This used to be an old-school blend of wet-hulled Indonesian coffees primarily, brought to a dark Italian roast. In recent years, we've grown disenchanted with some serious social justice issues in that country, however, and so we've moved away to blending this coffee with South American, Indian and East African coffees, coffees that take a dark roast well. Notes of burnt caramel, coupled with ripe banana and oak, make this a very nice coffee for a French Press or pourover.

It's become the new conventional wisdom that dark coffees are somehow bad, and that drinking them defines you as the kind of person who brews coffee in a percolator while groovin' to Gordon Lightfoot.

We disagree. It's true that there's a lot of coffee out there that's roasted dark to mask defects in the source beans. In fact, this is true of the majority of dark coffees. It doesn't have to be that way, though. Starting with quality estate-grade coffees, and carefully roasting to the early definition of an Italian roast profile while extending roast time a bit, produces this very nice, honest coffee. It takes on a roasty profile - as opposed to maintaining varietal character in the cup - but that profile really shines when the source coffee is as good as ours.

This coffee pairs well with scrambled eggs, pancakes and camping trips in Big Sur. Oh, and while we frown upon percolators, we happen to like Gordon Lightfoot, thank you very much.

Producers: Various

Countries: Various South American, Indian and East African

Cultivars: Various Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Arusha

Processes: Washed 

Tasting Notes: Burnt Caramel, Banana, Oak