The last two weeks have been busy in the best of ways.  Last week we headed to the coast for spring break, and all of us enjoyed the chance to get away and relax.  We spent time at the beach, explored tide pools, visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and golfed (the boys), shopped (the girls), and generally ate good food and enjoyed life with no schedule.

From the beach to the snow in one week.

We were home again for Easter last weekend, and had a great day surrounded by friends and family.  Then we jumped right back into school, work, and our other daily commitments.  So far the highlight of this week was the Tuesday weather.  We got snow in town for the first time this winter.  My kids were so excited that we cancelled everything that afternoon to play in the snow.
 
All the snow was gone in time for our Wednesday night baseball game, but it was certainly chilly with a 7 pm start time!  Luckily I had hot coffee to keep my fingers warm, and this week we have a new coffee to share with you.  This is a micro-lot Colombian, from the south of Huila department.

This area is part of the Andes mountains, and this coffee is grown at elevation in volcanic soil.  The growers are Carlos Ramon Diaz and Sebastian Diaz.  That is the cool thing about a micro-lot: you're buying directly from the farmer who grows the coffee.  The Diaz' are able to mill their coffee themselves, which allows them to use great care in the processing of this washed bean.

This Colombia South Huila Albania is sweet in the cup, with tones of honey and more light citrus flavor as it cools.  It has a nice acidity.  I had my daughter try it (she loves coffee--yikes!), and she said it tasted like "spice."  While I wouldn't use that term, it does have an herbaceous quality to it.  By the way, Albania is the town in Huila closest to where the coffee is grown, and has nothing to do with the country in Europe.

--Holly F ike