Luke 24
Monteblanco Geisha FW
COUNTRY: Colombia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca Monteblanco
VARIETAL: Geisha
PROCESSING: Fully washed
ALTITUDE: 1,730 meters above sea level
OWNER: Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia
SUB REGION: Acevedo
REGION: Huila
FARM SIZE: 14 hectares
HARVEST MONTHS: Year-round, depending on the region
FLAVOUR NOTES: Lemongrass, lime leaves, orange blossom, jasmine, white peach, coriander seed, grape juice
ABOUT THE COFFEE
This fully washed lot from Finca Monteblanco encloses the refined qualities of Geisha variety, featuring delicate floral hints of orange blossom and jasmine.
Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia is a third-generation coffee farmer at Finca Monteblanco. His grandfather began cultivating coffee here several decades ago and today, Rodrigo works to preserve the natural diversity and productivity of the farm.
PROCESS and HARVEST
Rodrigo chose Geisha for this lot due to its outstanding cup quality, which is meticulously preserved throughout the entire process, from harvest to final production.
Cherry is selectively handpicked and processed on the farm. Once picked, cherry is floated and visually sorted to remove any underripes or damaged cherry. Only the best cherry is pulped and fermented. Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and laid on parabolic beds to dry. Parchment is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes about 20 to 25 days for parchment to dry.
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CULTIVATION
Finca Monteblanco is located near Cueva de los Guacharos, one of the 59 protected parks in Colombia. The Suaza river also runs nearby and provides fresh water for cultivation and processing.
Rodrigo cultivates Caturra, Geisha, Pink Bourbon and Pacamara varieties on Finca Monteblanco. The high altitude and superb microclimate of Acevedo, Huila creates the ideal conditions for cultivating specialty coffees.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Although coffee production in Colombia did not become a large commercial industry until the 19th century, it is likely that coffee was introduced to Colombia about a century earlier by Jesuit priests.
Once commercial production started, it spread quickly. The first commercial coffee plantations were established in the northeast, near the border with Venezuela. Today, coffee is widespread and grown commercially in 20 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
Historically, Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing region has been the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’. This region includes the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. With a combined total area of 13,873 km² (5356 mi²), the region covers about 1.2% of the Colombian territory and composes 15% of the total land planted under coffee in the country. The region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
While the Eje Cafetero is still a coffee-producing powerhouse, coffee production in Colombia now extends far beyond this zone. In recent years, the departments of Huila, Tolima, Cauca and Nariño have become sought after and well-known coffee-growing regions. Today, they are the largest producers of coffee in Colombia by volume.
Today, there are an estimated 540,000 coffee producers in the country; around 95% of these are smallholder farmers with landholdings that are under 5 hectares. These farmers collectively contribute around 16% of the country’s annual agricultural GDP.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 23
Campo Hermoso Raspberry
COUNTRY: Colombia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Campo Hermoso
VARIETAL: Yellow Bourbon
PROCESSING: Infusion fermentation (Raspberries added during fermentation)
ALTITUDE: 1.590 m.a.s.l.
OWNER: Edwin Noreña
FARM SIZE: 15 Hectares
FLAVOUR NOTES: Raspberry candy, orange peel, milky oolong tea, cardamom, white grapefruit
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Campo Hermoso is a Family heritage, from Don-Enrique Noreña. Edwin his youngest son (Santuario Partner in Colombia), inherited the passion for coffee growing. Six years ago, Santuario Project and Campo Hermoso joint forces to develop innovative coffee processes to enhance flavors on each of the origins that Santuario Project has Farms. A new Research & Development center was built in Armenia(2023) , to reserch new techniques to process coffees. Santuario and Campo hermoso, have a receiving station in San Adolfo Huila with 28 farmers involved on the Santuario Program, a new Farm in Argelia Valle del Cauca was recently planted with Sudan Rume and Exotic Varietals.
PROCESS
Cherries are harvested above 24 degrees brix (a measure of their sugar content) and floated before undergoing an initial Carbonic Maceration (fermentation under CO2 pressure) of 72 hours in must (juice/pulp) from both coffee cherries and fresh raspberries. after the initial fermentation, the coffee is depulped leaving 50% of mucilage, before undergoing a secondary fermentation with more coffee must for 32 hours. after this the coffee is sun-dried on african beds for 24 days, until humidity reaches 10.5%. The result is a coffee with well-integrated notes of fresh raspberry and red fruits that add to the compexity of the underlying coffee, without dominating the flavor profile too heavily.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Although coffee production in Colombia did not become a large commercial industry until the 19th century, it is likely that coffee was introduced to Colombia about a century earlier by Jesuit priests.
Once commercial production started, it spread quickly. The first commercial coffee plantations were established in the northeast, near the border with Venezuela. Today, coffee is widespread and grown commercially in 20 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
Historically, Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing region has been the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’. This region includes the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. With a combined total area of 13,873 km² (5356 mi²), the region covers about 1.2% of the Colombian territory and composes 15% of the total land planted under coffee in the country. The region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
While the Eje Cafetero is still a coffee-producing powerhouse, coffee production in Colombia now extends far beyond this zone. In recent years, the departments of Huila, Tolima, Cauca and Nariño have become sought after and well-known coffee-growing regions. Today, they are the largest producers of coffee in Colombia by volume.
Today, there are an estimated 540,000 coffee producers in the country; around 95% of these are smallholder farmers with landholdings that are under 5 hectares. These farmers collectively contribute around 16% of the country’s annual agricultural GDP.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 22
Kabingara AA
COUNTRY: Kenya
FARM/COOP/STATION: Kabingara Factory
VARIETAL: Batian, Ruiru 11, SL28, SL34
PROCESSING: Fully washed
ALTITUDE:1,750 meters above sea level
OWNER: 800 farmers working with Kabingara Factory
SUBREGION/TOWN: Kamwana
REGION: Kirinyaga
FARM SIZE: 250 to 350 trees on average
FLAVOUR NOTES: Bright redcurrant, red cherry, gooseberry, hints of cereal, buttery aroma
ABOUT THIS COFFEE
Farmers cultivate small coffee farms of approximately 250 to 350 trees at altitudes of 1,600 to 1,800+ meters above sea level and deliver their cherry to Kabingara factory. The high altitudes provide the warm days and cool nights that help nurture sweet, dense cherry. The washing station is owned and operated by Karithathi Farmers’ Cooperative Society (FCS).
Kenyan coffees are classified by size. AA beans are the largest size. AA grade coffees are those that are 17/18 screen size, meaning that they are larger than 7.2 millimeters.
CULTIVATION
Farmers delivering to Karithathi washing station cultivate primarily SL28, SL34, Batian and Ruiru 11 in small coffee gardens that are, on average, smaller than 1 hectare. ‘SL’ varieties are cultivars originally released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) in the 1930s and 1940s. They soon became the go-to trees for many growers in Kenya due to their deep root structure, which allows them to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation. They are cultivated with a serious eye towards sustainability and Good Agricultural Practices, with minimal environmental impact where possible.
Batian is a relatively new variety introduced by the Kenya Coffee Research Institute (CRI) in 2010. Batian is named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya and is resistant to both CBD and CLR. The variety has the added benefit of early maturity – cropping after only two years. Similar to Batian, Ruiru 11 is a new variety known for its disease resistance and high yields. It also starts yielding fruit after just 2 years.
Farmers receive technical agronomic support from Sucafina Kenya. They also receive soil sampling from Kahawa Bora. The soil sampling program addresses a key step in farmer profitability. Lower input costs mean lower overall production costs and higher profits. More targeted input application also translates into healthier trees and higher quality cherry.
Prior to Kahawa Bora’s soil sampling program, farmers had little access to soil analysis methods. Fertilizer, when applied, would be formulated according to a generalized recipe rather than one uniquely suited to the farm’s exact needs. Now, with better access to information through technology and agronomical assistance, farmers can apply the right fertilizer recipe at the right time, improving yields and cherry quality.
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HARVEST
Smallholders selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and deliver it to Kabingara Factory. At intake, the Cherry Clerk oversees meticulous visual sorting and floating and accepts only dense, ripe cherry.
After intake, cherry is pulped and fermented. Following fermentation, coffee is washed in clean water and laid to dry on raised beds. Workers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. They cover drying parchment during the hottest time of day, to maintain slow, even drying and at night, to shelter parchment from moisture. It takes an average of 7 to 14 days for parchment to dry.
COFFEE IN KENYA
Despite sharing over 865 kilometers of border with Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, coffee had to circumnavigate the world before it set roots in Kenya. While the earliest credible reports place coffee in Ethiopia around 850 C.E., coffee was not first planted in Kenya until 1893 when French missionaries planted trees in Bura in the Taita Hills.
Under the rule of the British Empire coffee production geared for export expanded. Large, privately owned coffee growing estates were established and most harvests went to England in parchment, where it was sold to roasters prior to milling. Roasters often blended the bright flavors of Kenya with more chocolatey South American coffees.
Though large estates grew in hectarage and value, indigenous Kenyans did not benefit. In fact, European settlers took direct action to exclude indigenous people from growing coffee themselves.
In order to decrease competition, make labor accessible and inexpensive and continue the increase of demand for high-quality coffee, the Coffee Board was created to make regulations on coffee production and marketing. The Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) (which continues to this day) was established in Nairobi to leave more of the value of green coffee at origin.
The Coffee Board tightly controlled licensing for coffee growing and processing. While the laws put in place did not explicitly state that indigenous people could not grow coffee, large estate owners made it functionally impossible for indigenous farmers to attain coffee growing licenses until the 1950s.
These laws protected the interests of the large landowners. Not only could more cultivation drive down the price of Kenyan coffee, but large farmers feared that if smallholder and indigenous farmers had their own coffee farms to tend, they would not work as paid laborers on settlers’ farms.
Kenya’s coffee system has been centered on a weekly auction since before independence. The Coffee Board of Kenya (now the Coffee Directorate) was established in 1933. By the following year, a government-run auction system had been established. The auction also created a pricing system that is designed to reward better quality with better prices.
Today, the auctions are widely recognized as the most-transparent mechanism for the price-discovery of fine green coffees and is considered one of the finest auction systems in the world. It even served as an inspiration for the Cup of Excellence auctions.
New legislations in 2006 and 2018 provided additional opportunities for farmers to sell their coffee. While before 2006, the auction system was mandatory, the 2006 legislation, created a “second window” made it possible for coffee growers to sell directly to international buyers.
SL-28 and SL-34 are well-known Kenyan coffee varieties. They were bred by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL). SAL was founded in 1903 by the Kenyan Colonial government to function as a research institution studying agricultural products.
SL-28 and SL-34 quickly became the varieties of choice for most growers. Their deep root structures helped them acquire water in the dry environments present throughout much of Kenyan, even without irrigation. These varieties also had higher yields than the traditional French Bourbon rootstock and were considered somewhat more disease resistant.
Though both SL varieties spread across Kenya extremely quickly, the release of Ruiru-11 in 1985 by the Kenya Coffee Research Institute (CRI) brought a new kid to the block. Many farmers planted the new Ruiru-11 variety because it was far more resistant to Coffee Berry Disease (CBD), a fungal disease attacking ripening coffee cherry, and Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR), a fungal disease that targets the leaves of coffee trees. It could also be planted at a higher density than the SL varieties, allowing farmers to maximize yields on small plots of land.
One downside to Ruiru-11 was that its shallower root structure made is more susceptible to drought and required more fertilizer. Farmers found that that by grafting Ruiru-11 to SL variety trees, they could have the best of both worlds. Trees where Ruiru-11 was grafted onto an SL variety plant had deeper root structures for drought-times (thanks to the SL variety) and higher immunity to disease and larger yields (thanks to the Ruiru-11).
Other farmers are experimenting with Batian, as well, a relatively new variety introduced by Coffee Research Institute (CRI) in 2010. Batian is named after the highest peak on Mt. Kenya and is resistant to both CBD and CLR. The variety has the added benefit of early maturity and begins bearing fruit after only two years. Some challenges (such as vegetative structure) have prevented it from becoming widespread so far, but its popularity is certainly growing.
While most farms in Kenya still have the traditional SL varieties, most also have Ruiru-11 and, increasingly, Batian. Most farms are far too small to be able to handle lot separation by variety. This means that most lots coming out of Kenya—whether single estate or smallholder group—are a blend of SL, Ruiru-11 and (sometimes) Batian.
Today, more than 600,000 smallholders farming fewer than 5 acres compose 99% of the coffee farming population of Kenya. Their farms cover more than 75% of total coffee growing land and produce nearly 70% of the country’s coffee. These farmers are organized into hundreds of Farmer Cooperative Societies (FCS), all of which operate at least one factory. The remainder of annual production is grown and processed by small, medium and large land estates. Most of the larger estates have their own washing stations.
Most Kenyan coffees are fully washed and dried on raised beds. The country still upholds its reputation for high quality and attention to detail at its many washing stations. The best factories employ stringent sorting practices at cherry intake, and many of them have had the same management staff in place for years.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 21
DYADE COFFEE
Dyade coffee is a small coffee roastery in Montpellier, France.
Run by World Brewers Cup finalist Simen Andersen, Dyade is all about relations.
We believe the world is made of relations (we like to call them dyads), so we focus on making good relations. Relations between coffee and food, between barista and customer, between customer and customer, between farmer and roaster, and between roaster and barista.
Through these dyads we've set out to present the world of coffee through Simen's eyes, in hope that this will be well received in France.
GEDEB
COUNTRY: Etiopia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Lalesa washing station
VARIETAL: Heirloom
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 2200 masl
OWNER: Ephtah Specialty Coffee
REGION: Yirgacheffe
SUBREGION: Gedeo
FLAVOUR NOTES: Peach, black tea, blackberries.
ABOUT THE COFFEE
Gedeb is grown and produced by Ephtah Specialty Coffee at Lalesa washing station at 2200 masl.
Ephtah is dedicated to building sustainable and collaborative supply chains that benefit customers, farmers, and their communities. They emphasize promoting the role of women in the coffee industry, recognizing their pivotal role in driving social and economic change in Ethiopia.
The coffee is naturally grown under shade trees, primarily Ensete (false banana tree). The best cherries are bought from nearby farmers. Coffee is initially floated, then placed on drying beds for 12-15 days.
The Lalesa washing station is located in Gedeb, a region with a population of over 300,000 people where the primary language spoken is Gedeoiniy.
The Ephtah site in Gedeb that harvest from november to january consists of 350 drying beds and have 20 permanent emplyees, along with 250 seasonal workers.
Ephtah Specialty Coffee is dedicated to social and environmental projects. The company provides initial payments to farmers upon receipt of their coffee and supports them with quality premiums, second payments, and assistance with school fees.
Lalesa is one of the finest coffee producing areas in Gedeo. Known for its dense layered semi forest vegetation structure, including “false banana” trees and shade grown coffee trees, Lalesa is a great example of best practices in coffee growing agroecology.
COFFEE IN ETHIOPIA
While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible.
Ethiopia’s long coffee history predates written records. Arabica plants are native to Ethiopia, and many of the Arabica varieties now cultivated worldwide have their genetic roots in wild coffee growing in Ethiopian forests. With such easy access to wild-growing coffee, it is undoubtable that early people in Ethiopia consumed coffee for centuries before it became the global beverage that it is today.
The long tradition of coffee in Ethiopia has continued into the modern day. Coffee drinking is widespread in both social and cultural contexts and has a place at a wide range of social events. Nearly half of all coffee produced in the country is consumed on the domestic market. That’s no small feat for a country that produces some 860 million pounds of green coffee beans annually.
Coffee also provides the main income for up to 25% of the population. More than 15 million people grow coffee as their major cash crop. The Ethiopian government also depends on coffee to generate between 25 and 35% of total annual export earnings.
Genetic Diversity Expands Possibilities
Exporters and importers frequently use the term “heirloom” to describe Ethiopian coffee varieties. However, this catchall-term often hides that impressive array of varieties that are unique to certain regions.
Varieties in Ethiopia can be classified into two main groups: Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) varieties or regional and local landraces.
The JARC is responsible for developing many of the varieties that flourish across Ethiopia today. JARC was established in 1967 and has been developing and sharing new coffee varieties ever since. The center also provides agricultural extension training to help farmers learn the correct cultivation methods for these newer varieties.
Landraces are plant varieties that have evolved over generations of selective breeding to be best suited to their local conditions. There are at least 130 widely cultivated regional or local landraces.
In Ethiopia, the genetic diversity of landrace coffee trees means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing.
Processing Infrastructure Protects Quality
In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. Most coffee produced in Ethiopia is grown by smallholders, but they often do not have their own processing infrastructure. Instead, most smallholders deliver cherry to a wet mill. Wet mills are owned by either cooperatives or private companies.
Wet mills purchase cherry from the farmers and oversee processing. Most washing stations will specialize in both Fully washed and Natural processing methods. While the efforts of each farmer—from selecting and nurturing trees to picking on ripe cherry—are essential determinants of coffee quality, the wet mill’s practices are crucial. Wet mill staff and management are of the utmost importance, and the best washing stations employ stringent quality control measures. They only accept red, ripe cherry and have exacting drying practices. Nearly all washing stations sort drying coffee several times.
While smallholder farmer do not usually have their own pulpers, some do process coffee at their own homes using the Natural method. In these cases, coffee will be selectively picked and laid to dry on small raised beds. This coffee will usually be sold to a wet mill or collection center at the end of the season.
Preserving Coffee Producing Traditions
The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.
Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.
The Creation of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX)
As mentioned previously, the majority of coffee growers in Ethiopia are smallholders. Despite their considerable numbers, many of Ethiopia’s smallholders have historically experienced market disadvantages. Inequality in the coffee sector has often been a consequence of wider political imbalances that have affected regulations on the coffee industry.
The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) was established in 2008 as a way to solve many of the problems farmers were facing at the time. The founders hoped that the ECX would help farmers receive higher prices, get paid more quickly and receive better payment for better quality, regardless of how recognizable the name of their region or cooperative was.
To accomplish the goals, the ECX was intentionally designed to semi-anonymize coffees. Teams of experts cupped and graded coffee based solely on cup quality and region and, those that purchased coffee, did so on the merit of the cup, not the reputation of the name.
Regulations Seek to Remove Limitations of the ECX
While the ECX did help many farmers get higher prices, its original structure had some drawbacks.
While some cooperatives – particularly those with certifications – were allowed to sell their coffee directly, the majority of Ethiopia’s 5 million+ smallholder farmers were required to sell their coffee to the ECX.
The ECX focus on anonymizing coffees made it nigh on impossible to obtain accurate traceability information. For people seeking more traceability, there was the ‘second window’, which allowed buyers to purchase coffee directly from cooperative unions. There were also a select number of larger farms that were able to obtain their own export licenses. Very few producers fell into these categories, however. As of 2017, about 88% of exported coffee was still purchased through the ECX.
New Laws Spur New Processing Infrastructure
In 2017, the Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Development and Marketing Authority introduced a bill that allowed Ethiopian coffee, including coffee sold through the ECX, to be marketed and sold with full traceability. The bill also gave farmers a chance to apply for export licenses that enabled them to process, market and export their coffee directly. These changes have led more farmers to construct their own processing infrastructure.
Under this new system, producer groups choose an exporter and miller to be service providers that will deal with logistics, dry milling and exporting. This system places an emphasis on preserving traceability for each producers’ lots throughout the supply chain. It also means that farmers have more choice and more control over the price they receive. Finally, it provides incentives for farmers who are geared towards quality, benefitting all actors in the supply chain.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 20
Kaffi is a small coffee roaster in Os in Østerdalen, which was founded in 2020 by Kaffi was founded in the spring of 2020 by two-time Norwegian Barista Champion Adrian Berg, and Barista Trainer and Certified Judge Silje Arnevik. Our aim was to provide education and consultancy in the field of coffee, but we needed a roastery at the core to have access to raw materials. It ended with the roasting business growing bigger and bigger and suddenly we became a full-fledged coffee roaster that in 2023 came second in the Norwegian championship of Coffee Roasting. We have also recently opened a showroom in Trondheim at Erling Skakkes Gate 39, where we open the doors almost every Friday and invite people in to taste exciting and varied types of coffee.
Policarpo Yossa Rojos
COUNTRY: Colombia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca Buones Aires
VARIETAL: Geisha
PROCESSING: Washed
ALTITUDE: 1800 m.a.s.l.
OWNER: Policarpo Yossa Rojos
REGION: Huila
FLAVOUR NOTES: Super jammy and intense, like plum syrup. Intense dark florals, purple fruit, and candy-like. Layered notes of pineapple juice, papaya. Dense and chewy mouthfeel.
ABOUT THE FARMER AND COFFEE
Policarpo Yossa Rojos is the name of the farmer who owns Finca Buones Aires in Colombia. He specializes in varieties like gesha, pink bourbon, tabi and maragogype, coffee plants that usually recieve higher scores and sell at higher prices in the specialty market.
Policarpo has a good eye for quality and maintains good routines on his farm, ensuring that only the ripe cherries are picked and sent for processing. The cherries are floated to separate the high and low quality fruits, and then allowed to rest as whole cherries for 42 hours after picking. They are then depulped and wet fermented for 72 hours to remove mucilage. Once fermentation and washing is complete the coffee is dried on raised beds for 18-22 days.
This is a very delicate and old-school gesha, so we recommend enjoying it through the full spectrum of temperatures from hot all the way down to room temperature to explore all the nuances it offers.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Although coffee production in Colombia did not become a large commercial industry until the 19th century, it is likely that coffee was introduced to Colombia about a century earlier by Jesuit priests.
Once commercial production started, it spread quickly. The first commercial coffee plantations were established in the northeast, near the border with Venezuela. Today, coffee is widespread and grown commercially in 20 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
Historically, Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing region has been the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’. This region includes the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. With a combined total area of 13,873 km² (5356 mi²), the region covers about 1.2% of the Colombian territory and composes 15% of the total land planted under coffee in the country. The region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
While the Eje Cafetero is still a coffee-producing powerhouse, coffee production in Colombia now extends far beyond this zone. In recent years, the departments of Huila, Tolima, Cauca and Nariño have become sought after and well-known coffee-growing regions. Today, they are the largest producers of coffee in Colombia by volume.
Today, there are an estimated 540,000 coffee producers in the country; around 95% of these are smallholder farmers with landholdings that are under 5 hectares. These farmers collectively contribute around 16% of the country’s annual agricultural GDP.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 19
Gasharu Intego
COUNTRY: Rwanda
FARM/COOP/STATION: Macuba Sector
VARIETY: Bourbon
PROCESSING: Anaerobic fermentation
ALTITUDE: 1800m - 2110m
OWNER: Gasharu Coffee
REGION: Nyamasheke
FARM SIZE: Number of farmers: 1650
HARVEST MONTHS: February, 2023 - September, 2023
FLAVOR NOTES: Gooseberry, pear, dark chocolate, tropical fruit, white wine
The anaerobic coffees produced by Gasharu coffee in Rwanda have been a favorite here in the roastery since we first tasted them three years ago, and we have continued to buy them year after year ever since. The consistency of quality and wild variation of flavors means it’s always an exciting moment when the new crop arrives. While we technically ran out of this coffee a few months ago, we decided we had to pull a bag aside and save it as a secret treat for the calendar. keep it on the downlow!
ABOUT INTEGO (TEXT BY GASHARU COFFEE)
Intego (Resolution) experimental coffee is the result of our curiosity to explore new methods of fermenting naturals to attain the best flavours and tastes. The final recipe of this coffee was selected after a series of trials in which we slowly refined the process that finally resulted in this flavour profile. We named it “Resolution” to celebrate our team's dedication and effort.
This coffee is beyond a simple cup of coffee because of the intentionally created fermentation medium that gives it a strong body and clear taste which we believe will provide a unique and memorable experience to coffee lovers.
In addition to the unique taste, Intego (Resolution) coffee demonstrates our willingness to enter the European coffee market with the most genuine quality coffee and our culture of establishing “coffee harvest resolutions” to continue improving quality through innovative processing methods and promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
“Throughout the year, Gasharu Coffee holds small group meetings with coffee farmers to catch up on life, discuss the challenges in coffee farming and advise on the opportunities. Although my father Celestin is not an agronomist, he has always received calls from coffee farmers to advise on farming and processing because of his experience in farming, Now I, Valentin (one of his nine sons) have both the farming experience and academic training as an agronomist. I provide more scientific-based farming and harvesting guidance whenever needed. The processing at the washing station is carried out by young coffee farmers and the sorting on tables by slightly older coffee farmers, mainly women, providing them with more income. ”
The process
Once cherries are delivered, the workers at the washing station sort and float them in a tank to ensure consistent and good density beans are separated from the others. Then they are put in another tank where they undergo a 60-hours anaerobic fermentation period after which they dry on raised African beds for about 25 to 30 days.
Projects: Support farmers in organizing as cooperatives and train them in governance and finances so that they can have savings for the future
Cup profile: Dark chocolate, cacao, banana, ripe red fruits, floral, honey. High sweetness, medium acidity and lingering aftertaste
COFFEE IN RWANDA
Despite its turbulent history, today Rwanda is one of the specialty coffee world’s darlings – for good reason! Our sister company in Rwanda does an amazing job of bringing the best that Rwanda has to offer to roasters around the world.
Although Rwanda’s colonial past is central to the introduction of coffee in the country, due to Rwanda’s landlocked position close to the center of Africa, few Europeans actually set foot in the country until well into the mid-1890s. Even after the 1885 “Conference of Berlin” when Germany declared control over the areas of modern Burundi and Rwanda, the first documented European traveler to ever set foot in Rwanda did not arrive until 1894.
German missionaries and settlers brought coffee to Rwanda in the early 1900s. Largescale coffee production was established during the 1930 & 1940s by the Belgian colonial government, who officially controlled the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1960 and the twin territory of Ruanda-Urundi (that later became the countries of Rwanda and Burundi) from 1922 until independence in 1962.
The Belgian government made coffee growing mandatory during their rule. The Belgians forced native Rwandans to grow coffee in order to produce cheap, plentiful, low-quality coffee for export. Most of the profits from coffee production left Rwanda, along with the coffee itself.
When the Belgian government withdrew, many stopped tending their trees because it was no longer compulsory. For some, coffee was seen as a symbol of colonial oppression. However, many also saw the economic advantages of continuing to grow coffee, and the industry quickly became important to Rwanda’s national economy.
Coffee production continued after the Belgian colonists left. By 1970, coffee had become the single largest export in Rwanda and accounted for 70% of total export revenue. Coffee was considered so valuable that, beginning in 1973, it was illegal to tear coffee trees out of the ground.
Between 1989 and 1993, the breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) caused the global price to plummet. Considering the massive role that coffee played in Rwanda’s income, the government and economy took a hard hit from low global coffee prices. The 1994 genocide and its aftermath led to a complete collapse of coffee exports and vital USD revenue. But the incredible resilience of the Rwandan people is evident is the way that the economy and stability have recovered since then.
Modern Rwanda is considered one of the most stable countries in the region. Since 2003, its economy has grown by 7-8% per year and coffee production has played a key role in this economic growth.
This incredible recovery is due in part to the strong government support for the coffee sector as well as trade rules helping exports and international investment into the coffee sector. About ten years after the end of the civil war, the government instituted the National Coffee Strategy that helped improve and expand the coffee industry. The strategy encourages high-quality production for the specialty coffee market. Funding comes from the Rwandan government, other nations and private investors. Economic outcomes for farmers are now much better than they once were.
Previously, Rwandan coffee farmers processed their cherry at home. They would roughly de-pulp the cherry, wash it, maybe ferment it and probably dry it on the floor. This created a very low-quality commodity coffee called semi-washed. To improve the quality of coffee, the government incentivized the creation of new Central Washing Stations (CWSs) in coffee-producing areas. The first CWS was established in 2001. Today, more than 300 washing stations operate across Rwanda.
The growth of washing stations and the improvement in processing for Rwandan coffees has added at least a 40% premium to Rwandan coffee’s export value.
Today, smallholders propel the industry in Rwanda forward. The country doesn’t have any large estates. Most coffee is grown by the 400,000+ smallholders, who own less than a quarter of a hectare. The majority of Rwanda’s coffee production is Arabica. Bourbon variety plants comprise 95% of all coffee trees cultivated in Rwanda.
A significant barrier to Rwanda’s expanding coffee industry is transportation. Since Rwanda is landlocked, coffee must first travel 1,500 kilometers by land to either Mombasa, in Kenya, or Dar-es-Salaam, in Tanzania. This is a lengthy and expensive process that usually costs more than it does to ship the same container of coffee from those ports to the US or Europe.
Despite the expense of transportation, Rwandan farmers are doing well. Many farmers who deliver cherry and participate in washing station programs have seen their income more than double. Additionally, the first Rwandan Cup of Excellence was held in 2008 and has since then only continued to gather traction and interest for the country’s exceptional Bourbon coffees.
Rwanda has seen significant developments in gender equity and coffee has played a role in these advancements. While women previously lost their control over agriculture during colonial rule due to gender-assumptions made by European rulers, they are starting to regain some autonomy in agriculture. New initiatives that cater to women and focus on helping them equip themselves with the tools and knowledge for farming have been changing the way women view themselves and interact with the world around them.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 18
LAS TERRAZAS DEL PISQUE
COUNTRY: Ecuador
FARM/COOP/STATION: Las Terrazas del Pisque
VARIETAL: Pacamara
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 2000 m.a.s.l.
PRODUCER: Arnaud Causse
REGION: Pichincha
HARVEST MONTHS: May - October
FLAVOUR NOTES: Rosehip, white tea, cereal, redcurrant, peanuts
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Arnaud Causse is first and foremost a man of challenges. For several decades, his passion for coffee has taken him to the 4 corners of the world: Kenya, Costa Rica, Gabon, etc. He has also developed projects in El Salvador and the Galapagos Islands.
Immersed in the quest for excellence, he set up the Las Tolas farm, planting coffee trees in the heart of a natural forest. Then, after a spell in the Dominican Republic in Colombia and Peru, still working on coffee, Arnaud returned to Ecuador and founded Las Terrazas del Pisque, a farm in the middle of the desert.
ABOUT THE COFFEE
The best way to integrate coffee trees into a forest? By creating the forest yourself. Las Terrazas del Pisque is a farm in the middle of the desert, a complete ecosystem created from scratch in the middle of an arid desert zone.
Recognizable by its large oval beans, here you can taste this natural Pacamara produced in the shade of around twenty species of shade tree, in a natural process. Arnaud's natural coffees dry in the sun during the day, before being put away each evening for 3 to 4 weeks.
ABOUT THE FARM
Located on the Pacific side of the Andes, Las Terrazas del Pisque relies on the 25 species of trees (ingas, acacias, lemon trees, avocado trees, etc.) planted by Arnaud to provide shade.
Arnaud uses no pesticides and treats his coffee trees with tagetes, lavender and rosemary essential oils that he produces himself. Las Terrazas is a veritable micro-ecosystem. Melliferous plants such as tagetes, lemon balm, oregano and lavender are used both to produce essential oils and to attract bees for honey production.
Legumes supply the farm and also fix nitrogen in the soil. As for the fruit trees, they provide an ideal habitat for birds, which in return eat the fruit fly larvae. The farm is managed on a day-to-day basis by Wilson, an agricultural engineer with a strong sense of sustainable agriculture.
COFFEE IN ECUADOR
Since the 1860’s, Ecuadorian coffee has been grown in the Manabi province on the coastal lowlands. Ecuador was in the right place at the right time to profit from the coffee boom, when as many as 2 million sacks per year were exported little by little from Manta port to the European market. This coincided with the cocoa boom which transformed many coastal land owners into millionaires.
Sadly the boom times could not last. Coffee prices plummeted during the global coffee crisis of the 1980’s and 90’s, when competitors like Vietnam flooded the market with an over-supply of cheap, lower quality robusta coffee. What was once such an important export product for Ecuador, went into a long period of decline, as land owners rotated into more profitable agricultural crops.
Fortunately, today we are witnessing something of a re-birth for Ecuadorian grown coffee. So what has changed? Contemporary coffee consumer trends are developing, bringing high quality, complex flavors back to the fore. Coffee drinkers are seeking out new and unique coffee experiences from around the world – coffee with an authentic story to tell. That’s exactly what Ecuador is bringing to the table.
Where Does Ecuador's Best Coffee Grow?
The country’s generous equatorial climate makes all year round harvest possible, with both Arabica and Robusta coffee beans grown from sea level up to altitudes of 2000 meters.
Ecuador is a wonderfully biodiverse country, boasting many different ecosystems and micro climates suited to coffee cultivatation. The combination of regular rainfall, rich volcanic soils, gentle shade and pure water sources are found across much of the country. The most common coffee varieties cultivated are Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, and Sidra
The best Ecuadorian coffee tends to grow in the following regions:
1. Lowland Coastal region: Manabi, Guayas and El Oro provinces produce more than half of Ecuador’s total coffee output.
2. Northern highlands: Pichincha, Imbabura and Carchi provinces. The Intag Valley in particular is recognised for excellent Arabica coffee with a balance of acidity, sweetness and bitterness.
3. Southern highlands: Loja, Azuay and Zamora Chinchipe provinces arguably produce Ecuador’s finest specialty altitude coffee. Loja is famous for Arabica coffee with defined acidity, medium sweetness and a delicate aroma.
4. Rainforest: Napo & Orellana provinces. The Amazon region produces mostly Robusta coffee used to process instant coffee.
5. Galapagos Coffee: The fertile volcanic soils on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal islands produce a well balanced and less acidic coffee that is popular with Galapagos tourists, and has even hit Starbucks stores.
Ecuador coffee has a great range of flavors and aromas. If you detect fruity notes or delicate hints of flowers or chocolate in Ecuador’s coffee then it’s no accident. Ecuador is also famous for producing cacao, bananas, mangoes, citrus fruit, sugarcane, avocados (from which they produce Avocado oil), rice and a dizzying variety of tropical fruits. Coffee beans are often planted alongside these other crops for shade, which creates interesting flavor crossovers.
Contemporary Ecuadorian Coffee Trends
An emerging middle class in Ecuador has led to changing tastes and consumer habits. Rather than drinking the cheapest available coffee by default, increasing numbers of locals are seeking out more intense flavors served by baristas in cafes with a more engaging ambiance. The same can be said for Ecuador craft beer and chocolate, with Ecuadorians willing to pay more for a higher quality product. Ecuador is in the midst of a flavor revolution.
As demand for quality Ecuadorian coffee grows, so too agricultural and production processes are adapting and developing. More and more coffee excellence micro lots are being offered into the Ecuadorian market, so coffee shops and bar staff in Ecuador can improve the quality of the raw materials they receive, and create better experiences for locals and tourists to enjoy.
The focus is very much on small-scale family farms rather than mass production. Today, around 100,000 families are involved in the coffee production process, typically farming just 1 to 10 hectares each. To be able to charge prime prices requires a high-quality product, so these families are learning to use finer processing techniques, such as organic methods for insecticides and pesticides during growth.
Coffee processing techniques have also come a long way since the early days. The bulk of Ecuador’s coffee beans used to be exported for roasting and processing overseas, but that is no longer the case. A renewed sense of national pride in Ecuadorian coffee has led to investment and education in production techniques, so today the whole process from harvest to cup can happen in Ecuador.
While it is still early days for Ecuador’s coffee re-birth, the signs are promising. Production levels are increasing, and quality has grown to the extent that the winning Ecuador coffee at Taza Dorada in 2018 was auctioned at $29 a pound becaming the highest price ever paid for a locally grown coffee. But in our opinion the best news is that now some of Ecuador’s coffee stays in the country for local consumption - which of course is a plus for Ecuadorians and foreign visitors alike.
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Luke 17
BIRBIRSA
COUNTRY: Ethiopia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Birbirsa cooperative Jimma
VARIETAL: Heirloom
PROCESSING: Natural/Sun Dried
ALTITUDE: 2000m - 2100m
OWNER : Kata Muduga Multipurpose Farmers' Cooperative Union
REGION: Jimma zone
HARVEST: November, 2023 - January, 2024
FLAVOUR NOTES: Bright cherry, raspberry, red plum, cocoa nibs, jasmine, black tea
ABOUT THE COOPERATIVE
Birbirsa is a primary cooperative with 163 members, and part of the larger Kata Muduga Multi-purpose Farmer's Cooperative Union. The Union is based at Agaro town, 45 km from Jimma, the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region in Ethiopia, and 397 km from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Kata Muduga works with farmers from 5 rural districts in the Jimma zone: Goma, Gera, Gumai, Setema, and Sigimo. The general manager and representative of the Union is Asnake Nigat.
Birbirsa, located at the Goma district, Beshasha kebele, Birbirsa Natural showcases the quality of the region beautifully with notes of raspberry and pineapple combined to a boozy kick and elegant florals.
Kata Muguda represents and markets the coffees from Birbirsa following the price structure below:
Export expenses: 5%
Union commission: 5%
Payment to coop members: 70%
Cooperative expenses: 30% (of which 10% are used to invest in social projects)
The process
The Natural/Sun Dried process is done by spreading the ripe red cherries on raised beds and drying them between 15-20 days. The dried pods then will be milled for green Natural coffee.
COFFEE IN ETHIOPIA
While Ethiopia is famous as coffee’s birthplace, today it remains a specialty coffee industry darling for its incredible variety of flavors. While full traceability has been difficult in recent history, new regulations have made direct purchasing possible.
Ethiopia’s long coffee history predates written records. Arabica plants are native to Ethiopia, and many of the Arabica varieties now cultivated worldwide have their genetic roots in wild coffee growing in Ethiopian forests. With such easy access to wild-growing coffee, it is undoubtable that early people in Ethiopia consumed coffee for centuries before it became the global beverage that it is today.
The long tradition of coffee in Ethiopia has continued into the modern day. Coffee drinking is widespread in both social and cultural contexts and has a place at a wide range of social events. Nearly half of all coffee produced in the country is consumed on the domestic market. That’s no small feat for a country that produces some 860 million pounds of green coffee beans annually.
Coffee also provides the main income for up to 25% of the population. More than 15 million people grow coffee as their major cash crop. The Ethiopian government also depends on coffee to generate between 25 and 35% of total annual export earnings.
Genetic Diversity Expands Possibilities
Exporters and importers frequently use the term “heirloom” to describe Ethiopian coffee varieties. However, this catchall-term often hides that impressive array of varieties that are unique to certain regions.
Varieties in Ethiopia can be classified into two main groups: Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC) varieties or regional and local landraces.
The JARC is responsible for developing many of the varieties that flourish across Ethiopia today. JARC was established in 1967 and has been developing and sharing new coffee varieties ever since. The center also provides agricultural extension training to help farmers learn the correct cultivation methods for these newer varieties.
Landraces are plant varieties that have evolved over generations of selective breeding to be best suited to their local conditions. There are at least 130 widely cultivated regional or local landraces.
In Ethiopia, the genetic diversity of landrace coffee trees means that we find a diversity of flavor, even between (or within) farms with similar growing conditions and processing.
Processing Infrastructure Protects Quality
In addition to varieties, processing methods also contribute to end quality. Most coffee produced in Ethiopia is grown by smallholders, but they often do not have their own processing infrastructure. Instead, most smallholders deliver cherry to a wet mill. Wet mills are owned by either cooperatives or private companies.
Wet mills purchase cherry from the farmers and oversee processing. Most washing stations will specialize in both Fully washed and Natural processing methods. While the efforts of each farmer—from selecting and nurturing trees to picking on ripe cherry—are essential determinants of coffee quality, the wet mill’s practices are crucial. Wet mill staff and management are of the utmost importance, and the best washing stations employ stringent quality control measures. They only accept red, ripe cherry and have exacting drying practices. Nearly all washing stations sort drying coffee several times.
While smallholder farmer do not usually have their own pulpers, some do process coffee at their own homes using the Natural method. In these cases, coffee will be selectively picked and laid to dry on small raised beds. This coffee will usually be sold to a wet mill or collection center at the end of the season.
Preserving Coffee Producing Traditions
The final key ingredients for excellent coffee in Ethiopia are the producing traditions that have created the genetic diversity, processing infrastructure and great coffee we enjoy today.
Most producers in Ethiopia are smallholders, and the majority continue to cultivate coffee using traditional methods. As a result, most coffee is grown with no chemical fertilizer or pesticide use. Coffee is almost entirely cultivated, harvested and dried using manual systems.
The Creation of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX)
As mentioned previously, the majority of coffee growers in Ethiopia are smallholders. Despite their considerable numbers, many of Ethiopia’s smallholders have historically experienced market disadvantages. Inequality in the coffee sector has often been a consequence of wider political imbalances that have affected regulations on the coffee industry.
The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) was established in 2008 as a way to solve many of the problems farmers were facing at the time. The founders hoped that the ECX would help farmers receive higher prices, get paid more quickly and receive better payment for better quality, regardless of how recognizable the name of their region or cooperative was.
To accomplish the goals, the ECX was intentionally designed to semi-anonymize coffees. Teams of experts cupped and graded coffee based solely on cup quality and region and, those that purchased coffee, did so on the merit of the cup, not the reputation of the name.
Regulations Seek to Remove Limitations of the ECX
While the ECX did help many farmers get higher prices, its original structure had some drawbacks.
While some cooperatives – particularly those with certifications – were allowed to sell their coffee directly, the majority of Ethiopia’s 5 million+ smallholder farmers were required to sell their coffee to the ECX.
The ECX focus on anonymizing coffees made it nigh on impossible to obtain accurate traceability information. For people seeking more traceability, there was the ‘second window’, which allowed buyers to purchase coffee directly from cooperative unions. There were also a select number of larger farms that were able to obtain their own export licenses. Very few producers fell into these categories, however. As of 2017, about 88% of exported coffee was still purchased through the ECX.
New Laws Spur New Processing Infrastructure
In 2017, the Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Development and Marketing Authority introduced a bill that allowed Ethiopian coffee, including coffee sold through the ECX, to be marketed and sold with full traceability. The bill also gave farmers a chance to apply for export licenses that enabled them to process, market and export their coffee directly. These changes have led more farmers to construct their own processing infrastructure.
Under this new system, producer groups choose an exporter and miller to be service providers that will deal with logistics, dry milling and exporting. This system places an emphasis on preserving traceability for each producers’ lots throughout the supply chain. It also means that farmers have more choice and more control over the price they receive. Finally, it provides incentives for farmers who are geared towards quality, benefitting all actors in the supply
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 16
BUENOS AIRES
COUNTRY: Nicaragua
FARM/COOP/STATION: Buenos Aires
VARIETAL: Java
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1200 - 1700 m.a.s.l.
OWNER: Olman Valladarez
REGION: Nueva Segovia
FLAVOUR NOTES: Raspberry, black cherry, purple flowers, ripe red grape, hint of jasmine and green tea, malty aftertaste.
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Olman Valladarez is a second-generation coffee producer, continuing the work begun by his father. When he took over the family business in 2002, quality was still a long way off. It wasn't until 2006 that Olman Valladarez took part in the Cup of Excellence for the first time, and began to work on its coffee processes to improve production quality.
As a producer, his job is "to develop an eco-friendly business model, to reduce the use of chemical inputs but also to improve the forest and water around us". While he is proud to have taken over the family business and turned it into a benchmark for specialty coffee, he is now keen to have a positive impact on biodiversity.
Olman Valladarez inherited the Buenos Aires farm, as well as the other La Laguna and El Suyatal farms from his father. Until Olman's father decided to build a washing and drying station, the Cafetalera Buenos Aires, all the family's production was sold as cherries. Now, the family controls everything, from production to the export of its coffees.
ABOUT THE REGION
This coffee is produced in the heart of the Dipilto mountains, near the border with Honduras. It is cultivated on sandy soil at an altitude of between 1,200 and 1,700 metres. Most coffee bushes are grown under shade (70% with various species), and the soil and plants are fertilised using environmentally-friendly techniques.
The Dipilto terroir is located in the production area of Nueva Segovia, which occupies the northwest corner of the country separated from Honduras by the natural border of the Dipilto and Jalapa cordillera. It is in this region that the Mogoton mountain can be found, which rises to more than 2,100 metres and marks Nicaragua’s highest point. The region’s entire economy depends on cereal (maize, beans), coffee, tobacco, livestock and wood production.
COFFEE IN NICARAGUA
Nicaragua's rich cultural history stretches back over 10,000 years before Europeans ever set foot on the soil in 1492. However, as in so many other Central American nations, coffee’s history in Nicaragua began when it arrived with colonialists in the mid-1800s. The first trees were planted on a mesa in the Pacific plains area of Nicaragua. Today, production is centralized in three areas within the country's Central northern mountains: Las Segovias, Matagalpa and Jinotega. All three areas are well known for their fertile volcanic soils, humid tropical forest climates and verdant eco-diversity including an array of groundcover such as lichens, moss and ferns.
Modern day Nicaragua depends on coffee as its primary export. Coffee production generates over $500 million dollars in exports annually and provides more than 200,000 jobs. Approximately 40,000 farmers and their families depend primarily on their income from coffee farming. These smaller farmers often cultivate coffee in semi-forested environments that can help preserve dwindling forests and at-risk species.
The political instability and civil war in the last decades of the 20th century was a severe blow for the coffee industry in Nicaragua. Many coffee farms were abandoned during the Sandinista rule.
Compounding this, Hurricane Mitch hit Nicaragua in 1998, sweeping away much of the coffee infrastructure. The onslaught of the hurricane was followed by droughts that squeezed the economy even harder. When the country was still in recovery from 1999 to 2003, the coffee price crisis seized the global coffee industry. Low international prices meant farmers had barely enough to live on, much less to reinvest in their farms and continue to rebuild and improve their cultivation post- hurricane.
Since coffee plays such a big role in the country’s national development, the consequences of the crisis were disastrous for the already ravaged country. Three of the six largest national banks crashed because of high debts. Prices fell so low that it cost more in labor and time to harvest coffee than farmers were able to get from selling it. Cherry rotted on the trees while farmers lived off only intercropped fruits and vegetables.
As the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, Nicaragua simply did not have the resources to invest in recovery. Small-scale producers were hit the worst, because they did not have access to other sources of income. The crisis got so bad that plantation owners stopped paying their workers. Out of protest, hundreds of landless families who made their incomes harvesting cherry marched down from the coffee-producing lands to a major highway to Managua. They lived along the side of the highway in miserable conditions and survived on food donations for three years.
The rural workers’ union managed to win plots of land for the more than 3,000 landless workers in a historic agreement known as ‘El Acuerdo de las Tunas’.
Cooperatives played an important role in rebuilding Nicaragua’s coffee sector following the price crisis of the 1990s and early 2000s. In order to understand cooperative’s impact, it’s helpful to go back to the beginning and understand how cooperatives gained prominence in the country.
While a few cooperatives were formed in the early 1900s, the period of Somoza dictatorships that cooperatives helped foster more widespread cooperative membership. The Somoza family ruled as autocratic dictators from 1936 to 1979 and would periodically promote cooperatives for various political reasons. Nevertheless, cooperatives remained an afterthought in the country until the 1979 revolution brought the Sandinista government to power.
The Sandinistas ruled from 1980 to 1990 and during that decade, had a significant influence on the creation and expansion of many of the cooperatives active in Nicaragua today. Under the Sandinista government, land was reallocated—mainly from large or European landholders—to cooperatives, who were directed to redistribute the land to previously landless farm workers.
In the same period, the initial wave of Fairtrade and Organic coffee certifications began. The increasing demand for Fairtrade and Organic coffee became particularly important after the fall of the Sandinista government in 1990, when many cooperatives that had been supported by the government collapsed. Many cooperatives were able to stay afloat by gaining alternative support from ethical trade certifications or by merging into secondary level organizations and securing land titles. They were supported in these efforts by a number of NGOs working within the country at the time, such as Technoserve, who established cupping labs and training programs in the country.
The surviving cooperatives later played an integral role in helping members access technical assistance and emerging specialty coffee markets. Notably, while the number of cooperatives decreased due to the combined effects of cooperative mergers and dissolutions, membership actually increased by over 10% in the decade or so following the end of the Sandinista government.
From the 1990s to the present day, the remaining cooperatives in Nicaragua expanded in both size and scope. As specialty markets matured, many of these cooperatives have helped farmers navigate the changing coffee sector by building new processing infrastructure, supplying training, creating strong quality assurance programs and training full time cooperative staff to support their members. Cooperatives have grown beyond purely enhancing coffee quality and price and are now more focused on leveraging profits and social premiums to enact broader community improvements.
Many farmers didn’t have the resources to renovate entire farms at once, so it was a gradual renovation process, over the course of a few years, but they’ve slowly recovered to healthy national production levels.
Many coffee producers in Nicaragua today are buoyed by cooperatives that provide a wide array of services, supports and opportunity. As seen in the win of the ‘El Acuerdo de las Tunas’, where 3,000 landless workers won land rights, collective action by farmers can be far more effective at enacting widespread change than the advocacy of individual farmers.
Cooperatives and farmer associations in Nicaragua encompass a large percentage of the country’s coffee producers, and they are taking their destiny in their own hands. By putting great emphasis on quality and by aiming for the international specialty coffee industry, cooperatives and farmers associations are helping their members gain influence and import that will, hopefully, garner enough profit to enable farmers to continue to improve and invest in their farms and their families.
Large and medium-sized (10+ hectare) farms also hold a significant place in Nicaragua’s coffee landscape, as well. Many of these farms have also prioritized social and environmental issues and are working on quality improvements at both cultivation and post-harvest levels.
Nicaragua is one of the least densely populated countries in Central America, meaning that one of the primary resources available to Nicaraguan coffee producers is also one of the most important: land. Farmers, for the most part, will process coffee on their own farms, and the majority of the time coffee is dried on large drying patios under sun.
Smallholder farmers have benefited greatly from increased post-harvest training, frequently accessed through cooperatives. Milling infrastructure has improved their ability to sell under their own name, and thus hold onto any quality premiums attached to specialty production
Until recently, farmers were unable to sell their coffees to international buyers as traceable single estate lots because the only dry mills that could prepare coffee for export were large and had large minimum lot requirements. If they wanted to export their coffee, farmers were required to combine their lots with other farms and varieties in order to meet the minimum bag count to get their parchment dry milled. Now, farmer associations and cooperatives are investing in their own infrastructure that will enable them to maintain single-lot and single-farm traceability from farmer to exporter.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 15
LA LABOR
COUNTRY: Guatemala
FARM/COOP/STATION: La Labor
VARIETAL: Geisha
PROCESSING: Anaerobic washed
ALTITUDE: 1500 M.A.S.L.
OWNER: Francisco Quezada
REGION: Ciudad Guatemala
HARVEST MONTHS: December - February
FLAVOUR NOTES: Very delicate, bright green apple, white tea, jasmine, lime peel, yellow plum.
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Francisco Adolfo Quezada Montenegro’s family has been dedicated to coffee production for more than 100 years. They are currently in the fifth generation of specialty coffee production. The varieties at the farm are: Bourbons, Geshas, Pacamara and Paches communes.
Francisco wants to continue to push the boundaries of speciality coffee and innovate by introducing new exotic varieties and investing in different fermentation and drying processes. His intention is to continually improve the quality of his coffees so that he can obtain better payment terms to maintain the farm and provide good working conditions for his staff.
The family’s focus has always been on always having the same quality of coffee year after year, which is why the traceability within the farm is very important from planting or pruning within our coffee plantation until the time of harvest when they select the coffee with most accurate Brix degrees and this gives them greater certainty when it comes to quality.
HARVEST
This coffee is a special coffee that is harvested manually, in the best way possible to ensure a good fermentation for 3 days. Then it goes to drying at cold temperatures for more than 16 days so that you can enjoy a delicious coffee with exotic and different tones.
What’s make this coffee special? The farm is located in the heart of the city of Guatemala. These coffee producers not only produce specialty coffee but also oxygen for Guatemalan capital city, in the middle of 50,000 houses in the area with a population of more than 200,000 people.
COFFEE IN GUATEMALA
Some accounts have coffee cultivation in Guatemala starting as early as the mid-18th century, when Jesuits brought coffee plants to decorate their monasteries in the city of Antigua. There are accounts dating back to the early 1800s of Guatemalans drinking coffee. Around that time, a perfect storm of blocked trade routes during the Napoleonic Wars, crop-destroying locusts and the creation of cheaper and longer lasting artificial dyes conspired to cripple Guatemalan exports of Indigo, one of the country’s main cash crops. In order to bolster their failing economy, many people began cultivating coffee as a new cash crop.
For the next 150 years, most arable coffee lands were owned by large landowners of European descent. These landowners employed indigenous people from the highlands, few of whom officially owned their own land, to tend and harvest coffee on large farms. This model, while contributing greatly to existing inequality, also put Guatemala on the global map of coffee production.
In June 1952, during the Guatemalan Revolution, Congress passed Decree 900, also known as the Agrarian Reform Law. The law redistributed land from nearly 1,700 estates to 500,000 landless peasants. The majority of beneficiaries were indigenous people who had not had access to land since the Spanish Conquest in the 1500s. In turn, the law angered many powerful landowners, including the United Fruit Company and the United States, who saw the reform as a communistic threat. The land reform law is often cited as an inciting factor in the 1954 coup d'état that marked the beginning of decades of civil war.
The Guatemalan civil war did not end until 1996, and the violence of the second half of the 20th century hindered the Guatemalan coffee industry significantly. Peacetime stability slowly worked to spread coffee production beyond historic coffee growing regions. Beginning in the 21st century, land where popular crops like macadamia and avocado were once grown came to be replaced with coffee.
Today, the Guatemalan coffee sector is a behemoth. It generates around 40% of all agricultural export revenue and almost ¼ of the population is involved in producing the 3.6 million bags of coffee Guatemala exports each year.
Guatemala’s strictly hard beans (those grown above 1,350 meters above sea level) are considered to be among the world’s best coffee. In particular, beans grown on the southern slopes of the country’s many volcanoes are considered highly desirable. Regional blends from areas like Atitlan and Huehuetenango are pursued with similar fervor as single farm lots from Antigua.
Guatemala’s stellar coffee reputation is a combination of the right environmental conditions and a strong focus on cultivation and processing methods. Coffee is widely cultivated and grows in 20 of the 22 departments in Guatemala. High altitudes, consistent rainfall and mineral-rich soils make coffee an excellent crop across much of Guatemala. The nearly 300 unique microclimates means that Guatemalan coffees boast a diverse range of flavors.
Almost all coffee is Arabica and 98% is shade grown. Nearly all Arabica production is Fully washed, but natural and honey methods are becoming increasingly popular and producing many excellent lots. Many in the country are employing experimental processing methodologies, including soaking after washing, and Guatemalan farmers have been at the forefront of greenhouse drying methodologies. Guatemala’s high altitudes, diverse microclimates, consistent rainfall patterns, and excellent cultivation and processing, make for a variety of distinctive types of Guatemalan Arabica coffees.
The Guatemalan coffee industry experienced a major setback with the 2010 appearance of Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) in Latin America. The epidemic peaked in severity in 2012, and though CLR continues to affect some farms, Guatemala continues to produce high-quality, record-breaking coffees. In 2017, new and varied processing methods pushed prices at the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence contest to record highs.
However, for the majority of coffee farmers, increasing costs of production, driven mainly by growing labor costs and higher inputs, combined with low C market prices have led to unsustainable harvests where input costs are higher than what many farmers receive for their crops. Production costs continue to rise due to the high minimum wage in Guatemala compared to other Central American countries, and smallholder farmers are paying nearly twice as much for labor - as a percentage of their total costs - than their larger counterparts.
Many coffee farmers in Guatemala have turned to beekeeping as a way to supplement their incomes and provide nutrition for their families. Other farmers have been following the suggestions of the Asociación Nacional del Café (Anacafé) – Guatemala’s national coffee association - and diversifying their crops by intercropping bananas, macadamias and other potential cash crops.
Smallholder farmers have been hit especially hard by coffee leaf rust (CLR). World Coffee Research (WCR) and Anacafé have worked together to introduce new CLR-resistant varieties—and the best ways to grow them—into smallholder communities. Marsellesa and Centroamericano are being trialed on smallholder farms in Antigua, and the initial feedback is promising.
Despite these efforts, many farmers still have seen little choice but to leave their homes for the promise of a better future ‘in the north’ (the United States). Outward migration continues to pose challenges for the industry as a whole.
The quality of coffee being produced in Guatemala is increasing, overall, due to the diversity of the industry’s producers. There are more and more small holder farmers producing exceptional coffee at high altitudes. Cooperatives are becoming more appealing to so many smallholders because they often offer farmers financing and other support for improving their farming and processing and are frequently able to offer higher prices for cherry than middlemen. Many cooperatives have initiated quality improvement training for farmer members and are becoming more adept at helping members market their coffee as specialty.
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Luke 14
KOKKO COFFEE ROASTERS
Kokko is an architecture office, coffee roastery & furniture store based in Stavanger, Norway. “At Kokko we sell our favorite coffee, furniture, lightning, interior objects and craft from around the world. With brands such as Fredericia, Valerie Objects, Hasami Porcelain & Frama Cph, amongst others. At Kokko we also have our own cafe where you can enjoy specialty coffee and a good book.”
Coconut Lemonade
COUNTRY: Colombia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca Monteblanco
VARIETAL: Caturra
PROCESSING: Infusion fermentation (fermented with Coconut & Cholupa fruit)
ALTITUDE: 1,730 meters above sea level
OWNER: Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia
SUBREGION/TOWN: Acevedo
REGION: Huila
FARM SIZE:14 hectares
HARVEST MONTHS: Year-round, depending on the region
FLAVOUR NOTES: Roasted coconut, Lemon pie, Vanilla, Biscuit
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Rodrigo Sanchez Valencia is a third-generation coffee farmer at Finca Monteblanco. His grandfather began cultivating coffee here several decades ago and today, Rodrigo works to preserve the natural diversity and productivity of the farm.
CULTIVATION
Finca Monteblanco is located near Cueva de los Guacharos, one of the 59 protected parks in Colombia. The Suaza river also runs nearby and provides fresh water for cultivation and processing. Rodrigo cultivates Caturra, Geisha, Pink Bourbon and Pacamara varieties on Finca Monteblanco. The high altitude and superb microclimate of Acevedo, Huila creates the ideal conditions for cultivating specialty coffees..
“COCONUT LEMONADE” PROCESS
Before processing cherry, Rodrigo prepared a fermentation starter consisting of sugars like panela or molasses as well as a mixture of lactobacillus bacteria and yeasts to promote fermentation. For this special “coconut lemonade” lot, the starter also included Cholupa (a sour fruit often used to make a form of lemonade) and dried coconut. The mixture was sealed and fermented for 8 days. After 8 days, coffee cherry was added to the fruit mixture and fermented for 180 hours (7.5 days). Following fermentation, the coffee was washed in clean water and laid in parabolic beds to dry. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 25 to 30 days for cherry to dry.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Although coffee production in Colombia did not become a large commercial industry until the 19th century, it is likely that coffee was introduced to Colombia about a century earlier by Jesuit priests.
Once commercial production started, it spread quickly. The first commercial coffee plantations were established in the northeast, near the border with Venezuela. Today, coffee is widespread and grown commercially in 20 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
Historically, Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing region has been the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’. This region includes the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. With a combined total area of 13,873 km² (5356 mi²), the region covers about 1.2% of the Colombian territory and composes 15% of the total land planted under coffee in the country. The region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
While the Eje Cafetero is still a coffee-producing powerhouse, coffee production in Colombia now extends far beyond this zone. In recent years, the departments of Huila, Tolima, Cauca and Nariño have become sought after and well-known coffee-growing regions. Today, they are the largest producers of coffee in Colombia by volume.
Today, there are an estimated 540,000 coffee producers in the country; around 95% of these are smallholder farmers with landholdings that are under 5 hectares. These farmers collectively contribute around 16% of the country’s annual agricultural GDP.
Colombia boasts a wide range of microclimates and geographic conditions that produce the unique flavors so loved in Colombian coffees. While there are many sub-regions and progressively smaller geographical designations — all the way down to individual farms — broadly speaking, coffees in Colombia can be separated into three major regions whose climate, soils and altitudes affect tastes.
Coffees grown in the north (Magdalena, Santander and Norte de Santander) are usually planted at lower altitudes where temperatures are higher. As such, these coffees tend to have deeper, earthier tastes with a medium acidity, more body and notes of nuts and chocolate.
Coffees coming from the central regions (Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, North of Valle, Antioquia, Cundinamarca and North of Tolima) are celebrated for their overall balance and their fruity, herbal notes. Flavor variations highlight the specific characteristics of each micro-region.
The southern regions (Cauca, Nariño, Huila and South of Tolima) are prized for producing smooth coffees with high sweetness and citrus notes. They are also known for their medium body and more pronounced acidity.
Another distinguishing feature of Colombian coffee production is the mitaca crop – a second harvest that occurs roughly 6 months after the main crop in most regions. The mitaca crop is a result of moist ocean air rising from both the Pacific and the Caribbean, and the north-to-south orientation of the central cordilleras (mountain ranges).
Colombia’s wide range of climates also means that harvest times can vary significantly. Due to these varying harvest times — and the mitaca crop — fresh crop Colombian coffee is available nearly year-round.
Colombia’s coffee industry has been incredibly successful at building a brand that continues to help increase interest and demand for Colombian coffee. Beyond simply increasing demand, the industry’s branding made advertising history. Their iconic coffee farmer, Juan Valdez and his donkey, Conchita, were extremely recognizable.
Juan was initially created in 1958 for Colombia’s Federación Nacional de Cafeteros (FNC) (the Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers) and his visage graces the FNC logo – along with countless of bags of Colombian coffee – to this day.
The story of Juan Valdez is just one example of the ways FNC has been a strong force in creating continuity for the reputation of Colombian coffee. Since its creation in 1927, the FNC has represented the interests of Colombia’s coffee growers. Their continued presence is almost unique in the coffee world and is, in part, one of the reasons that Colombia is such a successful coffee-producing country.
Though originally a non-profit organization, today the FNC is collectively owned and controlled by approximately 540,000 producers across Colombia. In addition to cooking up genius marketing icons, the FNC works to ensure adequate infrastructure for growers, provides technical support and funds research. Their research division, Cenicafé (founded in 1938), is renowned for its focus on developing new genetic varieties and conducting research on improved farming practices.
The FNC also seeks price stabilization and ensures minimum pricing for Colombia’s coffee farmers. Despite this, labor shortages are a growing problem in the country, as young people move out of rural coffee-growing areas into the city. This situation is the ‘new normal’ for Colombian producers and the high cost of labor is one that is a risk for many and for the industry as a whole.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 13
THE COAST COFFEE
I’m Oleksii, the brains behind The Coast Coffee, a boutique coffee roastery nestled on the enchanting island of Lovund in the Norwegian Sea. Picture this – a quaint spot in Helgeland, Norway, where the sea breeze carries whispers of adventure, and each roasted bean tells a story of passion and precision.
It all began with an insatiable love for coffee; its narrative, its myriad of flavors, and its unparalleled ability to create connections. For me, there's no greater thrill than hunting down exceptional beans, mastering the art of roasting and brewing, and sharing that perfect cup with fellow enthusiasts. The idea took root in 2017 when I transplanted my coffee journey from Ukraine to the breathtaking landscapes of Northern Norway.
Get the coffee here: https://www.thecoastcoffee.com/shop
Instagram: @thecoastcoffee
Jesus Barahona
COUNTRY: Colombia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca Quindio
VARIETIES: Tabi
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1,800 meters above sea level
OWNER: Jesus & Rosa Barahona
SUBREGION/TOWN: Algeciras
REGION: Huila
FARM SIZE: 7 hectares
HARVEST MONTHS: Year-round, depending on the region
FLAVOUR PROFILE: Dark chocolate, prune, rich and raisiny, brandy, purple berries.
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Husband and wife duo Jesus and Rosa Barahona have been cultivating coffee at Finca Quindio for more than 20 years. When they first purchased the land, a portion of the farm was used to graze cattle and another portion had Caturra planted on it. Today, they cultivate Geisha, Castillo, Caturra and other varieties on their 7 hectares with an eye towards specialty production.
To continue improving their coffee quality, Jesus and Rosa plan to plant Pink Bourbon and Geisha variety plants.
HARVEST
Jesus and Rosa selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farm. They lay cherry on marquesinas to sundry. They rake cherry frequently to ensure even drying.
ABOUT TABI
Tabi is a cross between Typica, Bourbon and Timor that was created by CENICAFE. It was released in 2002 and combines coffee leaf rust resistance with the good cup quality of Bourbon and Typica. Similar to those two parents, Tabi is tall with long branches. However, Tabi has slightly larger fruits and seeds and can be grown at high altitudes, and in high density, with up to 3,000 trees per hectare. The name comes from the word “tabi,” meaning “good” in Guambiano, the dialect of a native Colombian tribe.
EXPORT
This lot was exported with the support of Cuatro Vientos, a family-owned exporter in Huila, Colombia. Founded in 2018 by Julian and Yonatan Gonzalez. Cuatro Vientos operates three purchasing points and two warehouses, providing vital services such as drying, storing, and grading coffee. Their focus on specialty processing ensures high-quality coffee year-round. They also offer financing through Bancolombia and provide financial education, ensuring long-term profitability and success for over 30 specialty-focused farms.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Although coffee production in Colombia did not become a large commercial industry until the 19th century, it is likely that coffee was introduced to Colombia about a century earlier by Jesuit priests.
Once commercial production started, it spread quickly. The first commercial coffee plantations were established in the northeast, near the border with Venezuela. Today, coffee is widespread and grown commercially in 20 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
Historically, Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing region has been the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’. This region includes the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. With a combined total area of 13,873 km² (5356 mi²), the region covers about 1.2% of the Colombian territory and composes 15% of the total land planted under coffee in the country. The region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
While the Eje Cafetero is still a coffee-producing powerhouse, coffee production in Colombia now extends far beyond this zone. In recent years, the departments of Huila, Tolima, Cauca and Nariño have become sought after and well-known coffee-growing regions. Today, they are the largest producers of coffee in Colombia by volume.
Today, there are an estimated 540,000 coffee producers in the country; around 95% of these are smallholder farmers with landholdings that are under 5 hectares. These farmers collectively contribute around 16% of the country’s annual agricultural GDP.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 12
KonkurRanse:
Del dine bilder og videoer av Langøras adventskalender på TikTok, Instagram og Facebook under #langørakaffe og @langorakaffe .
Vi trekker tre vinnere som får 3 måneders kaffeabonnement på nyåret.
(ved å delta i konkurransen godtar du at vi kan bruke bildene i markedsføring)
El Mirador
COUNTRY: Colombia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca El Mirador
VARIETAL: Pink Bourbon
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1,500 meters above sea level
PRODUCER: Miller Bustos
SUBREGION/TOWN: Acevedo
REGION: Huila
FARM SIZE: 3 hectares
HARVEST MONTHS: Year-round, depending on the region
FLAVOUR NOTES: Wild tropical fruit, warm spices, marzipan, cacao, redcurrant, malt, pleasant lactic freshness
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Miller Bustos has been producing coffee for over 20 years. He inherited his farm from his mother and is the third generation of his family to produce coffee on their land.
He started cultivating specialty coffee in the early-2010s, when he saw that specialty coffee was garnering higher prices. He hopes that specialty production will help his business remain sustainable overtime. He has focused on improving processing infrastructure and changing his fertilization methods to increase coffee quality. He hopes that people who drink his coffee understand the love and hard work that he and his family put into producing it.
Miller Bustos has 2 daughters who both want to be a part of the coffee business. They plan to attend college and receive technical training in agronomy and other related fields to prepare themselves for careers in coffee.
HARVEST
After selective handpicking, ripe cherry is laid on patios to sundry. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 25 days for cherry to dry.
PINK BOURBON
Pink Bourbon was previously thought to be a hybrid of Yellow and Red Bourbon varieties. The variety was first identified growing in and around Huila, Colombia. Recent research has found that Pink Bourbon is in fact not Bourbon at all. Pink Bourbon mostly likely comes from an Ethiopian landrace variety.
Pink Bourbon has a stunningly high cup potential that wows coffee professionals and consumers alike. Its impressively high cup quality makes even more sense now that we understand Pink Bourbon is not simply a hybrid of two Bourbon varieties but traces to Ethiopian landraces. Its siblings include the highly-prized Geisha, which has consistently produced incredibly high cup scores. Pink Bourbon will continue to be a highly distinguished and valued variety.
Some farmers also report that Pink Bourbon has more disease resistance than the Bourbons it grows alongside. Based on these new discoveries, this may be due to the genetic variety it has coming from Ethiopian landraces.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Although coffee production in Colombia did not become a large commercial industry until the 19th century, it is likely that coffee was introduced to Colombia about a century earlier by Jesuit priests.
Once commercial production started, it spread quickly. The first commercial coffee plantations were established in the northeast, near the border with Venezuela. Today, coffee is widespread and grown commercially in 20 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
Historically, Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing region has been the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’. This region includes the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. With a combined total area of 13,873 km² (5356 mi²), the region covers about 1.2% of the Colombian territory and composes 15% of the total land planted under coffee in the country. The region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
While the Eje Cafetero is still a coffee-producing powerhouse, coffee production in Colombia now extends far beyond this zone. In recent years, the departments of Huila, Tolima, Cauca and Nariño have become sought after and well-known coffee-growing regions. Today, they are the largest producers of coffee in Colombia by volume.
Today, there are an estimated 540,000 coffee producers in the country; around 95% of these are smallholder farmers with landholdings that are under 5 hectares. These farmers collectively contribute around 16% of the country’s annual agricultural GDP.
Colombia boasts a wide range of microclimates and geographic conditions that produce the unique flavors so loved in Colombian coffees. While there are many sub-regions and progressively smaller geographical designations — all the way down to individual farms — broadly speaking, coffees in Colombia can be separated into three major regions whose climate, soils and altitudes affect tastes.
Coffees grown in the north (Magdalena, Santander and Norte de Santander) are usually planted at lower altitudes where temperatures are higher. As such, these coffees tend to have deeper, earthier tastes with a medium acidity, more body and notes of nuts and chocolate.
Coffees coming from the central regions (Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, North of Valle, Antioquia, Cundinamarca and North of Tolima) are celebrated for their overall balance and their fruity, herbal notes. Flavor variations highlight the specific characteristics of each micro-region.
The southern regions (Cauca, Nariño, Huila and South of Tolima) are prized for producing smooth coffees with high sweetness and citrus notes. They are also known for their medium body and more pronounced acidity.
Another distinguishing feature of Colombian coffee production is the mitaca crop – a second harvest that occurs roughly 6 months after the main crop in most regions. The mitaca crop is a result of moist ocean air rising from both the Pacific and the Caribbean, and the north-to-south orientation of the central cordilleras (mountain ranges).
Colombia’s wide range of climates also means that harvest times can vary significantly. Due to these varying harvest times — and the mitaca crop — fresh crop Colombian coffee is available nearly year-round.
Colombia’s coffee industry has been incredibly successful at building a brand that continues to help increase interest and demand for Colombian coffee. Beyond simply increasing demand, the industry’s branding made advertising history. Their iconic coffee farmer, Juan Valdez and his donkey, Conchita, were extremely recognizable.
Juan was initially created in 1958 for Colombia’s Federación Nacional de Cafeteros (FNC) (the Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers) and his visage graces the FNC logo – along with countless of bags of Colombian coffee – to this day.
The story of Juan Valdez is just one example of the ways FNC has been a strong force in creating continuity for the reputation of Colombian coffee. Since its creation in 1927, the FNC has represented the interests of Colombia’s coffee growers. Their continued presence is almost unique in the coffee world and is, in part, one of the reasons that Colombia is such a successful coffee-producing country.
Though originally a non-profit organization, today the FNC is collectively owned and controlled by approximately 540,000 producers across Colombia. In addition to cooking up genius marketing icons, the FNC works to ensure adequate infrastructure for growers, provides technical support and funds research. Their research division, Cenicafé (founded in 1938), is renowned for its focus on developing new genetic varieties and conducting research on improved farming practices.
The FNC also seeks price stabilization and ensures minimum pricing for Colombia’s coffee farmers. Despite this, labor shortages are a growing problem in the country, as young people move out of rural coffee-growing areas into the city. This situation is the ‘new normal’ for Colombian producers and the high cost of labor is one that is a risk for many and for the industry as a whole.
NB! VI STENGER NETTBUTIKKEN 17. DESEMBER. BESTILLINGER SOM KOMMER INN ETTER 17.12 BLIR IKKE SENDT UT FØR PÅ NYÅRET. GOD JUL!
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 11
Izuba
COUNTRY: Burundi
FARM/COOP/STATION: Izuba washing station
VARIETAL: Mixed
PROCESSING: Washed
ALTITUDE: 1500 - 1700 MASL
PRODUCER: Smallholder farmers
REGION: Kayanza Province
FLAVOUR NOTES: Intense fresh blackcurrant, gooseberry and blackberry, brown sugar, baking spices, citrus
ABOUT THE WASHING STATION
Izuba means “Sun”
The Izuba washing station is set close to a river, providing a vital fresh water source for coffee processing. The station provides premiums where possible to not only the farmers but also to station staff. Once the coffee has been processed, the coffee pulp is turned into a natural fertiliser as it degrades. Once ready, it is distributed to local farmers to add nutrients to their soil.
At Izuba, they purchase cherries from smallholder producers in the area, then process the cherry into washed, honey, and natural coffees.
This season, Izuba employees were paid 25% higher than local stations; 33% more than the national average.
Through processing stations, the prices paid to producers are guarantee, and increase the value of the coffee through high attention to detail and quality control. This ensures the highest quality coffee and greatest profitability for producers. Last year, almost none of the households around Izuba washing station had health insurance. In Burundi this season, the focus has been on ensuring all families delivering cherries to the station receive full health insurance. This initiative was revealed as the most effective and desired thing that could be done from a long list of possible activities following interviews with the community.
COFFEE IN BURUNDI
Belgians first introduced Arabica trees to Burundi in the early 1930s. While indigenous people were mandated to grow coffee under Belgian rule, coffee production persisted after independence because many saw coffee cultivation as a route to a better life.
Upon gaining independence in 1962, the young government invested significant resources in its coffee industry with assistance from the World Bank. Nationwide, the country launched an ambitious program constructing coffee washing stations and planting trees. Their efforts bore [coffee] fruit; coffee production increased rapidly from independence in 1962 until the early 1990s.
Unfortunately, Burundi was rocked by a civil war from 1993 to 2005. During the conflict, many people were displaced from their land and most coffee trees were neglected. Many trees were also casualties of war and were destroyed along with the villages where they once grew.
Those who continued to cultivate their trees experienced immense difficulty getting their coffee to market due to Burundi’s geography. Burundi is a landlocked country and even during peacetime, coffee must often travel long distances on often unmaintained roads. Even after reaching a neighboring country, coffee must then travel even further to one of that country’s ports. The cost of transporting coffee by land from Burundi to the closest ports can be exorbitant. Just getting to a port can sometimes cost more than shipping that same coffee on cargo ships to the Americas or Europe. Compounding these financial burdens, wartime often meant farmers faced more danger on the journey.
The civil war officially ended in 2005, and the first president to be democratically elected since 1993 was sworn in. With a return to a more peaceful time, Burundi also began to return to investing in the development of its coffee industry. Especially in the wake of a long and tumultuous conflict, coffee production could offer many people a chance at new beginnings and more financial success.
The coffee renaissance in Burundi also saw an increased focus on specialty coffee production. In 2005, both the government and international private companies began investing in the coffee sector. Influenced by the growing field of specialty coffee—and the earning potential of high-quality coffees—new initiatives emphasized producing higher quality coffees. At the same time, smallholder producers sought increased self-determination and began to organizing themselves into cooperatives. Cooperatives would later be another source of agricultural information, inputs and financial assistance for farmers.
Today, Burundi’s coffee industry is fueled by 600,000 smallholders. Since the income from most smallholder farms supports entire families, close to 5 million people depend on the profits of smallholder coffee farms.
To put that in perspective: the entire population of Burundi is a little under 11 million people. In other words, smallholder coffee producers and their families comprise almost 50% of the total population.
Coffee is of paramount importance to families and the country at large. Considering this, improving and expanding coffee infrastructure is not just a way to improve incomes, it is a way to revolutionize the earning potential of an entire nation.
Building washing stations and expanding agricultural extension work can be great ways to improve coffee quality. Washing stations are pivotal in improving cup profile standards and the global reputation of Burundian coffee.
Both state-owned and private actors drive Burundi’s coffee industry and play key roles as washing station management companies and exporters. State-owned companies are called Sogestals, short for “Sociétés de Gestions des Stations de Lavage” (Washing station management companies). Privately-owned companies can operate under a variety of different names.
It is important to note that, in concert with washing station management companies, washing station managers also play an important role in producing high quality specialty coffee. Managers oversee farmer education, aid in the implementation of good economic practices and help farmers implement best agricultural practices. They also collaborate with producers to ensure everyone has access to the necessary tools and inputs—and the knowledge of how to best use them.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 10
La Cabaña
COUNTRY: El Salvador
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca San Francisco
VARIETAL: Bourbon, Other
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1500 meters
PRODUCER: Jose Antonio Salaverria & Sons
REGION: Santa Ana
FARM SIZE: 294 ha
FLAVOUR NOTES: Blackcurrant toddy, dark forest berries, round dark chocolate, black cherry, hint of bergamot/citrus peel
ABOUT THIS COFFEE FARM
Finca San Francisco is a large farm of 294 hectares that has been divided into "tablones". Cherries from each tablon are kept separate for improved processing and preparation. The tablones range in altitudes from 1200 masl up to 1700 masl.
This farm is part of a project with an El Salvadorian producer, Jose Antonio Salaverria and his two sons Andres and Jose Antonio, the younger. They are 6th generation coffee producers, their ancestors started growing coffee in Huachapan. Jose Antonio Senior's father offered him a house in 1970, but Jose Antonio asked for a farm instead. He was given Finca Los Nogales, which remains in the family, and is one of the farms supplying us with coffee.
The coffees from the different farms are all processed at their beneficio (central mill). They bought Beneficio Las Cruces in 1990 and have made significant improvements since then. Much of their success is due to their passion for coffee. They are hard working and realistic, patient and focused on quality to make their business sustainable. They have also built a great team. Jose Antonio considers his staff as the company's biggest asset.
The family has three main areas of coffee production around the Santa Ana volcano in El Salvador. They have always produced high quality at a larger scale, but previously the coffee was mainly separated into a few brand names based on the three main areas, Santa Rita, San Francisco and El Molino.
El Molino is an old mill with surrounding farms and was bought 80 years ago by the family. The farms surrounding El Molino are around 100 years old. The family have owned the San Francisco complex since about 2002, and Santa Rita since 2005, but their three coffee growing areas actually consist of a great number of farms, some they inherited, some they have bought over the last decades.
PROCESSING
The most impressive thing about coffees from the Salaverria family is the overall quality of picking: deep blood red and uniform colour. Considering the volumes they grow, it is pretty amazing!
The coffees are, for the most part, processed based on trials and adjustments we made together at the wet mill. They use eco pulpers called Jotagallo that manage to remove about 80% of the mucilage. Their standard procedure is to take the parchment from the pulpers directly to the patio for drying. We have decided to soak most of our purchased coffees overnight for ten hours after pulping as we believe it will make the coffee even more elegant. We feel the cup is brighter and cleaner, seems like shelf life can be increased and the acidity profile more distinct. The cups tend to be more closed in the beginning, but they normally open up some months after picking. We tend to like these more. The coffees are then dried on clay patio for up to 15 days, or on drying beds in sun or under shade.
Naturals
We are slowly increasing the purchase of naturals as well. The Salaverria family has a long tradition of producing naturals that are a much higher quality than many others from Central America. They have good weather conditions for naturals: a dry climate, and not too hot. The family dry most of their naturals on patios at higher altitudes than Las Cruces. We believe slower drying on African beds decreases the flavour of ferment and pulp, and contributes to a cleaner and more complex profile. We want to improve it, and we have done some experiments with shade dried naturals on raised beds the recent years. The result is a delicate coffee with hardly any pulpiness at all.
Varietals
Most of these coffees are of what the Salaverrias call the San Francisco variety—that’s a hybrid of Pacas and the old Bourbon Elite, developed at the farm. Some of the blocks do contain old Bourbon trees, Bourbon Elite, and a mix of Bourbon and Pacas. Occasionally you can find Pacamaras as well as Catuai, Caturra and Catimors. They have recently established blocks and gardens experimenting with new and exotic cultivars.
Agronomy and plant treatment
Leaf rust has been one of the major challenges for farmers in El Salvador the last years. Many producers are now giving up and abandoning their farms. The Salaverrias have worked the last 8 years to regenerate the soil through usage of Huisil (organic compost/fertilizer) as a soil regenerator.
Jose Antonio Senior is one of the founders of the Huisil factory, where they produce fertiliser based on organic waste. Coffee pulp makes up 40%, the rest is from fish, meat, chicken dung, bones and plants. It smells terrible during production, but after it is dried it is converted into pellets which are easier on the nose, plus this fertliser really works! We have actually tasted some trials with this 100% organic fertiliser and it also seems to improve the flavorus. The problem is that with the aggressive leaf rust attacks, it’s a gamble. They risk losing a lot of their production if they don’t use the traditional fertilisers in the mix.
According to Jose Antonio junior, who is managing the agronomy side, it’s about making the plants healthy, strong and resistant. This is what they currently do:
Use 50% Huisil in all farms as well as nitrogen to develop new growth and potassium for the bean to grow and develop. They also use a combination of boron, sink, sulfur and magnesium. In June/July they need a complete mix to help the plant develop the beans and stay strong. They apply two complex mixes and one pure nitrogen. They also apply foilars which are applied directly to the tree such as a copper foliar which creates a layer to prevent further leaf rust, but doesn’t kill the rust that is already there.
They experiment with different pruning and stumping methods which vary depending on the altitude and the cultivar. For many of the farms with Bourbon tree, they use the traditional “parra” method where they bend down the mother stems and allow up to four new shoots to develop into smaller trees on each stem. One old tree can cover a couple of square meters and they become very productive if you do it right.
Sustainability and social responsibility
60% of their production is Rainforest Certified.
The Salaverrias give significant bonuses to farm managers based on the performance of the coffees and premiums the coffee earns.
The family employs as many permanent staff members as possible, which allows them to maintain a loyal work force, 50 – 60 of these workers live on their farms.
They offer better salaries for the pickers, and teach good environmental practices in picking.
By creating good systems they help workers to be efficient so they can leave earlier and spend more time with families.
They offer work safety education, provide housing for casual workers in San Francisco. health care for workers through doctors visiting the farms, plus they pay the local clinics for medical care of their workers.They also built two medical clinics in Atacco and are supporting them financially and donated land to two other clinics for the government.
They donated a site for the school in San Francisco, and are building a soccer field.
The tradition and culture of the family is generally to do a lot of charity for the local communities.
COFFEE IN EL SALVADOR
Coffee arrived in El Salvador in the 1880s and soon became a major wealth generator for the country’s elite rulers. Indigo, the plant that was used to dye cloth that iconic blue, had long been the main export crop for both El Salvador and Guatemala. However, in the 1880s, as new, cheaper, man-made dyes became available, the country’s indigo export business gradually disappeared.
As coffee supplanted indigo as the country’s biggest export crop, the small, landholding elite who possessed large swathes of land benefited. These elites were almost all deeply connected to politics, including the president of El Salvador himself, General Tomás Regalado, who at one point owned more than 6,000 hectares. Politicians had a habit of using their office (and the military) to force peasants to cede their land to cronies and even to work as poorly- or unpaid forced labor on large estates.
The landed elite invested heavily in infrastructure - roads and mills - that enabled El Salvador’s coffee industry to flourish. However, it was not until many years later, when land was redistributed to landless farmers, that the majority of the population was able to benefit from those investments.
By the 1920s, 90% of El Salvador’s exports were coffee, and by the 1970s, El Salvador was the world’s 4th largest coffee producer. This accolade is made even more impressive when considering El Salvador’s diminutive size. Unfortunately, El Salvador’s standing as an agricultural powerhouse was decimated by the full-fledged civil war that lasted from 1979 to 1992.
One outcome of the country’s civil war was significant land reform that disaggregated many of the large estates and redistributed land to landless workers. Today, 95% of El Salvador’s coffee growers cultivate coffee on fewer than 20 hectares. Estate sizes for single owners are capped at 245 hectares.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 9
Baru Black Mountain
COUNTRY: Panama
FARM/COOP/STATION: Baru Black Mountain
VARIETAL: Yellow catuai
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1350 - 1500 m.a.s.l.
OWNER: Pedro Rodriguez Escribano
REGION: Chiriqui
FLAVOUR NOTES: Cooked pineapple, strawberry, black tea, sweet almond, baking spices
ABOUT THIS COFFEE
This coffee is produced at the Baru Black Mountain farm, situated at an altitude of between 1,350 and 1,500 metres in Chiriqui Province. It benefits from ideal production conditions, in terms of both its environment and climate. Grown in mineral-rich volcanic soil under natural shade, the cherries are harvested selectively by hand and dried by dehydration using a system of African beds placed inside an oven. An innovative preparation technique that gives this well-balanced and aromatically complex coffee its characteristic sweetness.
ABOUT THE FARM
Baru Black Mountain is located in northern Panama, in the Chiriqui Province and near the La Amistad International Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Standing 3,800 metres above sea level, Volcan Baru overlooks the national park and marks the country’s highest point. The farm is named after the region’s very dark volcanic soil. It is situated to the west of the volcano at an altitude of between 1,350 and 1,500 metres, midway between the cities of Volcan and Rio Sereno. It is an ideal environment for growing coffee. In addition to its mineral-rich soil, streams and century-old trees, which provide natural shade, it benefits from perfect weather conditions, all of which optimise production. The Baru Black Mountain farm is not only committed to environmentally-friendly farming practices, by using stream water to wash its harvested cherries for example, but also respects its workers, who receive medical and educational support for their families. Our agricultural engineer, who helps our producers improve the quality of their coffees, visited the Baru Black Mountain plantation in 2017. The aim being to help them experiment with natural and honey processes, never before used at the farm.
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Pedro Rodriguez Escribano is a former entrepreneur in the printing industry. After a successful career in Spain, he decided to invest in Panama, where he bought a cattle and coffee farm. Initially, he wanted to make a living from his cattle production, but it was not until he met his daughter and her future husband, a German coffee enthusiast, that he decided to expand his coffee production. For the past 10 years, Pedro has invested fully in his coffee farm and is constantly learning and improving his production methods. This includes the diversification of his varieties, which allows him to obtain very good quality coffees. On site, Ezequiel Batista, called Quielito (pictured above) is the manager and administrator of Baru Black Mountain. He manages the relationship with the producers, the processing and the harvests, and conveys the importance of good agronomic and post-harvest management, the conservation of biodiversity and the well-being of their employees.
COFFEE IN PANAMA
European immigrants brought coffee to Panama when they settled in the region in the late 19th century. The first area where these early European settlers planted coffee was the province of Chiriqui (valley of the moon in the language of the native peoples that once inhabited this region). The province remains one of main coffee-producing regions in Panama today.
Early plantations were in coastal areas but, due to the low altitude, early farms were plagued with pests and diseases, and cultivation soon moved to higher elevation. Today, the three primary coffee regions are Boquete, Volcán and Renacimiento; all three are within Chiriqui Province.
Panama’s three coffee growing regions are situated around the country’s three volcanoes: Volcán Baru, El Valle and Le Yeguada. These regions have exceptional microclimates, rich volcanic soils and are cooled by moderate breezes that flow from both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
As the winds coming from the north pass over the mountains, they create a fine mist called bajareque that lowers the temperature around the mountainside coffee farms and slows cherry ripening. When cherry ripens more slowly, it accrues a higher sugar concentration and more of the volatile oils that make coffee so sweet, complex and delicious.
Boquete and Volcán are separated by a volcano called Volcán Baru. Strong transportation and processing infrastructures in both regions, including well-run wet and dry mills, are important factors contributing to the high-quality production emerging from the regions.
Renacimiento is less widely known than Boquete and Volcán, mainly because it is remote and difficult to access. This remoteness also contributes to the reduced infrastructure for processing and transportation. Despite such geographic obstacles, farms in Renacimiento have also produced exceptional lots. Renacimiento has the same ideal conditions as Boquete and Volcán, and, with the right investment, could become their equal in quantity, quality and export volume.
Although it is a relatively small coffee producer, Panama stands out for the exceptional quality of the specialty coffee it produces. The microclimates in the mountainous coffee regions help keep pests and diseases under control and also provide unique environments that have demonstrated an ability to bring out the best in specific Arabica varieties that do not do as well elsewhere.
Among those varieties, Geisha is the most well-known for its role in catapulting Panama to international specialty coffee stardom. The first Geisha variety specimen was collected from wild-growing trees in Ethiopia in the 1930s. In 1953, Geisha was brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE). CATIE distributed Geisha, then called T2722, across Panama in the 1960s. Despite the widespread dissemination of seeds and seedlings by CATIE in the 1960s, most farmers did not plant very many Geisha trees because the variety proved difficult to grow and maintain.
In fact, Geisha’s utility was a bit of a paradox. CATIE originally promoted Geisha because it demonstrated a resistance to coffee leaf rust (CLR), but when planted at lower altitudes—the areas most susceptible to CLR—Geisha yielded remarkably poor tasting coffee.
And though Geisha thrived at higher levels—about 1,700 meters above sea level—the variety is difficult and temperamental to grow. Due to thin foliage and shallow root structures, Geisha is extremely inefficient and its yield is half that of Catuaí.
Even if you get past all those issues, Geisha is an even more finnicky when it comes to timing the harvest. According to a fourth-generation Panamanian coffee grower, the window for peak maturity for Geisha cherry appears to be smaller than other varieties, and the cherry does not fare well if it is not processed immediately after being harvested.
In the 1960s, Geisha was not at all an appealing variety to farmers. In addition to producing a small harvest and being difficult to grow, the coffee industry in the 1960s was more price sensitive and more focused on volume and uniformity than today. While many farmers kept a few Geisha trees on their plots, the difficult, low-yielding tree was not often planted en mass.
It took several decades before the exquisite floral and fruit notes of Geisha were fully discovered. The cherry from the Geisha trees that remained on farms were always blended with cherry from many other varieties on producers’ farms. Farmers were unaware that Geisha—a variety they knew mainly as fussy and capricious—offered flavors that would later be bid on so ferociously for prices that reached over $800 per pound. It was not until the early 2000s, when the Peterson family, owners of Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama, decided to isolate and process Geisha cherry as a single-variety lot that Panama—and the world—became familiar (and enamored) with the perfumed, floral notes of Geisha.
In 2004, the Peterson family submitted their all-Geisha lot to the Best of Panama auction and received the hitherto unheard-of price of $20.10 per pound. As Geisha remains in high demand today, all-Geisha lots frequently score 90+ points on the SCA scale, and Panama retains its status as a leading producer of single-variety Geisha coffees.
Today, many of the coffee farms in Panama are owned by expatriates or international investors. International owners bring many skills and ideas to their farms. Their extra financial heft can help boost farm infrastructure, inputs and growing practices, especially with an eye towards social responsibility and environmental sustainability. While their impacts are mainly positive, the increase in international investors—as well as the growth of the tourism industry in Panama—has been accompanied by increases in land value that frequently out-price native-born producers and land owners.
The high value of Geisha has brought out both the best and worst in the industry. For established producers who receive excellent prices for their Geisha and other lots, the high prices they receive have often been reinvested in their communities and in renovating their farms to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. Unfortunately, the lure of Geisha’s high value has led some people bypass traditional land purchasing agreements and illegally deforest areas of national parks to get the best location for new (and illicit) Geisha farms.
Even as the number of producers those receiving high prices for their Geisha remains relatively low, the blossoming coffee industry in Panama has demonstrated potential to raise incomes for a wider spectrum of producers and coffee workers.
Coffee-tourism is a growing industry that is offering better incomes and opportunities to Panamanians. Some people have called Boquete “the Napa Valley of Coffee” after the valley in California that is well known—and popular—for its wine production. Just as it is common for vacationers to spend several days touring California’s Napa Valley, stopping at various wineries and vineyards along the way to taste wine and learn about production methods, it could soon be popular for coffee lovers to tour Boquete, visit producers and have tastes of some of the region’s finest coffees. The impact of coffee-tourists could spread beyond the producers they visit. Tourists need lodging, meals and transportation and often seek a variety of souvenirs from bags of coffee to locally-made crafts. Increased tourism in Panama’s coffee regions could funnel money into the local economy and small and large farms alike.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 8
CAMPO HERMOSO
COUNTRY: Colombia
FARM/COOP/STATION: Campo Hermoso
VARIETAL: Sidra
PROCESSING: Washed Fermented
ALTITUDE: 1.570 m.a.s.l.
OWNER: Edwin Noreña
REGION: Argelia Valle del Cauca
FARM SIZE: 20 Hectares
FLAVOUR NOTES: Lemongrass, yellow flowers, coriander seed, cardamom, limoncello, aroma of sweet cream
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Campo Hermoso is a Family heritage, from Don-Enrique Noreña. Edwin his youngest son (Santuario Partner in Colombia), inherited the passion for coffee growing. Six years ago, Santuario Project and Campo Hermoso joint forces to develop innovative coffee processes to enhance flavors on each of the origins that Santuario Project has Farms. A new Research & Development center was built in Armenia(2023) , to reserch new techniques to process coffees. Santuario and Campo hermoso, have a receiving station in San Adolfo Huila with 28 farmers involved on the Santuario Program, a new Farm in Argelia Valle del Cauca was recently planted with Sudan Rume and Exotic Varietals.
PROCESS
Washed Fermented Process
-Cherries are harvested above 23ô brix's.
-Cherries are soaked in water for 2 hours. Initial Anaerobic fermentation for 8 hours.
-Coffee is depulped leaving 35% of mucilage.
-Coffee is sun-dried on African beds for 22 days until humidity is 10.5 % .
-Final humidity stabilization for 13 days inside a warehouse, then coffee is finally stored on grain-pro bags.
-After the total final stabilization coffees are cupped and lots organized.
COFFEE IN COLOMBIA
Although coffee production in Colombia did not become a large commercial industry until the 19th century, it is likely that coffee was introduced to Colombia about a century earlier by Jesuit priests.
Once commercial production started, it spread quickly. The first commercial coffee plantations were established in the northeast, near the border with Venezuela. Today, coffee is widespread and grown commercially in 20 of Colombia’s 32 Departments.
Historically, Colombia’s most renowned coffee-growing region has been the Eje Cafetero (Coffee Axis), also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’. This region includes the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda. With a combined total area of 13,873 km² (5356 mi²), the region covers about 1.2% of the Colombian territory and composes 15% of the total land planted under coffee in the country. The region has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
While the Eje Cafetero is still a coffee-producing powerhouse, coffee production in Colombia now extends far beyond this zone. In recent years, the departments of Huila, Tolima, Cauca and Nariño have become sought after and well-known coffee-growing regions. Today, they are the largest producers of coffee in Colombia by volume.
Today, there are an estimated 540,000 coffee producers in the country; around 95% of these are smallholder farmers with landholdings that are under 5 hectares. These farmers collectively contribute around 16% of the country’s annual agricultural GDP.
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Luke 7
Mjøsen kaffe er et kaffebrenneri på Hamar som ble startet av Marius og Sverre i 2019. Etter hvert ble Dave og Harald med på laget. Fire karer med sans for kaffe. Vi brenner spesialkaffe i nordisk stil med særlig fokus på opprinnelsessted og smakskvalitet. I 2021 fikk Mjøsen kaffe NM-bronse i kaffebrenning.
Kjøp kaffen her:
https://www.mjosenkaffe.no/product/costa-rica/
Instagram: @mjosenkaffe
Las Lajas Estate
COUNTRY: Costa Rica
FARM/COOP/STATION: Las Lajas
VARIETAL: Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Villa Sarchi, Villalobos, Sarchimor, Venecia, and Costa Rica 95
PROCESSING: Honey process
OWNER: Oscar and Francisca
SUBREGION/TOWN: Sabanilla de Alajuela
REGION: Central Valley
FLAVOUR NOTES: Tasty and juicy - hints of caramel and strawberries. Enjoy with gingerbread cookies!
About the producer
Oscar and Francisca Chacón are third-generation coffee producers, but the coffee is more than just in their family heritage: It's in their hearts and souls as well. The couple is committed to quality and innovation, and are among the very first farmers in Costa Rica to produce Honey and Natural process specialty coffee.In 2005, after years of delivering their cherry to a cooperative for the going market price, they decided to join the brand-new "micromill revolution" and buy their own depulper to have more control over the quality and the price they received for their lots. "At first, we didn't know what we were doing," Oscar explains. "We were just experimenting."
That experimentation led to some of the most exciting new flavor profiles we have ever tasted: Now, the Chacons produce a wide range of Honey process coffees, modulating the drying time in order to create different effects in the cup.Necessity bred more innovation for the family when an earthquake in 2008 wiped out electricity and water to their area during the harvest. Unable to run the depulpers or to wash the mucilage off to produce Washed lots, Francisca took inspiration from her knowledge of African coffee production and quickly built raised beds on the property.
The Las Lajas farm is nestled in the foothills of the Poas Volcano, located outside the town of Sabanilla in central Costa Rica.
The name Las Lajas comes from the Spanish version of an Arabic word for the indigenous-crafted stone artifacts found on the farm when it was first planted. In total, 38 hectares of land are divided into several parcels, each of which grow various shade tree species and create unique micro-climates. In addition, different lots process coffee differently—some naturally, others either honey or washed. Las Lajas’s farming diversity allows the farm to create several distinct products with different characteristics all within a contained area. There is a rich tradition of coffee farming in the Chacón family: generations have owned and produced coffee on their land for more than 80 years.
After the tragic loss of their father due to pesticide-caused illness in 1980, Oscar and Francisca made the conscious decision to do what their hearts told them was best for their family. The two began growing organically. This decision to grow organically was difficult at first because there were no premiums paid for organics at the time. The two risked financial stability. As pioneers, the Chacón family saw the value in building a healthier farm. Today, many farmers and cooperatives benefit from the risk Oscar and Francisca and other farmers took many years ago. Las Lajas was one of the first farms to produce organic coffee and remains one of the only certified-organic farms in Costa Rica.
PROCESSING:
The honey processed coffee originated in Costa Rica, and has spread to other countries all around the world. Honey processing method is were some or all of the mucilage of the coffee cherry turns into coffee honey - the honey coat is left on during the drying stage, giving the coffee a sweetness that resembles a natural honey flavor.
The Costa Rica Coffee is a smooth and robust coffee packing a delightful wake up in a cup. This is Winder Up's smoothest coffee and will provide a pleasing taste to those who are looking for a coffee experience to cherish. The honey process coffee is definitely a game changer for the coffee industry when it comes to dying the beans and keeping the coffee as natural as possible. After drinking a cup of honey processed coffee, you will see why all other coffee farmers are following their curing process.
COFFEE IN COSTA RICA
Coffee has been a central part of the Costa Rican experience since the country’s independence from Spain in 1821. At that time, the new government led a campaign to distribute free coffee seeds to citizens in order to promote coffee production as a cash crop. Costa Rica was soon exporting green coffee beans all over Central and South America.
Just two decades later, in 1843, Costa Rica sent its first shipment of green coffee beans to England. By 1860, Costa Rica was also supplying coffee to the United States. Coffee played such a big role in Costa Rican production that coffee was Costa Rica’s only export for the years starting from independence until 1890.
Costa Rican coffee farmers experience significant barriers to production. Production costs in the country tend to be very high in comparison to neighboring countries. The persistent growth of the tourist industry, combined with the influx of foreign businesses bringing more money into Costa Rica, has created inflation. While inflation and the rising quality of life have had many positive benefits for Costa Ricans, rural areas have struggled to keep up with increasing land and input prices and the associated higher labor costs. As a result, Costa Rican coffee tends to be on the expensive side.
Especially because costs are higher, Costa Rican coffee producers must find other ways to stand out from all the other producing countries in the Americas. Luckily for the specialty coffee industry, Costa Rica has had great success becoming a frontrunner in quality specialty coffees and processing methods.
In areas like Tarrazú, where conditions are ideal for coffee growing, competition is even higher. In such areas, the competitive atmosphere leads many producers to invest in private micro mills, growing exotic varieties and alternative processing.
The focus Costa Rican farmers place on increased coffee quality is beneficial to both themselves and the specialty industry as whole. An atmosphere that encourages experimentation and innovation can breed any number of new or better varieties, growing techniques, processing methods, storage protocols and more.
Costa Rica has also become a world leader in traceability and sustainability in coffee production. Ninety percent of the country’s 50,000 coffee farmers are smallholders, and today, many deliver their cherry to boutique micro-mills that often process cherries according to producer specs to retain single-lot or single-farm qualities.
The rise of micro-mill processing, in itself, is a relatively recent development. Prior to the early 2000s it was common for smaller producers to deliver their cherry to cooperative-owned mills. As lucrative specialty markets developed, more and more farmers began establishing mills on their own farms, giving them increased control over processing and more assurance of the ‘traceability story’ so important to the growing market segment. Mills with excess capacity would then offer their services to neighboring farmers, offering a range of processing methods for small lots along with full traceability for roasters and importers. The system has enabled Costa Rica’s small to mid-sized coffee farmers to offer a wide range of differentiated products. Today, specialty lots from Costa Rica are almost as likely to bear the name of the micro-mill where they were processed as that of the producing farm.
The typically uncertain and dry weather patterns in Costa Rica make coffee farming more difficult. Long dry seasons and unpredictable weather patterns have virtually eliminated the possibility of organic farming. Nonetheless, both the government and farmers have taken active steps to protect the environment. Some of these restrictions also inform the processing methods for which Costa Rican coffee has become known.
In particular, the government is very strict about water usage and pollution. There are stringent filtration requirements for wastewater. Because filtration systems that are up-to-code to are so expensive, standard Fully washed coffees are not widely produced. Most mills that do produce washed coffees use centrifugal force instead of water to remove mucilage.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 6
El Durazno #3
COUNTRY: Honduras
FARM/COOP/STATION: El Durazno
VARIETAL: Wolisho, Dega
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1600-2000 meters
OWNER: Francisco Alvarado
REGION: Intibuca
FLAVOUR NOTES: Dark chocolate, green grape, peanuts, grapefruit, hints of bubblegum and fruit candy.
ABOUT THE FARM
This coffee has been produced by Francisco Alvarado on his farm, El Durazno in the Honduran municipality of Masaguara. The farm is situated at 1700 masl.
Francisco and his wife cultivate exceptional coffee on their farm, El Durazno. It is truly a family effort to harvest, process, and produce their coffee. They've owned the farm for about 15 years, constantly working to enhance the quality. They've planted special coffee varieties and meticulously manage the pulping and drying process.
The Intibucà Project
Coffee from Honduras can be exceptional when sourced from the right regions and processed well. It often has more complexity, depth, and richness compared to other Central American coffees. The region of Intibucá has a lot of potential for delicious coffee, but it requires access to a market.
Our partners in Intibucá are located in the region of Pozo Negro, within the municipality of Masaguara. They are a committed group of producers led by Rony Gámez. Together, they're focused on creating a market for their coffees and establishing a reputation for the farmers. Regular meetings are held to facilitate knowledge sharing and organisation, aiming to improve their coffee quality.
Through our collaboration, we ensure traceability and separate high-quality microlots, a rarity in Honduras where small-scale farmers often lack such services, leading them to sell their coffees as a generic regional product.
The farmers deliver their parchment to a mill they collaborate with, which provides packaging and milling services. Rony, as the coffee marketer, negotiates prices with buyers and communicates them to the producers, who then decide whether to accept the offers.
The Pozo Negro coffees have well-defined fruit notes and a softer acidity, making them very accessible to a wider range of coffee drinkers.
Impact
This collective of producers is dedicating significant effort to reinvest in their infrastructure, including wet mills, drying facilities, and overall production. This is an exciting advancement, enabling better traceability and separation of high-quality micro-lots, which is uncommon among Honduran coffee producers.
Our goal in partnering with this group is to help them secure a stable market for their coffees, support their ongoing quality improvement efforts, and ultimately increase their earnings from coffee sales over time.
Rony's role in facilitating communication and managing buyer relationships allows the producers to focus on their expertise and produce high-quality coffee. An essential aspect of this partnership is the payment structure: unlike other regional transactions in the local currency, the producers receive their profits in USD after deductions for Rony's services and payments to the mill. This offers them stable income and a currency less prone to fluctuations, ensuring greater financial stability and operational flexibility.
COFFEE IN HONDURAS
Honduras is a small yet mighty coffee producer. The country boasts the largest per capita coffee production in the world. Beginning in 2017, Honduras began placing in third place for Arabica production volume globally. For this slot, they compete with Ethiopia—a country 10 times larger than Honduras. The two countries trade between third and fourth place annually, but the achievement is impressive, nonetheless.
Coffee arrived in Honduras on trading ships in the 18th century. While some small-scale farmers were growing coffee as a minor cash crop early on, banana remained the main cash crop in Honduras throughout the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th. It was not until the late 20th century that widespread and more intensive coffee farming began.
The path to largescale coffee production has been littered with stumbling blocks for Honduran producers. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch, the second deadliest Atlantic Hurricane on record, had a catastrophic impact on coffee production in the country. In total, as much as 70% of agriculture in Honduras was destroyed. This widespread destruction led to food shortages, and damaged internal infrastructure made transporting coffee even more difficult.
Many farmers smuggled their parchment to neighboring Guatemala where they could fetch higher prices. Due to the slow recovery process, smuggling continued for several years after the hurricane struck. During that time, a lot of Honduran coffee, especially that of better quality that had the potential to fetch higher prices, was sold as Guatemalan.
More recently, Honduras has battled Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR). Like many other Central American countries, CLR began appearing in 2010, and the intensity peaked in 2012. Smallholder farmers—who compose 95% of coffee growers in Honduras—farm organically by default and with very little access to inputs that would help to minimize the impact of CLR. Furthermore, many of these farmers had aging rootstock and little access to seedlings or training in renovation practices. This meant that smallholder farmers in Honduras were disproportionally affected by the outbreak. Though the effects of CLR have lessened in recent years, the disease is still widespread and has the potential to devastate crop production, especially for smallholders.
Transport and processing infrastructure can also pose challenges. While Honduran farmers have been growing coffee as a main cash crop since the 1900s, export volumes remained small well into the 1980s, due in part to the difficulty of transportation for farmers and middlemen. This lack of infrastructure led to lower-quality production overall than in neighboring countries, which also created stigma against Honduran coffee.
It is only in more recent years that coffee production in Honduras has reached specialty levels comparable to other Central American countries, but specialty roasters are responding with enthusiasm. In 2017, a lot in the Cup of Excellence garnered the highest price ever paid for a Cup of Excellence coffee in any country: $124.50 per pound (approximately $56.50 per kg).
Above all, while Honduras increasingly offers high end microlots, what the country arguably represents overall is exceptional value. Quality has improved massively over the last 15 years, and in addition to unique specialty lots, the country offers very solid, clean blenders at very attractive prices.
Check out more coffees in our store:
Luke 5
Hacienda Colima
COUNTRY: Costa Rica
FARM/COOP/STATION: Hacienda Colima
VARIETAL: Caturra
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1400 - 1500 m.a.s.l.
OWNER : Alejo Castro Kahle
REGION:Central valley
HARVEST: December - February
FLAVOUR NOTES: Plum, green tea, biscuit, grape jelly, rosehip
ABOUT THE COFFEE
Alejo belongs to a fifth generation of coffee growers. He enjoys experimenting with different varieties and processes, as a result of which he is now able to offer this excellent microlot of natural Caturra produced at his Hacienda Colima farm.
For Alejo Castro, the work done on the farm must be carried out with the utmost care, throughout the year, to ensure a quality harvest.
It's all about ensuring that the soil is properly nourished, and protecting the coffee trees from disease, so that the cherries develop to their full potential.
When Alejo talks about his processes, he insists: his aim is to naturally develop the strengths of each coffee, like this natural caturra
COFFEE IN COSTA RICA
Coffee has been a central part of the Costa Rican experience since the country’s independence from Spain in 1821. At that time, the new government led a campaign to distribute free coffee seeds to citizens in order to promote coffee production as a cash crop. Costa Rica was soon exporting green coffee beans all over Central and South America.
Just two decades later, in 1843, Costa Rica sent its first shipment of green coffee beans to England. By 1860, Costa Rica was also supplying coffee to the United States. Coffee played such a big role in Costa Rican production that coffee was Costa Rica’s only export for the years starting from independence until 1890.
Costa Rican coffee farmers experience significant barriers to production. Production costs in the country tend to be very high in comparison to neighboring countries. The persistent growth of the tourist industry, combined with the influx of foreign businesses bringing more money into Costa Rica, has created inflation. While inflation and the rising quality of life have had many positive benefits for Costa Ricans, rural areas have struggled to keep up with increasing land and input prices and the associated higher labor costs. As a result, Costa Rican coffee tends to be on the expensive side.
Especially because costs are higher, Costa Rican coffee producers must find other ways to stand out from all the other producing countries in the Americas. Luckily for the specialty coffee industry, Costa Rica has had great success becoming a frontrunner in quality specialty coffees and processing methods.
In areas like Tarrazú, where conditions are ideal for coffee growing, competition is even higher. In such areas, the competitive atmosphere leads many producers to invest in private micro mills, growing exotic varieties and alternative processing.
The focus Costa Rican farmers place on increased coffee quality is beneficial to both themselves and the specialty industry as whole. An atmosphere that encourages experimentation and innovation can breed any number of new or better varieties, growing techniques, processing methods, storage protocols and more.
Costa Rica has also become a world leader in traceability and sustainability in coffee production. Ninety percent of the country’s 50,000 coffee farmers are smallholders, and today, many deliver their cherry to boutique micro-mills that often process cherries according to producer specs to retain single-lot or single-farm qualities.
The rise of micro-mill processing, in itself, is a relatively recent development. Prior to the early 2000s it was common for smaller producers to deliver their cherry to cooperative-owned mills. As lucrative specialty markets developed, more and more farmers began establishing mills on their own farms, giving them increased control over processing and more assurance of the ‘traceability story’ so important to the growing market segment. Mills with excess capacity would then offer their services to neighboring farmers, offering a range of processing methods for small lots along with full traceability for roasters and importers. The system has enabled Costa Rica’s small to mid-sized coffee farmers to offer a wide range of differentiated products. Today, specialty lots from Costa Rica are almost as likely to bear the name of the micro-mill where they were processed as that of the producing farm.
The typically uncertain and dry weather patterns in Costa Rica make coffee farming more difficult. Long dry seasons and unpredictable weather patterns have virtually eliminated the possibility of organic farming. Nonetheless, both the government and farmers have taken active steps to protect the environment. Some of these restrictions also inform the processing methods for which Costa Rican coffee has become known.
In particular, the government is very strict about water usage and pollution. There are stringent filtration requirements for wastewater. Because filtration systems that are up-to-code to are so expensive, standard Fully washed coffees are not widely produced. Most mills that do produce washed coffees use centrifugal force instead of water to remove mucilage.
