Tasting Notes
This coffee was produced by Rebeca Gomez, and husband Jesus Munoz, on her property La Albania in the municipality of El Tambo, in the Cauca state of Southern Colombia. From a family of coffee growers, Rebeca has run the 2.5 hectare farm for over twenty years, and is a founding member of the local AMACA women's cooperative, who were early adopters of specialty coffee production.
Rebeca works diligently at La Albania to make sure her coffees stand out, her meticulous approach to processing ensuring she delivers coffees that are clean and transparent. The rich, volcanic soils of the region, coupled with cool overnight temperatures, result in dense beans notable for their sweetness and complexity.
This coffee was hand picked by Rebeca and her family, before being pulped and placed in a fermentation tank where it was fermented for up to 48 hours (depending on weather conditions), before being washed with water from a nearby stream. The coffee was then carefully dried for between ten and eighteen days on raised beds covered by a parabolic roof, which have adjustable walls to help with airflow and temperature control.
The La Albania is intensely sweet and full bodied with a winey acidity, and notes of blackcurrants and blood orange.
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What We Taste: Blackcurrant, red wine and blood orange
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Details:
Region: La Independencia, El Tambo, Cauca
Varietal: Castillo & Colombia
Processing: Washed
Altitude: 1750 - 1950 MASL
This lot was grown and processed by eight independent farmers, each with farms of around one hectare, located around the town of Aponte in north-western Narino. The eight farmers are Mauro Rivera, Jhon Janamejoy, Omar Mavisoy, Mauro Granda, Wilian Adarme, Wilson Janamejoy, Carmelina Gomez and Victor Janamejoy.
The farms around Aponte are some of the highest in elevation in Colombia, and they have become pioneers in developing farming and processing techniques to successfully produce coffee in such unique conditions. Aponte is home to the Inga people and is within an indigenous reserve independent from the Colombian government. In Inga society there is no such thing as private land ownership and the farms are instead owned by the community at large, with community leaders having the final say on how land can be cultivated.
Aponte is extremely remote and hard to reach, located deep inside a canyon and surrounded by steep, rugged mountains. The town experiences a cool climate and high winds year-round, and sits upon rich volcanic soil. It's unique micro climate has helped contribute to the success of honey processed coffees in the area. Its warm tropical days and cool nights allow for slow maturation and development of the coffee cherry, giving more time for concentrated sugars to develop, resulting in uniquely very sweet and complex cup profiles.
For the honey process, coffees were first hand picked, before being pulped at a micro wet mill located on each farm. The coffee was then left on raised drying beds with the mucilage still intact, a look that resembles sticky honey and the origin of the name for the process. Leaving this sticky mucilage in pace ensures fermentation occurs while the coffee dries. Thanks to Aponte's cool, windy climate and high elevations, coffee tends to dry more quickly and evenly than in lower elevations, which can result in more consistency in the coffees produced, and encourages the development of cleaner, more complex flavours.
This coffee from the small producers of Aponte is super sweet, clean and well balanced and with a silky finish texture. Flavour notes include apricot, peach and marzipan, with a delightfully floral aftertaste.
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What We Taste: Apricot, peach and marzipan
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Details:
Region: Aponte, Tablon de Gomez, Narino
Varietal: Caturra & Colombia
Processing: Honey
Altitude: 2100 MASL
This Produced by various small hold farmers, this natural Rwandan coffee was processed at the Mwito Central Washing Station, which has been owned by the Rwanda Trading Company (RTC) since 2017. RTC was established in 2009 with the goal of fostering positive social change by providing economic to small hold farmers via transparent supply chains. Today RTC is responsible for processing and exporting 25% of Rwanda's coffee production.
The Mwito washing station lies in a particularly remote and challenging location, near the breathtaking scenery of Lake Kivu. Travel to Mwito is the most time consuming of all the RTC washing stations for this reason. RTC also farms a herd of cows at the station, providing organic fertiliser and milk to a kindergarten established by RTC to school the children of local coffee farmers. The school is currenlty 150 students.
This Rwanda Mwito natural is delightfully sweet bright, clean and juicy cup of raspberry, pineapple and caramel with a pleasing lemon and lime acidity.
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What We Taste: Raspberry, pineapple and caramel
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Details:
Region: West Nyamasheke
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Processing: Natural
Altitude: 1350 MASL
This is not your average decaffeinated coffee. Producer Wilton Benitez has become one of the world's leaders in coffee production, including innovative farming and processing methods. This includes the use of terraced gardens, drip irrigation, and laboratory tested shade and nutrition calculations. Finca Paraiso-92 even has its own microbiology laboratory, quality laboratory and processing plant.
The processes applied to the different coffees at Finca Paraiso-92 start from a strict selection, sterilization and characterization of the cherry, before moving to the first phase of controlled anaerobic fermentation which lasts for 36 hours. Specific microorganisms are added for each process, then the coffee is pulped and subjected to a second fermentation phase, this time in an anaerobic environment using cane sugar juices, which is how the caffeine content is removed while still preserving the coffees vibrant flavours. When this second phase ends, a process of thermo shock is carried out via alternating hot and cold water to improve the organoleptic conditions of the coffee.
All of this effort results in a coffee that stands out in its own right, with the added benefit of being caffeine free so you can enjoy it at anytime. We love its clean, silky body with a complex profile of strawberries, mandarine, peaches and floral rose notes.
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What We Taste: Strawberry, mandarine, peach and rose
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Details:
Region: Piendamo, Cauca
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Processing: Anaerobic Natural / Sugar Cane
Altitude: 1900 MASL
The Vinhal family farm in the Cerrado Mineiro region of Brazil has been producing superior coffees since 1988, with a focus on sustainable operating practises, respect for their people and their environment. The awards they have won are numerous, including with innovative processing methods. They currently have seventeen different ways of processing their coffees!
This coffee from Vinhal has undergone their double fermentation washed method of processing. After the cherry is picked it undergoes its first fermentation, a 48 hour dry aerobic ferment. Next is a 'thermal shock' process where the coffee is washed with alternating hot and cold water. Then depulped, it undergoes its second round of fermentation, this time a 179 hour dry anaerobic ferment within water. Once all of this is completed the coffee can then be dried slowly on raised coffee beds for another 21 days.
Rafael has a habit of naming his lot's based on their characteristics, and named this lot 'cocada', after the sweet coconut dessert that is popular in Brazil. This is a unique and distinct coffee, a super sweet and creamy mix of toasted coconut, pina colada, cinnamon and chocolate.
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What We Taste: Coconut, Pina Colada, Cinnamon & Chocolate
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Details:
Region: Cerrado Mineiro
Varietal: Red Catuai
Processing: Double Fermented Washed
Altitude: 980 MASL
Hula Girl is our customised blend for filter coffee, comprised of one washed process and one natural process coffee. Seasonally selected, the two coffees will vary over time but the taste will always be on point. Hula Girl is easy to drink and enjoy, like a long summers day.
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What We Taste: Stone fruits, chocolate & nuts
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Components:
Brazil Mantiqueira (Carmo de Minas) natural process
Kenya PB fully washed process
The OG Solitude Coffee blend, sweet, full bodied and smooth, it pairs beautifully with dairy or alternate milks. Wake Up Call has a subtly fruity and buttery flavour, gentle acidity and a lingering creamy finish.
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What We Taste: Toffee, chocolate, hazelnut, lychee & raspberry
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Components:
Brazil Mantiqueira Carmo de Minas natural process
India Tiger Mountain A Special fully washed process
Papua New Guinea Tungei A Selection Peaberry fully washed process
Dead Set is just dead set delicious. Think spiced blackcurrants, a gentle grapefruit like acidity, lingering cacao with a coating almond butter finish.
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What We Taste: Spiced blackcurrant, grapefruit, cacao, & almond butter
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Components:
Papua New Guinea Tungei A Selection Peaberry fully washed process
Kenya PB fully washed process