August 2025
It's not often that we will gush uncontrollably over a coffee.
Well, this month we have, and there's no apologies for the hype.
Being just over the midway mark for the year, we are going on a limb by calling out this new crop Sulawesi Kalossi, which arrived in our warehouse in late July as the leading candidate for "coffee of the year".
So what exactly does it take to make the grade for being awarded the "coffee of the year", and why are you calling it so early?
Well, it's a title we give to a specific lot of coffee that smashes the ball way out of the park in terms of being utterly delicious and, at the same time, incredibly interesting.
Heck, that's no easy feat as we receive up to 90 different coffees each year, with each lot bringing something special and unique to the cupping table.
To be interesting, a coffee must display something different in the cup, which is also really delicious and causes you to ask for more.
Milk chocolate, caramel and toffee are boring as bat shite.
Give me something left-field, on the edge, and make me think about what I'm tasting here because clean and sweet do not cut it anymore.
That's easy, lame and no longer interesting.
This Sulawesi lot has big bold flavours and indescribable fruits, leaving you wondering what it's all about.
Throw me a bone, for god's sake.
I need descriptors to apply to this coffee, and each cup I make tastes different (that's a good thing, by the way).
Truly something special; changes by the minute.
Sulawesi is a remote Indonesian island growing some of the most amazing coffees in the world.
Super difficult to source, and finding the best lots is like winning the lottery.
Using the distinctive and traditional wet-hulling method, like so many other premium Indonesian coffees, Sulawesi packs more complexity, flavours, and overall "yummo" factor than most other coffee origins.
This recent arrival is the best Sulawesi we have tasted in 15 years.
Sweet, high-flavoured, complex, interesting and very moreish in the long, delicious finish.
This is what coffee is about - an experience that takes you on a flavour journey with inspiring elements, leaving you wanting more and unable to describe its attributes properly.
Gosh, how can we encapsulate the way this coffee makes you feel?
There is a front palate sweetness with dark fruit-driven flavours, alluring and enticing you to taste more.
Prodigous body, full crema and rich, viscous mouth-feel provide the platform to set up the symphonic finish.
And here we have the sweet, complex notes of black tea and plum with brown sugar, spice with nectarine and rich cocoa in the finish.
It sounds simple, tastes more complex, and is utterly delicious.
If you trust what I'm saying here, folks, jump on this Sulawesi and you won't be disappointed.
Coffees need to speak a language; for too long, there are so many that are clean yet very bland - no voice or interesting attributes.
This Sulawesi has character and zesty elements that will challenge you to the last sip.
Grab is here - Sulawesi Kalossi
