SHADY LANE

A LIGHT DARK ROAST:
People have been drinking dark roasts for over two-centuries and it seems both short-sighted and careless to ignore history. And yet if you roast too dark, all of the unique flavours of origin are lost and you simply taste the bitter burn and one-dimensional char of the roast process itself. Shady Lane is a new way of roasting that uses a gentle approach and precise technique to strike a compromise: it engages in our coffee past with an approachable low-acidity but also showcases the deeply sweet and delicious chocolaty notes possible with particular origins. It is new and old because as the Pavement song concludes, "the worlds collide, but all that we want is a shady lane". 

ORIGIN:
Olita Lima Reyes’ coffees comes by way of Cafe Colis Resistencia, which is a group of producers in Mataquescuintla who have been under siege by Canadian Silver mining company Tahoe. The company purchased the Escobal silver mine in nearby San Rafael las Flores, endangering the area's fragile environment and livelihood of local farmers. Olita and her daughter Brendy run the Las Animas farm and this is year two purchasing their entire non-parchment harvest. 

I am very happy to again join Bows and other Canadian roasters in supporting these farmers and their crucially important and peaceful resistance. For more information, please read Luis Solano's "Under Siege: Peaceful Resistance to Tahoe Resources and Militarization in Guatemala" and Brendan Adam's "Cafe Colis Resistencia".

FLAVOUR:
This year’s crop has those familiar black cherry and chocolate aromatics but with much more malic acidity in the cup compared to the last harvest. It is like a crisp bite of an  empire apple with just a hint of melon. This coffee is wonderfully pulpy - think apple cobbler or crumble. It has a lingering toffee finish that comes close to maple glazed donuts or decadent coffee cake!