Kia Ora Estate, Nyeri, Kenya

When you grind these beans you will quickly note an aroma of sweet citrus and marzipan that progresses to dried apricot and tomato as the coffee and water begin in interact with one another. The earthy wine-like acidity and light honey body of this coffee are truly delightful and create a stable environment for the notes of date, apricot and red wine to exist in a perfect balance. Please take all the time that you need to enjoy the long, smooth finish.

Kia Ora is a very rare coffee indeed for it is an organic Kenyan coffee. How rare? Less than 1% of Kenya's coffee exports are certified organic. Kia Ora is one of seven farms owned by Kenya Nut Company (KNC), who are one of the top five producers of macadamia nuts in the world. The coffee itself is, in fact, intercropped with the macadamia nut trees. In the 1970's the Kenyan government tasked KNC to develop the macadamia nut industry in Kenya and they have since expanded to cashews, tea, wine and coffee.

This is a very limited offering from us so please do not miss the boat on this!

Something to brighten the rainy days

Wolf Man Rik.

Throwdown!

You have to see it to believe it.

Finca Los Mangos, CooproNaranjo Microlot, Costa Rica

Beginning with a sweet aroma like milk chocolate and cinnamon that offers a slightly savory peak while it steeps, this coffee offers a clean and soft acidity and a very pleasant nectar-like body. Notes of milk chocolate, malt, citrus, and crisp apple will delight you on the way to a very clean and dry finish.

Finca Los Mangos is a source direct offering grown by the Blanco Family on a single hectare of land. We are proud to be the only roaster to offer this beautiful coffee. Because Los Mangos is so clean and sweet it is a great "all day" coffee. We love making iced coffee with it at the roastery but for hot coffee you might find that a chemex or other pour-over method works best to really accentuate the crisp and clean sweetness of this coffee.

Japanese Iced Coffee

Want to know how to make the most delicious iced coffee? Here's a start. Soon we'll be posting even more brewing methods. There is no end to the possibilities.

Throwdown Thursday

we pour, you vote. view the two pictures from each round and vote for the winner.

ROUND 1



contestant 1



contestant 2

fyi neither contestant is simon.

Providence Cycledrome

As many of you probably know, Providence is a super bike-y city. People love their bicycles here. It's awesome to see. Kids making custom bikes, Recycle-a-Bike, monster bikes at the Steelyard, Circle A Cycles, Dash, Legend, Providence Bicycle...am I forgetting anybody? I heard a rumor also that more bike lanes are happening soon, on Broadway and maybe some other places.

Full disclosure, I know how to ride a bike. But I know nothing about them. I've tried to learn all the parts and how to fix them and everything but that information does not stay in my brain. I truly admire people who know how to do all that stuff though. I've had lots of friends who can talk for hours in front of me about bike parts and it's like they're speaking another language. It's amazing. (It's kind of like when our tech guys, especially you, Todd Mackey, talk about espresso machines and parts in front of me. They know so much. I know how to drink it and sort of how to make it, but they could write a book. Seriously guys, maybe you should write a book.)

Anyway, what does this have to do with coffee? Welllll you may have seen, or even sipped, one of our newest blends, Cycledrome. You may know that Providence loves bikes, but did you know that in the late 1920s we had one of the largest bicycle-racing stadiums, or velodromes, in the U.S.? According to this (really great) article from Art in Ruins, the Cycledrome housed a wooden 5-lap track, and the races attracted thousands of fans. The Cycledrome was also where the Providence Steam Roller played football, which another one of our blends is named after.

I'd love to find out more about Vincent Madonna, an Italian-American Providence track-cycling star, made famous locally for his success at the Cycledrome, according to Art in Ruins.

Inspired by some photos of old-timey bicycle racers, I designed this label for Cycledrome Blend.

You can buy it here!

The connection between coffee and bicycles makes a lot of sense to me. Especially with small-batch roasters like us who think about things like Source Direct and Fair Trade and sustainability. Many roasters choose to deliver their coffee by bicycle, and maybe someday we'll be joining them. New Harvest Coffee Cycledrome Bike Team, anybody?