We feature both blends and single origins on our menu. Wind & Sea, Short Strand, and Shore Leave Hook--these blends are meant to stay and be a source of comfort when you need the same cup of joe every morning. Even if the coffees in blends change throughout the year, their flavor profile will always remain the same.
While we celebrate blends for their grounding ability, single origins are celebrated for their seasonality and uniqueness. These coffees stand alone well on their own and have more distinct taste attributes like acidity, body, and flavor. It’s a true testament of the incredible amount of work farmers and producers have put into creating high quality coffees.
It would be easy to simply label a single origin as country_process_region, but we feel like that doesn’t do enough justice for the folks who produced the coffee. For example, “Honduras Maria Adela Catracha” is coffee solely from the small-lot farmer Maria Adela Nolasco in Santa Elena, Honduras, and she works with the Catracha Coffee Company. We wouldn’t have been able to get Maria Adela’s coffee if we didn’t have a partnership with Catracha Coffee Company, and we feel like it’s important to highlight both in the label.
The “Philippines Natural Sitio Naguey Kalsada” is from Benguet, Atok, Cordillera Region of the Philippines, but the coffee is from farmers who send their coffees to the Sitio Naguey mill that is operated by Kalsada Coffee Company. The word “Natural” in this name refers to the processing of the coffee where the coffee cherry is left on the bean to dry. All of our single origin coffees are washed-processed unless otherwise noted in the name.
Mexico Bella Vista (sold out until next season), is named after the municipality where these coffee are produced in Mexico. A few years ago, when Rosalba Cifuentes, founder of Mayan Harvest Coffee and the person behind putting Bella Vista on the specialty coffee map, came to Andytown and saw Bella Vista coffee bags in our cafe, she took pictures and said, “I’m going to show these to coffee farmers in Bella Vista so that they can be proud and know their work is being recognized.”
Deciding on names may seem like small details, but names are important. We have to communicate to our customers the region and processing methods so they can make an educated purchase. But more importantly, we want to give credit and acknowledgement to the people who produce excellent coffee. Without the hard work of our partners at coffee farms, and importers who help us navigate the complicated shipping process, we would not have any coffee to roast. Each Single Origin coffee pays homage to the many hands that touch your coffee before it reaches your cup.