Advent W4 Mystery Coffee Reveal - Banibeans

This is the end of the third Mystery Coffee League season. Time to learn details about the last Mystery Coffee of 2023.

The theme of 2023 Mystery Coffee Advent Calendar was Ethiopian landrace coffees.

About the farm and coffee:

Enrique López Aguilar talks about his life as a farmer: “Coffee growing began in 1910 in Candelaria Loxicha in Oaxaca. Over time, my parents, Jaime and Graciela, bought farms in Chiapas and from there began another story of coffee growing. In 2000, when my father died, I went to the farms to learn how to grow choice coffee and took a year to learn how to harvest coffee. I knew nothing and didn’t even drink it, I was 33 years old at the time and I started reading a lot of books about coffee, its history and how it was processed in different parts of the world. I learned that you can do a lot of things in fermentation, and I went on to work on the Santa Cruz and Las Nubes farms and became a Q Grader. I have won many competitions for best organic coffee and several Cup of Excellence awards. In 2012 I left the farms in Chiapas and decided to start my own farm in Oaxaca, specifically in Candelaria, where my mother is from. Since then, I have been focusing only on the production of select coffees in micro-lot.”

We visit Enriquen and Alejandro every year during the harvest. The farm is very simply set up, because during the harvest the whole farm is fully focused on the coffee and everything else goes on the back burner.Alejandro roasts the samples during the harvest so they have complete control over the processes, and in fact the coffee is tasted in many forms all day long. For cupping, for espresso, for filter. Enrique says that if we want to know what the coffee really tastes like, cupping is not enough because very few end clients will actually taste these coffees on the cupping. And the only thing that matters here is the taste of the end customer. So you need to taste each lot on both the espresso and the filter.After a difficult and highly controlled harvest and long drying processes, the Lopezes dedicate themselves to farmer education and courses for other producers. In this way, they have been instrumental in improving and expanding the knowledge of the processing of fine coffees in Mexico.Enrique is known throughout Mexico as a great visionary of choice coffee and we are endlessly honoured to work with him and that Enrique has chosen us as one of his few importers.At the beginning was an abandoned farmhouse, which Enrique bought and began to renovate. Gradually, he began to plant varieties that he already knew were of very high quality and that, with proper care of the soil, would become tolerant and resistant to rust. The flavors that emerge in the coffees are citrus and floral, thanks to the processes by which the coffee is processed and fermented on the farm. It develops new flavors, but without losing the original and basic flavors. Above all, at the Chelín farm, the focus is on purity in the aftertaste. 

“The advantage of the farm is that on a small scale I am copying everything I learned in Chiapas and I have more control over the production of so-called pure coffee. Enrique adds that the farm is not yet reaching full production, but thanks to good nutrition and good work, it is close to the production he expects. We worked with Enrique for the 2022 Barista World Championship and the way Enrique grows the coffee and continues to communicate with clients is very professional. His coffee is truly unique and the intricate processing process matches that.

About the selection:
Comments by Dawid

One of the most hyped farmers on the server in 2023, mainly by UK folks. Probably the best you can get in Mexico. Chelin is getting more popular in Europe, with more and more importers getting their hands on their greens. I decided it would be a good addition to the advent calendar.

There's only so much you can do with limited budget, which already was quite high for many people. In the end, you got 4 rare coffees for 65€. When you calculate the costs based on retail prices of these beans you will see that 65€ just covers the cost of coffee. So the price excludes costs of all extras, logistics and extra labor. I can see that some people are probably a little bit disappointed because coffees didn't exactly fit their taste, or they were just fine, but it is impossible to get 4 coffees of the Week 2 caliber in the set. We will see about next year, I feel like 4x100g formula is a little bit burned out by now. Maybe it's time for something new.

Quite a lot of people got the theme right - congrats to all of them!

The winner of Week 4 round is RedSteve with 24 points. Followed by Chris with 23 points and olivier with 21 points.

TOP3 of Week 4 round:
1. RedSteve - 24 points
2. Chris - 23 points
3. olivier - 21 points

Acaia Lunar goes to andreucs who is the winner of Q4 2023 with 111 points. Selection of Kruve glasses goes to Edu and free Rozali Mystery Coffee goes to newdent.

TOP3 of Q4 2023 round:
1. andreucs - 111 points
2. Edu - 110 points
3. newdent - 106 points

This is the end of 2023 Mystery Coffee League season. We had a total of 210 people participating at some point this year. This is a great achievement! We will see how this is going to look like in 2024. For the season end standings, we consider only the best 12 rounds for each participant. The winner of 2023 Mystery Coffee League season is andreucs with 220 points. Silver medal goes to Raul with 209 points and bronze to FdeBarista with 209 points (origin tie-breaker). Congrats!

TOP3 of 2023 season:
1. andreucs - 220 points
2. Raul - 209 points
3. FdeBarista - 209 points

It's time for 2024 season. This year we will be focusing on rare and unique Mystery Coffees only. It will be more pricey, so probably it won't be easy to break the 2023 records. However, everything is in our hands. You can still order January Mystery Coffee. It will be roasted and shipped in the first week of January. Very special coffee which is going to help us kick-off a new season in style. I highly recommend getting a bag. February is going to be cheaper, so you will "save" some money then :)

Roaster's line-up for the next three months:
JANUARY 23 - Rozali from Berlin 🇩🇪
FEBRUARY 23 - AMOC from Rotterdam 🇳🇱
MARCH 23 - Kaffeelix from St. Pölten 🇦🇹

Mystery Coffee League is sponsored by Acaia, 1zpresso, Kruve and ACME.

You can join Mystery Coffee League at anytime! Just join our Discord and feel free to ask any questions!

Thanks for the pics Herman!