Watermelon, Pear, Vanilla
Solstice is Coaltown's fourth annual summer release - a post-blend of three Latin American farms, each processed differently, each bringing something distinct to the cup. Watermelon, pear and vanilla come through soft and unhurried, the kind of coffee that suits a warm evening as well as a slow morning. It won't be around for long.
Sun-drenched Latin American summer blend
Solstice is Coaltown's fourth annual summer release, arriving as a post-blend of three distinct Latin American farms, each bringing its own character to the cup. The result feels easy-going and quietly layered - watermelon and pear up front, with a soft vanilla warmth that lingers. It's the kind of coffee that suits a long morning or a slow afternoon without asking much of you in return.
The blend draws on a naturally processed Gesha, Pink Bourbon and Caturra from La Cabaña in Colombia, put through 120 hours of extended anaerobic fermentation by Danilo Perez at 1,700 to 1,800 metres. Alongside it sits a co-ferment from Finca Monteblanco in Huila - Bourbon and Caturra from the Sánchez family, fermented for 190 hours with watermelon nectar, yeast cultures and lactobacillus, which is where that distinctive aromatic lift comes from. Completing the blend is a washed Caturra, Bourbon and Catuai from Finca Serbia in El Salvador, grown by Fernando Lima on the slopes of the Santa Ana volcano, adding clarity and a gentler, more grounded sweetness.
Taken together, they make a coffee that's juicy and soft without being showy - a considered seasonal release worth catching before it's gone.
About the Roaster
Scott James set up Coaltown in Ammanford, a South Wales town that ran on anthracite coal for generations, with a straightforward idea: that great coffee could give a post-industrial community something to rally around again. The team roasts daily in small batches, working a range that moves from easy-drinking espresso blends through to more expressive single origins.
