2026-06-29 to 2026-07-05

Week of 2026-06-29

7 daily files

Summary

seylance2897

On **Ecuador producer work**, seylance2897 said they had already run a workshop with a producer and given her a **temperature gauge for fermentation**, noting that her coffee had shifted from "sparkling clean white florals" in the first year SEY bought it toward **more forward fruit** this year; his hope was for a future version somewhere between those profiles.
On **sample roasting**, he said he was roasting while chatting and joked that he is "good at coffee" but "bad at computers." He was preparing to sample roast multiple coffees, including a **new estate called Malaki** from **mother/daughter producers**.
On **cupping samples immediately after roasting**, he said he cups "straight out of the roaster," shakes each ground sample for about **5 minutes**, but then continues cupping over the next **three days** before scoring.
On **Kamavindi SL34 DRD**, he admitted he had underdeveloped it roughly **four times in a row**, implying that sample roasting while using Discord was not helping.
On **weight loss and moisture**, he said sample roast weight loss is directly tied to starting moisture: if a sample starts at **9.5% moisture**, he looks for roughly **9.5% weight loss**; if it only loses around **8%**, he considers that underdeveloped.
On **Kenya moisture targets**, he said the samples were between **9.3% and 9.9% moisture**, which he considered "perfect" for Kenya; he would rather avoid the **10s** unless flying the coffee, and thought the **8s** were too low, though he cautioned that moisture is not everything.
On **Burundi and Rwanda logistics**, he said Burundi coffees often have to be dried lower because of transit times, and that SEY has discussed flying exceptional Burundi lots closer to **10.5% moisture**, but the logistics are extremely hard; Rwanda would be somewhat easier.
On **fast buying decisions**, he said vacuum-chamber techniques can work, but are too much work for normal needs; he only uses a vacuum chamber when he must make a same-day buying decision after roasting.
On **writing coffee descriptions**, he said most cards and descriptions are written from **PSS sample cuppings**, sometimes from **arrival sample cuppings** when he has time.
On **lost Ecuador bags**, he said bags shipped from Ecuador apparently arrived in Iowa and were then fully lost by DHL; he described it as an "absolute nightmare" and said Victor had produced some of his favorite Ecuador coffees this year.

lancehedrick

lancehedrick had relatively few captured messages this week.
In **#what-are-you-brewing**, he said he would join in an hour or two because family was visiting from the US.
In **#Brew-Along**, he posted "quick brewski" twice on July 1, suggesting a short brewing session or quick brew reference, but the captured text gives no further brewing details.
In **#espresso-focused**, he advised that something around **18-21** works very well, in his opinion; the exact parameter is ambiguous from the captured text.
In the same espresso exchange, he added that people can still get good success tapering down to **16-17**, again with the specific variable unstated in the archive.
In a separate thread, he praised **Berrio** as "unreal," saying his mind was opened to **Chirosos** first through **William Ortiz** and then through **David Berrio's second harvest**.
He said the **last harvest** of David Berrio was expected to arrive Monday and that he was "absolutely stoked."

opp4004

On **Scott, Feran, and Gildardo Lopez**, opp4004 joked about a possible three-way debate and said Gildardo Lopez had outstanding passion and brewing skills, while implying reservations about him as a **green buyer or roaster**.
On the **Scott/Feran coffee situation**, opp4004 said Scott should have roasted and sold the coffee himself if he truly wanted to stand behind it and respect the specialty side; he thought Feran handled the situation well.
On an **old 2019 SEY coffee**, opp4004 recalled blackberry, white currant, a transparent opening, a soft white expanding texture, and a delicate lingering floral note.
On **Finca Tamana / Fritz / VC variety**, opp4004 said Fritz's roast of Finca Tamana was enjoyable despite Fritz often roasting more developed; he got lime-like acidity, fig-like fruit, vanilla ice cream, and a slight mocha finish, and speculated the roast may have transformed potential VC defects into mocha-like sweetness.
On **"fig" as a descriptor**, opp4004 said it usually means dried fig for him, but can carry a slightly rough mouthfeel or negative/heavy connotation; in great coffees he prefers to break the note into more precise descriptors like melon, vanilla, rhubarb, or redcurrant.
On a **Pink Bourbon that tasted like Gesha**, he called it a "scam" because the cup screamed classic Gesha: real jasmine florals, honeysuckle sweetness, lemongrass, sugarcane, tropical fruit, and a long-returning floral finish.
On **Bolivia 4 Llamas Catuai Lactic Washed**, he described a highly elaborate process involving whole-cherry pressure fermentation in sealed tanks, coffee juice, selected yeast, and saline solution; the cup was restrained but pleasant, with silky texture, plum, orange, cacao, rugged herbality, and a Tipco fruit-juice association.
On **Hadena Mature from Gedeb / Harobedame**, he praised the modified washed style SEY has been featuring, describing watermelon, cotton-candy sweetness, soda-like aroma, direct peach, and honeysuckle florals.
On **Brazil Bahia / Tropical Bahia Farm Arara Slow Dry Natural**, he argued Bahia may become a worthy successor to Espirito Santo and described nougat, hazelnut, mulberry, raisin, passion fruit, and a dominant earthy "ground rose" character.
On **brewing style and equipment**, opp4004 repeatedly described his method as very long "soup," said he does not pay much attention to TBT, mentioned **360 ml** brews, and argued that the OXO would benefit from a larger chamber because continuous water flow seems more consistent than emptying and refilling the chamber mid-brew.

dougssg

On **Brezi iced coffee**, dougssg said he had gone through a lot of trial and error and was A/B testing it against **OXO cold brew methods**; he thought Brezi is especially cool to own for iced-coffee drinkers.
On **iced coffee generally**, he said it will remain more of a novelty than a daily driver for him, but that having good options is valuable.
On **upcoming coffees**, he "pre-hyped the hype," saying two strong coffees from his favorite origin were coming; he clarified it was **not Kamavindi**, but still a "fire Kenyan."
On **Africa/Kenya enthusiasm**, he joked that even someone's dad says "Africa is king," reinforcing his strong preference for African coffees.
On **brewing banter**, he teased someone about using extraction chilling balls to make brews drinkable and joked about whether another user was even allowed to brew drinks on bar at the cafe.
On **subscriber exclusives**, dougssg explained that exclusives are driven less by making higher-bag subscriptions more enticing and more by **lot volume constraints**: smaller subscriber groups at 4-5 bags can receive lots that would not have enough volume for 1-bag subscriptions.
On **past exclusives**, he named **Ibonia** and **Quispe** as previous subscription exclusives.
On **SEY operational constraints**, he emphasized that SEY is still a tiny company despite doing something unusually large in scope, mentioning around **300 lots per year** and saying marginal subscription improvements compete with many other operational priorities.
On **release planning**, he said customers may want to know Monday or Tuesday releases in advance, but SEY may genuinely not know until Wednesday morning, when they still need to prepare cards, website updates, and wholesale newsletters.
On **producer pricing and planning difficulty**, he said the long-term goal is to pay producers a baseline of at least **$15/lb** to create real equity and enable the best possible coffees, while noting that buying many lots means coffees often arrive late or out of expected order, making planning difficult.

Cross-thread takeaways

The week repeatedly connected **quality goals to operational constraints**: seylance2897 discussed moisture targets, sample cupping windows, fermentation support, and lost Ecuador bags, while dougssg explained why subscription exclusives, release timing, and producer payments are hard to systematize at SEY's scale.
**Kenya and African coffees** remained a central emotional anchor: dougssg hyped an upcoming Kenyan release, seylance2897 discussed Kenya sample moisture as ideal in the **9.3-9.9%** range, and opp4004 remembered a Kenyan from the prior year with white currant, honeysuckle, plum, pink peppercorn, rose, and bergamot.
**Processing nuance dominated the tasting notes**: opp4004 discussed lactic washed Bolivia, modified washed Ethiopia, slow dry natural Brazil, cold underwater natural Ethiopia, White Honey Danche, and Pink Bourbon/Gesha ambiguity, while seylance2897 emphasized fermentation temperature control and how producer-side process adjustments changed cup profile year to year.
**Brewing conversations split between playful "soup" methods and technical espresso/filter details**: opp4004 favored very long OXO-style brews and cared more about enjoyable extraction than TBT, dougssg tested Brezi against OXO cold brew, and lancehedrick gave a compact espresso-focused range of **18-21**, with possible tapering to **16-17**.
**Descriptors were treated skeptically and precisely**, especially by opp4004: he questioned "fig" as sometimes rough or negative, distinguished Pink Bourbon character from Gesha-like florals, and gave detailed sensory progressions rather than broad labels.
**SEY's internal decision-making appeared intentionally cup-led but logistically messy**: seylance2897 said he follows what cupping tables tell him, while dougssg said release planning can be last-minute because coffees arrive late, out of sequence, or in volumes that constrain how they can be used.
**Producer equity and exceptional-lot logistics were a recurring undercurrent**: dougssg's $15/lb baseline goal fits with seylance2897's discussion of flying exceptional Burundi lots at higher moisture, though both described real operational friction around making those ideals work.

Full weekly Markdown preview

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2026-06-29 to 2026-07-05

seylance2897

2026-06-29

12:19 AM #origins-and-producers: definitely different farm
3:50 PM #origins-and-producers: Ha this is a lovely way of saying these ideas. I very much look forward to participating in the conversation; it will definitely be a pleasure. Thanks for sharing 🙏
6:25 PM #origins-and-producers: this is correct!

2026-06-30

4:24 PM #origins-and-producers: yup! we've already done a work shop with her and given her a temperature gage to use in her fermentation.

I personally thought it was really cool / interesting to see how her coffee changed from the first year we bought her coffee - sparkling clean white florals, to this year where the fruit became obviously more forward in the cup. Honestly, i think somewhere right in the middle is going to be really, really, good. we'll see if she can do it!
8:25 PM #origins-and-producers: 🫣
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8:27 PM #origins-and-producers: ha my pictures never work 😂
8:27 PM #origins-and-producers: haha thanks haha
8:28 PM #origins-and-producers: i'm good at coffee... bad at computers
8:28 PM #origins-and-producers: literally roasting right now
8:28 PM #origins-and-producers: physical looks good though
8:29 PM #origins-and-producers: [attachment only]
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- Screenshot_2026-06-30_at_2.29.36_PM.png (image/png 476x394)
8:30 PM #origins-and-producers: this is what i'll be sample roasting
8:31 PM #origins-and-producers: and a new estate Malaki. Mother / daughter producers
8:33 PM #origins-and-producers: nah i cup straight out of the roaster... i just shake each ground sample for like 5 minutes
8:34 PM #origins-and-producers: but i'll cup for the next 3 days before I'll score it
8:55 PM #origins-and-producers: haha we shall see
8:56 PM #origins-and-producers: i do what the cupping tables tell me to do
9:03 PM #origins-and-producers: and i have now underdeveloped Kamavindi Sl34 DRD like 4 times in a row 🤦 maybe discord and sample roasting at the same time isn't the best of ideas
10:33 PM #origins-and-producers: WL is directly related to how much moisture you're starting with. So if i have 9.5% moisture content I'm looking for 9.5 WL in my samples... if its only 8% its going to be underdeveloped IMO
10:34 PM #origins-and-producers: All of these samples are between 9.3 and 9.9% moisture content.. whcih from Kenya is perfect IMO
10:34 PM #origins-and-producers: i don't want them in the 10s unless i'm flying them... and 8s is too low
10:35 PM #origins-and-producers: yeah.... usually where burundi's have to be dried to given the transit times.. something we talk alot about
10:35 PM #origins-and-producers: but also moisture isn't everything
10:35 PM #origins-and-producers: i've tasted plenty of isnane coffees in the 8s
10:35 PM #origins-and-producers: but it is also something ha
10:39 PM #origins-and-producers: i have, I do think there is something there... we talk about flying small lots of exceptional burundi's each year at closer to 10.5%... logistics are just so hard from there
10:39 PM #origins-and-producers: so hard
10:40 PM #origins-and-producers: rwanda would be a little easier honestly
10:42 PM #origins-and-producers: yup for sure
10:42 PM #origins-and-producers: they are in peak late harvest as we speak
10:43 PM #origins-and-producers: actually tale end ha...

2026-07-01

4:36 PM #origins-and-producers: this does work... but its too much work for what i need ha.

I will use a vacuum chamber if i have to very, very quickly make a buying decision like same day as roasting... but this is very rare ha
4:37 PM #origins-and-producers: most of the time I wrote cards and descriptions fom PSS sample cuppings. Sometimes I'll do it off arrival sample cuppings if I have tim e
8:36 PM #origins-and-producers: It was shipped from Ecuador and arrived I believe in Iowa and DHL fully lost those bags. We still have no idea what happened to them
9:05 PM #origins-and-producers: yeah it was truly the worst. an absolute nightmare
10:22 PM #origins-and-producers: yeah its really sad. Victor produced some of my favorite coffees from ecuador this year

2026-07-05

4:30 PM #what-are-you-brewing: Really good expression of Gesha, so floral
4:39 PM #what-are-you-brewing: haha yeah, that one might be a one of a kind coffee... feels like it will be challenging to get a profile like that again

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lancehedrick

2026-07-01

5:10 PM #what-are-you-brewing: In like an hour or two or so. My family is in town visiting from US
9:39 PM #Brew-Along: quick brewski
10:08 PM #Brew-Along: quick brewski

2026-07-03

11:46 PM #espresso-focused: Yoooo! Something like 18-21 works really well, imo.
11:46 PM #espresso-focused: Can get good success due to taper down to 16-17 tho!

2026-07-04

2:15 PM #1515118804202422343: Berrio is unreal. My mind was opened to chirosos with William ortiz a couple months back. Then David berrio second harvest . Last harvest should arrive Monday. Absolutely stoked

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opp4004

2026-06-29

1:15 AM #current-menu: If someone invited Scott, we might actually get to see a three-way debate between me, Feran, and Scott. 😂
1:18 AM #current-menu: We could talk about so many things… How about we start with my beloved Gildardo Lopez? 🤣
1:35 AM #current-menu: Well… I genuinely think his passion and his brewing skills are outstanding. But as a green buyer or coffee roaster, though… well. 😅 I think you know what I’m trying to say
1:45 AM #current-menu: https://christopherferan.com/2024/06/14/cupping-is-a-game-of-chance/
1:51 AM #current-menu: That's how I see it, at least. I still think Scott should have roasted and sold that coffee himself if he truly wanted to stand behind it and show respect for the specialty side of things. I followed that whole situation pretty much in real time, and in the end, I think Feran handled it well.
1:52 AM #current-menu: Ah, whatever. Just take a look at my rarest Pokemon card before you go
1:52 AM #current-menu: [attachment only]
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1:55 AM #current-menu: Old sey, 2019
1:56 AM #current-menu: I still remember how that coffee tasted. Blackberry, white currant, a remarkably transparent cup at first, followed by this soft, white, expanding texture that gradually filled the palate. There was also a delicate floral note lingering in the background.
1:59 AM #current-menu: Well... I guess that's just how incredibly high his standards are. Personally, though, I think that level of variation is completely within the range of what can happen during roasting.

But... well... if he ever ends up here one day, make sure to bring a large bucket of popcorn 🍿
2:03 AM #current-menu: I think you can already see how this is going to end 😂
2:04 AM #current-menu: You know what... I'm just gonna go drink some coffee instead. See you in what-are-you-brewing
2:12 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Finca Tamana is a farm that I once mostly associated with Tim Wendelboe, but these days it can be found from multiple roasters as well—SEY has also featured it before. It’s a farm I remember enjoying quite a bit, though I stopped encountering it after I moved away from Tim W’s coffees. Recently, however, a friend sent me a coffee gift, and this was included among them.

One of the roasters is Fritz, a well-known Korean roastery that I personally enjoy as well (though they can be a bit on the roasted side). They’re also very skilled with green coffee, especially Costa Rican lots. I’ve had the VC variety twice from Tim Wendelboe before—initially it was quite good, but the last experience was honestly not great. I suspect there may be some intrinsic defects in the VC variety that weren’t fully resolved in that roast. So I was curious when I saw it again in this package… and luckily, this time it turned out well.

Whether this is Finca Tamana returning to form, or Fritz simply doing a better job, I can’t say. But the cup is definitely enjoyable. I get lime-like acidity, fig-like fruitiness, and a strong vanilla ice cream character—one of my favorite notes in coffee. There’s also a slight mocha-like finish that rounds it out nicely. I think this is a well-executed roast that manages to transform some of the VC variety’s potential defects into something closer to a mocha-like sweetness. That said, keep in mind that Fritz tends to roast on the more developed side, so it may not be for everyone.
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2:16 AM #what-are-you-brewing: And then every once in a while… you still run into a VC that tastes completely wild. That’s why you really have to choose carefully
2:21 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Good question! It usually refers to dried fig
2:25 AM #what-are-you-brewing: I think it’s a bit disconnected from the way Kenyan coffees present themselves. 😂 If I ever describe fig in a Kenyan context, I usually mean a good kind of fig—something sweet, clean, and enjoyable.

But in general, the word “fig” can sometimes carry a slightly negative or heavy connotation depending on how it’s used. So when a coffee is really good, I’d rather break it down into more specific notes instead of just saying fig. For example, if it’s a melon-like fig character, I might describe it as melon, vanilla, maybe rhubarb or redcurrant instead.
2:27 AM #what-are-you-brewing: For me, fig as a flavor descriptor usually carries a slightly rough mouthfeel. That’s why it can come across as a bit negative in some contexts, even though there are definitely excellent examples of it. So when I use the term, I’m usually not thinking of it as a particularly “positive” note.
5:57 AM #what-are-you-brewing: This is a scam… it’s Gesha, not Pink Bourbon taste
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6:08 AM #what-are-you-brewing: I had originally prepared myself to give a long, slightly arrogant speech about Pink Bourbon—its history, its “godfather,” all of that—but after tasting this cup, I honestly just lost the motivation. I was genuinely speechless.

From the very start, it opens with unmistakable “real jasmine” florals, honeysuckle-like sweetness, lemongrass, and a sugarcane character that immediately screams classic Gesha. It’s almost absurd. After that, it transitions into something that could remind you of Pink Bourbon—playful tropical fruits—but then the cup shifts again. In the finish, that initial floral character suddenly reappears and lingers for an extremely long time on the palate.

Juan’s coffees always manage to surprise me like this. Looking at the processing, you can tell a lot of care went into it, and I think the cup really reflects that effort
6:08 AM #what-are-you-brewing: I just ground that on A2—no issues at all
6:10 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Big Sur was fine as well. It just sounds like it’s screaming a little 🤣
6:12 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Anyway, this PB actually reminds me of the Gesha from Alasitas in Bolivia. As it cools down, the tropical fruit character starts to feel like a kind of lemon sorbet. 😂 This is basically a scam

2026-06-30

12:35 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Well, everyone experiences coffee differently. 😂 Ironically, I’ve rarely come across what I’d personally describe as syrupy
1:20 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Coffee I'm drinking right now: 4 Llamas, Catuai, Lactic Washed, from Bolivia.

Although it's labeled as a Lactic Washed, the processing is actually far more experimental than the name suggests. The whole cherries are fermented under pressure in sealed tanks, and the process also incorporates coffee juice, selected yeast, and a saline solution. It's an incredibly labor-intensive approach.

The cup itself is fairly restrained. I'm getting a silky texture with notes of plum, orange, cacao, and a slightly rugged herbal character. It also reminds me a bit of Tipco fruit juice from Thailand. Considering how elaborate the processing is, I expected something much more expressive, but it's still a pleasant and well-balanced cup.
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6:49 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Hadena Mature, from the highlands of Gedeb, Ethiopia, processed at the Harobedame washing station.

This coffee was produced using a modified washed process, the same style that SEY has been featuring recently. So far, I have to say the quality of this year's modified washed coffees has been outstanding, and this one is no exception.

The cup opens with watermelon, a cotton candy-like sweetness, and a delicate soda-like aroma. The peach character is remarkably direct and unmistakable, and the finish transitions into a beautiful honeysuckle-like floral note that lingers on the palate.
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8:15 AM #what-are-you-brewing: If I remember correctly, it's added during the underwater fermentation after the cherries have been depulped, in order to maintain a specific lactic concentration

2026-07-01

1:21 AM #what-are-you-brewing: 6/10
1:48 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Juan's coffees are something I end up drinking every year. Last year, I remember thinking, "I don't think this could get any better." Turns out I was wrong. 😂 I'd love to hear Lance's thoughts on it, but... I think he's buried under a mountain of samples right now
1:53 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Then again... I'm probably not in a position to say that. I've got a mountain of coffees waiting to be reviewed myself
2:06 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Coffee I'm drinking right now: a coffee from Bahia, Brazil, produced at Tropical Bahia Farm. Personally, I think Bahia has the potential to become a worthy successor to Espírito Santo. I first became interested in the region through Melbourne Coffee Merchants, whose Bahia offerings often highlighted floral characteristics, so my expectations were quite high. The variety is Arara, processed as a Slow Dry Natural. I'm also keeping a close eye on Arara as a variety—it continues to show a lot of promise.

The cup opens with a nougat-like sweetness alongside the kind of pleasant hazelnut character that great Brazilian coffees can deliver. Layers of mulberry, raisin, and passion fruit weave through the cup, adding a lively fruitiness. What really stands out, though, is an intense rose character—specifically the deep, earthy style of rose that I like to call ground rose. It begins to dominate from the mid-palate onward and only becomes more expressive as the coffee cools.
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6:26 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Wilson Alba, End of season. Having just finished El Porvenir, it doesn't have quite the same emotional impact, but this is still an outstanding Pink Bourbon. In fact, if someone asked me, "What does Pink Bourbon actually taste like?" I'd probably point to Wilson Alba before anything else.

The cup opens with the fragrant aroma and texture of Chinese green tea, followed by a berry compote-like sweetness. There's also a jasmine character that reminds me of candied jasmine blossoms, accompanied by subtle botanicals such as lemongrass and lemon balm. And, of course, the hibiscus note that has become something of Wilson Alba's signature is immediately recognizable. The second harvest was more refined and delicate, but this final harvest is much more direct and expressive in its flavor profile.
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12:31 PM #what-are-you-brewing: Yeah, exactly. The berry notes were incredibly rich and jammy, compote-like

2026-07-02

1:38 AM #current-menu: I think I saw Lance yelling somewhere that he was running out of greens… 😂
1:43 AM #current-menu: [attachment only]
1:43 AM #current-menu: 👀
2:10 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Coffee I'm drinking right now: a coffee from the Jimma region of Ethiopia—specifically Gera Estate, located in the traditional coffee-growing area that's often referred to as Limu rather than Jimma. I've always had a soft spot for coffees from Jimma, but their quality dropped quite dramatically a few years ago. Nowadays, only Gera Estate and a handful of single producers seem to consistently maintain the standard that originally made me fall in love with the region.

This cup is all about peach. Peach Oolong, peach cobbler, even that slightly underripe peach character—they're all woven together beautifully. It also has the black tea note that's so characteristic of coffees from Jimma, while the finish brings a subtle tropical fruit quality. It may not quite capture the magic of Jimma at its peak, but it's still an undeniably charming and enjoyable cup.
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4:20 AM #what-are-you-brewing: They're a very small local roastery. They asked me to review the coffee before they even started selling it online 😂
4:25 AM #what-are-you-brewing: It's a roastery called Coffee Drinking Whale. I think they just launched their online store yesterday
5:43 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Today's Soup: La Estrella Pink Bourbon. Well... every coffee ends up being soup for me anyway. 😂 This is a fairly straightforward cup. I'm getting raspberry, lime, and something reminiscent of Golden Medal apple juice. Nothing especially flashy, but it's clean, pleasant, and easy to enjoy.
5:48 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Hahaha, right?! At the very least, my recipe never fails. I can always enjoy the coffee, no matter what
5:49 AM #what-are-you-brewing: [attachment only]
5:57 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Yeah, I don't really pay attention to things like TBT
6:07 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Exactly, 360ml. It's a loooooooooong soup. 😂
6:26 AM #what-are-you-brewing: This is just from my own experience—I don’t really know the exact reason behind it. 😂 But I suspect it might have something to do with pressure inside the basket or how much water is retained in the system.

I’ve noticed that when the chamber is completely emptied and refilled, the brew sometimes feels a bit lighter or more diluted in concentration
6:27 AM #what-are-you-brewing: I think it would be great if OXO released a larger chamber in addition to the small basket
6:28 AM #what-are-you-brewing: That way, when I’m making my kind of looooooooooong soup, it would be less hassle—and I think the results would be much more consistent too
6:35 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Yeah, I think so too. It feels like having a steady, continuous flow of water is better than letting air get mixed in midway
6:36 AM #current-menu: It was the best Kenyan coffee I had last year
6:41 AM #current-menu: These were the tasting notes I wrote down last year: White Currant, Honeysuckle, Plum, Crisp, Pink Peppercorn, Groundcover Rose, and Bergamot
7:33 AM #what-are-you-brewing: One of my friends actually tried it already. 😂 He said that without something like an O-ring, it tends to leak a bit

2026-07-03

12:54 AM #current-menu: I can’t believe my little personal SEY has grown this much! 😂

As long as I don’t end up getting duplicate subscriptions, I’m happy with whatever
1:31 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Today's coffee: Danche White Honey, roasted by SEY.

From the very first sip, the cup opens with an incredibly generous honeysuckle-like floral character. It's followed by an unmistakable peach note that completely fills the palate—and even lingers in the retronasal aroma. As the peach begins to fade, the cup shifts into a texture and fruit profile that reminds me of lemon intertwined with simple syrup. Once the lemon recedes, subtle tropical fruit notes emerge alongside a delicate botanical herbal character, before everything circles back to the same beautiful honeysuckle florals that greeted the first sip
2:52 PM #what-are-you-brewing: Me? I only brew looooooooooooong soup. 😂

2026-07-04

2:52 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Flor del Valle SL9. It's a bit more ordinary than I expected, but what's interesting is the almost unrefined fruit character. Rambutan completely dominates the cup, giving it a raw, tropical fruit quality. As you keep drinking, other notes begin to emerge from between the layers—various berries, with pink grapefruit being the most prominent. Every now and then, a subtle herbal note also makes an appearance, adding a little extra complexity to the cup.
6:30 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Just before this, I had a 74158 variety produced by Mulugeta Muntasha from Bursa, Ethiopia. The processing is quite interesting. It's a Cold Underwater Natural, a style that was popularized by Mt. Totumas. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't what I expected at all. Rather than tasting restrained, it comes across as very clean while still carrying a fairly pronounced level of fermentation—probably around a 4 on Lance's scale.

The cup is filled with notes of grape, an earthy rose-like floral character, dark chocolate, passion fruit, and tropical fruit jelly, all appearing throughout the experience. The intensity is excellent, the flavor separation is impressive, and despite the fermentation character, the cup remains remarkably clean. That said, it was completely different from what I had expected. I was anticipating a much lower level of fermentation.
7:23 AM #what-are-you-brewing: I think Cold River is probably colder in terms of temperature. The coffee I had definitely showed some fermentation character...

2026-07-05

1:59 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Coffee I'm drinking right now: David Berrio's new season. The cup opens with vibrant notes of pineapple, yellow peach, and golden kiwi. Running through the middle is a lemongrass-like botanical quality intertwined with a subtle shallot-like savory nuance, before finishing with a bright gooseberry character. It's a lively, expressive cup with plenty of complexity without feeling overworked
4:34 AM #what-are-you-brewing: I think it mostly comes down to experience. 😂 I can't drink alcohol anymore, but I used to love intensely flavorful Belgian beers—the really rich, bold ones. I think that experience helped shape my palate quite a bit. That's probably why I tend to enjoy coffees with higher ey.
5:12 AM #what-are-you-brewing: Ha, you know your stuff. 😂 I've actually got two bottles of St. Bernardus 12 aging right now, along with a 750mL Delirium and a 750mL Tripel Karmeliet. I'll open them someday

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dougssg

2026-06-30

6:37 PM #what-are-you-brewing: So much Brezi trial and error for me. If you're an iced coffee drinker its really cool thing to own. A/Bing vs OXO cold brew methods this week.
6:38 PM #what-are-you-brewing: Iced Coffee will always be more novelty than daily driver but its really nice to have good options.

2026-07-01

12:34 AM #current-menu: I’m gonna pre hype the hype
12:34 AM #current-menu: Cuz we got two bangers from my favorite origin coming!
2:24 AM #current-menu: Not Kamavinidi
2:24 AM #current-menu: but fire Kenyan!
3:41 AM #current-menu: Even your dad says Africa is king! <@952039663680512030>
3:42 AM #current-menu: Also I see how you’re using extraction chilling balls to make your brews drinkable.
4:26 AM #current-menu: Doesn’t <@1504523316864749676> not even let you brew drinks on bar when you’re at the cafe?
7:18 PM #current-menu: This is true
7:19 PM #current-menu: I’m QUITE sure last time you were in NYC one of us got brewing lessons from the other, and it wasn’t me getting schooled!
11:59 PM #current-menu: Anthony coffee indeed!
11:59 PM #current-menu: Not ignoring you will get back to you on this asap.

2026-07-02

11:15 PM #current-menu: Sub exclusives past and present aren’t really about making any bag quantity more enticing but more about volumes of lots we want to put in as exclusives. Less subscribers at 4 or 5 bags so if we have a lot that makes sense there, easier to do than a lot for 1 bag which requires more volume.
11:17 PM #current-menu: Ibonia was exclusive. Quispe was as well.
11:18 PM #current-menu: We have some interesting convos in works as far as exclusives in subs. Always remember that we are still a tiny tiny company thoughts and the scale of what we do is pretty unprecedented regardless of size. We’re looking 300 lots a year.
11:19 PM #current-menu: The support we get from all of you is how it’s possible but there are just pure operational concerns for anything that may improve the sub on the margins. This isn’t to downplay anything anyone is saying- just saying we only have so much time and we have many things we’re working on and looking to improve at all times.
11:21 PM #current-menu: A good example of how things work- sometimes(always?) you guys want to know what we’re releasing on a Monday. Or a Tuesday. We genuinely may not even know, and have to figure it out and prep the cards and website and wholesale newsletter etc when we figure it out Wednesday morning.

2026-07-03

2:36 AM #current-menu: The long term goal is to pay producers a baseline price of no less thatn $15 per pound to create true equity and make sure we are all able to drink the best coffees the world can produce.
2:37 AM #current-menu: When you buy as many lots as we currently do, you're always going to be receiving stuff late/not in the order you expected/etc etc
2:38 AM #current-menu: so its difficult to plan becuase we're not always getting things in a plannable fashion.

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-------------------

GPT-5.5 Thinking Summary

seylance2897

On **Ecuador producer work**, seylance2897 said they had already run a workshop with a producer and given her a **temperature gauge for fermentation**, noting that her coffee had shifted from "sparkling clean white florals" in the first year SEY bought it toward **more forward fruit** this year; his hope was for a future version somewhere between those profiles.
On **sample roasting**, he said he was roasting while chatting and joked that he is "good at coffee" but "bad at computers." He was preparing to sample roast multiple coffees, including a **new estate called Malaki** from **mother/daughter producers**.
On **cupping samples immediately after roasting**, he said he cups "straight out of the roaster," shakes each ground sample for about **5 minutes**, but then continues cupping over the next **three days** before scoring.
On **Kamavindi SL34 DRD**, he admitted he had underdeveloped it roughly **four times in a row**, implying that sample roasting while using Discord was not helping.
On **weight loss and moisture**, he said sample roast weight loss is directly tied to starting moisture: if a sample starts at **9.5% moisture**, he looks for roughly **9.5% weight loss**; if it only loses around **8%**, he considers that underdeveloped.
On **Kenya moisture targets**, he said the samples were between **9.3% and 9.9% moisture**, which he considered "perfect" for Kenya; he would rather avoid the **10s** unless flying the coffee, and thought the **8s** were too low, though he cautioned that moisture is not everything.
On **Burundi and Rwanda logistics**, he said Burundi coffees often have to be dried lower because of transit times, and that SEY has discussed flying exceptional Burundi lots closer to **10.5% moisture**, but the logistics are extremely hard; Rwanda would be somewhat easier.
On **fast buying decisions**, he said vacuum-chamber techniques can work, but are too much work for normal needs; he only uses a vacuum chamber when he must make a same-day buying decision after roasting.
On **writing coffee descriptions**, he said most cards and descriptions are written from **PSS sample cuppings**, sometimes from **arrival sample cuppings** when he has time.
On **lost Ecuador bags**, he said bags shipped from Ecuador apparently arrived in Iowa and were then fully lost by DHL; he described it as an "absolute nightmare" and said Victor had produced some of his favorite Ecuador coffees this year.

lancehedrick

lancehedrick had relatively few captured messages this week.
In **#what-are-you-brewing**, he said he would join in an hour or two because family was visiting from the US.
In **#Brew-Along**, he posted "quick brewski" twice on July 1, suggesting a short brewing session or quick brew reference, but the captured text gives no further brewing details.
In **#espresso-focused**, he advised that something around **18-21** works very well, in his opinion; the exact parameter is ambiguous from the captured text.
In the same espresso exchange, he added that people can still get good success tapering down to **16-17**, again with the specific variable unstated in the archive.
In a separate thread, he praised **Berrio** as "unreal," saying his mind was opened to **Chirosos** first through **William Ortiz** and then through **David Berrio's second harvest**.
He said the **last harvest** of David Berrio was expected to arrive Monday and that he was "absolutely stoked."

opp4004

On **Scott, Feran, and Gildardo Lopez**, opp4004 joked about a possible three-way debate and said Gildardo Lopez had outstanding passion and brewing skills, while implying reservations about him as a **green buyer or roaster**.
On the **Scott/Feran coffee situation**, opp4004 said Scott should have roasted and sold the coffee himself if he truly wanted to stand behind it and respect the specialty side; he thought Feran handled the situation well.
On an **old 2019 SEY coffee**, opp4004 recalled blackberry, white currant, a transparent opening, a soft white expanding texture, and a delicate lingering floral note.
On **Finca Tamana / Fritz / VC variety**, opp4004 said Fritz's roast of Finca Tamana was enjoyable despite Fritz often roasting more developed; he got lime-like acidity, fig-like fruit, vanilla ice cream, and a slight mocha finish, and speculated the roast may have transformed potential VC defects into mocha-like sweetness.
On **"fig" as a descriptor**, opp4004 said it usually means dried fig for him, but can carry a slightly rough mouthfeel or negative/heavy connotation; in great coffees he prefers to break the note into more precise descriptors like melon, vanilla, rhubarb, or redcurrant.
On a **Pink Bourbon that tasted like Gesha**, he called it a "scam" because the cup screamed classic Gesha: real jasmine florals, honeysuckle sweetness, lemongrass, sugarcane, tropical fruit, and a long-returning floral finish.
On **Bolivia 4 Llamas Catuai Lactic Washed**, he described a highly elaborate process involving whole-cherry pressure fermentation in sealed tanks, coffee juice, selected yeast, and saline solution; the cup was restrained but pleasant, with silky texture, plum, orange, cacao, rugged herbality, and a Tipco fruit-juice association.
On **Hadena Mature from Gedeb / Harobedame**, he praised the modified washed style SEY has been featuring, describing watermelon, cotton-candy sweetness, soda-like aroma, direct peach, and honeysuckle florals.
On **Brazil Bahia / Tropical Bahia Farm Arara Slow Dry Natural**, he argued Bahia may become a worthy successor to Espirito Santo and described nougat, hazelnut, mulberry, raisin, passion fruit, and a dominant earthy "ground rose" character.
On **brewing style and equipment**, opp4004 repeatedly described his method as very long "soup," said he does not pay much attention to TBT, mentioned **360 ml** brews, and argued that the OXO would benefit from a larger chamber because continuous water flow seems more consistent than emptying and refilling the chamber mid-brew.

dougssg

On **Brezi iced coffee**, dougssg said he had gone through a lot of trial and error and was A/B testing it against **OXO cold brew methods**; he thought Brezi is especially cool to own for iced-coffee drinkers.
On **iced coffee generally**, he said it will remain more of a novelty than a daily driver for him, but that having good options is valuable.
On **upcoming coffees**, he "pre-hyped the hype," saying two strong coffees from his favorite origin were coming; he clarified it was **not Kamavindi**, but still a "fire Kenyan."
On **Africa/Kenya enthusiasm**, he joked that even someone's dad says "Africa is king," reinforcing his strong preference for African coffees.
On **brewing banter**, he teased someone about using extraction chilling balls to make brews drinkable and joked about whether another user was even allowed to brew drinks on bar at the cafe.
On **subscriber exclusives**, dougssg explained that exclusives are driven less by making higher-bag subscriptions more enticing and more by **lot volume constraints**: smaller subscriber groups at 4-5 bags can receive lots that would not have enough volume for 1-bag subscriptions.
On **past exclusives**, he named **Ibonia** and **Quispe** as previous subscription exclusives.
On **SEY operational constraints**, he emphasized that SEY is still a tiny company despite doing something unusually large in scope, mentioning around **300 lots per year** and saying marginal subscription improvements compete with many other operational priorities.
On **release planning**, he said customers may want to know Monday or Tuesday releases in advance, but SEY may genuinely not know until Wednesday morning, when they still need to prepare cards, website updates, and wholesale newsletters.
On **producer pricing and planning difficulty**, he said the long-term goal is to pay producers a baseline of at least **$15/lb** to create real equity and enable the best possible coffees, while noting that buying many lots means coffees often arrive late or out of expected order, making planning difficult.

Cross-thread takeaways

The week repeatedly connected **quality goals to operational constraints**: seylance2897 discussed moisture targets, sample cupping windows, fermentation support, and lost Ecuador bags, while dougssg explained why subscription exclusives, release timing, and producer payments are hard to systematize at SEY's scale.
**Kenya and African coffees** remained a central emotional anchor: dougssg hyped an upcoming Kenyan release, seylance2897 discussed Kenya sample moisture as ideal in the **9.3-9.9%** range, and opp4004 remembered a Kenyan from the prior year with white currant, honeysuckle, plum, pink peppercorn, rose, and bergamot.
**Processing nuance dominated the tasting notes**: opp4004 discussed lactic washed Bolivia, modified washed Ethiopia, slow dry natural Brazil, cold underwater natural Ethiopia, White Honey Danche, and Pink Bourbon/Gesha ambiguity, while seylance2897 emphasized fermentation temperature control and how producer-side process adjustments changed cup profile year to year.
**Brewing conversations split between playful "soup" methods and technical espresso/filter details**: opp4004 favored very long OXO-style brews and cared more about enjoyable extraction than TBT, dougssg tested Brezi against OXO cold brew, and lancehedrick gave a compact espresso-focused range of **18-21**, with possible tapering to **16-17**.
**Descriptors were treated skeptically and precisely**, especially by opp4004: he questioned "fig" as sometimes rough or negative, distinguished Pink Bourbon character from Gesha-like florals, and gave detailed sensory progressions rather than broad labels.
**SEY's internal decision-making appeared intentionally cup-led but logistically messy**: seylance2897 said he follows what cupping tables tell him, while dougssg said release planning can be last-minute because coffees arrive late, out of sequence, or in volumes that constrain how they can be used.
**Producer equity and exceptional-lot logistics were a recurring undercurrent**: dougssg's $15/lb baseline goal fits with seylance2897's discussion of flying exceptional Burundi lots at higher moisture, though both described real operational friction around making those ideals work.

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Week of 2026-06-29

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seylance2897

lancehedrick

opp4004

dougssg

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seylance2897

2026-06-29

2026-06-30

2026-07-01

2026-07-05

lancehedrick

2026-07-01

2026-07-03

2026-07-04

opp4004

2026-06-29

2026-06-30

2026-07-01

2026-07-02

2026-07-03

2026-07-04

2026-07-05

dougssg

2026-06-30

2026-07-01

2026-07-02

2026-07-03

GPT-5.5 Thinking Summary

seylance2897

lancehedrick

opp4004

dougssg

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