What is Micro-Lot Coffee?
Micro-Lot Coffees are small batches of the highest quality selections of coffee and often boast unique flavors and tasting notes. Micro-lots are grown from a specific and dedicated plot of land. The cherries are then harvested together and kept separate from other coffees growing on the same farm. This focused attention leads to full traceability and transparency in the process, producing a highly sustainable, small-batch specialty coffee with outstanding cupping notes.
The coffee produced from each plot can vary based on multiple factors such as the altitude of the plot, the number of shade trees, or the difference in coffee varietals. Our farmers are experiment planting new varietals at varying elevations and sun exposure and applying creative processing methods to yield new coffee offerings. This method leads to new coffee flavors that differ from the other profiles produced on our farms.
We produced one such extraordinary variety that we’ve named our Royal Roast. The Nobletree Royal Roast represents the finest of this year’s harvest. The beans are hand-picked from our award-winning Santa Izabel and Monte Verde farms in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This specific micro-lot was grown on terraced soil at 3,500 feet above sea level. The arabica obatã beans used in this micro-lot are hand-picked to ensure that only the ripest cherries are harvested. To preserve the pristine nature of the cherry, they are left to anaerobically ferment for 24-hours to allow for removal of the outer skin without damaging the seed. Following the wash and dry, the beans rest for 30 days before further processing. Each member of the post-harvest team is well-trained and oversees only one specific step in the process leading to greater expertise in their role.
Our micro-lot beans are roasted on demand to either a light-medium roast, a medium roast, or an espresso roast giving you the flexibility to enjoy coffee your way.
- Our Empress Light Medium Roast is sweet with hints of Chocolate and Hazelnut. Letting more of the unique characteristics of the beans shine through.
- Our Majestic Medium Roast roasts on our small-batch Probat Roaster for a bit longer than the Empress. This gives the resulting beans more caramelized fruity notes.
- Our Imperial Espresso Roast is fine ground and elicits sweet flavors of Chocolate and Hazelnut.
Our Royal Roast micro-lots are all sustainably produced with our farmers, workers, and the environment in mind. Our three Royal Roasts are all traceable back to a single acre from our farms, meaning that we know the specific altitude, climate, harvest date, and processing methods involved in producing this gourmet-tasting coffee. By producing a high-quality crop, our farmers can sell their beans at a higher price, allowing them to reinvest and grow in their community. Our Nobletree farmers cultivate and grow coffees with patience and skill, knowing that their hard work and innovation will be recognized and enjoyed.
What is considered specialty coffee?
Specialty Coffee is a distinction granted to some of the highest quality coffee available on the market. These coffees are graded 80 points or higher on a 100 point scale by a certified coffee taster from the Speciality Coffee Association of America (SCAA) during the cupping process. During this process, coffee beans are inspected in their green stage, looking to ensure that the beans are free of primary defects, are appropriately and consistently sized, and display distinctive characteristics free of fault once brewed. Our Royal Roast was given an 85.9 cupping score. In addition to this specialty distinction, the Royal Roast is also Fair Trade USA Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, and roasted in a SQF Certified facility.
What is the meaning of single origin coffee?
Single origin coffee or single estate coffee is a classification of coffee where the beans are all sourced from a single place, farm, or even the same plot of land. Many of our year-round offerings are single-sourced 100% Arabica Beans from our farms in Brazil. However, we also offer blends of our arabica beans combined with beans from other farms in Brazil and Columbia.
Is single origin coffee better?
Nothing about a single origin coffee makes it inherently better than a blend. Single origin coffees highlight the purest form of coffee. When you choose to purchase coffee from a single origin, you will experience more flavors unique to the environment in which they were grown. It’s more pure and clean in taste since the beans come from one coffee lot and are processed in the same way. Different single origin coffees from around the world or even from within the same country will also spotlight unique and exotic elements lost in blends. Coffee blends tone down and mask strong flavors and aromas, often leading to a more mellow cup. In the end, it’s a matter of personal preference if you prefer a more standardized cup of coffee or something more unique and flavorful.
Nobletree micro-lot and single origin coffees
Regardless of what you choose, you will be able to find a Nobletree coffee that suits your preference. Head over to our shop page to see all of our light-medium, medium, dark, and espresso roast single origin coffees, and enjoy the rich flavor qualities of the soil and climate of Minas Gerais.
