Haiti · southeast
Thiotte, in Haiti's southeastern mountains, grows Haitian Blue: old Typica under dense shade, sweet with dark chocolate and soft acidity, Jamaican in style.
Thiotte, in Haiti’s southeastern mountains, produces what is marketed as Haitian Blue — old Typica grown under dense shade at 1,200 to 1,800 meters (3,900 to 5,900 ft).
Sweet and mellow: dark chocolate, brown sugar, soft acidity, full body. Comparable to Jamaican Blue Mountain in style, from the same Typica lineage.
Haiti’s coffee industry collapsed over the twentieth century, and one accidental consequence is that farms were never replanted with modern high-yield varieties. Much of what grows in Thiotte is old Typica of a kind that has largely disappeared from Latin America.
Those trees yield poorly and cup beautifully.
Haitian coffee grows under heavy shade in a country that has otherwise lost most of its tree cover. The coffee groves are among the few remaining forested areas, which gives them an environmental significance beyond the crop.
Political instability, poor infrastructure and the 2010 earthquake have all disrupted production and export. Availability in the US is sporadic and volumes are tiny.
Old Typica, heavy shade, and a producer community that benefits directly. It is one of the more consequential purchases available in specialty coffee.
Filter or immersion at medium roast.
The equipment this actually requires — not a shopping list, the shortest route to doing it properly.
60° cone · spiral ribs · 1–4 cups
The most transparent cup you can brew for twenty dollars, and the least forgiving. Ceramic holds heat where plastic does not — and the open bottom means your pour, not the dripper, decides the coffee.
Best for: Someone who wants to taste what a single-origin coffee is actually doing.
64 mm (2.52 in) flat burr · filter only · single dose
64 mm (2.52 in) flat burrs, near-zero retention and a footprint the size of a mug, built for filter and honest about not doing espresso. For pour-over it is the clearest grind you can buy at this price.
Best for: V60, Chemex, AeroPress and batch brewing, where clarity is the whole point.
0.9 L · ±1 °C (±1.8 °F) hold · counterbalanced gooseneck
The best-pouring kettle sold, and the hold function matters more than the thermometer. Expensive for boiling water — but if you brew pour-over daily, it is the accessory that most improves the cup.
Best for: Daily pour-over, where flow rate is the variable you are trying to control.
