Podium Flash: Alinea Coffee + Done Li Tan, Catuai
3 x US Coffee Championships finalist, Alinea Coffee, have given us a small amount of this very special Catuai from Myanmar. You can expect notes of sweet plum, caramel, and lemongrass.
Get them fast: these won't last long!
🏆 Roaster Awards: 3 x US Coffee Championships finalist
👅 Tasting: Sweet plum, caramel, and lemongrass
🌎 Origin: Myanmar
🔮 Process: Natural
🔬 Varieties: Catuai
⛰️ Elevation: 1,700 MASL
⚖️ Weight: 300g
The Coffee:
As one of the newest members of Indigo Mountain co-op, the Done Li Tan community is tucked away among the steep slopes of the Indigo Mountain range—the same mountains from which the co-op derives its name. Despite its recent entrance to specialty coffee, it’s a village with a lot of history, with “Done Li Tan” translating to “large old village” and sitting not too far from a number of other long-established Pa-O villages. This includes the Bant Sawk community, which sits opposite the mountain peak west of Done Li Tan and was the village that kicked off Indigo Mountain co-op in 2018. Keen to create an enduring model for local communities transitioning from poppy farming to specialty coffee, Done Li Tan is now a growing part of this transformational community in the region.
Sitting on a geopolitical fault line, the Hopong Region of Myanmar has long seen conflict between local militias and the country’s central military. This fighting together with higher altitudes, which make very little possible to grow here, allowed cartels to take advantage by exploiting the poppy crop that generated many smallholders’ main revenue—until now. The local leadership in the region saw the USAID-WinRock coffee program emerging and took a huge leap of faith to join in order to create higher-wage and more inclusive livelihoods for local families.
The Roaster:
Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Alinea head roaster Michael Matthews' journey into the world of coffee began with an unexpected turn from the music stages he once played on. While touring the United States and Europe as a drummer in various bands, Michael discovered a passion for specialty coffee that transformed his life.
Each day in a new city, Michael explored local streets between load-in and soundchecks, hunting for espresso bars that served more than just caffeine—places that offered a memorable coffee experience.
The turning point came one day when Michael was handed an espresso shot brewed from natural Ethiopian Harrar coffee with remarkable notes of blueberry and vanilla—flavors he never imagined coffee could naturally possess. That moment sparked a fascination that has led him deep into the world of specialty coffee.
Michael soon invested in his first small roaster—the Arc 800—and began experimenting. That was the beginning of a journey that has led to multiple awards, including a coveted award at the 2024 U.S. Coffee Championships. Most importantly, Michael and the Alinea team roast coffee in a masterful way that highlights nuanced flavors while emphasizing sweetness in the cup.
