This year marks the fifth edition of our Midnight Harvest special release, and we couldn't be more excited to share this extraordinary barrel-aged coffee with you once again.
If you've never encountered barrel-aged coffee before, you're in for a treat. This isn't your standard morning brew – it's something unlike anything else on our offer list.
What Exactly Is Barrel-Aged Coffee?
Barrel-aged coffee involves resting green coffee beans in wooden barrels that have previously held spirits like whisky, bourbon, or rum. The beans spend anywhere from a few days to several weeks nestled inside the barrels, absorbing the residual flavours and aromas left behind by the spirits.
After their time in the barrel, the beans are removed and roasted, locking in the barrels flavour alongside the coffee's natural flavour profile. The result is a coffee that's complex, layered, and completely unique.
The Story Behind Midnight Harvest
This all started in 2020 when the good folks at Donzoko Brewing Company approached us with an intriguing proposition. To barrel-age some of our coffee in a bourbon barrel, then use it to brew beer.
We were captivated by the possibility. Coffee and beer already share so much common ground in terms of craft, precision, and flavour development, so why not push those boundaries even further?
That collaboration gave birth to Midnight Harvest, and each year since, this coffee has continued to be immensely popular. It's become something of a cult favourite – like nothing else on our offer list.
This Year’s Release
For this year's Midnight Harvest, we've selected coffee from cooperative farmers in the Carmo Da Cachoeira region of Brazil. This area lies at a relatively low altitude by coffee standards – between 900 and 1,100 metres above sea level.
Coffee grown at lower altitudes, like our Brazilian selection, tends to be less dense and more porous, allowing the beans to more readily absorb the character and flavours from the cask.
We rested the beans in a Speyside whisky hogshead cask for two weeks. During this period, our Head of Coffee, Jamiel, rolled the cask around our warehouse every other day to agitate the mixture and ensure even exposure to the barrel's interior. It's hands-on, labour-intensive work, but essential to achieve the desired outcome.
What to Expect From Midnight Harvest?
Midnight Harvest is wonderfully rich and complex. You get all the chocolatey, nutty goodness you'd expect from a quality Brazilian coffee. But then comes the smooth, oaky finish reminiscent of single malt whisky.
This may not be the ideal morning coffee, but we think Midnight Harvest truly shines as an after-dinner brew, paired with dessert or enjoyed on its own. That said, if you want it as your morning coffee, we won't stop you. There are no rules here.
Midnight Harvest is available to order now, but only while stocks last. Once it's gone, it's gone until next year.
If you've never tried barrel-aged coffee before, now is the time.