January 2025: Podium Gold. Elevator Coffee
Coffee: H3 Hybrid (a combination of Caturra and Ethiopian E531)
Country: Nicaragua
Region: Jinotega
Process: WashedÂ
Producer: La Bastilla Coffee Estates
Farm: San Pedro micro-farm
Elevation: 1,300-1500 MASL
Tasting notes: Milk chocolate, orange, floral
The Coffee:
La Bastilla Coffee Estates, located in the north-east region of Jinotega, Nicaragua, is renowned for its coffee.On its two farms, Finca La Bastilla and Finca Santa Luz, the estate employs around 50 permanent and up to 600 temporary employees during the harvest season. Micro-farms such as San Pedro have been created throughout the estate, so that each coffee can express its full potential in accordance with the different microclimates. Each farm is further divided into lots. Lots are differentiated at the micro-farm level, but also by the variety of the coffee and the altitude. Notably, La Bastilla owns its own micro-mill. Every coffee is wet-milled and dry-milled on site. Between coffee varieties and its ability to control processing, La Bastilla is capable of producing more than 150 micro-lot coffees. This month's Podium Gold coffee is one great example!
The Roaster:
Elevator Coffee was established in 2016. They operated a cafe in inner SE Portland until Fall 2020, and have an award winning coffee roasting business, currently selling online and as wholesale.Elevator's core values are high quality, attention to detail, acting with integrity and transparency, and professional service without pretense. We take pride in being coffee geeks, not snobs, and their high level of friendly service reflects that ethos. Finally, they continually work to improve themselves and their products.In 2023, Elevator's head roaster/green buyer Andrew Coe won the US Roasters Competition. He went on to take 3rd place at the World Coffee Roasting Championship in 2024. This year, both Andrew and production roaster Jarrod Smith have qualified for the 2025 US Coffee Roasting Championship finals.Â