Weekly Roasts: Sey and Manhattan
A minimalist roaster from Brooklyn, New York, USA and an ambitious roaster from Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Dear coffee lovers,
Today you're in for a special treat. I’m excited to share the roasts we’ve picked for you from Sey Coffee and Manhattan Coffee Roasters. These two roasters will captivate you with their exceptional coffees and pursuit of beauty in their craft. Today’s selection includes a unique coffee from the Burundi region and a competition Colombian coffee with a juicy, fruit-forward profile.
The daily sipper
The Burundi coffee is brought to us by Sey Coffee, who have a multi-purpose roasting and cafe space in Brooklyn, New York. Their cafe space is a thing of beauty with an open floor plan, concrete flooring, lush greenery, and natural light streaming in from the ceiling windows. Tobin Polk and Lance Schnorenberg, the founders of Sey, originally started roasting coffee back in 2011 and opened the Sey cafe in 2017. The Sey team strives to reimagine coffee processes, support their producers, perfect roasting techniques, and be completely transparent in their practices.
The wash processed Gahahe from Sey is our clean and balanced selection for this week. This particular coffee is an interesting one: it’s a field blend from Kayanza, Burundi. Instead of coming from a single producer, this coffee is sourced from around 600 producers who grow multiple varieties of coffee in small garden plots. Once the coffee is harvested then processed at the Gahahe wash station, it’s ready to be exported. When it comes to purchasing coffees, Sey sets themselves apart with transparent cost breakdowns (included in each of their coffee's packaging cards) showing exactly what they pay their producers.
This exceptional Burundi coffee conveys notes of dark fruit, blood orange, and baking spice. Meticulously processed, this coffee delivers a complex yet balanced cup that coffee enthusiasts and casual drinkers alike will appreciate. This coffee is a great choice for anyone who’s looking for a flavorful cup that has just the right amount of sweetness, zest, and warmth.
👀 Get this coffee →
👀 More coffee from Sey →
The wild one
The Manhattan Coffee Roasters operation is based in the Netherlands, specifically in the harbor town of Rotterdam. Manhattan was started in 2017 by Esther Maasdam and Ben Morrow. Esther and Ben have over 30 years of combined specialty coffee industry experience and are today focused on releasing “mind blowing and exceptional coffees” through Manhattan. Both founders believe that coffee is truly something special and this idea motivates them to continually improve their roasts and delight their customers.
The coffee featured today from Manhattan is the El Paraiso from Colombia; and it’s a special one. This particular coffee is anti-maceration processed (which you can learn more about here) and was produced by Diego Bermudez, who the Manhattan team refer to as “the King of Processing.” Diego and his team at Finca El Paraiso are recognized for their continuous innovation in coffee processing, and we’re excited to see what they produce in the future.
With the combination of unique processing and this coffee’s Colombian origin, you can expect some vibrant notes. In a cup, the El Paraiso is bursting with fresh cherry, mango, and orange notes, delivering a juicy mouthfeel. We believe this coffee is for the adventurous drinker who is excited about fruit-forward coffees and innovative processing methods. If you aren’t afraid of a coffee that packs a fruit punch, the El Paraiso is for you!
👀 Get this coffee →
👀 More coffee from Manhattan →
Don’t miss out on these coffees! Get a bag for yourself or a friend before they sell out.
Have a beautiful day,
Jon Hargreaves
Coffee Club Founder/Designer