A duo of coffees to introduce here for you.

Malawi Viphya Geisha

Grown in the Viphya North Hills on the grassland plateau overlooking Lake Malawi, this micro lot is of the Geisha vareital. Geisha is an ancient and very rare coffee variety that has gianed a lot of favour of late. The agronomic yield of Geisha is extremely low, which is why it is so difficult to find commercial plantations of this variety. One of the reasons for its new found popularity is an auction lot that fetched a huge premium, in fact it was the most expenisive coffee ever, which in some areas led to a huge rush to rip out perfectly good plant stock and replace it with a varietal that tends only to work at a higher altitude and in perfect growing conditions.

To find out more about Geisha read here or here but it is enough to say the varietal is very controversial.

This is from the same folks as the Msesse that we are stocking, but it originates from a larger co-op. It is still Geisha and still great cup, it is just a slightly larger lot. This has a similar profile to the Msesse, but with with very small differences.

In the cup there is a peach/lemon and summer fruit acidity just like its sibling, the Msesse, but maybe it is a little less defined here. Then you get a milky/silky smooth body and delicious finish. I think out of the two that we have stocked this will work much better in espresso becuase it’s a little less bright and not as in your face clean as the Msesse. Both are delicious, but for different reasons.

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Malawi Mzimba Geisha

Grown in the Viphya North Hills on the grassland plateau overlooking Lake Malawi, this micro lot is of the Geisha vareital. Geisha is an ancient and very rare coffee variety that has gianed a lot of favour of late. The agronomic yield of Geisha is extremely low, which is why it is so difficult to find commercial plantations of this variety. One of the reasons for its new found popularity is an auction lot that fetched a huge premium, in fact it was the most expenisive coffee ever, which in some areas led to a huge rush to rip out perfectly good plant stock and replace it with a varietal that tends only to work at a higher altitude and in perfect growing conditions.

To find out more about Geisha read here or here but it is enough to say the varietal is very controversial.

The good news about the Mzimba Geisha Micro Lot is that it has been growing in this location for a very long time at an altitude of 1600m above sea level upwards, and it’s great tasting.This coffee is so simular to the Mssese I have tried to find out more about why it is so close and if its a co op name change.

In the cup expect the super creamy mouthfeel and clarity that you would expect from a great washed African coffee. This is then backed up by a delicous tropical fruit that zaps your mouth with pineapple, apricot and all sorts of summer fruits. Great mouthfeel. Like last year these coffees have great flavours, add to this a great price. It’s just great coffee.

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I love this farm, and I love this coffee back for its second year with us.

Returning for its second year, this is one of our direct trade coffees from Brazil. This year I got to visit the farm, having only had enough time last year to meet the owner, Michel Freitas. This is an amazing place, so clean and organised, and so very professional.

The farm is located in the region of Piatã, which is in the state of Bahia, at an elevation of 1300 masl (meters above sea level), which is one of the highest spots in the whole of this award winning area. The farm has an annual production of around 250 bags (it would be more but Michel is very fastidious in his picking and selection). The varietal of this coffee is Catuai, as in fact is so much of the great coffee in the in the greater regional area of Chapada Diamantina where Piatã is situated. This comes as no surprise though as selecting the best varietal for the conditions found in an area is always a very good idea. Michael is constantly playing with experimental lots, and we have been lucky enough to get some of this, this year.

Michel is seen by his peers as a pioneer for quality He seems to know instinctively how he can get the very best out of the land in Bahia. In 2004, Michel won a BSCA (Brazil Speciality Coffee Association) award after finishing 5th and 14th in competitions. He was a 1st place winner in the ABIC (Associacao Brasileira das Industrias de Café) contest in 2006 with a Pulped Natural, and 1st place winner in 2007 with with a Natural lot. He is keen to learn and experiment with the coffees he has, and I think this quality comes through in the cup. He has also ventured into roasting coffee in order to further his learning and develop his skills. Michel is also an accomplished cupper, which is a skill every great farmer should posses.

In the cup expect loads of milk chocolate, with a silky textured body and and a mid-note of walnut oil, finishing with a dark high cocoa content chocolate. This is one heck of an espresso coffee, it has espresso coffee written all over it as a blender or as a stand alone single origin.

Owner:Michael FreitasFamily: Lives in farm with wife and 3 daughtersClosest City:PiatãEmployees:6 full time in addition to extended family member. Seasonal Employees:45 to 55 seasonal pickersVarietals on the Farm:Catuai, Topazio, Pacamara, Java, Catucai, Obatan, Acauan, Bourbon Varietals of this coffee:Topazio, CatuaiAltitude:Up to 1,300Processing: Washed, Natural, Pulped NaturalTotal Farm Area: 27 ha total area of which 9 ha are planted.
Owner: Michael Freitas

Family: Lives in farm with wife and 3 daughters

Closest City: Piatã

Employees: 6 full time in addition to extended family member.

Seasonal Employees: 45 to 55 seasonal pickers

Varietals on the Farm: Catuai, Topazio, Pacamara, Java, Catucai, Obatan, Acauan, Bourbon

Varietals of this coffee:Catuai

Altitude: Up to 1,300

Processing: Pulped Natural

Total Farm Area: 27 ha total area of which 9 ha are planted.

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This coffee comes from the highlands of northern Rwanda called Musasa. Only being a cooperative since 2003 when Musasa built its first washing station, it is now one of Rwanda’s largest cooperatives with some 2000 members (around 80% of whom are women) in Rwanda.

Musasa produces truly exceptional lots year after year. We put this down to a very special combination of ideal growing conditions; 100% red bourbon coffee trees and meticulous attention to detail by individual farmers, for whom every single bean counts. Musasa Cooperative (also known as the Dukundekawa Cooperative) was legally incorporated in 2002 and is located in Ruli sector, Rushashi district. The cooperative now has two pulping stations to process the deliveries of red cherries. Annual production is around 100-120 tonnes of green coffee.

The cooperative gives these 2000 or so tiny producers the chance to combine their harvests and so sell their coffee directly to the international market. This has drastically increased the quality of life for Musasa’s members, often more than doubling their income. Moreover, by operating in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner, the cooperative has ensured that future generations of Rwandans will be able to obtain a decent quality of life through the coffee industry.

Musasa is part of a network of cooperatives assisted by the US-sponsored PEARL program, which does invaluable work helping Rwanda’s small-scale coffee farmers to rebuild their production in the wake of the 1994 genocide and the 1990s world coffee crash.

In the early 1990s, coffee was Rwanda’s most lucrative export. The country exported 45,000 tons of coffee in 1990, helping to support millions of Rwanda’s small-scale farmers. Events in the 1990s, however, decimated Rwanda’s coffee industry. Most importantly, the 1994 genocide claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans, destroying Rwanda’s economy and erasing much of the specialised knowledge needed to export coffee profitably. Simultaneously, world coffee prices plummeted in the 1990s due to increased worldwide production and consolidation of purchasing by multinational corporations. The price of low-grade coffee has decreased by over 50% since 1990, bringing hardship to millions of coffee farmers in Rwanda and throughout the world. For Rwandans, however, the added burden of a genocide has made production of coffee especially difficult. The world price of low-grade coffee is now below the cost of production for millions of Rwandan farmers, and as a result, millions of coffee trees in Rwanda are not harvested. Rwanda currently produces less than half the amount of coffee it produced in 1990.

Rwanda’s climate, altitude, and high-quality bourbon-variety coffee trees give it the ability to produce high quality coffee for the specialty coffee market. PEARL’s coffee program is designed to rebuild Rwanda’s agricultural institutions, production capability, and human capital so that the country’s small farmers can sell their coffee directly to buyers in the specialty market and receive high prices for their product.

PEARL pursues this goal primarily by creating and supporting coffee cooperatives. Cooperatives allow Rwanda’s small growers combine their harvests into container-sized shipments, instead of tiny parcels produced by individual farms. This in turn enables them to sell coffee directly to foreign markets instead of to domestic markets or exporters. More importantly, if a cooperative can consistently produce container-sized quantities of high-quality coffee, its members can sell their beans in the specialty coffee market and receive appropriately high prices for their product.

By helping Rwandans form successful and profitable cooperatives, and by rebuilding Rwanda’s research capacity, PEARL’s coffee program will continue to increase the quality and quantity of coffee being exported from Rwanda for years to come. In so doing, PEARL will make a lasting impact on thousands of Rwandan small farmers.

In the cup expect lots of complex acidity, black fruit, think cherry and grape, deliciously lively. Lovely lovely brewed coffee, challenging but rewarding espresso.

Farm: Musasa Cooperative

Varietal: Red Bourbon

Processing: Fully Washed and dried on African beds

Owner: Musasa Cooperative

Region: Ruli sector, Rushashi District

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So keeping the introductions going here is Nicaragua Santa Maura Pacamara

Santa Maura is located in the northern-central part of Nicaragua, in the mountainous area where the Dariense and Isabelia mountain ranges meet. The average altitude on the farm is 1,150m with average annual rainfall of 1,800mm over the months of May to January. Temperatures vary between 10oC to 28oC, depending on the season. Santa Maura is set within the ‘Reserva Natural Datanlí-El Diabolo’ nature reserve and covers an area of 630 hectares of which 280 hectares are planted under coffee. The farm cultivates 4 varietals of Maracatú, Caturra, Borbón, Catuaí as well as Maracatú that we have stocked in the past.

The family has managed the farm for over 80 years now and Santa Maura employs between 250 and 1,100 people, depending on the season. The highest number is during harvest. The farm provides the workers with schooling for the children and medical services for their families. Aside from the social security which is required by law, electricity, water, food and lodging are also provided. Santa Maura also runs a baseball team for the children in the neighbourhood on one condition – that they have kept up to date with their school attendance! The farm and the people living on it are very concerned about the environment and an area equal to the entire coffee producing land is also preserved as virgin forest. The forest, its fauna and flora are protected and continuously studied by the Environmental Science Department of the Central American University (UCA), which has an experimental station at the very heart of the farm.

In addition, the farm also produces its own energy from an environmentally-friendly hydraulic turbine, thus avoiding the pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels. Much of the fertiliser used to nourish the coffee plants is produced by a worm farm where discarded coffee pulp is broken down over a period of several weeks before being returned to the land. The parchment from the dry milling of the coffee is also recycled and is used to provide fuel for the ovens in the main kitchen.

The proud motto of the farm is “Taste the fruits of our labours”.

In the cup, I get lots of amazing pineapple, like big time, along with summer fruits and a big dollop of cream on the end makes it into a delicious cup of brewed coffee. A little bright for my taste buds in espresso, but does cut through milk for capas and lattes, and as I found out a delicious macchiato. It just needs a little milk in espresso to calm it down.

Farm: Finca Santa Maura

Varietal: Maracatú

Processing: Fully Washed and Sun Dried on patio

Altitude: 1,150 metres

Owner: Jorge Armando Chávez

Region: Jinotega

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I’ve never been a fan of Peru coffee, I am not sure why and it’s been a vast generalisation, but I am pleased to say, this coffee has changed my mind.

This coffee is grown by 127 smallholder farmers in the fertile valleys of La Convención and Quebrada, near the town of Cusco in Peru’s southern highlands. It is the area’s main legal crop, and as such plays an important role as the most profitable alternative to growing coca, the plant used to produce cocaine, which is frequently grown (illegally in Peru) in the same areas as coffee.

These small farms are located at between 1,200 to 1,900 metres above sea level in the steep Andean valleys in the region around Cusco. Most are traditional family run operations, which have been passed on from generation to generation of farmers. All are fully organic certified and their coffee is grown in the shade of native trees – including Pacaes, Pisonay, Yanay, Incaty, Sumbaillo, Achihua, Chalanqui, Motoy, Toroc, Lúcumas, Pashacos and Paltas trees. These provide important habitat for many indigenous bird and animal species, such as parrots, humming birds and armadillos.

The harvest runs from March until August. All of the family usually take part – around five people -plus around another five temporary workers. The coffee is fully washed by each producer in the traditional manner – the bad or unripe cherries are separated by immersion in water (the ripe cherries sink), then the cherries are de-pulped and fermented for between 12 and 18 hours to remove the mucilage. The waste water from this process is filtered to avoid contaminating the surrounding land. The coffee is then dried in the sun on concrete patios until it reaches 12% humidity.

I have to tell you a secret. I don’t normally like a lot of the Peru lots I’ve tasted. When I see organic Peru I shudder in the corner, and in fear. Peru produces a lot of average coffee, but this coffee shows why it is so important to cup blind and without prejudice. On a blind table. But this coffee shows why it is so important. In the cup expect floral, expect super juicy with black tea notes with a delicious orange zest, and sweet sugary after-taste. I love this coffee, and I am so pleased to have found it.

Farm: 127 smallholder farmers

Varietal: Bourbon Caturra Catimor Catuaí Típica

Processing: Fully Washed and dried on patio

Altitude: 1,200 to 1,900 metres above sea level

Owner: 127 smallholder farmers

City: Cusco

Region: Yanatile, Calca and La Convención

With the passing of the Sumatra Aceh Tengah Organic, we were searching for a new Sumatra. So with the new crop Raja Batak hitting, the timing could not be better. Here it is.

Raja Batak is a semi-washed (hand pulped) Arabica coffee produced in North Sumatra, west of Lake Toba at a height of 1000 – 1600 metres above sea level. The coffee is only available in limited quantities and until now has only been exported to specialty roasters in Japan and the United States. It’s great that we now see it as a regular feature in Europe.

Raja Batak means ‘King of Batak’. The Batak are a number of in-between related ethnic groups in Northern Sumatra with a language of their own. The most common known group within the Batak are the Toba Batak. The Batak most probably left the Philippines and Borneo for the highlands of North Sumatra approximately three to four thousand years ago. According to Toba legend, Si Raja Batak, the mythical ancestor of all Batak, came down on the Central Mountain west of Lake Toba a long, long time ago and decided to settle there due to the beauty of the area. According to scientists Lake Toba arose more than 70 thousand years ago as a result of a mega volcanic eruption which clouded the earth for many years. The lake itself measures 100 km in length, 31 km in width and has a depth of more than 450 metres. The area is most suitable for the production of a high quality of coffee due to its height, climate, and soil fertility.

But enough about the geography and history, I hear you yell – what about this coffee in the cup! Well, it is a typical Lingtong with a heavy body, syrupy flavour, spiciness and tones of dark chocolate. What is unusual is its clean taste; earthy with a finesse and an elegance that is very pleasing. It has body with grace. We are very pleased to be able to offer you this fine coffee.

you can buy it here