Coffee Log

Daily brewing experiments and notes.

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Marcel Chinguel Marshel'

Skylark Peru
Flv: ★★★☆☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
07 May
Good

Region:

Farm:

Variety:

Elevation:

Process:

Roasted: 30/04/2026

Method: V60 (28c C40)

Temp/Ratio: 94° / 1:15.5

Brew Notes:

90° standard ratio and low agitation. This was a bit soon to brew but I want to try it. Lovely smooth cup but didn’t get the fruit notes I was expecting. I’m assuming it needs more resting time. Lots of co2 release. Nice sweetness. Chewy cup. Should improve. Wanted to develop more flavour so changed to 24c at 94°. Still smooth as you like but with more coffee chewiness. Molasses and black fruits coming through. Shouldn’t have changed temp and grind at the same time. Next up - drop back to 28c.

Tasting Notes

Skylark notes:

Grape juice, strawberry, mandarin

Perunor

Pharmacie Peru
Flv: ★☆☆☆☆ Bdy: ★★☆☆☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
04 May
Meh

Region:

Farm:

Variety: Caturra, Pacas, Timor Hybrids

Elevation: 1600-1700 MASL

Process: Fully Washed

Roasted: 01/04/2026

Method: v60 (28)

Temp/Ratio: 96 / 1:15.5

Brew Notes:

Wow. Burnt flavours like an over roasted bean. 90°. Just a cup of burnt sugar. Tried again at 96°. Much better sitting in an insulated flash for an hour or so. Softens it. Not my style. . 95° works fine and this becomes a very easy drinking big batch 32g to 500g. Low bitterness, little sweetness, nothing unpleasant going on but the burnt sugar flavours start to return as the coffee cools to the normal temperature I enjoy drinking at.

Tasting Notes

Pharmacie notes:

Wild strawberries and cranberry juice with raw honeycomb and muscovado sugar body.

Giku FW Lot #5

Scenery Burundi
Flv: ★★☆☆☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★★☆☆
02 May
Good

Region: Gikungere, Butaganzwa, Kayanza Province

Farm: 150 smallholder farmers selling cherry to Ninga CWS

Variety: Red Bourbon

Elevation: 1600-1750 MASL

Process: Washed (Ripe cherries picked and delivered on foot/bicycle to Ninga CWS. Cherries floated and skimmed to remove underripes. Pulped with initial density sorting before wet fermenting for 12-36 hours depending on temperature. Post ferment coffees washed using serpentine grading channels to sort by density whilst scrubbing mucilage. Dried for 1 day on shaded pre-drying tables with hand sorting to remove defects before being moved to raised beds)

Roasted: 10/04/2026

Method: v60 (28)

Temp/Ratio: 90 / 1:15.5

Brew Notes:

200g batch at 26c 300g at 28c Prefer 90° over 96°. Lacking a little flavour. Very tea like- agree with oolong. Some of that grape and shortbread coming through. Have tasted in store as well as at home and I’m getting a very similar cup. Zero bitterness as it cools. Nice coffee and something a little different for me.

Tasting Notes

Scenery notes:

Light Roaster Influence: Burundian washed coffees tend to pick up a little extra colour in the roaster that’s inconsistent with the actual perceived roast degree in the cup - we’re roasting this lot super light, bright, acid and aromatic forward.

Best Rested: 3-4 weeks

Filter: 60g/L & 96°C, with rest we like to move down to 94°C

We’re tasting: Super bright citrus zest, chamomile and date aromatics. In the cup we’re getting sweet meyer lemon, white grape, dried apricots, buttery shortbread sweetness and vanilla chantilly cream; with a complex tea note that reminds us of light oolong.

Fizzy Apple - competition

Formative Colombia
Flv: ★★★★☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★★★★
10 Apr
Great

Region: Quindío

Farm: Finca Santa Mónica

Variety: Castillo

Elevation: 1450-1500 MASL

Process: Co-ferment (Green Apple) (A controlled dry anaerobic co-fermentation with green apples introduces bold, layered flavours and a bright, juicy acidity that lifts the cup without overwhelming it.)

Roasted: 13/03/2026

Method: V60 (28)

Temp/Ratio: 90°c / 1:15.5

Brew Notes:

28c at 90C with 19.8g to 300g water seems to be the sweet spot literally. Lovely flavour, sweetness and apple scent. It's not bitter at all (unless I brew it wrong or too fine) but the acidity, especilayy nearer the bag opening, was intense. Not unplesant in any way, but the most acidity I have had in a cup brewed at home. A great bean. This got better and better until finished. Lovely and best in those 300ml batches.

Tasting Notes

Formative’s notes

Fizzy apple rings, lime. Fizzy Apple is a sweet, fruit-forward coffee with green apple, chocolate, and honeyed depth.

Musaza Lot 3

Pharmacie Rwanda
Flv: ★★★☆☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★★☆☆
07 Apr
Good

Region: Mbare, Muhanga, Southern Province

Farm: Rwamatamu

Variety: Bourbon

Elevation: 1800 MASL

Process: Natural (Beans are fully washed using spring water and sun-dried, with careful handpicking to ensure only the best cherries are processed.)

Roasted: 09/03/2026

Method: v60 (28)

Temp/Ratio: 95 / 1:15.5

Brew Notes:

First brew at 95°c and C28. Low agitation brew. Great aroma, small amount of funk, honey sweetness. Quite bitter cup as it cooled, will try lower temp. This brewed really well at around 92°. Couldn’t stretch it so 1:15.5 or 1:16 worked better. Ended up being a really nice cup of coffee in the end. Not spectacular, but really solid. That stronger ration removed the bitterness and brought the wine gum sweetness forward. Never any fruit on the nose though.

Tasting Notes

Pharmacie **Tasting Notes:** Notes of stewed pear and honey with juicy winegums body.

Yulieth Mora's Ombligon

Scenery Colombia
Flv: ★★★★☆ Bdy: ★★★★★ Acd: ★★★★☆
07 Apr
Great

Region: Vereda Sinaí, Palestina, Huila

Farm: Villa Pastora

Variety: Ombligon

Elevation: 1680 MASL

Process: Yeast Inoculated Washed (Ripe cherries picked, floated and skimmed before depulping. Parchment placed in sealed barrels with water and inoculated with a specific S. cerevisiae yeast strain for a 120 hour fermentation, washed then dried under a marsequina for 15 days.)

Roasted: 09/03/2026

Method: v60 (28)

Temp/Ratio: 90°c / 1:15.5

Brew Notes:

Scenery recommends: Best Rested: 3-4 weeks. Filter: 64g/L & 93°C, with rest we like to move down to 91°C - reduce the process notes. Started at 90°c and C28. Citra and passion fruit on the nose, mouthful of fruit. Superb first cup. No bitterness and lots of sweetness. A wonderful cup till the last bean. So fruit forward. So good.

Tasting Notes

Scenery says they are tasting: Big process forward notes of passionfruit yoghurt, bruised plum, tepache and citra hops. In the cup it’s super peachy and process forward - almost like peach bellini. Supporting notes of alphonso mango, nectarine and orange barley water keep the cup interesting, and as it cools we find more of that tropical hop note - reminding us of both the profile of citra and galaxy hops. Very sweet and wild

Sironko

Pharmacie Uganda
Flv: ★☆☆☆☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
09 Mar
Meh

Region: Sironko, Budadiri, Mount Elgon

Farm: smallholders

Variety: SL28, S:34

Elevation: 1500-1850 MASL

Process: Fully Washed (Mbare Washing station: The selected cherries are then mechanically depulped and demucilaged using an Eco pulper. Farmers are trained to decompose the discarded pulp and use as composite fertilizer, while waste water is treated on site and used for other crops and demo-farms in the local area. The wet parchment is then mechanically dried. A variety of drying chambers and carefully regulated temperatures help maintain the quality of the coffee throughout this process. The first chamber consists of water drainage (skin drying) and lasts approximately 7 hours. This helps to eliminate any chance of quality deterioration associated with traditional fermentation & sun-drying. It takes between 21 and 48 hours total to dry the wet parchment to recommended moisture level of 12%.)

Roasted: 11/02/2026

Method: v60 (28)

Temp/Ratio: 96 / 1:15

Brew Notes:

Resting until 4th March. Observation: slightly darker roast than I like. Maybe light medium. 1st: C28, 89C, 20-300g, low agitation. Dull 2nd C28, 94C, 26.5-405g, low agitation. Still dull. 3rd C25, 95C, 27-415g, low agitation......dull. 4th C28, 95c, 15-250g, low……ok. Some sweetness.

Tasting Notes

Roaster’s notes:

Light and juicy, magnolia florals with raisin sweetness and creamy vanilla body.

_Ken’s Notes: _

The bigger batches turned out perfectly drinkable but still lacks discernible tasting notes past some brown sugar, a little vanilla in the sweetness and a bit of tobacco or roasty slightly burnt flavours until the coffee settles and cools enough. The lingering taste is much nicer than at the point of drinking it. The biggest different with this batch is that it sat in a flask for 2 hours before drinking.

_Finally made a passable cup with high temperature 15-250- 1:16.6 ratio. _

Edison Argote Orange B

Skylark Colombia
Flv: ★★★★☆ Bdy: ★★★★★ Acd: ★★★☆☆
17 Feb
Great

Region:

Farm: MiCafe

Variety: Orange Bourbon

Elevation: 1600-1850 MASL

Process: Natural

Roasted: 03/02/2026

Method: V60 (28)

Temp/Ratio: 89 / 1:15

Brew Notes:

First brew: low agitation, low temp. Two 50g blooms of 30 sec. Pour to 200g, final pour to 250g. Great flavour, lovely smell, hugely sweet. Very little bitterness.

Tasting Notes

Skylark tasting notes

Pink Grapefruit, Vanilla, Aperol Spritz

Ken’s notes

The final brew was the best of all. 90°c 1:15.5 28C low agitation double recipe with 21.5g of coffee. Amazing brew. 15 March makes it 4 weeks after roast.

Basaltico

Scenery Colombia
Flv: ★★★☆☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
11 Feb
Good

Region: La Esperanza, Casabianca, North Tolima

Farm: El Carminal

Variety: Caturra/Castillo

Elevation: 1800 MASL

Process: Traditional washed (Ripe coffees picked, with a 12 hr in cherry fermentation before pulping. Post pulping, the parchment was fermented for 24 hrs in open tanks, washed, before drying in a marquesina)

Roasted: 23/01/2026

Method: V60 (25)

Temp/Ratio: 93 / 1:15

Brew Notes:

1st brew: Used double recipe. A nice cup low on the nose. Got some nice caramel, unspecified fruit sweetness, perhaps stewed apples. Temp change next

Tasting Notes

Bright lemon cake, caramel and apple aromas. In the cup it’s got a delightful combination of rich sweetness and bright acidity - cox’s orange pippin apple, satsuma, lemon cake and blackcurrant jam for the acidity, but then dense & rich body and finish that reminds us of muscovado and raisin, with a frangipani element - like fruitcake.

Best Rested: 3 weeks

Filter: 62g/L, 95°C when fresh but when well rested you can go down to 91-92°C

Luz Angela’s Chiroso

Scenery Colombia
Flv: ★★★★☆ Bdy: ★★★★★ Acd: ★★★★☆
08 Feb
Great

Region: Oporapa, Hulla

Farm: Chorro Alto

Variety: Chiroso

Elevation:

Process: Anoxic Natural (dry 48hr ferment in sealed environment, water added for 48hr aerobic ferment. Dried for 72hrs.)

Roasted: 26/01/2026

Method: V60 (28 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 89°C / 1:14.5

Brew Notes:

The super low agitation two blooms and a single non laminar pour turned out the best cup. Low temp, course grind. 17g:250g 89° One of the best coffee cups I have ever made. Excellent roast. Tried between 89° and 94° and around 93° really cut the bitterness but kept the aroma. Great until the end and kept a lovely nose. Very enjoyable.

Tasting Notes

Scenery Tasting Notes

Strawberry Jam, Peach Puree, Wild

Ken’s notes

First brew. Started with 25c, 89°c. Double brew method 17.8g:250g

Was a fantastic cup - one of the nicest cups I have ever had no funk, nothing silly. Just some jam and fruits on the nose, low bitterness, mid sweetness.

I know I can develop more of everything. Excellent.

Thirds brew: changed to 28 clicks but kept the temperature and reduced to the even lower agitation two blooms and a single pour method. Flavours amazing, aroma of fruits, zero bitterness, loads of body. Might be a 5/5 brew.

Nester Lasso

Pharmacie Colombia
Flv: ★★★★☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★★★☆
20 Jan
Great

Region: Pitalito, Huila

Farm: El Diviso

Variety: Anacafe 14, Bourbon, Catuai, Pache, San Ramon

Elevation: 1750 - 1800 MASL

Process: Anaerobic washed

Roasted: 14/01/2026

Method: V60 (25 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 94°C / 1:14

Brew Notes:

No specific brew notes.

Tasting Notes

Ken’s notes:

First cup 1:14 300ml at 25 clicks has a lovely fruit on the nose with just a tiny bit of funk. Sweet with flavours of oranges and a lingering taste. A little bitter.

Test2: lower temp. Test3: alter grind.

Tasting Notes:

Juicy notes of nectarine and tropical fruit with creamy caramel and coconut water body.

Roasters information:

As third-generation coffee farmers, Nestor and his brother Adrian prioritised quality over quantity, making coffee farming a viable and respected way to earn a living. Nestor’s passion for coffee, combined with the prospect of a better life, motivated him to transform the family business. Nestor Lasso, a 25-year-old coffee farmer, and his brother took over their family farm five years ago and shifted their focus to producing micro-lots and enhancing post-harvest processes. They are also part of a youth movement in coffee-producing countries, emphasising quality and environmental sustainability. Their hard work and innovation have paid off, as now their coffee is known worldwide and even used for competitions. Nestor acquired much of his theoretical knowledge from a government-subsidised program, learning about the cultivation and processing of specialty coffees. However, he likes to emphasise that true learning happens in the field. Finca el Diviso is a collaboration project born from two neighbours, both coffee producers, they wanted to cultivate and process even higher scoring coffee. El Diviso Farm belongs to Nestor Lasso and Jhoan Vergara, from Las Flores Farm, it lies in Pitalito at about 1800 m.a.s.l and has the ideal conditions growing specialty coffee beans. This specific coffee went through a double anaerobic fermentation. Straight after picking, the cherries undergo a 20 hours anaerobic fermentation and then again in smaller batches for 16 hours. After depulping and washing, the coffee is submerged in water and leachate from previous harvests for 18 hours, before being mechanically dried.

Exceptional Lychee

Formative Colombia
Flv: ★★★★★ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★★★☆
19 Jan
Great

Region: Santa Monica

Farm:

Variety: Castillo

Elevation:

Process: Washed, Lychee co-ferment

Roasted: 21/11/2025

Method: V60 (28 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 89°C / 1:15

Brew Notes:

2x 30sec bloom, pour rest in one dose and swirl, 2.5 min.

Tasting Notes

Tasting notes:

Lychee, vanilla, caramel.

Carlos Mejia

Pharmacie Honduras
Flv: ★★☆☆☆ Bdy: ★★★★☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
28 Dec
Good

Region:

Farm:

Variety: IHCafe 90, Red Catuai

Elevation: 1450 MASL

Process: Honey

Roasted: 17/12/2025

Method: v60 (27 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 87°C / 1:15

Brew Notes:

Low agitation, develops sweetness

Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes:

Juicy and sweet, notes of dried apricot and melon with creamy hazelnut body.

Ken’s Notes

As this is not the lightest of roasts I have played around with the brew. Low agitation works as always. Batch of 350ml worked amazingly well with 87°C water and 27 clicks. Best I have managed.

Blue Ayarza

Pharmacie Guatemala
Flv: ★☆☆☆☆ Bdy: ★☆☆☆☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
26 Dec
Meh

Region:

Farm:

Variety: Mixed

Elevation: 1400-2000 MASL

Process: Washed

Roasted: 19/12/2025

Method: Switch (28 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 89°C / 1:15

Brew Notes:

Dull and britter blend. Switch only.

Tasting Notes

Tasting notes:

Notes of juicy berry jam with smooth and creamy hazelnut body.

Ken’s notes:

Dull coffee, works ok with switch for a travel to work coffee.

Quebraditas SL-28 NAT

Scenery Colombia
Flv: ★★★★★ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★★☆☆
20 Dec
Great

Region: Oporapa, Hulla

Farm: Quebraditas

Variety: SL-28

Elevation:

Process: Advanced Natural (Hydro / Yeast innoculated - 72hrs anoxic, slow dried, water and yeast culture 248hrs, dried natural.)

Roasted: 04/12/2025

Method: V60 (28 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 89°C / 1:15

Brew Notes:

First time I really explored low temp brewing for this style. Low agitation brew method.

Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes

Wine Gums, Cointreau, Stewed fruits

Ken’s Notes

Outrageous aromas - the wine gum / stewed fruits hits you in the face. Taste couldn’t live up the nose but it was amazing. Finer grind or coller temps brought bitterness and acidity. Took careful brewing to bring aroma and sweetness at the expense of body and depth

Tullu Demtu

Pharmacie Ethiopia
Flv: ★★☆☆☆ Bdy: ★★★☆☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
05 Dec
Good

Region:

Farm:

Variety: Heirloom

Elevation: 2010 - 2300 MASL

Process: Natural

Roasted: 15/11/2025

Method: v60 (28 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 93°C / 1:15

Brew Notes:

Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes:

Sweet notes of candid lemon and rosewater with syrupy molasses and cacao body.

Gondo AA #261

Scenery Kenya
Flv: ★★★★★ Bdy: ★★★★☆ Acd: ★★★☆☆
10 Nov
Great

Region: Kangema District, Murang's County

Farm: Gondo Factory station

Variety: SL-28, SL-34, Batain, Ruiru, K7 (AA screensize)

Elevation:

Process: Washed (Dry fermented for 18 hours overnight)

Roasted: 22/10/2025

Method: V60 (28 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 89°C / 1:15

Brew Notes:

Oh wow, the fruits smacked you in the nose

Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes

Blackcurrent, Darjeeling, Blood orange

Ligtest roast

Bahire

Pharmacie Burundi
Flv: ★★★☆☆ Bdy: ★★★★☆ Acd: ★★☆☆☆
05 Nov
Good

Region:

Farm:

Variety: Bourbon

Elevation: 1800 MASL

Process: Washed, sundried

Roasted: 21/10/2025

Method: Switch (28 clicks)

Temp/Ratio: 89°C / 1:15

Brew Notes:

50/50 recipe - 350ml or 450ml

Tasting Notes

Ken’s notes:

This makes a great batch brew for taking to work in a flask. Easy to brew but not especially interesting.

Tasting Notes:

Juicy notes of strawberry and white grape with sweet and creamy vanilla body.

Edison Argot Orange B

Skylark Colombia
Flv: ☆☆☆☆☆ Bdy: ☆☆☆☆☆ Acd: ☆☆☆☆☆
05 May
TBC

Region:

Farm:

Variety:

Elevation:

Process: Natural

Roasted: 05/05/2026

Method: V60 (28 c40)

Temp/Ratio: 90° / 1:15.5

Brew Notes:

No specific brew notes.

Tasting Notes