Our Casa Espresso Blend has won a silver medal at the Great British Food Awards 2023 and has been previously awarded a UK Great Taste Award and buckets of praise from coffee lovers everywhere.
This is what the judging panel said about our coffee: "There are some wonderfully pronounced toasted peanut flavours in here, evocative of Pad Thai. Smooth, well balanced and gentle milk chocolate flavours run into the finish. Clean and pleasant."
Brazil: Pocos De Caldas
Costa Rica: Hermosa
We've worked hard to perfect our iconic blue label Casa. Given that speciality coffee is all about seasonal harvests, we can confidently reproduce our taste profile with Brazilian and Central American Arabica beans.
We use for the base the incredible Catuai Arabica coffee varietal from the Espirito Santo region. This Brazilian bean has an amazing caramel sweetness with milk chocolate and apple notes, yet the punch needed to cut through milky espresso-machine based drinks. So, its the ideal base for our Casa Espresso blend.
We've paired it with a superb washed offering from the innovative Coope Dota in Costa Rica. The cooperative represents over 1000 smallholder producers from the areas surrounding the town of Santa Maria de Dota in the Tarrazu region and were the first coffee processor in the world to be awarded carbon neutral status, way back in 2011.
Grown at exceptionally high altitudes, the Hermosa brings buckets of fruity sweetness to the blend, combining with the chocolatey goodness of Pocos de Caldas to produce a profile that reminds us of black forest gateaux.
So what's our objective? We want...
- A coffee that's got boldness through an espresso machine as an unadulterated espresso, yet has the body and punch to compliment all milky drinks
- A blend of 100% single-origin Arabica beans that tastes amazing, without any hint of the astringency you'll find with Robusta coffee
- To remain committed to using farms whose produce is fully traceable. With this provenance, we can rely on an excellent crop from each harvest. And in this way, we can reproduce a consistent roast profile and keep you smiling
- A taste profile that has good balance, a full-mouthfeel, with nutty and chocolate notes and a refreshing fruity finish
Brew Method: Made to measure for an espresso machine. If you have a home espresso machine, then our "blue label" is an essential companion. It's also absolutely cracking to use with a stove top - see our range of Bialetti - a great way to start the morning that keeps to a tight budget. As we say in Cumbria: “Champion”.
More info: Casa - Espresso Blend
Component 1 - BRAZIL: Pocos De Caldas
Producer: Leandro S. D. Santos
Region: Caparao, Espirito Santo
Altitude: 1100 MASL
Variety: Catucai
Process: Washed
Tasting notes: Chocolate, caramel and apple
We've sourced a washed Brazil for a clean and smooth, yet punchy brew. Working with Leandro, this Catucai varietal has a typically distinctive caramel flavour, paired with notes of apple and a chocolatey body. It was a challenge sourcing a bean that lives up to the deliciousness of our previous Brazil farmed by Elio Uliana, however after a careful process involving the cupping of a multitude of Brazilian offerings, we landed on the delicious Pocos De Caldas - named after the local city.
A relatively new and young producer, Leandro manages just a hectare of land in Muniz Freire. The unique microclimate of the region means his coffee ripens later than most, often not fully maturing until November. This delayed harvest initially prevented him from entering many quality competitions, but in 2022, he was invited to participate in a local competition and secured second place with his Catucaí 2SL variety.
Leandro processes all his coffee as fully washed, using a 12-hour wet fermentation to enhance fruit flavours and complexity while avoiding any pulpy or over-fermented notes.
Component 2 - COSTA RICA - Hermosa
Producer: Coope Dota
Region: Santa Maria de Dota, Tarrazu
Altitude: 1500 - 2600 MASL
Variety: Red Catuai, Yellow Catuai, Red Caturra, Yellow Caturra
Process: Washed
Tasting Notes: Plum, Maple, Apple
This washed lot from the producers of Coope Dota is brimming with berries, stone fruits and sweetness.
The cooperative have been producing sensational coffees for more than 60 years, with an ever increasing focus on innovation and sustainability. They were the first processors in the world to be certified carbon neutral in 2011, have worked hard to address gender equality throughout the business and are committed to supporting young people both academically, offering coffee diplomas at their own school, and through sport, which has seen multiple young members head to the Olympics.
