GPC Blog

Our El Salvador Finca Matalapa has finally found its way onto the bean menu. This is one of the best Central American coffees we've seen all year.

Also, the special-prep Sidamo has been a big hit already. It seems this coffee was made for the clover.

-Jon

Construction has finally begun on our new retail outlet and rosterie. Here's an article recently published in the Argus Leader to fill you in. Also, be sure to check out www.CoffeaRoasterie.com for more information.

The construction of a small retail mall is under way on South Louise Avenue in front of the ClubHouse Hotel and Suites.

The 4,400-square-foot building is being developed by Regency Hotel Management and will have two tenants. The building should be done by the end of January.

The owners of Great Plains Coffee Roasting Co. in The Empire Mall are moving into one of the spaces with their new cafe concept - Coffea - which will be a roastery and espresso bar. The mall location will close once the cafe opens around March. It will have seating for about 50 people.

Besides having all the traditional cafe drinks such as tea, coffee and hot chocolate, the owners are whipping up their own creations using fresh spices and other natural flavoring.

"We're trying to take a culinary approach ... to try to really create some really unique and natural drinks that complement the flavors of espresso," said Jenna Aukerman, who owns the business with Jon Brudvig and Paul Brough.

Aukerman said they hope to have something for everyone. That will include some light food items such as pastries and hummus or cheese trays, though the menu hasn't been set.

Great Plains has been in the mall since 1992. Auckerman and her partners took over more than a year ago. They decided to move the cafe to provide more space for customers to relax, Aukerman said.

"The impetus for us moving out was to create a space where people can get the best coffee and sit down ... and be able to get away from it all," she said.

Thank you to everyone who came to our public cupping on Saturday. I hope you all had a great time. We certainly did.

Our next cupping will be held at Queen City Bakery on November 15th at 1pm. We're expecting the arrival of some very exciting coffees before then, so I'm sure it will be a good one. Give us a call if you'd like to get signed up.

-Jon

605.362.9955

The new Sumatra, our triple pick Lintong, is now for sale in the shop. This is a great example of a Classic Sumatra; lots of peaty earthiness, some mild fruit, and a welcomed vegetal note that reads as bell pepper. This is certainly an earthy cup, but not overly so for a Sumatra. We've really been enjoying it so far.

Last week we cupped an extremely fruity special prep Ethiopia Sidamo, and we'll be introducing it soon. We've been joking that this lot is the "poor-man's Beloya." With lots of winy blackberry fruit and full bodied sweetness, this is a good example of a dry-process coffee that creeps right up to the line of over-ferment, but doesn't quite cross it. This isn't an immaculately clean cup like the Beloya; it still has traces of the under-ripe and defect notes common to most dry-processed Ethiopians, but I think most of you will be more than pleased when you get your first whiff of the berry-toned fruit. The cup is very sweet, and a great introduction to dry-processed Ethiopians. At less than $15/pound, it will be a huge value. Look for it in October.

Around the same time, we'll also be bringing in an Ethiopia from the entirely different end of the flavor spectrum; a wonderful washed Yirgacheffe. This is one of the best Yirgs I can remember tasting, with a wonderful jasmine-like floral aroma, and a sweet pleasant cup reminiscent of apricot. As hard as I look, I can't find anything not to like about this cup.

Washed Yirgacheffes bear little resemblance to their dry-processed siblings, but its a profile I've really been appreciating lately. Light bodied and very clean, they drink easily. The terpenic aroma is the best part. It reminds me of an aromatic white wine. If the special prep Sidamo is a ripe, fruity Shiraz, this washed Yirgacheffe must be a delicate Riesling.

-Jon

Changes are coming to the bean menu...

Sometime next week we'll be introducing a new Colombia, Los Naranjos de San Agustin, which will replace the Mujeres de Guayata. This coffee comes from the Huila region, and is a nice change of pace from the Mujeres. The cup profile is in a very different part of the Colombia spectrum, with sweet fruity flavors accented by caramel notes and bright acidity. It contrasts strongly with the floral honey-like Guayata.

Cultivars seem to account for a large portion of the difference here. The Mujeres de Guayata is a 100% Typica, which in our experience tends to offer a nutty and sweet cup with delicate honey notes and lighter body in a Colombian coffee.

The Los Naranjos de San Augustin, on the other hand, is a mixed varietal lot, with Caturra and Colombia. Caturra and Colombia are both relatively recent introductions; Caturra is a mutation of the Bourbon plant, while the Colombia variety is a hybrid with Caturra and the Timor hybrid in its pedigree. The cup profile here is more acidic with nice fruit. It lacks the floral Typica aroma, but the sweet and full bodied cup really impressed us.

A new Sumatra will also be making its way onto the menu soon, the special prep Lintong. This is a much cleaner coffee than the typical Mandheling, with more acidity, some mild fruity notes, and a nice sweet bell pepper flavor. It is still an earthy cup, but not nearly as aggressive. We're still tinkering with the roast profile on this one, but the first batches we've cupped have shown promise.

We're also looking for a good Sulawesi as the new crop comes in, and we'll hopefully be introducing one soon.

-Jon

Its amazing what you can do with a small quantity of really good coffee. Through repeated cuppings and tiny french presses, we've stretched a small sample of the Beloya 9 through at least ten tastings, and without exception, we've been amazed every time.

Beloya is a new coffee, produced through collaboration between Abdullah Bagersh in Ethiopia, and Ninety-Plus Coffees here in the states. It is the result of a previously unseen level of attention in origin; This coffee is free of under ripe cherries, harvested according to proper sugar and acid readings, and dried on raised beds with very frequent agitation. The resulting beans pick up the wonderfully fruity flavors and aromas from the flesh of the cherry during the drying process, but are free from the usual earthy or over fermented notes found in most dry processed offerings. The Aricha coffees follow a similar protocol, but are harvested and processed in a different region of Ethiopia.

When we first tasted the dry process Beloya and Aricha samples from Ethiopia, we knew right away that they were something special. The intense aroma, ripe fruity flavors, and exceptionally clean, sweet cup is the total package as far as a dry processed coffee goes. One micro-lot in particular, the Beloya Micro Selection 9, went a step further, and really stood out in our cupping. When you are tasting six incredible coffees, and one really jumps out at you, you know its not a coffee to pass up.

We didn't pass it up. In a few weeks, we will be doing production roasts of the Beloya 9. We're extremely excited to bring this coffee to Sioux Falls, and show our customers what a great dry process is really capable of.

The Beloya 9 is a very forward, simply delicious coffee. Its unlike anything we've offered before, and I think the first whiff of the dry grounds gives that away. Upon grinding, fresh blueberry notes fill the air, and the cup is a pure, sweet carrier for the unique aroma.

More to come when I can stop gushing and start offering.

-Jon

We will be offering a free public cupping on Saturday, October 4th at K Restaraunt at 11am.

This is a great chance to try a number of very special coffees side by side, get answers to any coffee-related questions you might have, and talk with some like minded coffee lovers. Download our flier for more information.

Space is limited to 10 - 15 guests. Give us a call if you'd like to reserve a spot. 605-362-9955

-Jon

Not too long ago we switched from using Land o' Lakes milk to Burbach's Countryside Dairy (a family owned dairy in Hartington, Nebraska). It literally took one latte to convice us; Burbach's milk made our espresso taste sweeter and our lattes creamier. We couldn't believe the difference, but we're happy we found it. Come in and give it a try on one of these chilly fall days. (I recommend our 12 oz. latte straight up, and ask for it in a ceramic mug if you have a few minutes to sit and enjoy.)

-Jenna

p.s. If coffee isn't quite your style, our chai and homemade hot chocolate are absolutely incredible with this milk as well.

Some exciting samples arrived Monday, the 2008 dry-process Ethiopias from Ninety-Plus. We roasted and tasted three Beloya and three Aricha micro-lots. All were very special coffees, significantly better and distinctly different from the typical dry-processed Ethiopia.

Beloya and Aricha both come from the Yirgacheffe region, and are the result of extremely careful processing. Only the ripest cherries are picked (yes...you hear this about so many coffees, but this one means it!) and the cherries are constantly agitated during drying to prevent any flavor taints from creeping their way into the seeds.

Two lots really jumped out at us; one Aricha and one Beloya. The Aricha had an intensely floral aroma, pure citrus and berry fruit, and a nice supporting acidity. The Beloya had a very distinct blueberry note, with aromas of vanilla and flowers. Every micro-lot we tasted was completely free of any typical dry-process astringency or bagginess, which is extremely rare, and extremely exciting. These coffees have just about everything you want, and nothing you don't.

I absolutely loved these, and I can't wait to cup them in the following days. If they were this good less than twenty-four hours out of the roaster, we should be tasting some mind-blowing coffees later in the week. I'll follow up with more complete cupping notes once I've tasted these a few more times.

A few weeks ago, after tasting one of this year's Esmeralda lots, I commented that our focus is finding very good coffees at a very economical price point. The Aricha and Beloya don't quite fit into this philosophy. They are very expensive coffees, but just might be good enough to make me go back on what I said. These Ethiopias are good evidence that some expensive coffees are completely worth the cost.

-Jon

Our newest coffee, from Finca Matalapa in El Salvador, just arrived. We tasted the first sample batch today, and it has me excited already.

We put half of our green stock into air tight valve bags, which ensures that it will taste every bit as good in six months as it does right now. Green Coffee has a shelf life too, and the only way to extend it is by getting it out of burlap and into something air tight. Unfortunately, this gets ignored by far too many roasters.

If we know we won't move through an entire shipment of coffee within a few months, we bag it up into valves, and the results have been great so far. No more worrying about coffees tasting tired and lacking acidity after spending time in the warehouse.

It feels great to know that we'll have this excellent coffee available well into winter, a time when good Central American coffees are hard to find.

Cupping notes coming soon...

-Jon