On bar: two coffees from George Howell

Two new coffees are on bar this morning! First, we got to dial in a new espresso from George Howell Coffee. It's pulling beautifully. Black, we're tasting notes of tart grape and honey, but in milk, it's caramelly sweet and perfectly balanced.

A little about this coffee from the roaster:

The region of Acatenango is on the other side of the beautiful ancient city of Antigua’s two volcanoes (of three!). In 1963 Acatenango received two feet of ash, making the soil rich in phosphorus. Not long ago much of its coffee was transported to Antigua and sold as such. It is now recognized as a special terroir in its own right. 

La Soledad receives warm moist air from the Pacific and often clouds over in the afternoon, while the morning is bright with strong shadows. The farm is 222 acres, half being natural forest, which the Perez family intends to maintain. The coffee trees are fairly heavily shaded with soil-enriching leguminous trees. 

Henio Pérez's family has owned La Soledad, named after his grandmother, Soledad del Carmen, since 1895. Henio's son, Raul, works with his father to continuously improve their product. Raul now sample roasts on the farm and cups all the lots. They are also experimenting with several exotic varieties of coffee that we should be tasting in the near future.

On Chemex, we're brewing an Ethiopia Kochere that also comes from George Howell. This coffee is grown by smallholder farms in Yirgacheffe that sell to a mill called Reko for processing. They're washed and dried on raised racks for consistency. In the cup, we're getting outstanding notes of peaches and lemongrass.

We'll only have these coffees for a few days, so come by and grab a drink while they're on bar!