample taken from an 8.4 hectare area.
On Finca San Jose, coffee goes through an extensive process of quality control in addition to being grown under standards that qualify it as specialty coffee. The farm is located at an altitude above 1,400 meters (above sea level) and the coffee is 100% Bourbon cut at the peak of its ripeness and grown in organically rich clay soil. The people who cut the coffee have extensive experience and share a commitment to growing a superior quality coffee as owner Gloria Rodriguez personally supervises every stage of the process.
Gloria considers the principal reason behind her success to be her faith, not only in her coffee but also in the Cup of Excellence. She believes that the reputation and prestige of the event will allow her to stand out in international markets and the economic benefits will allow her to reinvest in the farm, impacting the people who toil in the fields and maintain the quality of the production chain from seed to cup. Gloria hopes to be able to generate and maintain a long-term relationship with her buyers and from this relationship she hopes to be able to reap benefits for everyone.
Other Statistics:
Coffee varieties: Bourbón
Type of Shade: Pepeto, inga sp, and other native trees
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,500 mm
Average Temperature: 17º C
Type of Soil: Clay loam
Annual Production: (60kg) 160 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio Santa Rita, Ing. José Antonio SalaverrÃa y Co. de C.V.
Fauna: Armadillo, gray fox, agouti, pocket gopher, magpie, turquoise, etc.
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: N 13º 52’ 52.3’’
Longitude: W 89º 48’ 24.5’’
Property Characteristics: Coffee Characteristics:
Farm: San José
Farmer: Gloria Mercedes RodrÃguez Fontan de Huezo
Rank: 10
City: Apaneca
Region: Ahuachapán
Country: El Salvador
Farm Size: 8.40 Hectares
Coffee growing area: 8.40 Hectares
Altitude: 1409 masl
Certification: None
Variety: Bourbón
Processing System: Washed & Sun-dried
Lot Size: 16 bags
International Jury Score: 86.33
Cupping Number #: HLB-508
Jury Descriptions: sweet aftertaste (13) honey (4), syrupy (5), floral (6), creamy, buttery, sweet citric, black currant, long finish (8)
Please Note: If a number appears in brackets next to a description it indicates the number of jurors that agreed with that particular decription.
Jun
18
Tanzania Mbinga Ruvuma Peaberrry
co-op farmed,
Fully washed coffee.
Ruvuma coffee is a quality focused group of independent farmers loosely organized into a co-op format. The main washing and puling mill where this coffee is harvested and processed is near Mbinga town in southernTanzania. The coffee is super clean and processed perfectly. The elevation of over 5.200 feet and the very balanced rainfall and intense sun result in excellent acidity and rounded body. Farmers are paid premiums for only well ripened cherries and the wet mills and dry mills are very modern and well managed for highest quality. The parchment coffee is dried on raised drying beds to ensure uniform drying. This results in VERY clean and consistent coffee
The Tanzania Ruvuma Mbinga Peraberry is a bright Rainier Cherry of candied sweetness. It has an intense bright and snappy acidity that is pulled tight across your tongue by it’s surprisingly full buttery body and lushness. It is exceptionally clean and crisp and well processed. There are bright dancing highlights of sweet pea flowers, rose hips, and meyer lemon tanginess. Look for a hint of pinot noir red wine heaviness with just the right balance of highs and lows to move you into that special warm and fuzzy place. You will swear you are drinking a red wine butter sauce with lemon grass and shallots. A great and wonderful coffee.
This is an exceptional coffee so buy a pound today!
$15 a pound
So join Barefoot Coffee Roasters in supporting the Ruvuma Mbinga co-op’s
and brew some of this truly world class coffee in your home today.
Jun
4
Read the whole article
…
| Barefoot Coffee Roasters |
Brazil Poco Fundo |
| Santa Clara, California |
Reviewed: May 2007
|
|
Overall Rating: 90 points
Aroma: 8
Body: 8
Flavor: 8
Aftertaste: 8
Roast (Agtron): Medium (49/63)
|
|
| Origin: Sul de Minas growing region, southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil.Notes: Certified organically grown and Fair Trade, meaning it was purchased from small-holding farmers at a “fair” or economically sustainable price. A dry-processed or “natural” coffee, meaning the beans are dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed, as is the case with wet-processed or “washed” coffees. Typically low growing altitudes and dry-processing contribute to a gentle, subdued acidy sensation in most Brazil coffees. Barefoot Coffee Roasters (”Serious coffee. Happy people”) is an award-winning boutique, artisan coffee roaster particularly specializing in certified sustainable coffees. Visit www.barefootcoffeeroasters.com or call 408-248-4500 for more information.Blind Assessment: A slight, serendipitous hint of sweet ferment complicates the rich fruit, turning it toward a chocolaty, brandyish cherry or orange with a hint of blueberry. The chocolate takes on an almost minty character in the sweet, very low-acid cup. As the cup cools a bare suggestion of bitterness surfaces, the shadow side perhaps of the rich, fermenty sweetness.Who should drink it: The coffee equivalent of sweet-leaning “fruit bomb” red table wines. |
A fantastic sun-dried natural Brazil from the famed Poco Fundo co-op. A sumptuous, heavy bodied and low toned coffee with tones of low toned chocolate and light earth tones. Sweet dried fruit notes and old world craftsmanship shine through. This is a very different flavor profile from what Barefoot usually has. No bright fruity notes anywhere just low toned warmness. And as a warm and fuzzy bonus it is Fair Trade and Shade Grown and organically grown! Go to town!
Associação dos Pequenos Produtores de Poço Fundo (Poço Fundo) is an association of small-scale farmers located in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil. Poço Fundo was formed from a collective desire to improve the living standard of farmers and to reduce poverty and emigration.
In 1991, 76 families united to form the association intent on increasing the productivity of their small plots and sustaining the quality of family-oriented agriculture in the region. Poço Fundo became Fair
Trade Certified by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) in 1998. The co-op began exporting to the United States in 2003.
Revenue from Fair Trade sales has enabled the co-op to:
- • Continue its sustainable agriculture training program for co-op members
- • Build a storage and processing facility
- • Purchase tractors and other new equipment
- • Expand the local electricity network
- • Broaden healthcare coverage for co-op members and their families
- • Create a dental-care program that provides basic cleanings and
- orthodontric retainers for children
- • Implement a computer education program for children
keep looking »
