For August we’re in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. We are happy to have black. onboard!
How did Black start? What’s your story?
black. is a small roastery which nowadays produces circa 350kg of coffee per month, but the vision for growth is huge. We started our café in November 2017, and the roastery joined the club in early summer 2018. We focus on giving a great experience to our customers while having a great cup of coffee. We love Slovakia but always knew that there are plenty of people throughout Europe whom we can surprise and give pleasure to. That’s why we are eager for collaborations like with you guys, so more people can get to know us.
We find the coffee culture of different cities varies a lot. What’s Bratislava’s coffee scene like?
Bratislava is a great small scene with plenty of amazing cafés (we have more specialty coffee shops than Oslo or Copenhagen for example), but there is still plenty of space for improvement and growth. We as Slovakians are known for good hospitality and hearty service. So that’s what we do. And we are so happy more and more people start to recognise us. For example, we are the first café which for filter and serves 95% solely batch brew. Says a lot about us. Great coffee should be - black, fast, good priced and enjoyed with good service.
A lot of our subscribers try coffee from Black for the first time. What can they expect from the three featured coffees of this month (Idido, Finca el Carmen and Herlindo Sepulvera)?
For the subscription box, we picked three very different coffees. Idido is a typical washed Ethiopian full of florals and citruses. El Carmen is all we look for in an El Salvador’s coffee - sweet, fruity, but easy to drink and sooo pleasurable. Finally Herlindo’s Caturra chiroso, which shows how diverse Colombian coffees are. Full, complex, a cup of coffee which you’d like to sit by for an hour and be thrilled by all the tastes it brings.
August’s box included these marvelous coffees ❤️
Idido
Origin: Ethiopia
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1800 - 2000 MASL
Varieties: Typica, heirloom
Tasting notes: mirabelle, apricot jam, rooibos, floral & citrusy
East of the bustling town of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, the Idido cooperative is located. This area has some of the highest-altitude coffees, with members’ farms situated in seven communities. The growers bring their cherries to the Idido cooperative after harvest for processing. Coffee from this region is renowned for its sweetness, crisp and complex acidity. This floral and citrusy cup of coffee has notes of mirabelle, apricot jam, and rooibos.
Finca El Carmen
Origin: El Salvador
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1300 MASL
Varieties: Red bourbon
Tasting notes: red grape, orange zest, wild cherry
Finca el carmen is a farm run by Fernando Alfaro and his family in the region Apaneca-Llamatepec in El Salvador. Fernando is a fourth-generation coffee farmer who cares a lot about his coffee. Fernando's knowledge and experience can be felt when tasting his coffee. Although being one of the smallest countries in Central America, Black has seen a huge increase in quality since 2000 due to better farming and great volcanic soil.
And exclusive for our Tasting Box™ subscribers... 💥
Herlindo Sepulvera
Origin: Colombia
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1900 MASL
Varieties: Caturra chiroso
Tasting notes: bubblegum, cola, orange blossom
This coffee comes from Urrao in Antiquia, a part of Colombia not very well known for growing coffee. Herlindo Sepulvera was one of several farmers who took advantage of the high altitude and great soil in the area to grow specialty coffee here. We are happy he did. Under almost perfect conditions he managed to create an excellent coffee. The unique Caturra Chiroso variety creates a beautiful floral cup with notes of bubblegum, cola and orange blossom.
Don’t miss out on our next box! Become a member now ⚡️