I don’t mind an icy cold winter as long as it’s not wet and grey. I’m down with sunny and cold or sunny and warm. I was also glad that it wasn’t pouring cats and dogs yesterday when I shipped my most recent Coffeevine edition, which actually happened to be the biggest yet.

As I already said on Instagram, I am incredibly thankful to each and every one of you who puts his/her/their trust in my monthly coffee boxes. It means everything to me!

And now, let’s kick off the weekend with some beautiful and fragrant coffee, shall we? Here’s my brew guide for February.

Basic setup:

As in any good kitchen or bar, you want to be sure to have a few key items at your disposal that will aid you in preparing a delicious cup of coffee.

These include:

• • Scales (with or without a timer – you can use your phone or your watch)
  • A good quality burr grinder such as the Comandante Grinder
  • The Kruve Sifter (not required but handy to filter out fines)
  • Your favourite brew method (Origami, Kalita Wave, V60, AeroPress etc)
  • A clean vessel for brewing and decanting
  • Water for brewing. I use the brilliant Peak Water filtration system
  • A pouring kettle but a regular kettle will also do, however, it requires more precision

It’s very important to always freshly grind your coffee just before preparation because coffee is very volatile and quickly loses its full aroma in a matter of minutes.

You can also vacuum pack your coffee in portions, name and number each batch and then keep it in a dry cool place. More information about freshness and how to rest your coffees can be found in this article.

For espresso, I use my home espresso machine, a Lelit MaraX along with a separate grinder for espresso. I use the same water I use for brewing.

My recipe for DAK’s Colombia, Nuna for filter

Origami Dripper: I’m really digging this brewer. It’s super versatile and really good. You can use it with both V60 and Kalita (flat bottom) filters so it’s basically a combination of both. And it looks really pretty.

I used 12g of coffee ground medium-fine (22 clicks on the Comandante). Natural-processed coffees brew faster than washed coffees if you use the same grind size so you need to go a bit finer to avoid underextraction. Add 48g of water at 95ºC and bloom for 30-45 seconds. Then add the remaining water in one continuous pour to avoid too much temperature loss. Swirl the brewer around to dislodge any grounds stuck to the side or use a small ladle.

Total brew time should be around 2:15 minutes.

–

DAK’s recipe for filter:

We are big fans of using the Origami dripper with Kalita filters for this coffee. Start with 16g of ground coffee (we use a setting of around 4-4.5 on the Fellow ODE), and water heated at 93ºC. Bloom using 50g of water for 45 seconds, gently stir to ensure all grounds are wet. At 45 seconds, continue pouring 110g until 1:30 minutes.

Gently tap and swirl the dripper after the pour. At 1:30 miniutes, finish pouring the remaining 100g, for a total of 260g. Total brew time should be between 2:45 – 2:50 minutes.

DAK’s recipe for espresso:

3:1 ratio. 18 – 20g of finely ground coffee, for 54 – 60ml out in 30 seconds.

–

Ernst Kaffeeröster’s recipe for filter:

V60: 17g, 270ml, 30g. Bloom for 30 seconds. 270g continuously brew full amount of water up to 1:10 minutes, wait 10 seconds, give your coffee a soft swirl, brew should be finished at 2:30 minutes.

Kalita: 16g, 260ml. 45g at 30 seconds, 100g  at 1:00 minute, 150g at 1:30 minutes, 200g at 2:00 minutes, 260g at 2:30 minutes, finish at 2:45 minutes.

Ernst Kaffeeröster’s recipe for espresso:

18g input, 32 seconds extraction time. 45g yield.

–

Vannelli Coffee’s recipe for filter:

Ratio 1:15. Personally we do 20g of coffee for 300g of water. The water that we use is between 50 to 80 ppm.

Vannelli Coffee’s recipe for espresso:

We suggest to start with a basic recipe: 20g in for 40g out and between 20 to 25 seconds extraction. The water that we use is around 150 ppm.

Luckily, things at The Coffeevine have never been busier. The February 2021 box sold out ahead of time and is going to ship out on Friday this week while at the same time, I’m already getting excited about the upcoming March 2021 coffee box and some other super fun projects and new launches I have in the pipeline.

The upcoming Coffeevine box is going to be a real banger of a box. Filled with three exquisite coffees, this coffee is a like a taste of summer in the middle of winter. Think of tropical fruit, gorgeous acidity and lots of sweetness. Reminds me of sipping on cocktails in the sun.

Are you ready to meet the three roasters and their wonderful coffees?

Neues Schwarz

This fine German specialty roaster is finally back in one of my Coffeevine boxes after a very lengthy break. Founded by Benedikt Heitmann after he left his previous employer Machhörndl in Nürnberg, Neues Schwarz has become synonymous with absolutely outstanding coffees that offer a rich variety of origins, flavour profiles and levels of experimentalism.

Benedikt has always been one for pushing the bar higher and the Geisha from El Paraiso that he sent me for fun a few weeks ago was without a doubt one of the best coffees I’ve had in years.

Members of the highly talented team such as Max Zocher who came fourth in the 2020 German Barista Championship are always looking to take part in various competitions and this passion translates into truly spectacular coffees coming out of the roastery.

It should therefore not come as a total surprise that I was extremely keen to have Neues Schwarz in our midst again.

The coffee I chose for the upcoming March 2021 Coffeevine box is a Coffeevine exclusive that cannot be purchased anywhere else right now.

Hailing from the Fazenda Santuario Sul, which is run by Luiz Paulo Dias Pereira and his sons, this coffee is of the famed Sudan Rume variety that has made some waves in the specialty coffee world in recent years.

Luiz is known for growing more than 30 exotic varieties on his 120ha farm that includes Geishas and other rare coffees. I’ve had this variety from Colombian producers before but this is the first time that I have tasted a Brazilian grown example.

And how can I say this? It’s INCREDIBLE! It is an anaerobic fermented coffee that offers a spectacular cup profile with notes of tropical fruits, ginger and a creamy finish. Who can say no to that?

For more information about the producer, click here.

Puchero

One of my favourite Spanish roasters is finally back in a Coffeevine box, just like Neues Schwarz after a very long time. Founded by Marco Bergero and his partner Paloma Puentes after the pair moved to Spain following a few years in London, Puchero can safely be called one of Spain’s best specialty coffee roasters.

Located in the outskirts of Valladolid, Puchero occupies a gorgeous barn where the roasting and since recently also the chocolate-making magic happens and coffee and chocolate are both two of my most favourite things in the world. How lucky can you be?

I still remember first coming across Puchero while touring the many specialty coffee bars in Madrid a few years ago and thinking to myself ‘damn! these guys are good.’ Of course, one thing led to another and before we knew it, Purchero landed in one of my boxes.

Now, they’re back with a gorgeous Guatemalan coffee from Todos Santos that has a super fresh and well-balanced cup profile full of nice fruity notes reminiscent of papaya and citrus.

Produced by various smallholders from the Todos Santos co-op, this coffee offers a great alternative to the usual Huehuetenango produced coffees and supports indigenous producers in this small Central American country.

For more information about this coffee from the importer click here.

Goriffee

The only newcomer in the March 2021 Coffeevine box is my third-ever Slovakian roaster Goriffee. I first met the team when we both had a stand at the Amsterdam Coffee Festival in 2019 and chatted about potentially working together.

Two years later, we finally found an opportunity to link up and I get another chance to put the spotlight on the small but ambitious specialty coffee community in Slovakia.

Goriffee is based in the country’s capital Bratislava and has put sustainability and transparency at the core of its business. During normal years, Goriffee regularly visits coffee growers with whom it maintains long-term relationships and continuously looks for ways to reduce its impact on the environment and increase its positive impact.

Personally, I am looking forward to include Goriffee in my global family of coffee roasters and can’t wait to share the absolutely delicious Kenyan coffee from Rwegheta AA that I picked for my upcoming March 2021 Coffeevine box.

This coffee has a lovely tropical bouquet full of pineapple and passionfruit and will be an real crowdpleaser.

Do you feel like a taking a little summer holiday during this winter? Then you know what to do 😉

SUBSCRIBE TO EUROPE’S FAVOURITE COFFEE SUBSCRIPTION

There are many reasons why you should subscribe to The Coffeevine, my outstanding coffees being one of them, of course.

The Coffeevine is also the only coffee subscription company that:

• Always features three coffees from three different roasters
• Has worked with over 200 roasters from all over the world
• Blind tastes all submitted samples and only chooses the best tasting ones
• Offers free tracked delivery to all European customers
• Can create custom subscriptions for collectives, cafés and businesses
• Has the best customer service of all coffee subscriptions with a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot

For just €46 a month, you’ll get the most delicious selection of seasonal coffees that are roasted by the most exciting coffee roasters. Hundreds of happy subscribers already trust me. Will you be next? Sign up for your own coffee subscription box here.

Although Michal and I have felt very cosy and happy in our apartment throughout the last lockdown, using this as a great chance to do some renovations and buying some new furniture, we are getting a touch of cabin fever. Work keeps me sane and I continue to learn something new every day, which makes all of this more bearable.

One thing I’ve been experimenting with a lot is using my favourite brew methods to find new ways to extract coffee with them. That is also why for this brew guide, I am including a low-temperature and high-agitation recipe for the Aeropress because it’s fun to try new things. This one is by Olav from the Instagram account @aeropress_recipe

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Basic setup:

As in any good kitchen or bar, you want to be sure to have a few key items at your disposal that will aid you in preparing a delicious cup of coffee.

These include:

• • Scales (with or without a timer – you can use your phone or your watch)
  • A good quality burr grinder such as the Comandante Grinder
  • The Kruve Sifter (not required but handy to filter out fines)
  • Your favourite brew method (Origami, Kalita Wave, V60, AeroPress etc)
  • A clean vessel for brewing and decanting
  • Water for brewing, ideally mixed at home. I used the Barista Hussle recipe as I find that it results in the best tasting coffee:
    • 40.1g Buffer
    • 80.7g Mg
    • 879.2g DI water
  • A pouring kettle but a regular kettle will also do, however, it requires more precision

You can also vacuum pack your coffee in portions, name and number each batch and then keep it in a dry cool place. More information about freshness and how to rest your coffees can be found in this article.

It’s very important to always freshly grind your coffee just before preparation because coffee is very volatile and quickly loses its full aroma in a matter of minutes.

My suggested recipe for filter via Olav from @aeropress_recipe

Aeropress: 16g of coffee ground medium-fine (22 clicks on the Comandante) Inverted method with one paper filter. Flush your paper filter with freshly boiled water and then let the water cool down to 75ºC. Add your coffee to the Aeropress and even out the bed.

Add enough water to wet the grounds and start the bloom. Stir in a circular motion once every second for 30 seconds. Then add all of the water while stirring and continue stirring until you reach the 1:30 minute mark.

Start pressing down and press slowly to finish the extraction by about 2:10 minutes. Press all the way through.

Drop Coffee’s recipe for filter:

Small 155 Kalita filter: Use 15 grams of coffee and 250g of water at 92 – 96°C. Start with wetting all the coffee, using 40 – 50 grams of water. Let the coffee bloom for 25 – 30 seconds. Then add 50 – 60 grams of water when the coffee stops bubbling. Keep adding 50 grams of water every 30 seconds until you reach 250 grams.

The total brewing time, when all the water has passed through the coffee, should be 2:45 – 3 minutes.

Drop Coffee’s recipe for espresso:

Dose: 18g. Water temperature: 93 – 96°C. Beverage weight: 38g. Time: 28s. TDS: 10%. Extraction yield: 19%.

–

Cloud Picker’s recipe for filter:

V60: 1 cup ratio 1:15. 16g dry coffee ground medium fine. 240ml total water. Brew in three minutes and pour in three even pours of 80ml each. After the first pour allow to bloom before giving a light stir to ensure all grounds are wet. Temperature range kept within 90 – 96ºC.

Cloud Picker’s recipe for espresso:

19g in 38g out with 27 – 30 seconds extraction.

–

Deep Coffee Roasters’ recipe for filter:

V60: 15g of coffee ground medium-fine. Use 250ml of water at 95ºC water temperature with a total brew time of 3:45 minutes. Bloom: 50ml then spin V60 with high agitation, make sure to wet all grounds. Add 100ml at 45 seconds, add 100ml again at 1:15 minutes and agitate. Target a total brew time of 3:30-3:45 min.

Deep Coffee Roasters’ recipe for espresso:

18g in, 40g out, 96°C water and around 28 seconds extraction time.

The January 2021 Coffeevine box is due to go out next week Wednesday and I’m really looking forward to hearing what my subscribers and customers all over the world will have to say about the first Coffeevine box of the year. But for you, dear reader, this is your chance to look forward to the second Coffeevine box of 2021 because, sadly for you, you missed the January box. But don’t fret.

For the next Coffeevine edition, I will be teaming up with Ernst Kaffeeröster, DAK and Vannelli; three brilliant roasters who have very unique appeals. Now, without further ado, let me introduce you.

Ernst Kaffeeröster

Based in the German city of Cologne, Maren Ernst is one of Germany’s best-known female specialty coffee roasters and the first to properly represent the country’s fourth largest city in the German specialty coffee scene.

I have been friends with Maren for many years and I already try to pay her a visit whenever I visit my family in Cologne. Coming from a more corporate side of the coffee industry where she felt somewhat unfulfilled, she saw specialty coffee as an opportunity to take matters into her own hands.

In the early years, she roasted all of her coffees on a Diedrich roaster in the back of her café in Neustadt but growing demand for her excellent coffees eventually forced her to find a more suitable production space away from the café.

Over the years, I’ve featured Maren a few times in my boxes and it’s always a pleasure to work with her. For the upcoming February 2021 Coffeevine box, she will roast a really fresh and delicious washed Ethiopia from Arsosala for me.

Based in the Guji region, Arsosala is a washing station that was founded in 2015 and serves approximately 1.200 smallholder farmers from the surrounding area who deliver their ripest cherries to the washing station. This particular lot consists of Bourbon and Typica and has a super delicious cup profile consisting of lots of citrus fruit. You’ll love this one.

Offered with separate profiles for filter and espresso.

DAK

This aesthetically very beautifully designed coffee brand is run by Louis-Phillipe Boucher and his girlfriend Veronique who are originally from Canada but made Amsterdam their home after moving around Europe a lot.

Joining a rank of great roasters in our beautiful home city, DAK has made a name for itself for sourcing some truly exotic coffees and offering great products such the lush scented candle that it produced in collaboration with The Very Good Candle Co. We had one in our home here and it was gorgeous.

The coffee that Louis-Phillipe will roast for The Coffeevine in February is my first ever natural-processed Colombian coffee. I’m personally a great fan of Colombian coffees. In fact, some of the best coffees I’ve had lately were Colombian.

Juan Herrera is the founder of Nuna Café y Espiritu and he has developed somewhat of a reputation for exquisite natural lots although he doesn’t actually grow his own coffees. Instead, he sources coffees from different producers in the Antioquia region and applies his scientific background to processing. His story is really interesting and worth reading more about if you are interested.

This coffee is thick and juicy with a lovely acidity. It comes with separate profiles for filter and espresso.

Vannelli Coffee

Although it is often considered the home of the espresso, typical Italian coffee is not something that specialty coffee lovers rave about. Indeed, it’s still frustratingly hard to find good specialty coffee bars in places like Milan, with the exception of Orsonero, or Venice where there is not a single place that serves a decent cup of coffee.

Yet, despite all this, Italy is home to a host of great roasters who often call small towns and villages their home and are working hard to transform their country’s understanding of coffee and its reputation abroad.

Over the years, I’ve made a point of featuring a great deal of talented roasters from across the country and I’m always excited when I come across a new roaster who I haven’t worked with yet, such as Vannelli Coffee.

Co-founded by Giacomo and Pietro Vannelli, both of whom have won big national competitions, Vannelli Coffee is a roasting company bursting with ambition. Its coffee offering is varied and exciting and during the most recent blind cupping, a washed Panamanian coffee from its submission ended up making the final cut.

Panama is one of two countries where I have had the pleasure of visiting producers and I still remembers the lush green mountains and valleys of the Boquete region where I spent a fantastic day at Finca Esmeralda some six years ago.

This particular coffee comes from famed producer Jamison Savage who runs Finca Deborah and Morgan Estate and who has made a big name for himself for producing some of the country’s finest Geisha’s and other rare lots.

Expect a chocolatey and nutty cup profile that will be a true crowd pleaser. Offered with separate profiles for filter and espresso.

Not yet a subscriber of Europe’s favourite coffee subscription?

There are many reasons why you should subscribe to The Coffeevine, my outstanding coffees being one of them, of course.

The Coffeevine is also the only coffee subscription company that:

• Always features three coffees from three different roasters
• Has worked with over 200 roasters from all over the world
• Blind tastes all submitted samples and only chooses the best tasting ones
• Offers free tracked delivery to all European customers
• Can create custom subscriptions for collectives, cafés and businesses
• Has the best customer service of all coffee subscriptions with a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot

For just €46 a month, you’ll get the most delicious selection of seasonal coffees that are roasted by the most exciting coffee roasters. Hundreds of happy subscribers already trust me. Will you be next? Subscribe here.

For a lot of people in the coffee industry, 2020 was a really tough year that impacted businesses all over the world in different ways. From green coffee buyers and roasters who could no longer visit their producers to café owners who had to close their shops and baristas who no longer had any work.

9 months into this pandemic, we have had to adapt and learn to live in a new reality that forced many of us to completely change the way we do business and live our lives. I am fortunate to say that my business experienced immense growth over the past 12 months, only suffering from distruptions to global transport links leading to delayed shipments and a few people cancelling their subscriptions due to their lives being negatively impacted by the economic hardship brought onto so many around the world.

The recently shipped December box was by far the biggest in Coffeevine history, twice as big as the December 2019 edition one year earlier and I am extremely thankful to all those of you out there who have put their trust in my continuous commitment to source and share the best coffees from the most exciting roasters.

On that note, let’s take a look forward to what the new year will bring and dive into the super epic January 2021 box that I am very thrilled to ship out next month.

Drop Coffee

The first roaster who will be featured in the upcoming January 2021 box is one of my most favourite roasters of all times, Drop Coffee from Sweden.

Founded in 2009 by the charismatic Joanna Alm who I am personally very fond of, Drop Coffee was and remains amongst the most formidable Nordic roasters who played a crucial role in establishing specialty coffee in Sweden and Europe at large.

Through her relentless efforts to seek out the most talented producers across the world, forging close and long-lasting relationships with them along the way, and setting the standard for working with only one roast profile for both filter and espresso, Joanna acted as a role model for many other roasters who stepped into her footsteps in the years that followed.

Her legenary Stockholm café became a place of pilgrammage for many visitor to Sweden and her iconic brown retail boxes a much-sought after menu-item in many of the world’s leading coffee bars, including Tōrnqvist, the ground-breaking and now closed specialty coffee bar in my own hometown of Hamburg.

It’s a real honour to welcome Joanna back to The Coffeevine as part of my first box of 2021, this time with a delicious coffee from Nicaragua. Produced by the Mierisch family whose breathtaking farm is located in the Matagalpa region of this Central American country, this coffee is of the less common Bourbon variety and was naturally processed.

A variety that is more commonly grown in Rwanda and Burundi, it is prized for its high-quality cup profile and sweet taste, something that comes out perfectly clear in this particular coffee from the Limoncillo farm.

Expect notes of raising, blackberry and toffee. Roasted for both filter and espresso.

Cloud Picker

The second roaster to make the cut for the January 2021 box is another of my all time favourite roasters, this one coming from Dublin. Founded in 2013 by life and business partners Frank Kavanagh and Peter Sztal, Cloud Picker has been at the forefront of Ireland’s specialty coffee scene ever since it first appeared on the scene.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with this roaster a few times already and last year, when my life partner Michal and I went to Dublin to see Björk in concert, we had a chance to spend some time in Cloud Picker’s extraordinary concept café just opposite the city’s iconic Trinity College. Read my café review here.

Over the years, Cloud Picker built itself up to become one of two leading roasters in the Irish capital alongside 3FE, which is associated with Joanna Alm of Drop Coffee through her fiancé Steven Leighton’s part ownership of the company.

Working with a delicious selection of seasonal coffees, Cloud Picker puts a great deal of weight behind its environmental footprint with a variety of initiatives such as its compostable bags, locally made reusable drums for wholesale customers and electric delivery vans.

I am really looking forward to putting Cloud Picker back into one of my boxes, this time with a juicy and crips Kenyan coffee from Rukira in Nyeri Country. Rukira serves around 670 smallholder farmers from the region and is one of several wetmills operated by the Othaya Farmers’ Co-operative Society.

This coffee will be a real treat for anyone who appreciates vribrant Kenyan coffees and is roasted for filter and espresso roast.

Deep Coffee Roasters

The third roaster that I’m looking forward to working with in January comes from the French port city of Marseille, a vibrant metropolis that over the past decade has turned itself from grubby harbour into pulsating cultural hub.

Founded by three friends who hail from completely different backgrounds, Deep was set up in 2018 with the simple mission to source, roast and brew exquisite specialty coffees for the local community. It quickly gained a loyal following that extended well beyond the city’s borders and in January 2021, will be the first roaster from Marseille to be represented in one of my boxes.

I remember visiting Marseille with my friend Megan just as the city was about to become European capital of culture and consequently undergoing a huge transformation that saw the opening of new museums, a revamped waterfront and a newfound sense of pride.

Now, Marseille is often times seen as a potential rival to Barcelona as the beating heart of Mediterranean culture and if Deep Coffee Roasters’ popularity is anything to go by, the future of specialty coffee in the city is bright.

Deep Coffee Roasters will offer an absolutely delicious Colombian coffee for my January 2021 box that consists of a blend of two coffees from two different farms, La Suiza and La Granja in the Huila region of the country.

The first part, from La Suiza, makes up 70% of the coffee and is a washed Caturra with an extended fermentation that gives lots of sweentess while the remaining 30% from La Granja is also a washed Caturra that adds crispness and a delicate acidity.

Expect notes of fruit punch and brown sugar. This coffee is roasted for filter and espresso.

Not yet a subscriber of Europe’s favourite coffee subscription?

There are many reasons why you should subscribe to The Coffeevine, my outstanding coffees being one of them, of course.

The Coffeevine is also the only coffee subscription company that:

• Always features three coffees from three different roasters
• Has worked with over 200 roasters from all over the world
• Blind tastes all submitted samples and only chooses the best tasting ones
• Offers free tracked delivery to all European customers
• Can create custom subscriptions for collectives, cafés and businesses
• Has the best customer service of all coffee subscriptions with a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot

For just €46 a month, you’ll get the most delicious selection of seasonal coffees that are roasted by the most exciting coffee roasters. Hundreds of happy subscribers already trust me. Will you be next?

SUBSCRIBE BEFORE 15-01 TO RECEIVE THIS SPECTACULAR COFFEE BOX

For many of us, this year has been traumatic and irratic and for others, myself included, this has also been a year of countless opportiunities. Since the beginning of 2020, The Coffeevine has more than doubled its business, I finally had the chance to update the brand identity and in a few days, the new Coffeevine website will finally be live. More on this soon.

But before I get carried away talking about the renewal of The Coffeevine, let’s take a closer look at the spectacular final coffee box of 2020.

The December edition will feature not one, not two but three debuts from new Coffeevine partners. 19 Grams from Berlin will be joined by Kawa Coffee from Paris and none other than Square Mile from London. I am particularly excited by the latter finally joining one of my editions because I’ve personally chased after its super star founder James Hoffmann for at least four years.

I am absolutely confident that this will be one of the most delicious Coffeevine boxes ever and a truly fantastic way to end this crazy year in style.

19 Grams

This Berlin based specialty coffee roaster was originally founded in 2002 under the name Tres Cabezas and adopted its current name in 2018 when it underwent an extensive rebranding.

Having been around for almost 20 years makes 19 Grams one of the earliest specialty coffee roasters in Berlin if not Germany as a whole. At the time, hardly anyone was familiar with the term specialty coffee and it goes without saying that the journey has not always been easy.

Yet, Berlin also offers plenty of fertile ground for the adoption of new trends and generally speaking, the city’s food and drink scene is by far one of the most adventurous and exciting in Europe. As a consequence the German capital is now home to dozens of outstanding coffee roasters, many of which have already been featured in The Coffeevine.

19 Grams runs a few of its own cafés across the city and opened a brand new training lab and roastery in 2018 in the beating heart Mitte. Its annual coffee offering is a reflection of what’s seasonally available and 19 Grams regularly offers extra treats like its much-beloved annual Advent Calendar.

For the upcoming December 2020 box, 19 Grams will treat my subscribers to our first-ever 100% Geisha coffee from Costa Rica. Produced by Hacienda Sonora in the Alajuela region, this coffee has an insane cup profile with notes of pineapple and chocolate with a rich sweetness and sparkling acidity.

(Please note: Customers who have an espresso subscription will receive a natural-processed L9 variety from Hacienda Sonora instead of the Geisha coffee mentioned above.)

Kawa Coffee 

The second coffee for the December 2020 box comes from Kawa Coffee in Paris, a young roasting company that was founded in 2019 by Alexis Gagnaire.

Kawa’s roasting philosophy is centered around bringing out the brightest flavours in all of its carefully sourced coffees that represent a well-curated mix of origins, varietals and processing methods.

In recent months, in particular, Kawa has tried to focus more on experimental coffees to put more emphasis on the fermentation process in coffee. While more unusual processing methods are all the rage these days, there is still a significant lack of knowledge amongst consumers, more especially so in slightly less developed specialty coffee markets like France.

The coffee that Kawa will roast for the December box is a gorgeous example of Ethiopia’s finest washed coffees with notes of jasmine and Earl Grey tea that is both delicate and complex. It was produced by the Daye Bensa company in the village of Shantawene in the Sidamo region.

Square Mile

Although I’ve had the unique opportunity to work with more than 200 of the most talented coffee roasters from across the world over the years, there was always one name that I had not been able to win over. Square Mile from London but after many years of politely making advances on its illustrious co-founder and former World Barista Champion James Hoffmann and getting politely rejected, the wait is finally over.

James co-founded the company with Anette Moldvaer in 2008, one year after he won the World Barista Championship and Square Mile has since become synonymous with the London coffee scene while at the same time, continuously raising the bar for other coffee roasters who aim for specialty coffee greatness.

As a purely whole-sale coffee roasting company, Square Mile prefers to build strong relationships with everyone in the supply chain from the farmers all the way to the end consumer. It has no branded cafés of its own, focusing instead on providing in-depth and personal training to all of its retail partners to ensure its coffees are always served as intended.

For the December 2020 coffee box, Square Mile will roast a mindblowing washed Rwandan coffee from the Tumba processing station that was founded by Venuste Mugiraneza, a former teacher who has poured his heart and soul into the proliferation of Rwandan specialty coffees.

This coffee has a lush velvety sweetness that is punctuated by bright fruity notes of nectarine and lime.

(Please note: Customers who have an espresso subscription will receive a washed Guatemalan coffee from Red de Mujeres instead of the Rwandan coffee mentioned above.)

Extra Christmas treat for my subscribers in December

Every year, I add a special Christmas treat to my final box of year as a way to say thank you to my wonderful subscribers who put their trust in The Coffeevine to deliver the most delicious coffees to them every month. For the December 2020 coffee box, I am teaming up with Polish company Cophi that makes fun coffee-themed socks and other accessories.

Their socks are made in small-scale productions in Poland and come in many colourful designs. Every subscriber will receive a complimentary pair in December to keep them warm during the approaching winter months.

(Please note: the complimentary pair of socks will not be included in one-off or gift coffee box orders.)

Not yet a subscriber of Europe’s most exciting coffee subscription?

There are many reasons why you should subscribe to The Coffeevine, my outstanding coffees being one of them, of course.

The Coffeevine is also the only coffee subscription company that:

• Always features three coffees from three different roasters
• Has worked with over 200 roasters from all over the world
• Blind tastes all submitted samples and only chooses the best tasting ones
• Offers free tracked delivery to all European customers
• Can create custom subscriptions for collectives, cafés and businesses
• Has the best customer service of all coffee subscriptions with a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot

For just €46 a month, you’ll get the most delicious selection of seasonal coffees that are roasted by the most exciting coffee roasters. Hundreds of happy subscribers already trust me. Will you be next?

SUBSCRIBE BEFORE 15-12 TO RECEIVE THIS SPECTACULAR COFFEE BOX

With so many things raging on at the same time, it’s often easy to feel demotivated and retreat into one’s own little bubble. But not Hayb Coffee Roasters from Warsaw, a company that has repeatedly thrown its weight behind some of Poland’s most controversial issues. Most recently, it supported the pro-choice protesters who swept the streets of Warsaw to force the right-wing government to reverse highly draconian abortion law that has no place in the 21st century.

Wiktor Borowski, one half of the father and son due that runs the company, explained that Hayb always had a strong social engagement for communities and causes that are being oppressed. From an annual coffee special to commemorate International Women’s Day to one that is dedicated to mongrels, i.e. dogs that don’t belong to any particular race, Hayb Coffee really has strong credentials when it comes to it being ‘socially aware’ as Wiktor said.

Indeed, specialty coffee cafés have played a crucial role in Poland when it comes to providing safe spaces for marginalised communities. During my last visit to Warsaw in October of 2019, I noticed that many cafés had large posters by the entrance declaring LGBTQ members are welcome and safe there. In a country that is oftentimes deeply conservative and run by a populist right-wing government that is encouraging anti LGBTQ sentiment, this is important.

When it comes to specialty coffee, Hayb Coffee often works with smaller coffee importers who focus on specific regions, like 1000 Hills through which they source their coffees from Rwanda. Their goal is to have as much transparency and traceability as possible to ensure they can properly showcase where each coffee comes from and who worked so hard to make it happen.

This offers a great bridge to the coffee that Hayb Coffee will be roasting for the upcoming November coffee box, a truly delicious pick from Costa Rican producers Oscar and Francisca Chacón whose beautiful farm is on the foot of the Poás volcano in the Alajuela region.

It’s a natural-processed coffee called Perla Negra, which translates to ‘black pearl’ and consists of the endemic Catuaí and Caturra varieties. The farm consists of 38 hectares of land that are subdivided into several microlots, each with its unique micro climate.

Following the tragic death of their father due to illness caused by pesticides, Oscar and Francisca decided to grow all of their coffees completely organically and after more than thirty years of religiously applying this practice, they’ve become leaders in organic coffee production in their home country.

The coffee that my team and I chose for the November edition has a gorgeous cup profile filled with chocolatey and cherry flavour notes reminiscent of black forest cake and will delight anyone who appreciates as a clean and beautifully rounded natural coffee.

Don’t want to miss out on this coffee and the delicious picks from Newground and April Coffee Roasters that I will feature in the November box? Make sure you subscribe in time. Pre-orders close on 15 – 11.

Not yet a subscriber of Europe’s most exciting coffee subscription?

There are many reasons why you should subscribe to The Coffeevine, my outstanding coffees being one of them, of course.

The Coffeevine is also the only coffee subscription company that:

• Always features three coffees from three different roasters
• Has worked with over 200 roasters from all over the world
• Blind tastes all submitted samples and only chooses the best tasting ones
• Offers free tracked delivery to all European customers
• Can create custom subscriptions for collectives, cafés and businesses
• Has the best customer service of all coffee subscriptions with a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot

For just €46 a month, you’ll get the most delicious selection of seasonal coffees that are roasted by the most exciting coffee roasters. Hundreds of happy subscribers already trust me. Will you be next?

SUBSCRIBE BEFORE 15-11 TO RECEIVE THIS EPIC SELECTION IN NOVEMBER

In recent months, he launched a new podcast called ‘Coffee with Covid19‘, he developed and introduced his own April coffee brewer and, as he divulged during my interview with him on Instagram the other day, he’s also working on his first book.

Oh, and he opened his first café in Copenhagen. That’s a lot for a small business with only a handful of employees. At the same time, as Patrik confessed, he’s never been in his adopted home for this long at any one time since he moved there four years ago.

Of course, the pandemic has also not left his business completely unscathed. B2B sales across the world have plummeted as a result of lockdowns and many cafés running much smaller operations. Not to speak of restaurants and hotels that are either partially or completely shut.

Yet, Patrik has also always been someone who has been keen to expand his offering and innovate in fields where others are hesitant. He was one of the first specialty coffee roasters after Colonna to put his coffee into capsules and drip coffee bags.

As someone who also runs a brand for drip coffee bags, Freshdrip, it is always interesting to find out who is willing to pregrind and prepackage their coffees for a wider audience to get a taste.

One of the things we discussed during our conversation was the fact that these days, there are more and more experimental processing methods, endemic varietals from one country that are grown in a completely different country and an ongoing obsession with Geishas that make specialty coffee more and more diffcult to approach for newcomers.

I myself have seen a relatively strong influx of subscribers signing up at The Coffeevine who previously never bought beans online or even drank specialty coffee in the first place. But lockdowns and the resulting time spent at home has encouraged more and more people to take the plunge.

The difficult thing then becomes maintaining a close line of communication with the consumer who might be buying certain beans for the first times and will need some guidance to educate themselves about the coffee, how it was processed, what makes it unique and how it can best be brewed.

Having a café or tasting room is obviously the best way to do this as it allows for the barista and the consumer to exchange ideas and knowledge, even during a pandemic. And if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, Patrik probably wouldn’t have gone down the route of opening his own coffee bar.

As we both learned of eachother during our conversation, the pandemic has had its positive effects too. Many businesses that previously procrastinated on certain projects or innovations finally got the push to get these things done. I, for one, finally had the time to update The Coffeevine’s branding and work on a new website (more on this soon).

Yet, overall, covid19 has wrecked havoc on coffee producers and has put many hospitality businesses in grave peril. Patrik said that Brazil will have the biggest harvest in its history this year, which means that a massive supply surplus will push prices down to rock bottom levels and be devastating for coffee growers in Brazil.

Here in Europe, we might not be so aware of this but it’s important to bear in mind that everything is connected. The famous butterfly effect comes to mind.

That is also why, traceability is crucial so we can understand where our coffees come from. And traceability is not necessarily something that Ethiopia is known for due to the way coffee is generally farmed there.

Most of the specialty coffees that we love are produced by hundreds of small-holder farmers who grow a rich variety of so-called heirloom varietal. These are often endemic to Ethiopia or even specific regions and can still be found growing in the wild.

Thus, having a coffee with a single variety, in this case Bourbon, is somewhat of a novelty. That is why I am particularly chuffed to feature a coffee from Arsosala in the upcoming November box. While this was not grown by a single farmer in Ethiopia, something that we’re also starting to see more and more, it is a great example of the ongoing efforts by the Ethiopian government and various groups to increase transparency in the market and roll out seedlings from single varieties to small holder farmers.

The coffee has a gorgeous bouquet of citrus and tea like notes that remind you of jasmin.

Don’t want to miss out on this coffee and the delicious picks from Newground and Hayb that I will feature in the November box? Make sure you subscribe in time. Pre-orders close on 15 – 11.

Not yet a subscriber of Europe’s most exciting coffee subscription?

There are many reasons why you should subscribe to The Coffeevine, my outstanding coffees being one of them, of course.

The Coffeevine is also the only coffee subscription company that:

• Always features three coffees from three different roasters
• Has worked with over 200 roasters from all over the world
• Blind tastes all submitted samples and only chooses the best tasting ones
• Offers free tracked delivery to all European customers
• Can create custom subscriptions for collectives, cafés and businesses
• Has the best customer service of all coffee subscriptions with a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot

For just €46 a month, you’ll get the most delicious selection of seasonal coffees that are roasted by the most exciting coffee roasters. Hundreds of happy subscribers already trust me. Will you be next?

SUBSCRIBE BEFORE 15-11 TO RECEIVE THIS EPIC SELECTION IN NOVEMBER

The problem is manyfold but one key issue is that inmates, while incarcerated, are rarely treated with dignity or respect. In places like the United States where prisons are largely overcrowded and oftentimes predominantely house people of non-white ethnicities, rehabilitiation is very challenging indeed.

Many people point at Norway as a leading example of a country that runs a highly effective prison system whose former inmates very rarely reoffend once they’ve left jail. What’s essential to help inmates find a way back into society is to offer them a perspective.

Newground Coffee from Oxford is an exemplary coffee roaster who is part of the November Coffeevine box alongside Hayb and April and which has made it its core mission to support society at large through various programs.

“I grew up in Liverpool, which is quite a rough part of England. Many of my primary school friends ended up in prison at one point in their lives,” Joel explained during my Instagram interview with him. “Our mission at Newground is to offer the people like the ones I went to primary school with a way back into society with a sense of empowerment.”

This is a highly admirable mission for a coffee company to have and I would love to see more businesses in the industry offering this sort of program.

Actually, social engagement is one thing that stands at the top of the business in general. As Joel explained later, one of his former university friends moved out to Uganda a few years ago to work for an NGO and was blown away by the quality of the specialty coffees that were being grown there at the time.

It has to be said that Uganda has only recently started making splashes with its specialty coffee output. Decades of civil war, a mismanaged coffee program and a focus on low quality coffees had wiped Uganda off the global specialty coffee map. and now it’s slowly coming back.

The Zukuka Bora coffee project, which is where the coffee that Newground will be roasting for my November box is from, was partially set up by the JENGA Community Development project, an NGO that has set itself the goal to not just support local coffee farmers but also to invest in education, clean water schemes and more.

Joel and his partners at Newground were so impressed by the coffees grown by Zukuka Bora that they bought almost half of the entire output while the rest went predominantely to Melbourne coffee roasters like Five Senses.

Now,  a recent cut in VAT in the UK has led Newground to donate the extra earnings to the project directly.

I’m also extremely chuffed because this particular coffee from Zukuka Bora is only available from a small handful of roasters and through my coffee subscription, I will be able to share this outstanding example of Uganda’s new found specialty coffee glory with my customers all over the world.

The coffee consists of the local SL14 variety and is the first washed Ugandan coffee to make it into any Coffeevine box ever. That’s pretty exciting if you ask me.

Don’t want to miss out on this coffee? Make sure you subscribe in time. Pre-orders close on 15 – 11.

Not yet a subscriber of Europe’s most exciting coffee subscription?

There are many reasons why you should subscribe to The Coffeevine, my outstanding coffees being one of them, of course.

The Coffeevine is also the only coffee subscription company that:

• Always features three coffees from three different roasters
• Has worked with over 200 roasters from all over the world
• Blind tastes all submitted samples and only chooses the best tasting ones
• Offers free tracked delivery to all European customers
• Can create custom subscriptions for collectives, cafés and businesses
• Has the best customer service of all coffee subscriptions with a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot

For just €46 a month, you’ll get the most delicious selection of seasonal coffees that are roasted by the most exciting coffee roasters. Hundreds of happy subscribers already trust me. Will you be next?

SUBSCRIBE BEFORE 15-11 TO RECEIVE THIS EPIC SELECTION IN NOVEMBER

How much can change in one month. Recently, we entered a second lockdown in The Netherlands with café, restaurants and bars only open for takeaway and life, once again, being largely confined to the home.

It’s not the worst thing in the world. At least, our friends in horeca now have a much better understanding of how to adapt to these sudden changes and as the temperatures drop and it generally becoming more wet outside, we’re all happy to spend time in our cosy homes instead of commuting to work every day.

As I type this, the first October 2020 Coffeevine boxes have started to land on my subscribers’ doorsteps and people all over the world are getting excited to start brewing the outstanding coffees from Morgon Coffee Roasters, Elbgold and Mabó that featured in this edition.

To help you along your way, here’s the monthly brew guide with custom recipes from the three roasters and one from me using some beautiful new coffee brewing gear that I was generously gifted by my friends at Kinto.

Basic setup:

As in any good kitchen or bar, you want to be sure to have a few key items at your disposal that will aid you in preparing a delicious cup of coffee.

These include:

• Scales (with or without a timer – you can use your phone or your watch)
• A good quality burr grinder such as the Comandante Grinder
• The Kruve Sifter (not required but handy to filter out fines)
• Your favourite brew method (Kalita Wave, V60, AeroPress etc)
• A clean vessel for brewing and decanting
• Water for brewing, ideally mixed at home. I used the Barista Hussle recipe as I find that it results in the best tasting coffee:
  • 40.1g Buffer
  • 80.7g Mg
  • 879.2g DI water
• A pouring kettle but a regular kettle will also do, however, it requires more precision

It’s very important to always freshly grind your coffee just before preparation because coffee is very volatile and quickly loses its full aroma in a matter of minutes.

My filter recipe for Elbgold’s, Ethiopia, Bombe natural, 120h low temperature fermentation.

V60 (2) or other large conical brewer: Take 25g of coffee and grind it relatively coarse. About 35 clicks on the Comandante grinder. You want a similar grind size to the Chemex as this is a large conical brewer.

Flush your filter with hot water and then load the brewer with your coffee. Make sure the bed is even. Start with a long bloom of 45 seconds with water at 91°C, about 100g will do. Then, using a slow and steady pour, add the remaining 280g of water in one go. Once all the water has been poured, use a spoon or a wooden spatula and scrape down the grounds from the side of the filter and give it one good stir. The total brew time should be no longer than 3:30 minutes. Enjoy!

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Morgon’s recipe for filter:

V60: 30g coffee, 500g water, total brew time 3:20 minutes. Pre-infusion with 30g water for 30 seconds, then slowly pour the rest of the water. Finnish pouring at 2:30 minutes.

Morgon’s recipe for espresso:

19g in, 43g out. Extraction time around 28 seconds.

–

Elbgold’s recipe for filter:

V60: 14g of coffee, 240ml of water at 93°C. Total brew time: 2:30 minutes.

Elbgold’s recipe for espresso:

Double shot: 18,7g in, 40g out. 31 – 33 seconds extraction. Water temperature 93°C.

Mabó’s recipe for filter:

V60: 18g of coffee, water at 93°C, brew ratio 1:16, 4 concentric pours of roughly equal water quantities till 288g, total time of 3:10 – 3:20 minutes.

Mabó’s recipe for espresso: