We need to talk…
Just like that, someone bought my last bag of Tres Pinos Blend. But I have really good news to share! We've been roasting Tres Pinos Blend for years now with coffee beans sourced from a specific collective in Indonesia. Overall, Indonesia has had a tough El Niño year and many crops just didn't turn out. I haven't been able to get “green beans” from our favorite collective and we simply, inevitably, ran out. Fortunately, I found a great replacement!
Tres Pinos Blend was the first coffee roast I ever considered selling. We roasted small batches of beans for a long time for our own consumption before coming across this bean. We knew right away this was special and my wife, ever the market-maker, suggested we tool up to make bigger batches and sell it. She was right, of course, and Tres Pinos Blend has been wildly successful for us.
I call it my "daily driver" coffee-- it's an all-purpose, everyday moment of simple enjoyment. It's not too strong, it's not acidic, you don't have to crave exotic flavors to enjoy it-- it just works whether one is on the go or taking a quiet morning. I struggled with whether to try to replace the Tres Pinos Blend with something else or just retire the label in gratitude. Surely, any replacement has to meet this criteria as an all-around performer that I can be proud of.
And I found my replacement, at last! I've spent 9 months looking for my new Tres Pinos bean, and as luck would have it, I found it in... Indonesia. In fact, practically down the street from our previous collective in Flores. The beans are physically similar and the flavor profile is exactly what I was hoping for-- Tres Pinos Blend, but better. I find the new coffee to carry more of a nutty flavor and a wisp of allspice plus a hint of chocolate that lends itself to milk drinks really well. The new beans are a little less fussy to roast, too, which helps to get a consistent product regardless of batch size. These beans are ethically sourced through the "Farm Gate" program which means they are paid fairly and directly by the exporter.
We don't introduce new coffees very often. I sample four new beans each and every week and only when I feel like I've found something special do I attempt to develop an offering to share with the community. This is a watershed moment for us, replacing our original roasted coffee product with something even better. I hope you give it a try and I truly hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Oh, and we're keeping the price exactly where it was, which means it's still probably cheaper for a bag of beans than you'll pay in town and certainly a whole lot fresher.