Episodes
Sunday Jul 30, 2017
Episode 455 on Monday the 31st of July, 2017. Kenya Kieni Washed AA
Sunday Jul 30, 2017
Sunday Jul 30, 2017
The Kieni wet mill is located in Nyeri in the central highlands of Kenya, at an altitude of 1,700 metres above sea level. It's run by the Mugaga Farmers' Cooperative Society.
Nyeri county has cool temperatures and fertile central highlands; it lies between the eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) mountain range, which forms part of the eastern end of the Great Rift valley and the western slopes of Mt. Kenya. Nyeri town (county headquarters) acts as a destination for those visiting Aberdare National Park and Mt. Kenya. It is in Nyeri county, at the Treetops hotel, (a rustic treehouse hotel) where the young Elizabeth went upstairs a princess and came down in the morning as Queen of England. Her father, King George VI, died on 5 February 1952, the night she spent at Treetops while on honeymoon.
Most of the coffee beans from Nyeri develop and mature slowly, producing extra hard beans. This quality is also evident in the cup. As a result, Nyeri is traditionally known as the heart of Kenya’s black gold coffee.
The coffee is mainly grown on the slopes and the upper plateau where most of the farmers' homes are located. The farms are demarcated into small family plots where each individual family looks after their own coffee.
The mill has recently installed an electronic weighing system, that not only weighs the farmer's cherries when they deliver them - it also prints out a receipt for them, including a running total of how much they have delivered so far.
Kieni is one of a number of mills owned by the Mugaga Farmers' Cooperative, and currently has around 1,000 members, although this constantly varies and not all members will always deliver their cherry to Kieni.
This coffee is wet processed. It's pulped, fermented (soaked for 8-16 hours (with fresh water at 8 hours) and then fermented for 8 - 16 hours) before being washed and then dried slowly over 2–3 weeks, while the moisture content is reduced to 10–12%. Random interesting fact, the depulper at Kieni can manage up to 5,000kg per hour.
In the cup this has a totally tropical taste of Lilt (regional reference there for you) in both its sweetness and acidity. It also has an effervescence to add to this descriptor. In the aftertaste it turns a little more orangey (Tango) with a delicate caramel hint.
- Country: Kenya
- County: Nyeri
- Mill: Kieni
- Society: Mugaga Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited
- Farmers: 905
- Acreage farmed: 202 acres
- Altitude: 1,700 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: SL28
- Coffee grade: AA
- Flowering period: March
- Harvest season: October–December
- Average annual rainfall: 1,680mm
- Average annual temperature: 12–27°C
- Soil type: red volcanic soils that are rich in phosphorus, and which are drained well
- Processing method: Wet processing (Washed)
- Drying process: Dry, milling after the parchment has dried
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
We had very little information about this farm when we first found it in 2013 – so little information that the coffee didn’t even have a name! Back then all we knew was that the coffee was grown by Carlos Arrieta and it was delicious, but since then I've been lucky enough to visit the farm on trips to Costa Rica and, over the past few years, have found out lots more. Let me tell you what I know so far ...
I first got to meet Carlos at the exporter's office on the last day of my visit to Costa Rica in 2013. He arrived around ten minutes after I had cupped the first table of coffees, where I had found one lot that was making me sing. It just had to be his coffee.
Here ensued the worst negotiation to ever take place in the history of coffee buying ...
"How much do you want?" I asked.
He replies, "How much do you like it?"
"A lot,” I say.
"I'd like a lot then, please," Carlos says.
"OK ... "
Luckily at this point a grown-up from the exporter's office stepped in and made sure I didn't give Carlos my house, car and pension plan. We agreed a price that rewarded Carlos with more than he had ever got before and left me with a home to return to in Stafford.
Back in 2015 last I got to spend some time with Carlos and his family. I stopped for some lunch, hung out and asked lots of questions. First of all there's the mill, which is called Arbar and is very close to the house. It has drying tables and a small nursery, but it didn't have a deplulper (more about this later). The mill was brand new, and before it existed they would just sell their coffee to the local coop and so have no interaction with the coffee.
Then from chatting to Carlos I found out that he actually owns two small farms; one of them was El Oasis, which provided the coffee we bought back in 2013. The farm is located in the Western Valley region near to the town of Lourdes de Naranjo, and is 1,600 metres above sea level. It grows mostly Caturra and a tiny bit of Villa Sarchi, with plans to plant some small micro lots in the future. The farm produces between 700–1,400 KG of coffee a year.
Carlos runs the farm with his wife and children, Maria Isabel, Yesica, Karen, Stephen and Jose Ignacio. He has owned this farm for sixteen years but only started processing the coffee himself in 2014 (while still paying someone else to pulp it for him). He hadn't been able to present his coffee to a single buyer previously, so he would send it to the exporter we use in Costa Rica and, thankfully, that's how we found him!
You may remember that a few years ago the coffee was priced a little differently; our normal, nicely rounded-down price was not there. The coffee should have been sold for £7.50 (we negotiated a small price drop from the previous year because we bought everything from both farms, and this worked out that there were some economies of scale compared to the £10.00 of 2013), but we charged £7.88. Well, this was so that we (by “we” I mean “you”) could buy Carlos and his family a depulper for his next harvest. This meant he didn’t have to pay someone else to pulp his coffee, and he could gain more control of his amazing coffee.
I lent the money to Carlos, because I promised you would pay it back (and you did!). You can go and see what your generosity bought at the blog post here.
Last year one of my roasting team, Roland (of 'Roland's Daft Fact' fame), travelled to Costa Rica to be on the jury for their Cup of Excellence competition. If you ever wondered what a coffee roaster from the UK would get up to if let loose in Costa Rica, you should have a read about his trip in Roland Glew's Costa Rican Adventure.
In the cup it's like someone has slipped in a big glug of 5 Alive Tropical Hit fruit juice! This coffee is all peaches, pineapples and oranges, with a really complex but delicious fruit sweetness.
- Country: Costa Rica
- Region: Western Valley
- City: Lourdes de Naranjo
- Farm: El Oasis
- Farmer: Carlos Arrieta
- Micro mill: ARBAR
- Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: Caturra
- Processing system: Yellow Honey
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Episode 453 on Monday the 17th of July, 2017. Bolivia Bebeto Mamani
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
Sunday Jul 16, 2017
The name of this coffee producer may sound a little familiar. Bebeto (Beto for short) is the son of the legend that is Teodocio Mamani. Teodocio owns Finca Canton Uyunense, which is a farm we have worked with since 2012.
His farm is located in 18 de mayo, which is a municipality of Caranavi (and part of Canton Uyunense). Lots of farms can be called a variation on these names because the land traditionally tends not to have a name.
This year is the second year that Bebeto has grown his own coffee under his own guardianship, and it's the first year that he has processed it himself (dad letting go). Just like last year, the results are amazing!
This coffee is a mixture of red and yellow Typica, Caturra and Catuai. Bebeto used a depulper that removes the cherry, then left the coffee to go through a dry fermentation process for 16–18 hours, and then ran it through the scrubber section of the pulper to remove the final remains of the mucilage. Bebeto then transferred the coffee to raised African beds, where it dried in around 7–9 days.
The picking method Bebeto uses is called 'Ayne', just like his dad uses on Canton Uyunense. This method involves selective picking (not stripping the tree like their neighbours), and demands much more labour and incurs much higher costs. But because of this Bebeto gets more coffee he can sell as specialty, and the cup profile is improving year after year.
In the cup there's green apple and malted milk biscuit with a hint of gooseberry, and a whole load of caramel on the finish.
- Country: Bolivia
- Department: La Paz
- Region: Yungas
- Province: Caranavi
- Municipality: 18 de mayo
- Farm: Bebeto Mamani
- Owner: Bebeto Mamani
- Varietals: Typica, Caturra and Catuai
- Ripe cherry colour: Red and Yellow
- Altitude: 1,500–1,700 m.a.s.l.
- Processing: Washed
- Fermentation: 16–18 hours
- Drying method: Raised beds
- Other crops grown: citrus, papaya, banana, wild forest
Sunday Jul 09, 2017
Sunday Jul 09, 2017
The region of Bulega has around 3,000 people living in the surrounding area. The area is so lush and green with super high altitudes going up to nearly 2,200 metres above sea level, surrounded by small holders and unique protected forest area
So why is this coffee called Mokanissa Bulega?
Bulega Is the name of the washing station, and the larger region where it is (if you want to get complicated Nenesbo, micro region).
Mokanissa because the washing station belongs to the sister company of Kerchensa, the company that Israel Defga (of Ana Sora fame from last year) owns, and he also privately owns the mill, unsurprisingly he's a popular fella in these parts! Israel built the washing station just over three years ago, before this the farmers delivered to the Sidamo area which is over 100km away! But now 2,000 committed farmers are delivering cherry to Bulega.
The Bulega washing station works for five months in the year and only processes washed coffee. compared to most washing stations that work for around 10 months of the year.
In the cup this is a classic Ethiopian, with black tea notes and lovely bright lemon peel. What makes this coffee extra special are its other components of cherry blossom, bright acidity and its finish of pomegranate. A very special washed Ethiopian coffee.
- Country: Ethiopia
- Region: Bulega
- Zone: Bulja
- Area: Nenesbo
- Washing station: Bulega
- Owner: Israel Defga
- Owning company: Mokanissa
- Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals
- Processing method: Washed
- Fermentation: 24-36 hours
- Fermentation time: 36 Hours
- Drying method: African beds
- Drying time: 9-14 days
- Altitude: 1,800 masl to 2,300 masl
CUPPING NOTES
Black tea, lemon peel, cherry blossom, pomegranate.
Clean cup: (1–8): 7.5
Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5
Acidity: (1–8): 7
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
Flavour: (1–8): 7
Aftertaste: (1–8): 7
Balance: (1–8): 6
Overall: (1–8): 7
Correction:(+36): +36
Total: (max. 100): 90
Monday Jul 03, 2017
Episode 451 on Monday the 3rd of July, 2017. Bolivia Pañuni Family
Monday Jul 03, 2017
Monday Jul 03, 2017
This coffee comes from the family of a producer we know from previous years, Estanislao Pañuni. Whereas Estanislao is in charge of the main lot of coffee, this coffee is his family's project (but Estanislao does look after the processing for them).
The coffee's grown at an altitude of between 1,800 and 1,850 metres above sea level near the town of Irupana in the Sud Yungas province of Bolivia, and it's a mechanically washed and dry fermented mixture of Typica, Caturra and Catuai.
Estanislao is young, enthusiastic and a self-confessed coffee lover. (Just like me!) He started out in coffee with the job of controlling the fermentation process at the Coaraca Cooperative in Bolivia, and it was there that he really developed his skills as a coffee producer. Two years ago he decided he wanted to help his father, so he moved away from his day job to take on a role producing coffee with his dad. This coffee is the product of all that hard work, learning and family love.
In the cup this coffee is very sweet. I want you to think of a big bag of pic n' mix sweets that have been sprinkled with white sugar. That sweetness sits alongside a gentle citrus acidity in a very clean and silky cup.
- Country: Bolivia
- Department: La Paz
- Region: Yungas
- Province: Caranavi
- Town: Irupana town
- Producer: The Pañuni Family
- Altitude: 1,550–1,800 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: Typica, Caturra and Catuai
- Ripe cherry colour: Red and Yellow
- Processing method: Washed
- Washing: Mechanical
- Fermentation: Yes, dry
- Fermentation time: 16–18 hours
- Drying method: Raised African beds
- Coordinates: 16°27′58″S / 67°27′17″O
CUPPING NOTES
Pic n' mix sweets, white sugar, citrus, clean, silky.
Clean cup: (1–8): 7
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6.5
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5
Flavour: (1–8): 6
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6
Balance: (1–8): 6.5
Overall: (1–8): 7
Correction:(+36): +36
Total (max. 100): 88.5