Hello, and welcome to my blog! I thought I would kick this whole thing off with a recap of my first seminar at the Reserve Bar in Cupertino, California.
I will begin with the Aged Sumatra. Sumatra is a large Indonesian island famous for its juxtaposition of volcanoes and tropical terrain. The coffee from the Indonesian region is famously earthy and herbal. Sumatran coffee is no exception. However, by aging the green coffee beans over years you begin to develop deeper flavors. The green coffee beans are put into burlap sacks and stored in a special warehouse. Every six months the bags are rotated to prevent mold and expert tasters check on the crop. When the expert tasters decide the crop is done aging it is sent off to be roasted and we get the pleasure of drinking the product. The Aged Sumatra Crop Year 2013 has notes of sweet tobacco and cocoa while still harkening back to the earthy notes we love so much. This coffee has low acidity and a full body, and is definitely an un forgettable coffee.
The Reserve Christmas 2017 blend is on its third year and is quickly stealing the hearts of many.
This coffee is a blend of Aged Sumatra and Hacienda Alsacia. Hacienda Alsacia is a Starbucks owned farm in Costa Rica. Starbucks purchased the farm in 2013 and has used it to develop disease resistant coffee trees, and other sustainable farming practices. They then share their research with coffee farmers worldwide. The coffee from Hacienda Alsacia is then blended with the Aged Sumatra to create our Reserve Christmas 2017 blend. This coffee tastes of citrus and spice with a distinct cedary/woodsy smell.
The coffees were both brewed using our Clover Brewing System. And the tasting was conducted by first trying the Aged Sumatra then tasting the Reserve Christmas 2017. The customers found that it was easier to pick out the distinct Latin American notes after getting familiar with the Aged Sumatra.