Villa Martinez comes direct to Black Oak Coffee from a five hectare farm in the Gigante region of Huila, Colombia (which, as most of my Dear Readers know, is a favorite region of The Table – so many amazing coffees have come from this area over the past few years) named Finca Los Cauchos. Black Oak named the coffee “Villa Martinez” in honor of its producer, Misael Martinez.
This coffee is a great example of the amazing power of shopping local – residents of Ukiah, California support their local coffee roaster, that local coffee roaster is then able to support its employees (who are residents of Ukiah), those employees can then invest their salaries into the local economy, and Black Coffee Roasters can now travel to origin to support amazing producers through direct trade relationships.
What a beautiful circle (and what amazing opportunities) shopping local makes…
However, since this is such a small producer I, regretfully, cannot offer you much more information about the farm or its producer than what I have presented here. So let’s just get right down to brass tacks.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Colombia Villa Martinez, from Black Oak Coffee Roasters in Ukiah, California. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THE BASICS:
region: Gigante, Huila, Colombia
farm/factory: Finca Los Cauchos
producer: Misael Martinez
association: N/A
elevation: 1300 – 1550 meters above sea level
cultivars: Caturra, Colombia
process: fully washed, patio dried
certifications: Direct Trade
THE COFFEE:
The aroma coming off of the Colombia Villa Martinez is really, really pleasant. It’s graceful and elegant, but it’s not delicate – it’s still very forward and powerful with wonderful scents of chocolate, bakers spices, flower petals, and soft citrus.
Wow. The first few sips immediately post-brew… Nice. Very nice, indeed. What’s really impressing me, though, is how much this coffee is evolving even at the very start – every taste introduces something different and no two slurps are alike. In any given slurp I’m tasting notes of nougat, of toffee, of dark chocolate, of salted caramel, of Marshmallow Fluff, of Nutella, of vanilla, of honey… A grocery aisle’s worth of sauces and spreads for bakers! Actually, a more apt description might be “Every candy bar at a grocery store checkout melted down in a vat then reformed into a Mega Candy Bar,” because there are plenty of other candy bar-centric flavors, like graham cracker, cookie dough, truffle, coconut, and nuts.
As it cools, it just keeps revealing more and more and more layers; now, it’s showing me some brighter flavors – particularly of fruits and shades of other beverages: a mellow grape acidity, strawberry, raspberry, kumquat, juicy red delicious apple, hot/spicy cherry liqueur, and even hints of White Russian (rum and vanilla creaminess).
Full body; buttery mouthfeel; grape acidity; clean finish.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
The Colombia Villa Martinez, from Black Oak Coffee Roasters, is the coffee for the consumer with a sweet tooth; it is so decadently sweet and delicious from beginning to end. We’re right around that time of a new year when people start giving up on their New Year’s resolutions – if your resolution was to give up candy and you’re starting to falter on that decision, don’t do it! Instead, buy a bag of Colombia Villa Martinez – I guarantee that it will satisfy your cravings.
Having said that, though, it would be remiss of me to let its decadent sweetness override its elegance; after all, nobody puts baby in the corner.
The Villa Martinez is a wonderfully elegant and complex coffee that holds its cards close to its chest. Instead of throwing itself at your palate all at once, it slowly peels away layer after layer, teasing and revealing only what it chooses to reveal in any given sip. It is curvy and full-figured and voluptuous, absolutely brimming with beautiful flavors: soft florals, mellow winey acidity, sacchariferous confections…
Really, truly – an incredible coffee.
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.