Wine barrels have made their way back into the roastery, this time bringing a little extra warmth to the chilly mornings.
Created to keep you warm this winter, Ugly Sweater is our Christmas in July inspired blend: cosy, nostalgic, and full of character.
This blend draws from the more playful side of the season: bold, nostalgic, a little loud, and full of character. Built for milk, it brings together dark chocolate, dark fruit, and a gentle winey depth, that feels deeply layered and comforting without being heavy.
The Coffee behind the Sweater
At the centre of Ugly Sweater is Los Alpes, a Washed Caturra from Nicaragua.
Finca Los Alpes is managed and lead by Luis Emilio Valladárez Zelaya, a long-standing Nicaraguan coffee producer whose farms are part of the Cafetalera Buenos Aires group. The farm is located in Dipilto, Nueva Segovia, sitting between 1400 and 1700 metres above sea level.
This elevation, along with the farm’s microclimate, helps create the conditions needed for slower cherry maturation and high-quality Arabica production. Los Alpes also has its own water supply from a waterfall that flows through the farm, adding to the unique environment that shapes the coffee grown there.
For this lot, ripe coffee cherries are picked at 18 to 20 degrees Brix before being washed, sorted, and pulped. The coffee is then dried under 73% shade for 15 to 16 days, before being stored in parchment until export. For Ugly Sweater, this carefully processed green coffee became the starting point for something a little different.
A Few Weeks in French Oak
For this blend, we wanted to create warmth and depth into the coffee before it was roasted, and to do that, we returned to a technique we haven’t used in years.
Ugly Sweater has brought back the ‘barrel-aging’ technique. In this process, the green Los Alpes coffee rested for more than two weeks in French oak barrels collected from a local Canberra winery. These barrels had been used for more than 10 years before making their way to us, bringing their own history into the process.
As the green coffee sits in the barrel, it takes on subtle influence from the French oak and the wine previously held inside it. The coffee is not wine-infused, and it does not contain alcohol. Instead, the barrel-ageing process adds another layer to the coffee: warmth, aromatics, depth, and a gentle winey note.
Rugged up in Layers
From there, Los Alpes is roasted and blended with coffees from Brazil, Ethiopia, and Papua New Guinea.
Like layering up for winter, each component adds something different to the final cup. Brazil helps build chocolate depth and structure. Ethiopia brings dark fruit sweetness and complexity. Papua New Guinea supports the blend with balance and body.
Together, these coffees create a milk-based blend that feels cosy, expressive, and full of character.
In the Cup
Expect dark chocolate, dark fruit, and winey depth.
A little bold, a little extravagant, and made for the middle of winter, Ugly Sweater is comforting without being heavy and full of character from the first sip.
It’s a good kind of ugly.