1/2

El Llano Washed Typica & Marsellesa

$14.00

Just four years prior, Herbal Garcia earned a living as a school teacher in order to provide for his wife, Elizabeth, and son, Archivaldo. His father passed away that year and Herbal inherited several of his father's plots in the highlands of Sierra Mazateca in North Oaxaca. On that property were 15 year old traditional Typica trees. That year, he planted the much more modern Marsellesa varietal alongside them to maintain the already impressive cup quality with a more disease resistant hybrid -- with still strong cup quality. Since then, Herbal, Elizabeth and Archivaldo maintain the land together. Around harvest time, they employ their family members to help them pick and process their coffee. It's a labor of familial love carrying on his father's land and harvesting it with his family.

This has to be one of the most perplexing tasting coffees I've tasted in a minute. Yes, these notes sound odd, but this profile is actually really enjoyable and interesting because of how structured the mouthfeel is. The sweetness is very yam-like. The acid reminds me of pumpkin and there is a subtle ferment-y tropical fruit taste in the body, like canteloupe. The finish transitions to a bittersweet nutty quality that I am calling sesame. The whole presentation sits on a roasted oolong or barley tea. It's super pleasant!

This coffee launched on October 13th as part of Drop 12! Roast curve coming 10/14.

Photo credit: @ositocoffee on Instagram taken by @owelaohgwaih of a San Juan Ozolotepec community in Oaxaca.

Varietal: Typica, Marsellesa

Process: Traditional Mexico washed process. Patio dried.

Region: Oaxaca, Mexico

Altitude: 1680 masl

Funk: 0.5/5

Sourced by Osito.

Herbal Garcia manages his couple hectare coffee plots with his whole family. His path into coffee cultivation came to be after his father abruptly passed away and he inherited his fathers' 15 year old Typica trees. To increase yield and disease resistance, he planted Marsellesa in open areas of these plots.

His land is El Llano and sits at 1680 masl in the Sierra Mazateca highlands of North Oaxaca. This land is rich with clay-mineral soil, coffee is often planted alongside other crash crops like bananas, corn, beans, and fruit trees. Harvest is November to March in this region.

Typica in Northern Oaxaca is a varietal that spawned in Yemen and traveled from Amsterdam to the Americas through colonialism. Typica is a labor-intensive, low-yield, and disease susceptible crop -- unlike more modern hybrids. In return, it can yield bright and citric acidity, silky bodied, subtly floral, expressive and clean finish cups. Marsellesa is a much more modern cultivar that is a hybrid cross of Caturra and Villa Sarchi. It was developed by ECOM-CIRAD, released to the public to grow in 2009-2011. It's a compact, dwarf plant with high yields and lots of disease resistance. It still is known for having good cup quality and notes of citrus, berries, quiet florals and vanilla. This combination of crop is a cool juxtaposition of new and old.

This is a traditionally washed process method for smallholder Sierra Norte producers. Cherries are picked at peak ripeness, hand-sorted and defects are float-separated. Coffee seeds are depulped and lightly fermented to remove mucilage. Coffee is dried on sun patios until is reaches ~10% moisture.

For more info about Mexican coffee sourcing, checkout Osito's short form blog on their experience: https://ositocoffee.com/blogs/making-coffee-count-in-mexico/

As we've said previously, more than anything in coffee sourcing, we love finding hidden gems of crushable, beautiful, and delicate coffees that fit our profiling and might not be previously sought after by other extra light roasters. Specifically, we love when these lots come from newer, or younger, producers to specialty coffee operating farms that may not even make up a hectare in size. That is exactly what this coffee is. Herbal is a relatively new producer to Osito, who operates in a similar region Osito had already been purchasing from in Northern Oaxaca. His coffee's cup quality stood out on their profile. We found this lot after chatting with Cassie and sharing our interest in finding smaller producers to feature on our menu. She pointed out several of their Mexico-sourced coffees and this one stood out to us for it's familial story and tea-like profile.

Green cost: $20.90/kg (+$1.76/kg freight)
Package and roasting costs: $2.91/bag; $10/kg
Profile and sample use: ~0.2kg
Approx. Margin: 35-40% (still have not recalculated operating costs on larger roaster... smh)

Resting: We recommend waiting 30 days before cracking the bag, but expect the cup to have peak "lack of roast environment character" in the 40-45 days range on pourover. Degas the night before by opening bag and then sealing. We're impatient and think this has tasted "peak flavor" (but still gassy) as early as two weeks after roast too. This is all to say: choose your own battle. Crack the bag early, try brewing and if the gas is a distraction for you, know that it will rest out in 1.5 months. Most importantly, have fun. :)

We've primarily enjoyed this offering as a pourover. We brew for QC:

Temperature range: 198-201°F (More clean coffee gets hotter water)
Water: Tap/Demineralized and Third Wave Water Light Roast
Grind Settings: Typically Medium Coarse (650-750µm)
Target Drawdown Time: 2:45-3:00
Less rest = less pours for us; we typically add a pour every two weeks

Freshly roasted 1 Pour Recipe:
Pour 1/4 water bloom and swirl dripper softly to incorporate bed fully. Wait 1 minute. Pour 3/4 water in spiral motion with 5-7g/s flow rate. With 1/4 water left, slow down flow rate to 3-4g/s. Expect drawdown to be in the 2 - 2:30 minute range for 12 to 15 gram brews.

Rested 4 Pour Recipe:
1. Pour 1/4 water every 30 seconds with medium-high agitiation (5-8g/s). Swirl the dripper on the bloom. Adjust agitation and grind size to hit expected drawdown time of 2:20-2:45 seconds on 12 to 15 gram brews.

Drops are typically prepared in two formats: a standard 100g / 200g bag offering at your preferred roast level or as a roast experiment.

Standard bag lets you support the producer, exporter, and the project without having to buy and drink coffee you're less interested in. You still get to observe and critique our roast methods at your preferred lightness but in larger quantities.
Roast experiment lets you participate in 3 blind tastings of 60g bags to evaluate 3 different roast curves. After the drops have been released, profile info and our own sensory feedback will be shared alongside any collected feedback from tasters.

Note that roast level selection does not apply to experiments sent out.

This is a side project that isn't in a place to pay our bills at the moment. We're actively trying our best in the two days we work on Base Coat a week to fulfill as quickly as possible. Volume has gone significantly up recently -- a great problem to have -- and we're doing our best to adapt. We roast every two weeks and try to get orders out within a week of your order placement. At latest, it takes us two weeks and if that is the case, expect an extra item in your bag as an apology.

Our times vary on roaster rental availability and our limited roasting schedule. We typically roast on two subsequent days twice a month. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary on location.

Because we are selling an agricultural product with limited shelf life, we do not accept returns. However, our goal is for every customer to be absolutely satisfied with their purchase. If you aren't enjoying the experience, let us know in an Instagram DM and we'll do our best to work with you to make it right!

El Llano Washed Typica & Marsellesa

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