Some of the most exciting coffees we've roasted over the last few years came to us through a company called Unblended, including this coffee from Ronaldo on our menu right now. We sat down with our Director of Coffee, Evan Wood, to talk about who Unblended is, how we choose the coffees we buy from them, and why we keep coming back.
What Unblended does
Unblended is a green coffee supplier based in Colombia. A lot of what they do centers on younger producers, and their Young Producer Program helps growers who are still establishing themselves develop their coffee, price it, and sell it internationally, giving them the support to build a name of their own. Alongside that, they do the work of a green coffee exporter, sourcing coffee from producers in Colombia and getting it into the hands of roasters like us here in the U.S.
We're excited to work with Unblended because they're a team trying to make sure the people growing coffee have a future in the industry, and their coffees are pretty dang tasty too.
Our Director of Coffee, Evan Wood, with Sofía Cuadros of Unblended.
How the relationship works
Sourcing coffee well takes planning, and we tend to map out our menu months in advance. That means we're tasting through possibilities long before any of them make it to the bar, and Unblended is one of the exporters we go to for samples.
"On a quarterly basis, we get a curated set of sample material from our good friends at Unblended," Evan said. "We sample roast them and cup through them as a team and make our selections. After working so long with Lucas, Sophia, and their team - they have a really great understanding of the kinds of coffee and stories that get us excited."
That shared history is what makes the relationship work so well. When you work with the same suppliers for long enough, they stop guessing and start sending you coffees that are right for you. From there, we're open to buying whatever excites us out of what they send. "Nothing in particular, honestly," Evan said when we asked what he looks for. "We typically ask them to send us samples that they're excited about, and as we taste through those selections, we usually purchase the coffees that make us most intrigued to share with our community."
We've gotten to watch this relationship grow over the years. "We've been showcasing their work for four years now! Crazy!" Evan said, and the coffees have covered a lot of ground in that time. "A mixture, really," he told us. "We've done some wild, crazy, experimental coffees with them but as of late, we've been roasting some really clean, expressive washed coffee from them and their partners."
The producers behind the coffees
The longer we work with Unblended, the more we get to know the producers themselves, not just their coffees. Over four years that has turned a sourcing relationship into a handful of real friendships.
"We've only had one repetitive offering from them, which is currently on the menu!" Evan said. "That coffee is from Ronaldo Hurtado and his family's farm, El Recreo. Ronaldo is a dear friend and a wildly talented coffee pro." In four years, his is one coffee we've brought back more than once, because we've loved it and he's such a talented producer.
The team catching up with Ronaldo Hurtado (right) at World of Coffee in San Diego.
Ronaldo grew up on El Recreo, his family's farm in Moniquira, Boyaca, and came to coffee later on, throwing himself into it through barista programs and an internship at a coffee lab in Medellin. When he returned to the farm, he set out to build the family's own brand around carefully processed, expressive coffees, and the lot we bought this year is one of the early results of that work. It's washed using a Colombian fermentation method called cochadas, and it drinks like orange, cherry cola, and molasses. You can grab a bag here while it lasts.
Ronaldo isn't the only recurring relationship we've built through Unblended, either, and a newer one is already taking shape. "As I mentioned earlier, Ronaldo's coffee is one of those," Evan said. "We also worked with Diego and Yessica Parra for the first time this year, and based on the response to their Papayo, I'm certain we'll begin working with them on a yearly basis." If Papayo was a favorite of yours, that's a coffee you'll get to taste more of next season.
That's the part we like most about working with Unblended. A box of green coffee samples every few months turns into coffees we're proud to roast and producers we're glad to keep working with. You can find Ronaldo's coffee here, and there's always more on the way.
