11358806_10153298815946341_598175500_nStarbucks is currently offering a rare coffee from Bali. It’s available right now at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. The “Bali Vintage Klasik” is described as a “Sweet lemon and caramel notes with a nutty finish.”

This is an Indonesian coffee that is sourced with a “vintage” processing method. The label for the coffee describes this: “What makes this coffee distinct from its Indonesian neighbors is the processing method. Balinese coffees were traditionally fully washed and dry-hulled, a style yielding exceptional quality, but so labor-intensive that many farmer’s moved to quicker methods. Now three villages have to “vintage” processing. The results surprised us – a coffee with familiar washed Indonesian herbal low notes, yet floral and citrus sweetness not found in coffees from this region.”

Starbucks sourced a small lot of this coffee, roasted at the Roastery, and decided that the majority of it would be sold as a limited Reserve coffee in Reserve stores in China. Look for this coffee in China or at the Seattle Roastery and Tasting Room.

I dropped by the Roastery last night and bought a little bit of it. One of the Master Roasters, who had been involved in this coffee’s roasting, was there. He showed us the unique burlap sacks that the green unroasted coffee comes in! In talking to the partner at the scoop bar (where you buy the coffee) he mentioned that when he had it on a French press he got more of the lemony notes. A friend of mine had it on the Clover and got a smooth, trail mix quality to it. I tried it recently too and got lots of the caramel. It’s a complex, beautiful coffee well worth your time: it’s a rare coffee education opportunity to get to taste a specially-processed Bali coffee. This coffee is delicious.

Enjoy!

(If I have readers in China reading this, you are lucky! Run to your nearest Reserve store! The China market Reserve stores continues to use the older style of Reserve packaging. If you purchase this coffee at the Roastery, it’s hand-scooped and not in a flavor-lock bag.)

(The image of the coffee’s burlap sack with the black paper bag of hand-scooped coffee is courtesy of Instagram user Jocelyn. As always, please do not use any of these images without express permission.)

2 - 1 - 20150521_184635 whole bean2 - 1 - 20150521_183833 Bali Vintage Klasik label2 - 1 - 20150521_183331 back of bali burlap bag2 - 1 - 20150521_183309 bag2 - 1 - PhotoGrid_1432259749556 Bali Vintage Klasik photogrid