Mostra Coffee
Curator’s note
Two of the founders were volunteering on a house build in the Philippines in 2009 when they decided the lasting fix was a fair price for the crop those farmers already grew, which turned out to be coffee. Two Philippine microlots, Legacy and Heritage, still sit on the retail list, a longer memory than most origin stories keep.
Ube and espresso in a latte, topped with caramelized sweetness.
The coffee
Filter at this bar is a daily batch and nothing else, with no pour-over or Chemex line on the board, and the cold brew is the only drink on it that names an origin: Brazil, slow dripped. Espresso runs off a 3-group Mavam, on beans the company roasts itself at a roastery that runs tours but pours nothing.
- Philippines Legacy Microlot
- Dark
- Wet, honey, and natural processed
Dark Fudge · Candied Walnuts · Warm Spice Finish
- Ghost Bear Espresso Blend
- Medium
- Pulped Natural, Washed/Wet
Dark Chocolate · Stone Fruit · Caramelized Sugar
- Colombia Providencia de Geshua
- Light
- Caturra
- 24-hour oxidation, 36-hour fermentation, dried on raised beds about 15 days
- Fabian Acevedo family farm, Providencia de Geshua
Orange Soda · Pink Lady · Manuka Honey
- Vietnam Lotus
- Medium
- Washed
Dark Chocolate · Date · Baking Spice · Butterscotch
- Mexico Women Power Zongolica
- Medium
- Hand-cranked de-pulped, washed, dried on patios for 15 days
- Twenty women farmers, Zongolica
Shortbread · Guava · Milkyway
- Mama Bear
- Medium-dark
Dark Chocolate Truffle · Buttermilk Pancakes · Raspberry Mimosa
- Philippines Heritage Microlot
- Medium-dark
- Dry fermented 24 hours, then wet fermented 24 hours, dried 4-6 weeks
Chocolate · Baking Spice · Nutty Finish
The room
James Malone led the buildout toward classic French, dark stone and copper set deliberately against the English wood and concrete of the Carmel Mountain Ranch store, with mermaid-scale tile on the floor and gold lettering on the door. The bar came in lower than standard on purpose, with nothing parked on top of it: a counter you talk across instead of one you order over.
The vibe
Photos
People
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