When you come from a country as big as the United States of America, you might share one passport 333.3 million others but it’s quite likely that your culture will differ greatly from the next person. America is an incredible melting pot that people from all walks of life and backgrounds call home and yet, its sheer territorial expanse also means that it encompasses many peoples and tribes who were there long before Europeans colonised its lands.

Hawaii, the island group state that is located in the Pacific ocean has a very distinct culture given it was an independent kingdom until 1893 when the last king was overthrown and it was annexed by the USA but it was only awarded statehood in 1959 making it the 50th state.

We associate Hawaii as much with its warm people as with its wild nature. Brothers Daniel and Bryan Charlson who founded Dark Horse Coffee Roasters in San Diego in 2013 are originally from Hawaii and brought their island state’s unique culture into their business. For them, it’s all about community and bringing people together through coffee.

Since its founding in 2013, Dark Horse has become somewhat of a local champion in San Diego, the Californian city that borders Tijuana in Mexico. It operates a total of eight cafés in an around San Diego including San Diego International Airport and one on Hawaii.

I first came across Dark Horse after posting something online about Uncommon and Bryan commenting that Uncommon was his favourite roaster in Amsterdam. We quickly struck up a conversation and before long we were talking about working together. Bryan was so enthousiastic about this partnership that he even agreed to jump in at short notice when another global roaster dropped out unexpectedly due to a customs issue.

So, here we are. With Dark Horse, we’re introducing you to yet another great American roastery and one that is doing some really special things in coffee. They have many direct trade relationships through which they source some exceptional coffees from Latin America primarily. One such relationship is with Elkin Guzman who produced the insanely delicious hydro honey Orange Bourbon coffee that we are showcasing in this month’s Global roasters box.

In case you’re curious as to what the hydro honey process means, well, this is one of Elkin’s very own inventions. He is quite the prodigy when it comes to coffee producing and processing. His family has been in the coffee business for more than 7o years and during the last decade, Elkin’s been experimenting and perfecting his techniques. The hydro honey is basically the combination of two traditional methods. First, the cherries are dried and processed as a traditional natural and then the cherries are rehydrated and processed all over again with a traditional honey process. The result? Boy oh boy. A FRUIT EXPLOSION that you must not miss!

To receive this excellent coffee along with its companion in the Global roasters selection, visit order our Global roasters one-off box to or order the Total Package with all European roasters and our two Global roasters.

Pre-orders close on 15.05.2024 / Ships globally on 20.05.2024