Episodes
Saturday Apr 28, 2018
Episode 494 on Monday the 30th of April, 2018. Burundi Kibingo Washed Bourbon
Saturday Apr 28, 2018
Saturday Apr 28, 2018
The Kibingo central washing station is located in the commune of Kayanza in northern Burundi. The station itself lies at 1,893 meters above sea level. The altitude of the farms in the neighbouring hills that supply the washing station vary from 1,700 to 1,900 meters above sea level. Kibingo services 3,553 registered coffee growers, spread over 18 hills in the area. In 2016, all these producers together had 1,010,062 coffee trees! That’s 284 trees on average per producer.
The washing station is equipped with 10 fermentation tanks, 2 soaking tanks and a drying field with 165 drying tables and 4 pre-drying tables. Kibingo can process 750,000 kg of cherry per day.
At cherry intake, a picking team sorts the cherries on maturity. This is essential for a fine processing, resulting in fewer damaged beans. The cherry skins are mechanically removed during pulping. Next, the sticky parchment will dry ferment for 12 hours. When fermentation is complete, the parchment goes down the washing and grading channel. Finally, the top quality coffee soaks for an additional 24 hours to remove any remaining mucilage before going to the pre-drying tables. Here, the second team of pickers checks the wet parchment to take out defect beans. After a couple of hours, the parchment is moved to the drying tables. Depending on the weather conditions, it will reach 12% moisture content in about two weeks.
Kibingo CWS has 3,553 registered farmer members, spread over 18 collines or hills in Kayanza province. All producers registered at the washing station are organized in groups of 30 people, headed by a farm leader. This leader acts as a spokesman to facilitate communication and organization with the washing station.
In Burundi, wet mills can reach farmers in a range of 3km. If the washing station is located too far away, producers will sell to middlemen, often at a disadvantage. To prevent this, Kibingo and other washing stations have collection centres - these centres allow them to reach farmers at up to 9 kilometres distance from the wet mill. This is a huge benefit for a producer who then doesn’t have to travel far with a heavy load of cherries. At the same time, shorter distances help to preserve the quality of the coffee too.
At the washing station, farmers can obtain organic fertilizer from reconverted coffee pulp. To promote farm renovation, producers can get low-cost, subsidized coffee seedlings at the washing station. Each station has its own nursery for this purpose.
Kayanza has one of the best coffee growing reputations in Burundi. Coffee farms lie in the highlands, where soils are rich and volcanic. But optimal growing conditions alone aren’t enough to produce a high-quality coffee. To achieve the best coffee, a skilled and dedicated washing station manager is essential. They oversee the implementation of good economic practice and farmer education and collaborate with the producers to ensure they have access to the necessary tools. They also help farmers determine and implement the practices best suited to the specific growing conditions of their plantations.
Next to improving quality and productivity, the company that manage the washing station Greenco strives to improve socio-economic and environmental conditions around the washing stations. All of their washing stations have UTZ and 4C certification. One of their focus points is building an efficient supply chain around the CWS. Greenco is buying 93% of its cherries directly from farmers via collection centres. This way, they improve farm-gate price to the producers.
Another socio-economic challenge Greenco addresses is Burundi’s high rate of youth unemployment. The national youth unemployment rate is almost 50%. At Greenco, young graduates receive a decent salary and benefits (house, motorbike, healthcare) as well as real career prospects.
Adding to the training on farming practices, Greenco organises training for farmer groups on various social aspects. Coffee families learn about gender equality, financial planning, family planning, breastfeeding, and many other things too.
On an environmental side, Greenco has equipped all washing stations with water treatment facilities and solar panels and batteries. The solar panels provide energy for computers, lighting and smartphones.
In the cup expect lime cordial sweetened with brown sugar that gets a jasmine floral edge as it starts to cool. Add to this dark chocolate and blackcurrant on the finish and you have yourself a really delicious cup.
- Country: Burundi
- Province: Kayanza
- Commune: Kayanza
- Nearest town: Kinga
- Washing station: Kibingo
- Washing station altitude: 1,839 m.a.s.l.
- Coffee growing altitude: 1,600-1,900 m.a.s.l.
- Producers: 3,553
- Varietal: Bourbon
- Processing method: Washed
CUPPING NOTES
Lime cordial, brown sugar, jasmine, floral, dark chocolate, blackcurrant.
Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5
Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5
Acidity: (1–8): 7
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6
Flavour: (1–8): 6.5
Aftertaste: (1–8): 6.5
Balance: (1–8): 6.5
Overall: (1–8): 6.5
Correction: (+36): +36
Total: (max. 100): 88
Roasting Information
Medium – get through first crack and into the gap, but then drop this before you reach second crack.
"Quick Look" Guide
Lime cordial, brown sugar, jasmine, floral, dark chocolate, blackcurrant.
Saturday Apr 21, 2018
Saturday Apr 21, 2018
Carmela Aduviri has been growing coffee for 40 years, whilst raising 8 children, but is always eager to learn ways she can improve her yield. She now has a small 2 Hectare farm called Carmelita and our exporting friends in Bolivia Agricafe’s message to her was that she could stay small, focusing on getting the best results from what she had, rather than having to rush to buy more land.
That means, of course, that she doesn’t produce huge amounts – but what she produces is delicious.
This lot comes from the first ever Sol De Mañana project that was held in Caranarvi September 2017. We (and in we I mean myself and Joanna Alm from Drop Coffee, Sweden) cupped coffees from the producers on the program (while being watched by them, high pressure). We were the only judges and we had to rank the coffees from one to ten. The winner got some fertiliser for their farm, and the opportunity to sell their coffee to Both Drop Coffee and Hasbean at a premium price.
The cupping was exceptional (in fact we bought some other lots too), but the decision on the winner was unanimous, and was both our favourite on the table. There was a celebration football game afterwards, where Joanna and her team of female producers, kicked our butt’s and ran out victorious. You might think that Carmelita won twice that day, but you are the real winners, getting this unique and amazing lot that is the result of the hard work of Carmelita and the exporters who run the Sol De Mañana project. New plant tissue, education and access to organic fertilisers and advice how to apply them has lead to this amazing special cup of Bolivian coffee.
There's only enough of this coffee to send out to you lucky subscribers so this is an In My Mug exclusive coffee, you can't buy it on the website, it's all gone out to you lovely lot!
In the cup you’re going to peel open a soft and squishy nectarine then sprinkle some brown sugar on top, but then it quickly turns to being all about a big bite (not a nibble) of Fry’s Turkish Delight.
- Country: Bolivia
- Region: Caranavi
- City: Colonia Copacabana
- Farm: Carmelita
- Farmer: Carmela Aduviri
- Altitude: 1,550 m.a.s.l.
- Variety: Caturra & Catuai
- Processing system: Mechanically Washed
Saturday Apr 14, 2018
Episode 492 on Monday the 16th of April, 2018. Bolivia David Vilca
Saturday Apr 14, 2018
Saturday Apr 14, 2018
This is a big, big Bolivian favourite here at Hasbean. I am so pleased to see this coffee back for an amazing SEVENTH year! It’s a big favourite for me, and I know this is also true for many of you too.
The farm is located in Illimani in the Los Yungas region of Bolivia, near to the city of Caranavi. The farm didn't originally actually have a proper name and so it has been named after the gentleman that runs it, David Vilca. This is quite common in Bolivia: farms are often named after an individual or the family running them.
David migrated from La Paz to the farm sixteen years ago, after a career in mining left him with damaged hearing. He bought a twelve hectare farm as security for himself and his family, to make sure that they could support themselves. When he took over, he only had one acre planted with coffee (it was of the Criolla varietal). After two years, David was comfortable with coffee farming. He was becoming increasingly interested in it, and so he decided to extend the coffee plantation. He now has five acres of coffee (and we have bought the coffee from all five acres). He has very little outside help with the farm, except from direct family; his wife helps him greatly.
The varietals on the farm are Typica, Caturra, Catuai and a very small amount of Criolla. The farm is under constant improvement - David removed much of the Criolla that was growing so he could put more focus on the Typica, Caturra and Catuai, for cup quality reasons. This coffee is a mixture of all the varietals on the farm, excluding Criolla.
I have a really good relationship with David, and you might remember that three years ago we did something a little different with the coffee's price. I've visited David a couple of times now and when I was there I thought he was being rude to me by ignoring me, or not responding when I spoke to him. Last time I visited, though, I found out that David's hearing had become damaged whilst he was working as a miner before he made the move into coffee.
In the past the exporter had given David some money to get hearing aids, but he spent the money on satellite TV (for his wife – who hasn’t been in that situation!). So 3 years ago we paid for two hearing aids while we were there, so that he could hear properly again and enjoy my smooth and soothing Cannock accent #yamyam ;) yamyamyam
We thought that would be the last of it. But when I next visited, David didn’t have his hearing aids in. He told us that they were not good while he was picking what to wear, but also that he couldn’t afford the batteries. So we left him with cash for a microphone hearing-device for around his neck, and $200 for batteries. This worked out at 7p per bag for all the coffee we buy from him, and I didn't pick up the tab – you lovely people did! So a big THANK YOU from me, and also, of course, from David!
http://www.hasblog.co.uk/the-cost-of-hearing
David's farm is between 1,550 and 1,700 metres above sea level. This is a mechanically washed coffee that underwent full wet fermentation for 16 hours before being dried on raised beds and in a stationary dryer.
In the cup you can expect to taste what it’d be like if a Milky Way chocolate bar was walking down the street and bumped into a bunch of overripe white grapes. There’s also a subtle orange like acidity that’s been walking closely behind them too.
- Country: Bolivia
- Region: Illimani
- Farmer: David Vilca
- Altitude: 1,550–1,700 m.a.s.l.
- Varietals: Typica, Caturra & Catuai
- Ripe cherry colour: Red & yellow
- Processing method: Washed
- Washing method: Mechanical
- Fermentation: Full wet
- Fermentation time: 16 hours
- Drying method: Raised beds + stationary dryer
- Other farm products: Citrus fruits, yuca, banana.
CUPPING NOTES
Milky Way, white grape, orange.
Clean cup: (1–8): 6
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6.5
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5
Flavour: (1–8): 6.5
Aftertaste: (1–8): 7
Balance: (1–8): 6.5
Overall: (1–8): 7
Correction:(+36): +36
Total (max. 100): 89
Roasting Information
Medium dark - take this just up to the first pops of second crack and then drop the roast.
"Quick Look" Guide
Milky Way, white grape, orange.
Saturday Apr 07, 2018
Saturday Apr 07, 2018
This farm and its coffee sparked a massive change in what I thought I knew about coffee. I remember the first time I ever cupped this coffee: time stood still as the cup opened my mind to what great coffee is and can be. Gabriel, the farmer, continues to produce great coffee year on year. We have access to the best of the crop this year – and have had for the last few years – on a European exclusive. This is due to the special relationship we, and our importers, enjoy with Gabriel.
Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890 and is located in the São Paolo state, just three miles from the border with the Minas Gerais state. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Mogiana and Sul de Minas regions, and it's located at an altitude of 1,100–1,250 metres above sea level.
Gabriel de Carvalho Dias is one of Brazil’s leading agronomists. His family owns several farms, and they border each other in this area. With a total area of 417 hectares, Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has a coffee plantation area of 165 hectares. Everything is done manually on this farm since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanisation. The mill is located close to the spa town of Poços de Caldas, which is 45 minutes away from the farm.
The Carvalho Dias family consider social and environmental sustainability to be very important. The farm has a programme of planting native species of trees to maintain a better ecological balance. There is also a school, a club and an official-size soccer field for the employees and workers. There are 47 houses, all with modern facilities. The wastewater is treated in order to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm. The farm has a small hydroelectric plant and only buys energy during the peak harvest. Some of the original Bourbon varietal trees are as much as 108 years old.
The beans are harvested on a sheet and prepared by the ‘pulped natural’ process, which separates the greens. The beans receive the maximum possible attention after harvest so that they don't lose any of the body and cup qualities for which this region is famed.
This comes from the rare Canario varietal, which is a Bourbon mutation that originated in Brazil. You can find out more about it here, but what you will notice in the cup is that it adds complexity and acidity compared to Bourbon.
In the cup this reminds me of Scottish shortbread, with a nibble of peach and a macadamia nut finish. Classic Brazilian coffee.
- Country: Brazil
- State: São Paulo
- Municipality: São Sebastião da Grama
- Farm: Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama
- Processing: Pulped Natural
- Varietal: Canario
- Altitude: 1,100–1,250 m.a.s.l.
- Owner: Lidolpho de Carvalho Dias and family
CUPPING NOTES
Scottish shortbread, peach, macadamia nut.
Clean cup: (1–8): 6
Sweetness: (1–8): 7
Acidity: (1–8): 6.5
Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5
Flavour: (1–8): 7
Aftertaste: (1–8)6.5:
Balance: (1–8): 6.5
Overall: (1–8): 7
Correction (+36): +36
Total (max. 100): 89
Roasting Information
Medium dark – aim to finish the roast just before second crack gets going.
"Quick Look" Guide
Scottish shortbread, peach, macadamia nut.