Thickhead Blend
$15.00Thickhead is our most adventurous, fruitful forward, and bright year-round offering. This coffee’s lively acidity and vibrant sweetness embody the diverse terrain of one of our favorite mountains in Rothrock State Forest.
Finca El Progreso
Finca El Progresso is owned and operated by Rodrigo Sanchez, an award winning producer, who has earned his reputation for quality through his systematic approach to varietal selection, harvesting, and processing. While Rodrigo credits his success to his attention to detail, he is always experimenting with new varieties and processing techniques in order to produce the best crops possible.
Double Fermentation
This coffee goes through a unique two-phase fermentation cycle, a process that Rodrigo has aptly named “Double Fermentation,” in order to increase the coffee’s sugar content. After harvest, cherries are placed into an open air tank and left to ferment for 36 hours, with their fruit intact. The coffee is then de-pulped (its fruit is removed) and the beans are allowed to ferment once more for an additional 44 hours.
The initial phase of fermentation is crucial because it raises the coffee’s Brix level (a measurement of sugar concentration) by up to 4 degrees. Rodrigo and his team utilize Brix measurements to help determine which processing method will be best for a variety of different coffees.
Coffees that measure in at exactly 22 Brix degrees are designated for “Double Fermentation”. These coffees contain slightly too much sugar to implement the natural process, without running the risk of over fermentation and/or rotting, and just under the requisite level of sugar to produce high quality coffees using the washed process.
That is why the initial fermentation is pivotal. Boosting the sugar content, before removing the layers of fruit, allows Rodrigo to utilize seemingly lackluster crop to create the wonderfully complex and vibrantly sweet coffee, that we look forwarded to roasting day in and day out.
Brewing Thickhead
Thickhead is served as one of our house espresso’s but it has become a popular auto-drip option for those who desire a more vibrant morning cup.
The goal is to produce a cup with complex tropical qualities, the sweetness of raw cane sugar, and a pleasant syrup-like mouthfeel that coats the palate. Under extraction will lead to a savory cup that lacks body, and provides little to no sweetness, while over extraction will produce a coffee with muted acidity and an uninspiring after taste.
