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Brass Knuckle Blend
Molasses/Fig
A rich syrupy concoction made from coffees from all around the world. This blend makes a fantastic espresso, french press, or filter coffee that may remind you of the flavors or molasses and fig.
$13 for 12 oz.
$15.60 for 1 lb.
Wholesale pricing available (Contact us for pricing)
If you live in the Iowa City area (IC, Coralville, or North Liberty), use coupon code ICFREE to waive the shipping fee and get free local delivery (free deliveries are made on Fridays).
Papua New Guinea Jiwaka Arufa Natural Process
Peach/ Lime/ Cacao
"Abnormal Offerings for Coffee Lovers."
The Skeleton Key Series is a new set of small batch single origin offerings from Brass Ring Coffee. These are coffees that we find to be special or "abnormal" in some way or another. Some of these coffees may come from special farms, use experimental processing techniques, unique typicas, or just have an extremely special flavor or character. You can always count on a Skeleton Key coffee to transport you to somewhere special when you close your eyes to take the the first sip.
$16.25 for 12 oz.
$20.30 for 1 lb.
Wholesale pricing available (Contact us for pricing)
From its earliest introduction to present day, the arabica gene stock in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is considered to be one of the country’s strongest natural assets, not to mention one of the best-preserved typica lineage variety sets in the world. And these delicate genetics clearly thrive in PNG’s highlands, which are some of the most virgin and fertile on the planet.
Between World Wars I and II, Australian settlers would establish more and more large coffee estates across the Eastern, Chimbu, Jiwaka, and Western highland provinces. As commercial exports ramped up, more indigenous Papuans would adopt coffee as a cash crop alongside their traditional economies, in most cases processing at home and selling humid parchment to traveling collectors. For hundreds of thousands of rural farmers coffee would be, and still is, the very first and only source of western currency. To this day expert-level cultivation knowledge largely remains in the possession and experience of PNG’s plantation owners. Remote smallholder coffee tends to fall short of its potential, receiving only scarce quality interventions from ambitious millers and exporters.
This unique natural lot is made possible by Monpi Coffee, a miller and exporter based in both Garoka and Mt. Hagen, the two main coffee industry hubs in PNG’s highlands. Monpi also partners with independent washing stations and occasionally commissions specific processing styles in collaboration with participating growers. In this case, Monpi worked with the Kindeng Wet Mill to sort and separate exemplary cherry prior to the typical depulping phase, and directly dry the fruit as a full natural, a process that takes a full month in Jiwaka’s cool highlands. Once the drying is complete, the coffee is transported to Monpi’s Kagamuga dry mill for hulling, and finally fully milled for export in Garoka.
In addition to value-added processing programs like this one, Monpi also maintains a business unit dedicated to supporting smallholders directly through training and community support. Called Sustainability Management Service (SMS), the team oversees trainings throughout the year that address agricultural practices, gender equality, youth inclusion, climate change mitigation, and environmental preservation. The Kagamuga dry mill is also developing a coffee nursery to provide new plantings to local farmer networks, to support productivity for their farmers for the long term.
Tasting
This information comes courtesy of our friends at Burman Coffee.
If you live in the Iowa City area (IC, Coralville, or North Liberty), use coupon code ICFREE to waive the shipping fee and get free local delivery on orders over $20 (free deliveries are made on Fridays).
Colombia Manos Juntas
Plum/ Cola
"Abnormal Offerings for Coffee Lovers."
The Skeleton Key Series is a new set of small batch single origin offerings from Brass Ring Coffee. These are coffees that we find to be special or "abnormal" in some way or another. Some of these coffees may come from special farms, use experimental processing techniques, unique typicas, or just have an extremely special flavor or character. You can always count on a Skeleton Key coffee to transport you to somewhere special when you close your eyes to take the the first sip.
$16.75 for 12 oz.
$21 for 1 lb.
Wholesale pricing available (Contact us for pricing)
"A very fruit forward and floral cup of coffee! A stellar example if you like the slow dried natural process. Although it is a Colombian coffee this is not for you traditional Colombian fans. Very unique tastes in this offering. If you enjoy coffees like Ethiopian Naturals, Indo Bali Kintamani, Zambia Natural, this will be right down your alley. One will see pretty two-toned roasting with it and very fruit forward winy/floral/fruity tones.
Manos Juntas is a micromill in Sotara area of Colombia’s Cauca region, operated and managed by Banexport. The entire concept of this micromill is based on simplifying tasks and responsibilities, for both producers and export companies.
This particular offering was first purchased in its cherry form when delivered to the mill by eight local producers, on the day of harvest. Upon arrival, the Brix and pH were recorded, and the cherries were placed in large hermetic tanks for a five-day-long anaerobic fermentation. After this, the cherries were taken to raised beds under a parabolic dryer to begin their 30-day process of slowly drying.
Processing coffee is half the battle for small scale farmers, which is why Banexport decided to establish Manos Juntas Micromill, in which they purchase cherries from producers and manage the processing, drying, and storage themselves. This model allows producers to focus on healthy production of specialty coffee, while the meticulous work of sorting, processing, drying, and storing is managed by Banexport’s team.."
If you live in the Iowa City area (IC, Coralville, or North Liberty), use coupon code ICFREE to waive the shipping fee and get free local delivery on orders over $20 (free deliveries are made on Fridays).
Honduras MWP Decaf
Cocoa/ Fig / Tobacco
$16.25 for 12 oz.
$20.30 for 1 lb.
Wholesale pricing available (Contact us for pricing)
"Hondurans coffee really tend to shine with the decafs – smooth, rich and chocolaty while naturally being lower acidity. The water process: The green coffee is pre-soaked in water to expand the beans for caffeine extraction. The hydrated green coffee is then introduced to a unique solution of concentrated coffee solubles that draw out the caffeine while minimizing the loss of flavor compounds. Once the caffeine has been removed the green coffee is re-dried and re-bagged for transport, and the extract solution is filtered of its caffeine and recycled to be used again.."
If you live in the Iowa City area (IC, Coralville, or North Liberty), use coupon code ICFREE to waive the shipping fee and get free local delivery on orders over $20 (free deliveries are made on Fridays).
Brass Ring Sample Pack
(If you'd like specific roasts included, or would prefer all samples to be of the same roast, let us know in the comment section of your order.)
(For a perfect gift, try pairing with a handmade mug!)
If you live in the Iowa City area (IC, Coralville, or North Liberty), use coupon code ICFREE to waive the shipping fee and get free local delivery (free deliveries are made on Fridays).
Coffee & Mug gift Package
Sold out
Need a last minute gift? How about one of our new mugs, handmade by local Iowa City ceramicist Alea Mae Pottery, and throw in a 12 oz. bag of freshly roasted beans! We'll even wrap it up nice in a gift bag with a ceramic Brass Ring Coffee stamped ornament.
Gift Card
Burundi Long Miles Peaberry
Peach/
"Abnormal Offerings for Coffee Lovers."
The Skeleton Key Series is a new set of small batch single origin offerings from Brass Ring Coffee. These are coffees that we find to be special or "abnormal" in some way or another. Some of these coffees may come from special farms, use experimental processing techniques, unique typicas, or just have an extremely special flavor or character. You can always count on a Skeleton Key coffee to transport you to somewhere special when you close your eyes to take the the first sip.
$16.75 for 12 oz.
$21 for 1 lb.
Wholesale pricing available (Contact us for pricing)
“Our peaberry lots hold a very special place in our hearts. These lots represent Long Miles, even Burundi, as a whole, in a way that a micro-lot from a very specific geographical area cannot.” Very true words from the team at Long Miles Coffee Project, the producer of this unique blended peaberry, one of the rare preparations of this kind and quality we’ve seen available in Burundi. And we agree: top quality regional blends from Burundi are difficult to find, so we were delighted to learn that each year the Long Miles team produces a small amount of screen 14-15 peaberry coffee, sorted out of their best microlots throughout the season and blended together.
An awesome and super clean Burundi coffee. Fuller bodied, a bit of lemony floral acidity upfront, with a little soft fruit tone as the cup cools. A smooth and rich chocolaty cup profile to balance it out. Hints of an herbal/tea like tone in the aftertaste letting you know its an African coffee but not nearly as potent as many. A bit sizzling at lighter roasts (higher acidity) but tasty for those who enjoy the profile. Smooth and a bit sweet at a medium roast, much heftier into the darker roast, turning it into a strong and fuller bodied cup. A great African cup and not too acidic, one almost everyone will like.
Normally, Long Miles is a microlot business through and through. All of their infrastructure, systems, employees, and marketing are designed to support large numbers of unique and fully traceable coffee. LMCP organizes their farmer base by the hills they live on, designating delivery days of the week for each microregion. This is common practice for processors in Burundi, but unlike most, LMCP separates every hill and delivery day until processing is complete and a quality assessment has been made. Doing so in Burundi is especially difficult because farms produce very little cherry and are scattered across broad landscapes. They are also numerous, requiring the successful coordination of hundreds of farmers and processing staff just to produce a single differentiated lot. Such an effort requires sustainable prices to support, so the coffee itself needs to be as delicious as possible. Fortunately, LMCP excels at identifying landscapes and communities with potential, and investing heavily in farmer livelihood. With this formula they are easily producing many of the country’s best coffees each year.
Long Miles operates 3 washing stations: Bukeye, their first, in Muramvya province, and Heza and Ninga, their second and third, both located in Kayanza province. Surrounding farmers that Long Miles works with often grow onions, tea, wheat, cabbage, corn, cassava and peas, all in addition to their coffee. Long Miles themselves manage 2 farms of their own on Nkonge hill, part of Heza’s catchment area, with a total of 5,334 coffee trees in production. All smallholder farmers are registered partners with Long Miles and receive not only highly competitive prices and post-harvest premiums for their cherry, but also farm-level trainings covering canopy and fertilizer development, pruning, harvesting for quality and integrated pest management. Farmer trainings are all provided by local “Coffee Scouts”, Long Mile’s team of community-based trainers who serve as local instructors. The education and high prices combined have helped many farmers renew their faith in coffee as a long-term livelihood. Long Miles works with a total of 5,700 farmers between their 3 washing stations, servicing 11 different hills.
Washed processing at all 3 stations undergoes the same steps. Cherry is first floated and hand-sorted for maximum ripeness upon delivery. Once the cherry is depulped the parchment undergoes a double fermentation process, including a 12-hour dry fermentation, followed by a 24-hour wet fermentation, during which the parchment is submerged entirely in spring water. After the set of fermentations is complete the parchment is “footed”, or agitated by dancing barefoot in the parchment to help the decomposed mucilage completely detach. Once the agitation is complete, the parchment is rinsed in fresh water, graded by density, and left to soak another 4-6 hours in a final rinse tank. Post soak, the parchment is moved to shaded drying beds to allow residual surface water to evaporate, during which it is hand-sorted for any insect damage and visual imperfections. Parchment is then moved again to the larger beds with no shade to dry completely, a process that typically takes 16-20 days.
Peaberries are a naturally-occurring small and round bean shape that all coffees in the world contain. In Burundi, however, only 15+ screen size coffee is considered micro-lot quality, leaving the perfectly good smaller screens, such as the peaberries, rejected. Long Miles holds the peaberry sortings from each of their microlots throughout the harvest and then blends them together at the end of each year. They hand sort over and over again until the lot is the best it can be, creating a unique presentation of a regional blend that comes from their best overall coffees. Not only is the coffee citrusy, floral, and peachy sweet, but the physical consistency means the coffee is exquisitely easy to control in the roast.
Information on this coffee is courtesy of our friends at Burman Coffee.
If you live in the Iowa City area (IC, Coralville, or North Liberty), use coupon code ICFREE to waive the shipping fee and get free local delivery on orders over $20 (free deliveries are made on Fridays).
Please contact us for quotes on wholesale orders.