Shared Source: Special Feature
Welcome to our next special feature, where we buy direct from a producer and tell their story. This drop we've bought two excellent coffees from Colombia and Ethiopia through Shared Source.
"We grew out of the coffee buying department of Small Batch Roasting Co., a small team that became obsessed with seeking to buy coffee independently and sustainably. The motivations are easy to recall: we were fed up with being misled and sometimes outright lied to about how much producers received of what we paid in USD/lb. We hated losing continuity with producers we wanted to buy from and support again. Our dissatisfaction led us to set out independently in 2013 with a Spanish speaker under our wing and plenty of pluck in our boots. It was a pretty simple mission to start with.
Of course, we didn’t start exporting and importing coffee straight away. But we saw problems with pricing and producer vulnerability. We saw how producers were in the dark about buyers’ real needs and chased processing fads; that producers were mostly given poor agronomical and processing advice. We saw the importance of our buying volume to the individuals and groups with whom we wanted to meaningfully partner. We saw that it was possible to farm coffee sustainably, without the status quo liberal chemical application. In short, we saw enough of what happens behind the curtain to realize that we didn’t want to be coffee buying dilettantes, and felt an imperative to undertake coffee buying with an activist mindset.
Next came a fortuitous Seattle friendship and through this a bunch of supportive roaster mates in the Pacific Northwest. Roll on a year or so. Then you came along! The rest is still yet to unfold.
“We”, then, are the coffee buying team of Melbourne-based Small Batch Roasting Co., which was founded in 2009 and remains lovingly attended to by a small team led by Andrew Kelly. Michelle Stoler rounds out our green buying team from Portland, Oregon, where she also manages sales and US operations. On the ground in Nariño, Colombia, Frank Torres facilitates valuable relationships and provides insights and trainings in sustainable coffee production. Additionally, we are logistically supported by many great friends and partners in Huila, Colombia. We exist to share the source."
"German Ortiz is a member of Los Guácharos, a group of independent, quality-focused smallholder producers in Bruselas, Southern Huila (close to Pitalito). The group is collectively converting to organic agriculture, making their own fertilizers and fungicides, installing complex water filtration systems that use gravity, stones and sand to remove all mucilage residues from waste water to not contaminate water systems.
German planted new bourbon aji trees, which is a new variety that is taking off in popularity in Huila. The variety is native to Bruselas- the town around which the Guácharos members are based. The variety has piqued a lot of group members’ interest- the trees themselves seem to be resistant to fungal issues like coffee leaf rust, and the cherries have both a long, skinny chili-shape, and they ripen to a chili color- hence the “aji” (chili) name!
To process his coffees, German first floats the cherries to remove under- and over-ripe cherries, and then he leaves the coffee for an initial cherry fermentation in closed plastic bags for about 24 hours. From there, he de-pulps the coffee and leaves it to continue fermenting in sealed plastic barrels with one-way valves for off-gassing for another 36-48 hours. After washing the coffee, he takes it to dry in a traditional parabolic dryer."
Producer - German Ortiz
Origin - Bruselas, Huila, Colombia
Roasted by - Legend Coffee Roasters
Roast Date - 06/05/2025
Variety - Bourbon Aji
Process - Washed
Flavour notes
Espresso: Vanilla, Nougat, Milk chocolate
Filter: Kiwi, Pink Lady apple, Malt
"Alemayehu Sali Washing Station is located in the Siko Village of the Uraga Woreda, the wet mill is run and managed by the man himself Alemayehu Sali who has through the years specialized processing washed and natural coffees in the Siko Village.
Alemayehu Sali along with his brother have been working in the Siko village for over 7 years and is considered the first wet mill in the area.
The area is covered with a semi forest vegetation, farmers in the area produce maize, barley, sorghum and false banana. The biodiversity in Siko is extremely unique as well as the landscape is covered with indigenous tree species.
Around 564 farmers deliver their red cherry to this wet mill through picking selectively in the morning and bring them in the afternoon for pulping.
This lot is a fully washed coffee with approximately 36-48 hours of fermentation time that yields a very good clarity of flavour and a bright acidity then soaked for 4 hours before drying on the African drying beds."
Producer - Alemayehu Sali
Origin - Guji, Oromia, Ethiopia
Roasted by - Legend Coffee Roasters
Roast Date - 06/05/2025
Variety - Dega, Kurume
Process - Washed
Flavour notes
Espresso: Molasses, Fruit cake, Choc caramel slice
Filter: Jasmine, White peach
Brew Guidelines
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Espresso - 9 bar Brew ratio - 1:2.3 (dry coffee : espresso liquid) Temp - 94 Deg C Time - 25-30 seconds. *Adjust grind size to achieve the desired time
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Espresso - 6 bar Brew ratio - 1:2.7 (dry coffee : espresso liquid) Temp - 94 Deg C Time - 25-30 seconds. *Adjust grind size to achieve the desired time
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Pourover Temp - off the boil Ratio - 1:16 (dry coffee:water) Bloom - 30 seconds Flow rate - fast *Adjust grind size to achieve desired flow rate |
Aeropress Temp - off the boil Ratio - 1:16 (dry coffee : water) Bloom - 30 seconds Brew time - 90 seconds (including bloom) Press consistently over 15-20 seconds. |
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Stove top Ratio - 1 - 8.5 (dry coffee : water) |
