Rueda Specialty Coffee Farms x Lucia Solis
If you’re at all familiar with Royal Flamingo Coffee, you know we love to speak to the coffee nerds. We geek out over micro lots, co-fermentation methods, or the nuances of a specific varietal. It’s so easy to get distracted by the cups with intense, jack-in-the-box aromas that leap from the cup, practically screaming, “Look at me!”
But what if we channel our inner Indiana Jones, Last-Crusade-style?
For a moment, we ignore all the flashy gold cups and shimmery tasting notes — and instead consider the simplest option on the table. Take a second to marvel at the idea that this seemingly straightforward and modest cup is actually the most remarkable of the bunch.
That is the journey we’re asking you to take with us with our latest Super Fun drop. A very special release from fermentation and coffee processing specialist, Lucia Solis, and Rueda Specialty Coffee Farms in Antigua, Guatemala.
“The flavor notes of this coffee are not the most interesting thing about this coffee,” wrote Solis in her newsletter earlier this year. “To me, this coffee is about closing the education gap between consumer and producers, it’s about scaling up production (not relying on microlots), using microbiology to soften the edges of a changing climate, & extending shelf life.”
The Luxia Washed process utilizes tools like commercial yeast to stabilize and homogenize lot variability throughout harvest.
At Rueda Farms, Lucia helped create consistency over 18 day lots harvested from December 2023 through March 2024 — which was also a very non-uniform harvest season overall. This Caturra and H1 blend lot was harvested at an average of 1,500 masl, inoculated, pulped, and patio dried, resulting in a classic “coffee” profile.
What’s more, the yeast allowed them to include under- and overripe coffees, which traditionally might not make the cut. An important detail to note! Lucia and her team aren’t looking to change the flavors of the coffee through fermentation, but rather expand the window of which coffees could be included as specialty.
We’ve absolutely loved waking up to this coffee. It’s everything you need from a Guatemalan coffee — medium-bodied, structured acidity, and easy on the palate with notes of dark chocolate, tangerine, and macadamia nuts.
However, we beg you not to trip up over the tasting notes on this one. Get lost in its story, not its surface features.
Lucia wrote it best:
“I believe that sometimes focusing on flavor notes distracts from the larger political power of coffee.
Coffee can be a powerful vehicle to start important conversations but often we get caught in the romance of flavors and forget to keep going.”
For more from Lucia (and for more coffee education in general!), we highly encourage listening to her podcast “Making Coffee.”
What’s More
This lot will help fund future Fermentation Training Camps; hosting events in Guatemala to teach coffee local small-holder producers how to use microbiology to deal with the challenges of the changing climate, and maintain consistent cup profiles for many years ahead.
Location: Rueda Specialty Coffee Farms in Antigua Guatemala
Variety: H1/Caturra
Altitude: 1,500 masl
Processing: Luxia Washed Process. 48-hour Saccharomyces inoculated submerged fermentation. Patio dried with intermittent shade.
If you’re at all familiar with Royal Flamingo Coffee, you know we love to speak to the coffee nerds. We geek out over micro lots, co-fermentation methods, or the nuances of a specific varietal. It’s so easy to get distracted by the cups with intense, jack-in-the-box aromas that leap from the cup, practically screaming, “Look at me!”
But what if we channel our inner Indiana Jones, Last-Crusade-style?
For a moment, we ignore all the flashy gold cups and shimmery tasting notes — and instead consider the simplest option on the table. Take a second to marvel at the idea that this seemingly straightforward and modest cup is actually the most remarkable of the bunch.
That is the journey we’re asking you to take with us with our latest Super Fun drop. A very special release from fermentation and coffee processing specialist, Lucia Solis, and Rueda Specialty Coffee Farms in Antigua, Guatemala.
“The flavor notes of this coffee are not the most interesting thing about this coffee,” wrote Solis in her newsletter earlier this year. “To me, this coffee is about closing the education gap between consumer and producers, it’s about scaling up production (not relying on microlots), using microbiology to soften the edges of a changing climate, & extending shelf life.”
The Luxia Washed process utilizes tools like commercial yeast to stabilize and homogenize lot variability throughout harvest.
At Rueda Farms, Lucia helped create consistency over 18 day lots harvested from December 2023 through March 2024 — which was also a very non-uniform harvest season overall. This Caturra and H1 blend lot was harvested at an average of 1,500 masl, inoculated, pulped, and patio dried, resulting in a classic “coffee” profile.
What’s more, the yeast allowed them to include under- and overripe coffees, which traditionally might not make the cut. An important detail to note! Lucia and her team aren’t looking to change the flavors of the coffee through fermentation, but rather expand the window of which coffees could be included as specialty.
We’ve absolutely loved waking up to this coffee. It’s everything you need from a Guatemalan coffee — medium-bodied, structured acidity, and easy on the palate with notes of dark chocolate, tangerine, and macadamia nuts.
However, we beg you not to trip up over the tasting notes on this one. Get lost in its story, not its surface features.
Lucia wrote it best:
“I believe that sometimes focusing on flavor notes distracts from the larger political power of coffee.
Coffee can be a powerful vehicle to start important conversations but often we get caught in the romance of flavors and forget to keep going.”
For more from Lucia (and for more coffee education in general!), we highly encourage listening to her podcast “Making Coffee.”
What’s More
This lot will help fund future Fermentation Training Camps; hosting events in Guatemala to teach coffee local small-holder producers how to use microbiology to deal with the challenges of the changing climate, and maintain consistent cup profiles for many years ahead.
Location: Rueda Specialty Coffee Farms in Antigua Guatemala
Variety: H1/Caturra
Altitude: 1,500 masl
Processing: Luxia Washed Process. 48-hour Saccharomyces inoculated submerged fermentation. Patio dried with intermittent shade.
If you’re at all familiar with Royal Flamingo Coffee, you know we love to speak to the coffee nerds. We geek out over micro lots, co-fermentation methods, or the nuances of a specific varietal. It’s so easy to get distracted by the cups with intense, jack-in-the-box aromas that leap from the cup, practically screaming, “Look at me!”
But what if we channel our inner Indiana Jones, Last-Crusade-style?
For a moment, we ignore all the flashy gold cups and shimmery tasting notes — and instead consider the simplest option on the table. Take a second to marvel at the idea that this seemingly straightforward and modest cup is actually the most remarkable of the bunch.
That is the journey we’re asking you to take with us with our latest Super Fun drop. A very special release from fermentation and coffee processing specialist, Lucia Solis, and Rueda Specialty Coffee Farms in Antigua, Guatemala.
“The flavor notes of this coffee are not the most interesting thing about this coffee,” wrote Solis in her newsletter earlier this year. “To me, this coffee is about closing the education gap between consumer and producers, it’s about scaling up production (not relying on microlots), using microbiology to soften the edges of a changing climate, & extending shelf life.”
The Luxia Washed process utilizes tools like commercial yeast to stabilize and homogenize lot variability throughout harvest.
At Rueda Farms, Lucia helped create consistency over 18 day lots harvested from December 2023 through March 2024 — which was also a very non-uniform harvest season overall. This Caturra and H1 blend lot was harvested at an average of 1,500 masl, inoculated, pulped, and patio dried, resulting in a classic “coffee” profile.
What’s more, the yeast allowed them to include under- and overripe coffees, which traditionally might not make the cut. An important detail to note! Lucia and her team aren’t looking to change the flavors of the coffee through fermentation, but rather expand the window of which coffees could be included as specialty.
We’ve absolutely loved waking up to this coffee. It’s everything you need from a Guatemalan coffee — medium-bodied, structured acidity, and easy on the palate with notes of dark chocolate, tangerine, and macadamia nuts.
However, we beg you not to trip up over the tasting notes on this one. Get lost in its story, not its surface features.
Lucia wrote it best:
“I believe that sometimes focusing on flavor notes distracts from the larger political power of coffee.
Coffee can be a powerful vehicle to start important conversations but often we get caught in the romance of flavors and forget to keep going.”
For more from Lucia (and for more coffee education in general!), we highly encourage listening to her podcast “Making Coffee.”
What’s More
This lot will help fund future Fermentation Training Camps; hosting events in Guatemala to teach coffee local small-holder producers how to use microbiology to deal with the challenges of the changing climate, and maintain consistent cup profiles for many years ahead.
Location: Rueda Specialty Coffee Farms in Antigua Guatemala
Variety: H1/Caturra
Altitude: 1,500 masl
Processing: Luxia Washed Process. 48-hour Saccharomyces inoculated submerged fermentation. Patio dried with intermittent shade.