Overview
Solstice season returns! Our Winter iteration of Solstice is named for the beginning of the Winter season and the longest night of the year, when Earth’s North Pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun.
This offering is built specifically to keep you cozy throughout the holiday season and celebrate the return of gradually longer days as we traverse the depths of Winter. When creating Solstice, we always start by setting a target flavor profile. The vision is to embody decadence and comfort - think mulled wine, hot cocoa, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Solstice is designed with all brewing methods in mind, so it’s guaranteed to play nice and please a crowd!
This season we’ve arrived at a three-part combination of a few very different coffees. Each one brings unique elements that synchronize to create a full, sweet, structured coffee. The Brazil component from Celso and Gertrudes sets the comforting stage by presenting heavier notes of dark chocolate, caramel, and roasted nuts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have our natural processed Ethiopia, Bookkisa, bringing fresh florals and berries into the mix. Akagera Urubyiruko then fills in all the gaps to bolster the middle section of the flavor profile. Notes of sugarcane and baking spice play well with the dessert forward aspects of Celso & Gertrudes; whereas brighter notes, like orange and nectarine, synchronize with the jammy berries we find in Bookkisa. Gaps are bridged and harmony is achieved!
Winter Solstice is truly hitting all the marks - sweet and comforting; yet, complex and saturated with flavor. This is for drinking all day every day, my friends. We hope you think it’s as cozy as we do! We’re tasting: fig jam, orange marmalade, dried apricot, golden raisin, fruitcake, peach cobbler, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, baking spice, gingerbread, pecan pie, nutella, dark chocolate.
Brewing
Winter Solstice should produce a cup that’s very dense and saturated. Most prominently, you’ll notice fuller flavors like dark chocolate, brown sugar, and baking spice. There is a mild fruit acidity, which presents itself as cooked or dried fruit - like apple butter or orange marmalade. The sweet spot is a harmonious balance between the darker sugar browning flavors and these cooked fruit notes.
If your coffee tastes grassy, thin, and slightly sour - like lemongrass or under ripe berries - try grinding finer!
If your coffee tastes muddy and drying - like burnt sugar or oversteeped black tea - try grinding coarser.
