Guatemala Finca Bourbon is back!!!

This week we welcome back a coffee we've had previously but which had been unavailable far too long. The Guatemala Finca Bourbon. 

The Guatemala Finca Bourbon coffee, grown at 1500 - 1800 meters above sea level, is named after the bourbon varietal that has been cultivated on the Echeverria family farm since 1878, in the municipality of Patzún, department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The farm has been OCIA certified organic since 1996 and is also certified Bird-Friendly by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

Only 96 hectares of the farm are used for coffee production while the remainder of the 286 hectares is preserved forest. The coffee plants, some over 100 years old, grow in volcanic soil under an old growth canopy of native shade trees. As one of the oldest operating coffee farms in Guatemala, the knowledge and tradition brought to cherry selection, fermentation, and drying is unmatched.

Many will remember this delicious coffee with its sweet aroma exuding notes of dark chocolate, caramel and cinnamon.

This is a very complex coffee with a creamy mouthfeel and a nice balance of fruit with a floral silkiness. Intertwined in there are notes of toffee, molasses, caramelized brown sugar and almond.

A medium body coffee with a clean finish. Need I say more?

I read an interesting article this week pertaining to the shipment of goods (coffee specifically), into the United States. Not long ago, there were significant delays with bringing coffee into the US due to the slowdown on the West Coast ports.

There is currently another slowdown but which has nothing to do with labor disputes. It is in part, due to the fact that several large shipping companies have implemented larger, more efficient ships to move the thousands of containers across the ocean.

These larger ships, which approach 1/4 mile in length, have a capacity of just under 20,000 containers. As a result, it takes substantially longer to load, and unload these ships, approximately 30+ days on each end. Add to that, the number of ports who can handle these huge ships is limited because of the insufficient depth of the channels, the cranes are too small and the amount of real estate necessary to handle this number of containers creates a massive problem. Hence, the slowdown.

Some day, perhaps everything will be "in-sync" and run flawlessly.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago about having been interviewed by a Angelina and Andrea of Sentiero Photography who are producing a series of articles on "Defining Extraordinary", in Portland. I received an e-mail from them this morning announcing today's release of their piece on St. Johns Coffee Roasters.

Please check it out. I feel they did an amazing job and was completely humbled when reading it.

 http://definingextraordinary.com/2015/07/10/mount-burns-of-st-johns-coffee-roasters/

Those of you who've visited the shop this week have been able to enjoy the paintings on display by Jeanne Levasseur. Don't forget to mark your calendars for Friday, July 24th when we'll be hosting a reception for Jeanne from 6-9 pm. Take the opportunity to meet Jeanne and discuss her work and enjoy some snacks and beverages. 

And, don't forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, September 19th when we will celebrating our One-year anniversary/Grand opening. (We're taking the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.)  :)

Plans are being made for what we hope will be a festive night of merriment. So stay tuned...

Our relatively new customer, Tired & Pour, located at 3423 SE Belmont St., dropped off some cards the other day which we'd like to share. They make these amazing Italian cookies called Pizzelles. Right now they're having a special where if you buy one, you get the second for free. How irresistible is that?

It's nice that we're finally getting a bit of a reprieve from the hot temperatures. It makes for perfect coffee drinking weather. It sounds like tomorrow and Sunday will be even better! We'll be prepared with a nice selection of cold-brewed coffees and teas as well as our amazing selection of whole bean coffees.

The cooler weather couldn't have come at a better time. This weekend is the annual Seattle to Portland bike ride which passes right by our shop. Come grab an outdoor seat and cheer the riders as they work their way toward the finish line. 

They typically begin passing by here about 1pm on Saturday for the one-day riders and around 11 am on Sunday for those who choose to do the ride in two days.

Meanwhile, I hope you have a fabulous weekend and keep the coffee flowing! Don't forget to look for our coupon in the new on-line version of Chinook Book!

Many thanks,

Mount & Crew