BEHIND THE CUP

Once upon a time I lived in Seattle, the coffee capital of the world, when my American friends learned that us British people called underpants “pants,” they thought that was pretty funny. And then I dated some people, and it wasn’t terribly funny anymore. But what’s still quite charming is our British slang for the lacy unmentionables: smalls.

We call our peaberries, smalls, and yes, we have smalls to share with you. Our smalls are quite clean, thank you. And also quite lovely. They’re imported, after all, from a lot of the same farmers and mill-workers we work with. We don’t want to say that we like them any more than our usual single-origin offerings. After all, they come from a lot of the same people. But they are a little more… private.

If you’re reading this, then apparently you’re special enough to know about our smalls. We can’t really offer free samples of them, because frankly they’re expensive enough as they are.

Furthermore, they’re quite petite; you won’t see these coffees showing up on grocery store shelves or in budget-conscious tech company cafeterias. But you? You’re always welcome to try them on for size. After all, there’s only one reason we got these smalls in the first place: we want you to like them.

TASTING NOTES

The messiest face at the kids’ table. A sensational blackcurrant mess on the shirt, cherry stains on the cheeks, chocolate dandru on the shoulders. Only the lovely lemon soda remains clean.

NOTES FOR GEEKS

Process: Pulped Natural
Varietal: SL-28 Peaberry
SCA Score: 83.5
Roast: Medium
Elevation: 1
Producer: Bisembe Co-operative
Country: Kenya
Region: Kisii