Microlot Coffee (All You Need To Know)
Microlot coffee is definitely a term you will come across somewhere along your journey in the coffee industry.
Simply put, microlot coffees are coffees that are produced in small quantities from a specific yet traceable lot within a bigger plot of coffee plantation. But of course, that’s not all to it and that is what this blog post is for!
That said, this buzzword has only recently made waves within the coffee industry due to the third wave of the coffee trend. Therefore, different professionals within the coffee industry have different takes on the topic.
So in this blog post, we are going to discuss all things about microlot coffee; the whats, whys, and wheres. Lastly, places where you can buy some of these coffees from exclusive microlots!
Disclosure
Some of the links here are affiliate links, and I may earn if you click on them, AT NO EXTRA cost to you. I hope you find the information here useful! Thanks!
At a glance: Microlot Coffee (All You Need To Know)
What Is Microlot Coffee?
Depending on who you ask, microlot coffee has many different interpretations here within the coffee industry. The two most common interpretations are:
Interpretation 1: Coffees that come from a small coffee farm. Quantity may be small but this does not indicate any exceptional quality and exquisite flavor profiles.
Interpretation 2: Farmers may notice that coffees from this specific plot and band of altitude have superior quality in terms of taste and flavor. They will isolate this lot of coffee plants and pay extra care to nurture them.
However, judging by the market trend, it seems like the second interpretation is getting widely accepted within the coffee industry. Personally, I do agree with it too and this post will also lean towards this believe.
Why Should You Know About Microlot Coffee?
Since coffees from microlot are often produced in small quantities, they are highly sought after by specialty coffee roasters. This demand indirectly cause these coffees to fetch higher prices.
As such, coffee marketers will most often abuse the term microlot coffee to bump up their coffee prices. This is because it is common to associate great things with this sort of coffee.
Some of these common traits includes high SCA cupping grade (85+), exotic taste and pronounced fruity flavor bombs. Hence, this is why traceability of specialty coffee and microlot coffee is becoming a staple trend in recent years.
You as a consumer have the right to know where your coffee comes from, how it is nurtured and the processing techniques involved.
In fact, the traceability of the microlot coffee is extremely detailed. You would often see key parameters like:
- Origin (Country, Farm and the Specific Lot)
- Climate
- Elevation
- Soil
- Processing Method
- Roast Level
In other words, it is the birth certificate of the coffee itself! On top of that. all of these parameters do generally give you an idea of the tasting profile of the coffee bean.
Why Is Microlot Coffee Special?
Microlot coffee is usually known for its exquisite quality and taste of coffee. Think specialty coffee (cupping score above 85) but at a premium grade.
Typically on a huge plot of coffee plantations, farmers generally do not have the time and capacity to give absolute care to every single coffee plant. Hence, defects can happen and this will lower the overall quality of the coffee yield. At best, the coffee cupping score will range in between 80 to 84 which is already pretty good for the mass market.
And hence, the concept of microlots spread like wildfire within the coffee farming industry.
Oftentimes, coffee farmers will pay more attention and care to microlot coffees. And of course, as the name suggests, the production volume from these plots is fairly small. Pegging a number to it, microlots production rate is roughly 40 bags of coffee (each weighing about 50 kg) annually.
In other words, these are the cream of the crop. Therefore, to compensate for this extra effort, microlot coffees are usually sold at a premium.
Fun Coffee Fact!
The most expensive coffee being sold just achieved a new record this year with a whopping $6000 per pound! So, you may think that it is crazy to pay that much for coffee but coffee aficionados will always have the money for quality.
A cool analogy to microlot coffees is the A5 Wagyu Beef.
Upon ordering one of these prized cuts, the restaurant will more often than not present you with the cow’s certificate of origin. Here, it will state everything from the details of its parents, farm of origin, date of birth, and serial number.
This way, you know you are getting the real deal.
How Is Microlot Coffee Cultivated?
To cultivate microlot coffee, the coffee farmers will usually designate a small plot of their plantation (usually 1-2% of the entire plot).
For this particular plot of plants, the entire process will go through a very delicate process from farm to the roastery. In fact, the crops from microlots are given exclusive treatment.
These coffee cherries receive personalized care, harvested separately and processed separately from regular coffee cherries. All to ensure there is no cross contamination from regular batches of coffee cherries.
Let us look at what happens at these different phases of coffee cultivated in microlots.
First Phase: Coffee Farm
At this exquisite plot of coffee plants, the farmers will dedicate extra care to nurture the coffee plants. The aim here is to allow these coffee plants to grow in the best conditions to yield the best possible crop.
If you didn’t already know, every environmental factor around the coffee plant contributes to the development of flavors in the coffee cherry. Some of these factors includes:
- Sun exposure
- Rain Exposure
- Elevation From Sea Level
- Humidity
- Soil Conditions
Therefore, it is not unusual for the coffee farm to spend more of its available manpower to be responsible for this particular plot. In a way, the yield from this microlot is the premium version of the coffees from this farm.
With all this extra effort from the farmers, they know it will be worth it in the end. This is because the asking price for these coffees is definitely at a premium price. At times, it can be up to 3 times the price of regular coffee beans.
However, coffee farmers claiming that their microlot coffee is superior is only one side of the story.
Coffee brokers and buyers from all over the world will usually visit coffee farms and perform cupping. During this time, coffee farmers will of course market their coffee from the microlots.
More often than not, coffees from microlots will receive a cupping score above 85. This grants the coffee beans the Specialty Coffee status.
In other words, the coffee exhibits great fragrance, flavor, sweetness, clarity and overall balance.
Second Phase: Processing Mill
Upon harvesting, the microlot coffees will then move to the next stage. Here at the processing mill, coffee processors will dedicate a time frame to process these coffees and only these coffees.
This is to ensure that external sources of coffee beans do not end up with this batch of coffee.
At this point, they will also determine the best processing methods to highlight the natural flavors of the coffee beans. The three main processes for coffee processing are:
#1 Natural Process
For natural processing, coffee cherries are left to dry out in the sun while fermenting its own juices. This intensifies the flavor and concentrates it around the coffee bean itself. By the end of the cycle, these dried coffee cherries will be collected and de-pulped to get the raw green coffee beans.
And so, the natural process will produce the most flavorful coffees.
#2 Wet Process
Through the wet process, millers use water to strip the mucilage layer off the coffee cherries. Later on, they will leave the raw coffee beans to dry out in the sun.
The overall resulting cup of coffee from wet processed coffee beans is the cleanest with peak clarity.
Therefore, the wet processing method is best if you intend to highlight the natural flavors of the coffee bean and an unmistakable crisp acidity.
#3 Honey Process
While the honey process sounds all sweet and delicious, it actually does not involve the use of honey. In fact, the honey process is a combination of both the natural process and the wet process.
The main difference is that some of the mucilage is left to be intact on the coffee beans during the drying process.
Living up to its name, the honey process tends to add the sweetness levels of the coffee with mellow acidity.
As you can see, all three coffee processing methods result in fairly different flavor profiles for the coffee.
Therefore, it is up to the coffee miller’s expertise to determine the best processing method to highlight the best features of the coffee beans.
Third Phase: Roastery
With such a great raw produce, it certainly requires the best hands in the industry to roast the coffee beans. While coffee processing can highlight the flavors of the coffee beans, the coffee roasting process can help further develop certain flavor profiles.
By introducing heat to the coffee beans, the heating process destroys some natural acids while developing the body of the coffee. The key here is balance.
With microlot coffees, roasteries will often opt to roast them to light roast levels or at times medium roast. This is because these roast levels retain most of the natural acids and flavors of the coffee beans.
But you will never see microlot coffees near medium-dark or dark roast levels. Here, all the natural sweetness and acidity is lost and all you taste is scorched coffee.
As you can see, crafting great microlot coffee involves many sets of skillful hands from farm to roastery. It is no surprise to see cafes serving microlot coffee pour overs at exorbitant prices.
However, some of these coffees are rare gems and they are pretty hard to come by. So the next time you see your cafe serving some of these exquisite coffee, you know you are in for a treat!
Hario V60 Plastic Coffee Dripper
Don’t be fooled by its simple exterior. The Hario V60 Plastic Coffee Dripper is capable of brewing some of the best tasting pour-over coffee if done right.
With great tasting coffee beans, the Hario V60 is an excellent brewing gear to bring out the delicate flavor and taste from microlot coffees!
Where Are Microlot Coffee Usually From?
Microlot coffee can come from any coffee farms in the world that produces coffee. As long as they meet both the following conditions:
- A small lot of coffee plants identified to produce unique tasting coffee.
- Coffee farming involves utmost and intensive care.
- All farming conditions are traceable.
- Dedicated harvesting and processing of the coffee cherries to avoid cross contamination.
All in all, microlot coffee is more than just coffee from just a tiny lot.
That said, bear in mind that coffee from microlots does not automatically mean that it is superior. Some of these lots may be experimental projects by the coffee farmers themselves. And upon chance they produce unique tasting coffee.
So in summary, it is not surprising to see microlot coffees from estates and farms from all the coffee producing countries in the world. However, when the environmental and growth conditions of the plants are well taken care of, rest assured that the coffee will be of top quality too!
How About Nanolots? What Is Nanolot Coffee?
Nanolot coffees are coffees that are planted in an even smaller scale compared to the Microlot Coffee.
If most coffees from microlots can achieve a cupping score above 85, nanolot coffees have no problem receiving cupping scores above 90. Bear in mind this is on a scale with 100 as the maximum score.
And what makes nanolot coffees even rarer is that these lots only produce one to two 60-kilo bags of coffee each harvest! This makes nanolot coffees extremely rare.
Therefore, if you ever encounter nanolot coffee, know that you may never drink the same coffee again elsewhere ever.
Great Microlot Coffees To Try
As you can see, microlot coffees are hard to come by. Coupled with the low production rate from each of these microlots, getting to try some of these exquisite coffee is pretty tough.
Fortunately, with the power of online shopping, getting your hands on some of these coffees is not that hard anymore!
If you are in the US, you’ll be glad to know Pact Coffee and Black Powder Coffee.
But if you are from the Asian region, you can try getting your hands on some of these coffees from CoffeeCulture Asia.
Author’s Note: If you have got your hands on some great microlot coffees, do store the coffee in the best conditions to prolong its shelf life. This is to prevent the coffee from turning rancid too quickly.
Veken Coffee Canister
Veken Coffee Canister is capable to keep air out and free of harmful oxidation with a one-way CO2 valve and 100% BPA-free silicone rubber seal.
Say goodbye to stale and rancid coffee beans!
FAQ On Microlot Coffee
How Big Is A Coffee Micro Lot?
A coffee microlot’s size vary from farm to farm but in most cases, each microlot yield approximately 40 60-kilo bags of coffee annually. This amount is not huge given the size of a regular plot of coffee plants. For this reason, microlot coffee are often swarmed by buyers all over the world which cause the price to skyrocket too!
What Does Lot Mean In Coffee?
Lot in coffee refers to the plot of land where the coffee originates from. More specifically, it can be as detailed as having a lot number which allows you to know exactly which farm it was grown on. This is especially important for specialty grade coffee as one of the criterion is traceability.
What Is High Quality Coffee Called?
High quality coffee is known as specialty coffee in the coffee industry. To quality as specialty coffee, the coffee must be judged by coffee Q graders and receive a cupping score above 80. Here, the judges will judge the coffee bean based several factors such as flavor, acidity, body, balance and aroma.
What Is The Number 1 Coffee In The World?
The number 1 coffee in the world is none other than the Panama Geisha. The exquisite Geisha coffee bean from Panama is no foreign name when it comes to global coffee championships. This is mainly due to the unique flavor packed trait that is naturally present in the coffee. For that reason, it is expensive too!
Closing Notes
There we have it, a full, comprehensive discussion on microlot coffees.
Personally, I have tried the Ethiopian Gesha Village microlot coffee. You will not believe the explosion of fruity flavors of blackcurrant and the lingering mango sweetness of this coffee.
It was this experience that prompted me to share about microlot coffees here. Though the experience is incredible, the price tag that comes with it is hefty.
But is it worth it? I’d think so!
If you find this piece of article informational and have taught you a thing or two about microlot coffee, please share it with your fellow friends, baristas and home brewers!
Happy brewing!
