Coffee Review: Stone Creek Coffee Guatemala Lot #37/41

If you travel through Wisconsin, chances are coffee is not one of the things you think about as you head there. You may think about beer, cheese or the Green Bay Packers. Put coffee on your list of must do things, specifically Stone Creek Coffee in Milwaukee.

Stone Creek began in 1993. Over time, what Eric Resch and his wife Melissa started with a small roaster and one location, has turned into a pretty impressive 10 locations in the Milwaukee area and  Stone Creek Kitchen. Stone Creek Kitchen is coffee-centric, meaning they develop foods to serve with, and enhance the coffee experience. The company supports over 200 non-profits in the area. More importantly their coffee is based on partnerships with farmers, which encourage better quality coffee, and responsible farming,; where the workers are taken care of, and the coffee is cultivated with great care.

Stone Creek was at CoffeeCon this year. As I wrote in my summary of the day, this was one of two coffee companies I went back to time, and time again. I'm sure the folks thought I was a coffee stalker at one point. They were kind enough to give me a bag of coffee. Maybe that was the "go away coffee blogger" bag. Anyway, I'm glad they did, because I want to talk about the coffee I had this morning.

Guatemala Lot #37/41 comes from Finca El Retrio del Quisaya. This is a farm which has been owned and cultivated by the Alburez/Ortega family since 1832. They began farming coffee in 1912. 37/41 is a combination of smaller lots on the farm which come together in this coffee.

This coffee is a Red Bourbon and had been through a washed process. It was grown at 1725-1750m. What I experience with a good many coffees which have been through the washed process is a nutty flavor to the coffee, which sometimes I like, other times I don't. This coffee doesn't have a strong nutty flavor(which is good). I get a chocolate-like flavor, with a bit of citrus in it.

I made the coffee this morning in the Chemex. First I tried it black, and it was just as I remember from CoffeeCon....very good. Did I say very good? Sorry, my mistake, I mean excellent. This is a great coffee. This is one of those coffees, I would gladly wake up to make every morning, would love it, and find something different about it every day. I sometimes think when people write about personality in a coffee, they are making things up. No more. This coffee does have a personality, and it's a bright, and full of sunshine. Are you getting I love this coffee?

On our strength scale, this is a perky wake you up coffee. On our Cher Scale, this is an 8.5. This is what an 8.5 looks like.

This is a playful coffee, and I think if you get it, you will love it as much as I do.

https://www.stonecreekcoffee.com

Charlie