The STARTER PACK from the British roaster OVNI is like a tasting ticket to the world of the most distinctive specialty coffees. Three countries, three distinct processing methods, and three 20-gram single-serve packs that showcase just how varied modern specialty coffee can taste. The Panamanian Geisha El Zorro offers an elegant blend of candied green apple, jasmine, and raspberry lemonade. A delicate, juicy, and extremely clean coffee with a lightness reminiscent of a perfectly balanced cup of tea. The Geisha El Encanto from Costa Rica then reveals a subtly sweet and complex profile, blending notes of black currant, strawberries, vanilla, and black tea. And finally, there is the Al Ofairi XI lot from Yemen, which takes the entire set to a completely different dimension— violets, black cherries, blueberries, and dark chocolate create a deep, layered, and incredibly intense profile.
Each coffee in the package represents a different terroir and a different approach to processing. The Panama coffee comes from the legendary Finca Santa Teresa farm in the Volcan Baru region, where volcanic soil and a mountainous climate create ideal conditions for growing Geisha. The Costa Rican lot from the El Encanto farm is produced by Rolando Fonseca in collaboration with the iconic COOPEDOTA cooperative, the world’s first carbon-neutral coffee cooperative. And the lot from Yemen, from the Al Ofairi tribe, highlights its historical significance as one of the original homes of Arabica.
OVNI doesn’t focus on quantity in this package, but on the experience —each serving is a small taste of the most interesting offerings in today’s specialty coffee scene. The processing methods themselves are also distinct. The Panamanian Geisha uses the classic washed process for maximum clarity and elegance. The Costa Rican Geisha is processed using the honey method, in which some of the sweet pulp remains on the bean during drying, adding greater sweetness and roundness to the cup. The most experimental is the Yemeni lot using the Alchemy process, which combines aerobic fermentation, carbonic maceration, and slow drying on African beds for nearly 600 hours. The result is an incredibly complex and intense coffee that still retains the clarity and distinctiveness of its origin.
Package contains: 3 × 20 g single-serve
- Panama EL ZORRO: Gesha- washed - candied green apple, jasmine, raspberry lemonade - 89+
- Yemen AL OFAIRI XI: Kent- Alchemy - violets, black cherry, blueberries, dark chocolate - 90.5+
- Costa Rica EL ENCANTO:Geisha - honey - black currant, strawberries, jasmine, vanilla, black tea - 88+