Christmas Gather Blend (Espresso)

Meet the Christmas Blend. Shortbread, choc cherry and baking spices, and the only thing on your Christmas list that actually gets better the earlier you open it.

This release brings together three coffees from three farmers: Roger Dominguez from Finca La Cueva, Marcala, Honduras (anaerobic natural, Parainema), Ana Morales from Finca Plan Grande, Huehuetenango, Guatemala (washed, Bourbon and Pache) and Mr Mengeche Derso from Halo Beriti, Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia (natural, heirloom varieties).

In the cup: shortbread biscuit, choc cherry and warm baking spices. One anaerobic natural, one washed, one natural, one seriously good Christmas espresso.

Roger is a young producer who inherited his father's farms in La Paz and is fussy about his drying, which is where his boozy, fruit-forward anaerobic natural comes from. Ana grows Bourbon and Pache in the hills of Huehuetenango and farms around the native forest rather than through it. And Mengeche Derso, 62 years old with 62 years of farming behind him, works 15 hectares in Yirgacheffe with four of his twelve children, feeding the soil with manure and plant waste rather than anything out of a bag.

Flavour notes

Shortbread Biscuit. Choc Cherry. Baking Spices.

The Guatemala brings the buttery biscuit base, the Honduras brings the cherry and the Ethiopia brings the spice and lift. Three processes, three countries, one cup that tastes like December.

You've got questions, we've got answers.

Is this only for espresso?

Yes. This one's roasted specifically for the machine, so you get a shot that's rich and sweet rather than thin or sharp. If you're after filter, it's not this bag.

Why three different processes?

Because each one does a different job. The washed Guatemala keeps things clean and gives the blend its shortbread backbone. The anaerobic natural Honduras is where the choc cherry comes from, the sealed fermentation pushes the fruit into something richer and jammier. The natural Ethiopia adds brightness and that baking spice finish. On their own they're three good coffees. Together they're Christmas.

Will it work with milk?

This is a flat white's dream. Shortbread and choc cherry hold up in milk without getting lost, and the spice note lingers on the finish. It's also sweet enough to drink black if you want the full picture.

Is it going to taste like a candle?

No. Baking spices here means the warmth you get from a good fruit cake or a shortbread fresh out of the oven, not anything artificial. There's nothing added. Every note comes from the beans and how they were processed.

How long is it around for?

It's a limited Christmas release. Once the green coffee runs out it won't be back until next year, so if you want it on the bench over the holidays, don't leave it until the week before.

How does it taste?

Shortbread biscuit up front, choc cherry through the middle, and a warm baking spice finish that lingers. Rich, sweet and about as festive as a coffee can get without a bow on it.

Specs

Origin: Honduras, Guatemala, Ethiopia
Farms: Roger Dominguez, Finca La Cueva (Marcala, La Paz); Ana Morales, Finca Plan Grande (Santa Barbara, Huehuetenango); Mr Mengeche Derso, Halo Beriti (Yirgacheffe)
Variety: Parainema; Bourbon, Pache, Caturra; Heirloom Ethiopian
Process: Anaerobic natural; Washed; Natural
Altitude: 1500 to 2300 MASL

Roasted fresh, dispatched fast.

We roast five days a week and dispatch at 1pm every day. So you get your coffee FAST!