Guatemala Todos Santos

In the San Martin Cuchumatanes highlands of Guatemala, a group of 276 women coffee farmers form the collective Mujeres luchando por un mejor futuro or Women Fighting for a Better Future.

Located in remote Huehuetenango, Guatemala, these women manage both their families and farms as many men in the area have migrated to the US for work.

Our friends at Onyx coffee importers, alongside the Huehuetenango based group K-finos, worked with the producers on a number of fronts to promote cup quality – hiring an expert agronomist and focusing on varietal cultivation, nursery care, fertilization, soil health, and processing.

The farms are generally between 1700 and 2100 meters above sea level and the cool, often cloudy, climate slows cherry maturity, leading to a coffee harvest from mid-February to early May.

Todos Santos, or Ella as we have informally called it around our roastery, is a supremely balanced and smooth coffee. It has a nice foundation of approachable flavors that remind us of toasted almond and cocoa plus a pop of jammy, apricot-like fruit.

Ethiopia Guji

Ethiopia is one of the most distinctive and fascinating coffee growing regions of the world. Industry veteran Kenneth Davids has called it “A feast for aficionados.” 

There is a stunning amount of flavor variety found in coffees from Ethiopia. Various combinations of plant genetics, micro-climate, and processing methods produce cup profiles that range from citrusy, floral, bright, and elegant, to rustic, spicy, and deeply fruity.

This coffee from the Guji area is a fully washed lot from the Birbirsa Cooperative. 

We found it to be an overall wonderfully balanced cup. Notes of blueberry and milk chocolate hit us first, and the coffee finishes with a subtle, sweet citrus brightness. 

 

Uganda Rwenzori Natural

This delicious, unique coffee came down from the Mountains of the Moon, the glacier-capped Rwenzori range stretching between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the western Ugandan border. The snow-capped peaks and the glaciers produce many rivers. High altitude, fertile soils and plentiful rainfall provide ideal conditions for growing speciality coffee. Rwenzori Arabica is grown under the shade of banana trees.

Known as “drugar” – which stands for Dried Ugandan Arabica – these beans are Uganda’s version of natural process coffee. The processing method for this coffee is unique as well. The coffee cherries are collected as daily lots, handpicked, and then floated before set out to dry on mesh racks housed in a greenhouse where they are turned, leveled and checked daily over a 18-20 day drying period. This specialty treatment is very new to the region – less than 1% of coffee originating from the Rwenzoris will be processed in this way.

This coffee is fruity (think peach, nectarine) and bright with a rich, syrupy body.

Costa Rica Hacienda Miramonte – Grand Reserve (Honey)

We are excited to introduce a single-estate honey process coffee from Costa Rica’s Hacienda Miramonte. Reserved exclusively for Zingerman’s Coffee Company, this lot is the result of many years of collaboration between Zingerman’s Coffee Company and the farm. Managing Partner Steve Mangigian works closely with the folks at the farm to bring this coffee to market and oversees processing, milling, and final sorting.

This lot is a pulped-natural or miel (“honey”) processed coffee — meaning that after harvest, some sticky fruit (often called mucilage) is left on the bean while it dries. Honey-process coffees are known for having beautiful complexity and good natural sweetness. We think this year’s harvest has a nice caramelly character with a soft citrus brightness that makes every sip dance on your tongue.

Hacienda Miramonte was started in 1917 by the matriarch of the Gurdian family, Lucila Duval de Morales, and is now operated by her great-grandson Ricardo. Generation after generation, the Gurdians have reaffirmed their commitment to growing quality coffee while serving as stewards of the environment and their local community. This is the fifth season we have worked with the Gurdians and we are proud to be their partners.

Guatemala

This coffee comes to us from small producers near Huehuetenango, located in Northwest Guatemala – the last stop on the Pan American Highway before the border with Mexico. The region’s high elevations and warm winds create an ideal environment for growing specialty coffee beans.

This coffee is a true crowd pleaser. It has a balanced, crisp profile with unmistakable notes of milk chocolate. Its silky smooth texture makes it an enjoyable sip any time of day.

Cold Brew Blend

Our Cold Brew Blend includes carefully sourced coffees from our friends at the Daterra Estate in Brazil as well as coffee from the Apo and Angra coffee cooperative in Papua New Guinea. We believe these are some of the finest coffees the world has to offer! Both coffees stand on their own as outstanding single origin coffees, and make for terrific hot brewed coffee. We use these beans for our cold brew because of the body, finish, and flavor they bring to the final product. Cold brewing produces an exceptionally sweet brew with a rich body and virtually no acidity.

Papua New Guinea Apo & Angra Cooperatives

About 85% of coffee from Papua New Guinea is grown by smallholder farmers whose plots are scattered over demanding and sometimes treacherous terrain. Most smallholders grow around 1,700 trees, but some grow as few as 20 along with a number of other crops. Sourcing a substantial volume of coffee from these smallholders in remote areas can be difficult.

That’s why we were thrilled to find this selection from the Apo and Angra Cooperatives. Last year, this coffee was imported as a blend from three cooperatives. This year, volume from the cooperatives increased, and it could be imported as a blend of two. As the individual cooperatives grow, more separations can be made — further bringing into focus the distinctive characteristics each has to offer.

French Roast

French Roast refers to a dark roasting style that is surprisingly difficult to do well. We currently use a Guatemalan bean from the farm Finca Santa Anita. This bean serves delicious as a French Roast, as it keeps its regional characteristics while still being able to take a lot of heat. This coffee has a slight, pleasant acidity and notes of sweet, dark cocoa.

Roadhouse Joe

In preparation for the opening of Zingerman’s Roadhouse in 2003, months of collaboration and tasting resulted in the creation of this signature coffee blend. It’s been a hit ever since. Designed to complement food, it emphasizes body and balance over sharpness and acidity. It finishes with a very slight nuttiness and is by far our most popular blend.

Technically, it’s a mix of Papua New Guinea, Costa Rican, Indian, and Brazilian Peaberry, each added for their contribution in body, balance and nuttiness. Less technically—but more importantly—it’s a sensible, smooth, crowd-pleasing coffee that’s guaranteed to satisfy anyone.

Brazil Peaberry

From Daterra Estates, this coffee is a blend of varietals that produce a mellow, nutty coffee that has very low acidity. Peaberry refers to a single small seed that develops in the coffee fruit instead of the normal two seeds. When the coffee is sorted by size for milling, the smallest screen beans, including the peaberries, are the final separation. Peaberries are found naturally in about 3% of coffee cherries.

Daterra is perhaps Brazil’s most refined coffee grower. This coffee is a favorite of both the owner of Daterra Estate and ours. It is nutty, rich, and smooth.