We’re super excited to have Kuma roasters join our coffee rotation. This was my first trip back to the West Coast since the 2010 Clover Food Trip.

I was at a Chef’s Collaborative conference in Seattle and was eager to check out what Mark was doing at Kuma, over in Bellevue. As we talked I watched how he cooked his beans, then we tasted some amazing coffees. I brought some back for you all to try.

Mark grew up in upstate New York. His parents were missionaries and in 1995, they all moved to Kenya. He fell in love with coffee there. In 1998 he moved to Seattle and became a

barista and later started roasting coffee as a hobby, for friends, farmers markets and local grocery stores. In 2009 they bought the roaster in the pictured above and Mark has been learning more about the cofffee world. Mark values building strong partnerships, with people growing the beans that he roasts and with the people that grind and brew those beans. He appreciates the beans more at every stage because of those close relationships. We like that sort of awareness.

This Adulina coffee is grown in the Yirgacheffe (the birthplace of coffee) region of Ethiopia. A washed process is used, which gives a cleaner cup than most Ethiopian coffees. It has decent body, richness with a pleasing inherent sweetness. Rounding it all out is a mild acidity, typical to coffees from Yirgacheffe. It is delicious black. Let me know how you like it. Kuma Adulina, in the $3 slot, at a Clover near you.