RHYTHMIC ROASTERS BOX APR. 2022

RHYTHMIC ROASTERS BOX…

… showcases three roasters from Houston, Saint Louis and Worcester. Each of the roasters selected for this month’s box harness the power of music in their roasting process as a key complement to the full coffee experience. The three rhythmic roasters produce award winning coffee while also building community around music in each of their neighborhoods.

Image: Three Keys Coffee; Co-Founder: Tio Fallen

• THREE KEYS COFFEE | Houston, TX

  From the Roaster:
  Founded in 2019, Three Keys is a craft coffee roastery based out of Houston, TX. The name is inspired by the valves of the trumpet, which has been the instrument of choice for some of the most influential jazz musicians and composers. Similarly, Three Keys Coffee speaks a language that’s sophisticated yet accessible to everyone who’s willing to slow down and share a cup.

• FEATURED ROAST: Kenya Double A Train

  From the Roaster:
  This roast is our take on the "Take the A Train" classic composition made famous by Duke Ellington. AA is the highest tier of coffee produced in Kenya, and AA beans are regarded for their “big band” feel with a light body, bright mouthfeel, and intense floral taste. Like the music of Duke, and the famous NYC train line—this coffee will take you on a ride that’s unique and delightful.

  Mwiria Factory, named for the Kikuyu word meaning “huge”, lives up to its name with the big, flavorful punch of stone fruit, black tea and chocolate it packs in the cup.

  Three permanent employees operate Mwiria Factory and hire an additional 30 people during the peak of the season. Smallholders selectively handpick only ripe cherry and deliver it to Mwiria Factory. At intake, the Cherry Clerk oversees meticulous visual sorting and floating, accepting only dense, ripe cherry.After intake, cherry is pulped and wet fermented in Mwiria’s fermentation tanks for 12 to 28 hours.

  Following fermentation, coffee is washed clean water and graded in grading channels. Parchment is laid to dry on raised beds. During the busy season when the beds are in constant use, parchment may be soaked in clean, circulating water for up to 24 hours before being dried. Workers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 14 to 21 days for parchment to dry.

  In order to improve their environmental impact, Mwiria has 9 water soak pits that filter and drain waste water from processing. By planting Napier grass and plenty of trees around the pits, excess nutrients and other processing byproducts are filtered from the water, keeping water sources cleaner & safer for nearby communities and helping to return nutrients to the soil and plants.

• TASTING NOTES & ORIGIN

  TASTING NOTES
  Tropical stone fruit, black tea, caramel

  ORIGIN
  Mutunduri, Embu, Kenya

• STRINGBEAN COFFEE COMPANY | Brentwood, MO

  From the Roaster:
  Stringbean is about small batch, musically infused, fair trade and organically grown coffee…oh, and we are disco friendly too. We roast coffee to music and under the original Soul Train Disco Ball. Stringbean Coffee has a rock n’ roll vibe and a whole lot of soul.

  I am committed to offering premium coffee beans from around the world. I passionately roast in small batches in non-computerized, old school ways. My company strives to lessen our footprint on the environment and we are committed to supporting the small coffee communities that painstakingly and lovingly pick and process the coffee that will then be freshly roasted and eventually be used for your morning cuppa’ joe.

• FEATURED ROAST: Peru Café Femenino

  From the Roaster:
  Peru Cafe Femenino is a Fair Trade Certified™ coffee and also benefits the Cafe Femenino Foundation efforts.

  Out of Peru comes a story of strength, unity and hope. Peru Café Femenino, is changing the role of women in rural coffee communities. Female coffee growers have become better educated, organized, and for the first time are producing women's coffee as a specialty commodity. This Fair Trade and organic certified coffee is grown, processed and traded exclusively by women. The women then decide how to use the additional funds to better their lives and those of their children.

• TASTING NOTES & ORIGIN

  TASTING NOTES
  Molasses sweetness

  ORIGIN
  Peru

• ACOUSTIC JAVA | Worcester, MA

  From the Roaster:
  We believe that great coffee, like great music, is a work of art. We also believe that great art of all kinds takes knowledge, practice, and inspiration.

  Our niche is the intersection of quality and sustainability. We are a certified USDA Organic Facility, and we feature a wide range of certified Fair Trade, Organic, Bird Friendly, Rain Forest Alliance, and Women Producer coffees. We also work directly with farmers and their families to bring you a variety of high-scoring micro-lot and estate coffees.

  To encourage both better coffee and better art, we operate an SCA Premier Coffee Campus at our roasting facility, where we teach Introduction to Coffee and Barista Skills classes. Courses are taught by our Head Roaster, David Fullerton, who is an Authorized Specialty Coffee Association Trainer.

• FEATURED ROAST: Peru Cajamarca - Organic

  From the Roaster:
  The Peru Cajamarca is a fair trade organic single origin that uses a washed coffee processing method. The bean was harvested in 2021 and has bourbon, typica and caturra varietals.

• TASTING NOTES & ORIGIN

  TASTING NOTES
  Chocolatey, Pecan, Lemon, Lime, Orange.

  ORIGIN
  Peru