THE NEXT AND FINAL ROAST DATE FOR FC23 is TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5TH!

Fruitcake. Is it a festive treat? Sure. But is it more than that? SO MUCH. For us, it just might be the most fun feature of the year. Which is really saying something, cause truth is we are out here having a blast 24/7/365. BUT STILL. The transportive, nostalgic, adorable coffee that gets to become Fruitcake is always a wild thrill to find. To get it just right, we’re hunting for a feeling — cozy, celebratory, jubilant, special. And considering the long turnaround between CHOOSING a coffee and HAVING that coffee, finding this feeling is a sneak peek of holiday cheer that we get to glimpse during the dog days of summer. But now, those doggie days are behind us. It’s the most wonderful gd time of the year.

FOR FC 2K23, we picked out a natural process SL34 from Nicaragua, produced under the famed brilliance of Luis Alberto Balladarez. Luis Alberto is perhaps the biggest name in Nicaraguan coffee, producing a tremendous variety of offerings from various farms and beneficios each year. He is well-respected not only among importers and roasters worldwide, but among farmers and coffee workers throughout his home country, pushing the envelope for what can be expected from Nicaragua, year after year. 

Anecdotes about LAB conjure up images of a charming mad scientist, experimenting with myriad minutiae in the field and the mill, assessing results both quantitatively and qualitatively, never ceasing to yield a stellar smattering of options from cost-sensitive regional blends to top-shelf experimental marvels, like this natural process SL-34 — a variety ordinarily only seen in Kenya. 

COZY is the vibe that this one delivers, with warm, spicy brightness, cranberry cakey sweetness, and a nutty aroma that’s best enjoyed beneath a blanket by a fire. When sipping, do not be alarmed if you suddenly smell chestnuts roasting, hear Elvis crooning Christmas tunes, or see a UFO suspiciously similar to a reindeer-powered sleigh.

CHEERS!