Episodes
Saturday Oct 28, 2017
Episode 468 on Monday the 30th of October, 2017. Ethiopia Ana Sora Guji Natural
Saturday Oct 28, 2017
Saturday Oct 28, 2017
This is the second year of us having coffee from Ana Sora and has become something very beautiful. This coffee represents lots of time and energy working at the farmers gate in Ethiopia; not only that, but the coffee is the only private estate from which we have ever bought in Ethiopia. Add to these points the fact that it's one of the most unique coffees I have ever tasted, and you can understand why I’m excited.
This private farm is owned by Israel Degfa, a second generation coffee grower from Ethiopia. The farm covers 250 hectares, only 150 of which are currently producing coffee; however, it is estimated that the remaining 100 hectares will be in full coffee production by 2018.
Situated alongside the river Turo, the farm currently only produces natural process coffee. However, in future the farmers will take advantage of the water source and the planned increased production capacity to begin producing coffee processed by the "washed process" method. Israel plans to build a processing station on his land by 2018.
It's a brand new farm, only formed in 2013, and it's located at a whopping altitude of between 1,900 and 2,350 metres above sea level. It is unusual to find private farms of 250 hectares in Ethiopia, and even more unusual to find them at such high altitude. The high altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry, and gives more time for the plant to develop.
Coffee growing is popular in this area, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. Israel believes in helping these farmers through education in husbandry and also through financial assistance.
Cherries are hand-sorted for unripes and overripes before they go into floatation tanks, where the cherries are covered with water. Any cherries that float are removed. Whole, ripe cherries are then dried in the sunshine on raised African drying beds, which are laid out on hessian cloths for about 15–18 days depending on the weather conditions. The cherries are covered with plastic or shade nets during the midday heat and at night.
This is a unique coffee, certainly for its cup profile but also because of the cherries that contribute to the coffee.
In the cup expect an amazing Ethiopian natural that's so very similar to the Parma Violet sweets I loved as a child, while also being one of the cleanest naturals I’ve ever tasted. Blueberry juice! It's so floral that it's bigger than the biggest bouquet of violets I can imagine. This is a truly special and unique cup from a special and unique coffee bean.
- Country: Ethiopia
- Area: Guji zone
- Nearest town: Yirgacheffe
- Farm: Ana Sora
- Varietal: Indigenous wild varietals
- Processing: Natural
- Owner: Israel Defga
- Founding year: 2013
- Altitude: 1,900 – 2,350 m.a.s.l.
- Producer type: Estate
- Farm size: 250 hectares, of which 150 hectares are coffee.
Saturday Oct 21, 2017
Saturday Oct 21, 2017
I've been working with Alejandro since 2008 and in that time our relationship has gone from strictly professional to Ale being one of my closest friends. He became involved in coffee in 2008 as he had just relocated to El Salvador from New York where he'd been working as a city banker. With his first son on the way and the hustle and bustle of New York no place to bring up a family the draw of home and El Salvador was just far too strong to ignore.
While looking for work in El Salvador, Ale decided to help his father with some of his business interests and investments. His father had inherited several coffee farms from his grandfather and was unsure what to do with them, one of the investments pricked Ale’s intent and this was a farm called Finca Argentina. The reason it really got Ale's attention was that he saw the farm once yielded loads of coffee but was producing a fraction of its old productivity. His father gave him permission to see what could be done to make the farm successful again
Ale found out the farm had been classified for a Q auction back in 2005. Thinking there may be a specialty buyer out there he and his cousin (who lived in London) went about sending samples to coffee roasters anywhere they could. 1 of those samples arrived at Hasbean Towers just like a lot of other samples do, but unusually I liked the coffee and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since then Finca Argentina has gone from strength to strength but not without bumps in the road. In 2013 they suffered the worst harvest on record, with only 70 bags harvested due to a massive issue with leaf rust. But with investment and hard work they have also bought a neighbouring farm and the future is amazingly bright for Ale, his father, his family and Finca Argentina.
The farm is based in the Apaneca-Ilamtepec mountain range, and is near the town of Turin in the Ahuachapán department. Sixteen people work on the farm during the non-picking season, maintaining and tending to the plants. This number of workers goes up to 50 people during the picking period. The altitude of the farm is 1,300 m.a.s.l.
This coffee is a washed process Catimor which I know some of you might raise an eyebrow at as the Catimor varietal can be a little on the controversial side. Catimor is a cross between Timor coffee (resistant to leaf rust – a big problem at the moment in Central America) and Caturra coffee. It was created in Portugal of all places, in 1959.
Catimor grows and produces fruit very quickly and has a very high yield. It's pest resistant and leaf rust resistant, and it will grow well at much lower altitudes – better, in fact, in comparison to many other commercial varietals. Sounds perfect, but problems come in the cup quality. Timor has its feet in the Robusta species (hence all these lovely benefits), but Robusta is not known for being tasty.
Luckily for us, this is one of the finest examples I have seen of this varietal, and it came about because of Alejandro wanting to experiment and try different varietals on different parts of the farm. One of the experiments involved Catimor. It's only a very small lot but it's a great example of tasting a coffee with your taste buds and not with what you think it might taste like. This coffee made me change my opinion of this varietal.
In the cup it starts off as a typical El Salvadorian coffee...sweet milk chocolate, a balanced acidity that reminds me of white grape, and oh so smooth. But then it takes a right turn and develops a black pepper taste that I never find in a coffee from El Salvador, except right here in this delicious Catimor.
- Country: El Salvador
- District: Ahuachapán
- Municipality: Ahuachapán
- Nearest city: Turin
- Farm: Finca Argentina
- Owner: Alejandro Martinez
- Altitude: 1,300 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: Catimor
- Processing method: Washed
- Drying method: Patios
Saturday Oct 14, 2017
Episode 466 on Monday the 16th of October, 2017. Kenya Karogoto Washed AB
Saturday Oct 14, 2017
Saturday Oct 14, 2017
Quite close to Kieni near the town of Karatina in Nyeri is the Karogoto wet mill, it's owned by the Tekangu Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society which got its name from combining the names of their 3 mills: Tegu, Karogoto and Ngunguru. Much like Kieni it has seen success in recent years and has secured high prices for farmers delivering their coffee cherries there.
The mill is split in half by a road, with the sorting shed and fermentation tanks on the lower side and the drying beds on the upper slope of the hill. Both sides are pretty steep, with a great view of the valley and weaver birds making their homes in the trees around the mill.
The mill is managed by Ephraim Maina Muthee, who showed us around and with whom Steve planted a coffee plant on the slope just below the sorting shed.
In the cup this coffee is a classic Kenyan, but not in the blackcurrant way. This has heaps of clean red wine notes with cherry, and coffee blossom with a chocolate like sweetness and finishes with jasmine notes.
- Country: Kenya
- County: Nyeri
- Nearest town: Karatina
- Mill: Karagoto
- Owners: Tekangu Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society
- Contributing farmers: 1,700+
- Altitude: 1,700 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: SL28 & SL34
- Processing method: Washed
- Average rainfall: 1,500 mm
- Temperature range: 12-27°C
- Soil type: Well drained red volcanic soil rich in phosphorus
Saturday Oct 07, 2017
Saturday Oct 07, 2017
The Burka Coffee Estate is located on the outskirts of Arusha national park. It's on the leeward side of Mount Meru, which is just 80 kilometres west of Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest peak.
Selian was established in 1910 and was acquired by Burka in 1991 (thus the Burka/Selian in the coffee's name). The owners of the combined estate can now boast of growing coffee since 1899, which is when Burka was planted – rather impressive, don't you think?! The Selian estate covers 1,210 acres, of which 753 acres produce coffee.
The Burka and Selian estates have about 200 permanent staff as well as 200 daily causal staff; however, in the peak of the harvest season, there can be up to 5,000 staff involved in picking and processing. All permanent staff are provided with housing on the estates (in four different camps), and the minimum salary is set at 20% above the government minimum requirement. Staff have social security and labour union membership included in their contracts, and an estate credit union also offers loans and advice for education, health, and house construction.
Each estate has its own nursery which educates over 100 children, and two primary schools also cater for over 600 children, who come from the estate workers' families and the neighbouring communities. An on-site health centre with estate nurse and dispensary is available to meet the needs of all staff, and the estate has its own ambulance. It also has shops, sport facilities, churches, and a mosque.
Regular inter-estate and inter-camp football and netball matches occur, along with staff BBQs and other holiday celebrations. Workers are supplied with free firewood from stumped coffee trees, and fruit and nut trees are grown around the staff villages.
The harvest is carried out between the months of May to October through selective hand-picking of red ripe cherries, followed by further hand-sorting to remove any over- or under-ripe cherries. Cherries are then dried slowly on raised African beds for 12–14 days. The cherries are carefully maintained through consistent turning to ensure even drying and avoid over-fermentation. They are covered at night to protect them from excess rain and moisture.
Once the cherries have dried to the optimum moisture content, they are sent to Moshi for hulling, grading by bean size, and careful hand-picking. Finally, the coffee is bagged in GrainPro for export from the port and capital city of Dar Es Salaam.
In the cup this is a totally unique coffee. Expect bruised strawberries covered in rich dark chocolate and sprinkled in white sugar, with a boozy cherry aftertaste.
- Country: Tanzania
- Region: Arusha
- District: Arumeru
- Estate: Burka/Selian
- Estate size: 343 hectares
- Varietals: Kent, N39, Blue Mountain and Catimor
- Processing method: Natural
- Drying method: Raised African beds
- Drying time: 12–14 days
- Altitude: 1,350 m.a.s.l.
- Soil: Young alluvial, sandy to clay loam
- Average annual rainfall: 750 mm