The Future - Summer Slush

The Future has been a beloved staple on our year-round menu for quite awhile now. With it, we have been able to showcase excellence in processing techniques, particularly in regards to anaerobic and co-fermentation endeavors. Our goal with each of these unique blends is to elevate flavor as the guiding principle for each creation.

HOW WE GOT HERE | When it comes to flavor, we're well known for being pretty nostalgic around here. And there's a good reason for that: our memories are tightly woven into our senses, with taste and smell being the chief sensory gatekeepers of our past. With this release, we celebrate yet another gas station relic of our youth: the often messy, infinitely slurpable slushee. Whether yours was red or blue, carbonated or still, fruit-flavored or soda-adjacent—everyone had a favorite and made it their own.

As a concept, the slushee wasn’t exactly an intentional concoction. In 1958, Omar Knedlik – the owner of a local Dairy Queen in Kansas – began storing sodas in his freezer after the restaurant’s soda machine went kaput. The sodas thawed to a slush when taken out of the freezer and sold to patrons, and soon Omar realized that people actually seemed to prefer them that way! By 1962, he had secured a patent and a logo for what became the original ICEE machine. And in 1965, he sold three of those machines to the company that might’ve provided you your very first slushee-slurping experience: 7-Eleven.

As part of the licensing deal with ICEE, 7-Eleven agreed to name their slush product the Slurpee. This triggered a now very long list of alternate names for the drink: ICEE, Slurpee, slush, slushy, slushie, and slushee… just to name a few. Whatever you came to call this gas station darling, we hope you’ll at least agree that we can all call it one thing: DELICIOUS.

HOW WE DID IT | Recreating this beverage as a coffee offering came with its fair share of challenges. The result needed to be intense and fruity, but also crushable and sweet. To accomplish this, we began with a natural lot from Ethiopia, which really grounds the flavor profile of the blend. Next, we added equal parts of a naturally processed coffee from Costa Rica and a Dragonfruit co-fermented coffee from Colombia, both of which contribute plenty of red-painted flavors. Jhonatan Gasca’s proprietary Pacamara lot blends processing methods exceptionally well, and we knew it had a home here. Finally, Jairo Arcila’s loud Lychee co-ferment adds a little more life to the party: 

35% Mulugeta Muntasha - Natural (Arbegona, Ethiopia)

20% Lica Torres - Black Cherry (Rivas, Brunca, Costa Rica)

20% Jairo Arcila - Dragonfruit (Armenia, Quindio, Colombia)

18% Jhonatan Gasca - Pacamara (Bruselas, Huila, Colombia)

7% Jairo Arcila - Lychee (Armenia, Quindio, Colombia)

HOW IT TASTES | Consider this coffee an ode to the gas station slushee of your dreams! It’s intense like blue raspberry, red as a cherry popsicle, resembles the citrus profile of lemon Italian ice, and somehow remains as crushable as a bag of peach rings (another favorite gas station pick-me-up, we might add). It’s certainly intense but surprisingly crushable—and definitely ready for all things summer. 

Countries of Origin | Ethiopia, Costa Rica, & Columbia

Producers | Mulugeta Muntasha, Lica Torres, Jairo Arcila, & Jhonatan Gasca

Process | Mixed

Variety | Mixed

The Future - Summer Slush, crafted by Black & White Coffee Roasters, represents a collaborative effort featuring producers Mulugeta Muntasha from Ethiopia, Lica Torres and Jairo Arcila from Costa Rica, and Jhonatan Gasca from Colombia. This blend utilizes a mixed variety and mixed processing approach, showcasing the diverse techniques employed across these distinct coffee-growing regions. To better understand how these varied processing methods influence the final cup, it is helpful to consider how different drying and fermentation styles can highlight specific acidity or sweetness profiles.

The resulting profile for this lot is characterized by vibrant, nostalgic notes of blue raspberry, cherry popsicle, lemon Italian ice, and peach rings. When evaluating such distinct, fruit-forward characteristics, enthusiasts often refer to the flavor wheel to identify and categorize the complex sensory experiences found in modern, experimental blends. This coffee serves as a compelling example of how global collaboration and technical precision can produce a uniquely expressive and playful drinking experience.