Advent Week 1 Mystery Coffee Reveal - AMOC

Week 1 of 2022 Mystery Coffee Advent Calendar is behind us. Time for the first December reveal!

Here are all the details about Week 1 Coffee:

Comment from Rob:

This exceptional Java is produced by Elias and Shady Bayter at their farm, El Vergel. Java is a very rare variety in Colombia, and it is part of a micro-lot on the estate that has been one of the most exotic, including some completely unique profiles. This coffee is processed using an extended cooled-down-anaerobic fermentation, which uses water in an innovative way to stabilize the temperature during fermentation. This makes for a cup that is subtle, juicy and complex, but also quite clean, without overpowering anaerobic fruit juice qualities.

The Story Behind:

This coffee is produced in the El Vergel farm in Fresno, Tolima, by the brothers Shady & Elias Bayter, who have been involved in farming from childhood, following the steps of their parents, who started as avocado growers.

The experience of growing up in the countryside created a strong bond between the brothers, farming and the region where they grew up. In 2012, they ventured into the world of coffee and fell in love with it. Immense dreams around coffee were born. Two years later, they discovered the specialty coffee movement and that's when they found the direction they wanted for El Vergel and for themselves to pursue.

In 2016, after several years of researching coffee varieties, appropriate climates and soils, the Bayter brothers kickstarted a varietal project at Finca El Vergel. The farm has a special microclimate thanks to the proximity to the snow-capped volcano Nevado del Ruiz, on whose slopes El Vergel is located.

Quite a lot of correct guesses for Week 1! The look and size of the beans were a decent clues about the varietal. Once someone settled on Java, selecting country of origin was easy enough!

Winner of Week 1 Round round is moo with 23 points. Second place goes to Cliffy Biros who scored 23 points as well but was wrong about varietal and third to RaulPerezP with 22 points.

TOP3 of Week 1 Mystery Advent round
1. moo - 23 points
1. Cliffy Biros - 23 points
3. RaulPerezP - 22 points

Here are the frontrunners for Q4 prizes after W1 round:

TOP3 of Q4 2022
1. RaulPerezP - 48 points
2. lauuuuuuurah - 48 points
3. pagratios - 42 points

And here are the frontrunners in season standings.

TOP3 of 2022
1. Dawid - 183 points
2. RaulPerezP - 168 points
3. pagratios - 168 points

Three more rounds to go! Here's a schedule:

Week 2 Coffee
Submission deadline December 16. Reveal December 17.

Week 3 Coffee
Submission deadline December 23. Reveal December 24.

Week 4 Coffee
Submission deadline December 30. Reveal December 31.

Orders for January Mystery Coffee will start at the beginning of the new year. It will be also a first round of 2023 Season. Fresh start for all of us! More details on upcoming season will follow in separate blog post in late December.

Week 1 coffee was a rare varietal from one of the best farms in Colombia. We cannot wait to see what's ahead of us in Week 2!