Hello Subscribers,
As we continue returning back to normal we’re still navigating changes in roast schedules and international holidays, which unfortunately delayed the dispatch of one of our two roasters’ coffees this month. Now that they’re all here and in your mugs, I think it was well worth the wait. This month we welcome in Prolog and welcome back Solberg & Hansen.
Solberg & Hansen [Oslo, Norway]
Ever since we brought in S&H in August 2020 I’ve been wanting to bring them back on. In fact, we hope to launch them as a staple on the website at some point later this summer. They are indeed one of the oldest specialty coffee companies in the world, established in 1879. Many of the direct trade models that are touted by upstart coffee companies today were first navigated and perfected by S&H. S&H started the coffee revolution in Norway which then spread throughout the Scandinavian countries and made nordic roast profiles so popular around the world.
The main coffee we sourced from them is a Colombian micro-lot (“MIKRO” at the top of the label) from Tolima. This caturra lot from Jesus Saavedra’s farm in the San Antonio region of Tolima is sweet, balanced and floral. This coffee reminds me of a cabernet in terms of its body and the dark red fruits. Plus it has some citrus, not tart but sweet, like a Cutie orange snack. I really enjoy the balance of this coffee. Its really well structured and I think would lend itself to be brewed and enjoyed with any method, espresso/drip, hot/iced, etc.
FOUR COFFEE SUBSCRIBERS: Because I enjoyed it so much last year, I decided to bring back the Tade (Ethiopia). This year, they’ve packaged this as their summer coffee. It has a classic Guji profile with lots of lemongrass dominating the cup. I don’t get a ton of tea flavor but lI do get notes of sweet florals that make this an especially great coffee to enjoy in these sunnier days.
Prolog [Coppenhagen, Denmark]
Working with so many roasters out of Denmark, Prolog came on my radar a few months ago and I’ve been anxious to bring them into our subscription. The main coffee we sourced form them is a Rwandan that they sourced through their former head roaster turned coffee importer, Nic. This is the third year that Prolog has bought Shyira (Nyahihu, Rwanda). Its reminiscent of a Kenyan coffee in terms of the intense berry flavor and cup profile, however it has that prototypical Rwandan earthy sweetness. This is an exceptionally clean cup. Compared to the Colombia its lighter in body, more akin to a pinot noir (to stay consistent with the wine analogies). This makes an excellent iced coffee on those hotter days.
FOUR COFFEE SUBSCRIBERS: Out of at least two dozen, El Paraiso is my favorite Colombia I’ve tried in 2021. This coffee is almost perfect to me because it is so balanced. I do not get any of the dryness that can be common with Colombians but all of the delicate flavors and acidifies combine into an exceptional cup. It’s sweet and silky like caramel, it has some malic, green apple acidity, a little grapefruit brightness, but nothing dominates the cup. It is a very interesting coffee but also very drinkable. I thoroughly enjoyed this Colombia. It is yet another example of how much the coffee and cup quality has improved from Colombia over the last three years. They are now producing outstanding coffees in Colombia. Its gone from one of my least favorite to one of my top coffee producing countries.
In Closing
As always, I greatly appreciate everyone taking this journey with us and I look forward to brining you more amazing coffees in June for Father’s Day! Let’s continue to connect on the site, on socials @pourcleveland or via email, hello@pourcleveland.com.
Cheers,
Charlie
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