Taiwan Hsu Tingyeh - SL34

Cost per 250mL serving - $2.62

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Hsu Tingyeh’s coffee is something that we look forward to most during the off-season. The wait is now over though, and we’re so glad that he’s back on the menu—this season being represented by two incomparable washed lots. This one, Tingyeh’s SL34 selection, is expressing a noticeable degree more of flavor clarity and delineation than last year, as well as general cleanness and brightness—aided too by switching from honey process, as we selected last year, to washed process. Without fail, this coffee gives sweet and yummy raspberry, delicate, clean, and refreshing white tea, with a definite zing of sumac brightness. We’re super excited to share this one with you.

Zhou Wu Mountain farm, located at 1.300 masl in the Chashan Village of Chiayi County, was founded in 2001 by Tingyeh when he adapted the high-mountain oolong fields of Zhou Wu to specialty coffee cultivation. At present, the farm is sized at roughly 7 hectares. In addition to growing SL34, Tingyeh also cultivates geisha, typica, and purpurascens. On the farm, absolutely everything is done in-house, from seed germination to drying and milling, placing complete control over the coffee’s final cup profile in the hands of Mr. Hsu.

SL34 is an African coffee cultivar of the typica genetic group, prized both for its quality and strong resistance to coffee berry disease. In terms of flavor profile, SL34 is typically light-bodied with an abundance of fresh florals, stone fruit, with potential for tropical fruit and berries. It was first selected from a single tree on the Loresho Estate in Kabete, Kenya by Scott Agricultural Laboratories, and released for cultivation in the late 1930s. Today, most SL34 trees remain confined to Kenya.

All coffee is sold whole-bean to reduce oxidation, and increase the longevity of volatile organic compounds.