Tandem Coffee Roasters Hugo Rojas (GREEN)

Oh, man. It is SO good to see Hugo Rojas’ coffee back on the menu. We’d be hard pressed to find another farmer who grows Caturra as well as Hugo does, and it’s no surprise that this season the coffee is tasting as good as it ever has. Caturra, a natural dwarf mutation of the Bourbon varietal, was first discovered in Brazil around 1915. It has become one of Central America’s most important varietals, as well as a benchmark against which other coffees are graded. The Caturra shrubs on Hugo’s gorgeous farm El Carmen are pristine and orderly, and if there’s a better view of the valley below from his farm, we don’t know it. One of the first things on our to do list is to visit Hugo as soon as traveling to origin gets somewhat back to normal. This season’s microlots have an intense powdered sugary quality along with Hugo’s characteristic citrus zest and floral qualities.