COFFEES

DECAF - RWANDA - 100% Arabica - NEWLY ARRIVED

DECAF - RWANDA 100% Arabica - CO2 Process - NEWLY ARRIVED

Decaffeination processes using carbon dioxide (CO2) differ in their details. All take advantage of the fact that carbon dioxide, when compressed, behaves partly like a gas and partly like a liquid, and has the property of combining selectively with caffeine. In the most widely used CO2 process the steamed beans are bathed in the compressed carbon dioxide and the caffeine is removed from the carbon dioxide through charcoal filtering, just as it is in the water-only process. However, the flavor components remain in the bean throughout the process, rather than being soaked out and then put back in again, as they are in both the Swiss Water and the indirect solvent processes.

Since carbon dioxide is the same ubiquitous and undisputably "natural" substance that plants absorb and humans produce, and since, in most versions of the CO2 method, the flavor components remain safely in the bean throughout the process rather than being removed and put back in again as they are in the Swiss Water process, carbon dioxide methods would seem to be the decaffeinating wave of the future

BRAZIL - Cachoeira - Single Estate - 100% Arabica

Burundi is a country that continues to face immense social and political difficulties. Mpanga is one of the few privately owned washing stations working hard to improve the transparency of the product and provide good working conditions for farmers.

The flavour profile from the Kayanza region in Burundi is similar in a lot of ways to the southern Rwandan coffees like Huye Mountain. In fact Huye Mountain is only about 60miles from the Kayanya village as the crow flies. However, we tend to find Kayanza coffees are more delicate in character and present farm more floral notes of jasmine, rose and orange blossom.

Mpanga:

Mpanga is both the name of the farm and of the central washing station located in Kayanza Province, Northern Burundi. Both are managed by Jean-Clement Birabereye - a 15-year coffee veteran, who oversaw the construction of the washing station back in 2008. The station processes coffee from approximately 3,400 smallholder farmers, who cultivate coffee on the hillsides that surround Kayanza, at elevations of up to 1,950 masl.

To service these producers properly, Jean-Clement has ensured that the station is well-equipped to process volumes of specialty coffee and benefits from 450 drying beds and a McKinnon 6-disc pulping machine.

Mpanga processes roughly 1,500 tonnes of coffee per season, with each producer lot separated and named according to the hillside upon which the coffee was grown. Under Jean-Clement's guidance, Mpanga has achieved incredible results at the Burundi Cup of Excellence, finishing 1st and 3rd in the 2014 competition. As a result of the hard work and diligence Jean-Clement has implemented, Mpanga has become highly regarded for its consistently clean and complex coffees. It's due to these cup qualities, alongside his focus and belief in motivating farmers' meticulous harvesting and agricultural practices, that we have decided to work exclusively with Jean-Clement and Mpanga to source all of our 2017 Burundi coffees this season.

SEGEC:

SEGEC are doing their best to mitigate the risk farmers face with fluctuating world coffee prices. They pay an initial fee for delivered cherry with bonuses based on cup quality once the coffee has been sorted and cupped. The lower quality coffees will be blended together and sold commercially with the top performing lots kept separate as microlots. Once the sale is completed with the end buyer SEGEC pay premium to the producers that is a percentage of the premium SEGEC receive. SEGEC also invest heavily in farmer training to ensure the pickers and farm owners bring only the ripest cherries to the station. The bonus payment works to ensure the trainings are adhered to as they can amount to a significant portion a producer’s yearly income.

Cup Profile: Green apple, chocolate, good intensity, gentle spice

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa, is a country traumatized by decades of civil conflict. It is estimated that over 5 million people have lost their lives since 2000, with millions more displaced. The wealth of the country and the root of the conflict lies in its vast mineral deposits.

The development of the country has been held back by political instability, lack of infrastructure, deep-rooted corruption and a history of exploitation from both its colonial past and in more recent times, commercial exploitation in pursuit of its mineral wealth.

As with its neighbours, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda – coffee has come to represent a significant opportunity for economic regeneration and social impact.

Situated on the Equator, the DRC receives up to 2000mm of rainfall annually. This, combined with volcanic soils and high elevation, create the perfect conditions for cultivating coffee, especially on the hills and mountains surrounding Lake Kivu, in the East of the country.

In the 1970’s the DRC was one of the leading exporters of coffee in the world. Today, production stands at 10% of what it once was. Until recently, instability and poor infrastructure have limited farmer’s access to market. Until recently, farmers would have little option but to sell coffee to middle men, who would transport parchment across Lake Kivu in small boats at night into neighbouring Rwanda or Burundi. Many men have lost their lives on this perilous journey, drowning from capsized boats and bad weather.

Creating market access for Congo’s smallholders is key to ensuring the flow of revenue back to the country. Increased income for farmers will mean greater investment in improving yields and quality, helping to drive prices to more sustainable levels.

The coffee in this region is organic as there is no use of pesticides or artificial fertilisers on the trees.*  

In 2014 the CO-OP produced 50,000kg in 2015 and this increased to 60,000kg with a further improvement expected this year. At the Latumba Station there has also been the installation of an Eco-pulper to help deliver and produce fully washed coffees. Once the coffee has been collected and delivered to the station it is de-pulped and then undergoes an initial wet fermentation for 12-18 hours before being flowed through channels where the coffee is separated according to density. The coffee then undergoes another soaking period of 12 hours before being dried on raised African beds for 12-16 days depending on the weather. The coffee is then transported to the Coffelac dry mill in Goma where it is rested and milled. The long journey of 20 days can then begin from East Central Africa out to the Mombasa for shipment. This information really highlights the many steps involved to get the green bean from such countries, before it even gets to the port for shipping.

El Salvador - El Borbollon - 100% Red Bourbon

Half-Caff - 100% Arabica - Half the Caffeine