commonly coffee

It’s kinda crazy to think another year is almost over. Maybe it’s even a bit more crazy to think that I am now beginning to write the second versions of some of my favourite posts on this blog.

But like I said at the end of 2018 in the first post on my “top 3 year end coffees” every year there are a few coffee’s that standout from the crowd and remind me that no two bags of coffee are ever the same. It’s what I love about drinking coffee. And it’s why I love sharing with others about specialty coffee and why it’s so incredible.

This past year introduced me to a number of new coffee roasters, a number of new origins, and a number of new people that I now get to call friends. It continued to confirm how much I love specialty coffee and sharing that love with as many people as possible.

This year my top 3 coffee’s feature two Canadian roasters and one from the USA.

So as the year comes to a close here are the three coffee’s that I am proud to say are my top 3 of 2019 are:

Lüna Coffee Roasters (Blueberry Milkshake, Nemba, Burundi)

Should there be any surprise that a roaster out of Vancouver, BC made its way onto my top 3? And maybe it shouldn’t surprise some folk that Lüna is that roaster, and might I add…they reached this honour for the second straight year!

Nate & Laura roast some of the best light and bright coffee I have ever found. Each bag I enjoyed over this year made me wish I lived closer or that SOMEONE would carry their coffee here in Calgary (seriously, somebody PLEASE begin stocking them!) – end rant.  

What was special about this coffee was that it was the VERY FIRST naturally processed coffee that Lüna had ever offered. When I was in Vancouver earlier this year I grabbed a bag from Nemesis and was so stoked to get my hands on it. I think everyone knows I love naturally processed coffees…and this one was one of the best! It showcased how incredible coffee can be from Burundi, and from what I am told from Nate & Laura it didn’t last long on retail shelves and on their web-store.

If you missed getting your hands on this, I hope they’ll bring it back in future years! Don’t miss it next time.

Rabbit Hole Roasters (Yunnan, China)

Prior to being introduced to Rabbit Hole Roasters, the only other roaster I had heard importing & roasting coffee from China was Square Mile out of the UK. So to hear that a Canadian coffee roasters was offering such a unique emerging origin I was so stoked when I won a bag of this coffee through a giveaway from Rose @bb.gesha in Toronto.

I loved this coffee so much it ended up sparking two major posts this last year on my blog. I first blogged about this coffee in my August article “Emerging Origins” and then I reached out to David at Rabbit Hole to invite them to be my September “Coffee Roaster of the Month” as well.

With coffee so unique, from such a unique origin country, it was a no-brainer that this one would make my top 3 of 2019. What I can only hope is that more coffee roasters begin to pursue coffee from emerging origins like the Yunnan region of China!

Luminous Coffee (La Lesquinda, Honduras)

Three words: BUCKET LIST COFFEE. Just days before I was in Los Angeles back in October I caught wind on the Instagram page for Dayglow that they had just received a fresh shipment of Luminous Coffee. If you haven’t heard of Luminous you need to give your head a shake. Seriously, stop reading, go check them out and then come back to this blog. DO IT.

From the Chinese-takeout inspired packaging, (mine also contained a sticker, instant-coffee pack and even a fortune cookie.)…on top of the incredible coffee! This is easily one of 2019’s hottest coffee roasters! Luminous’ ethos is “always-extra” and you definitely sense that in everything they do. I was so stoked to get my hands on this naturally processed Honduran coffee and sip after sip it evoked so much joy, excitement, and love for the coffee.

They do things differently at Luminous. Offering their coffee in “drops” they only take a limited amount of orders before they just the web-store down. Sign up to be a LUMI and get early access. Most of their coffee is only found through ordering on their “drops” so that’s why I was stoked to be in LA at just the right time to get it at Dayglow.

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So there you have it. Congrats to Lüna, Rabbit Hole, and Luminous for making it onto my top 3 of 2019 list. It is so hard to narrow it down like this, and there were SO MANY others who were so close.

2020 is just around the corner, and that means more amazing coffee to enjoy, and discover.

Here’s to a Caffeinated New Year!

Tyler