Rocosa Montana translates directly as the Rocky Mountain and is located in Santa Clara, Panama. Processed exclusively by Allan Hartmann, we have bought directly from this farm for the last 3 years and have developed a very exciting relationship.
This year we decided to experiment with fermentations that are usually used exclusively for Geisha’s in Panama. Fascinated by the effects that controlled fermentation has on flavour we asked Allan to anaerobically ferment this Caturra with natural yeasts apparent in the air. After 18 days of stable fermentation the cherries are then pulped and dried on raised African beds for a further 8 days. We have been blown away by the complexity found in this coffee.

Rocky Mountain

Clifton Coffee Roasters is a speciality coffee roasters based in Bristol, UK. Offering award-winning servicing and support, free customer training at our SCA Certified Training Campus and an expansive list of industry-leading equipment solutions.

Clifton Coffee Roasters

El Mirador

Eratoi

Ou Yang

Wahana Longberry

Werka Wuri

Comsa

Sitio Tres Barras

Pha Yar Gyi Kone

Suspension Espresso

Bani Ofair

House Filter V.10

Kirundo Kayanza Cafex

Huila-Sugarcane Decaf E.A

E1 Project Espresso

Village Espresso

30% BRAZIL – SAO SEBASTIO (NATURAL)

In Divinolandia, Sao Paulo things are done a little differently; with small scale, family producers focusing on quality over yield. These select producers have been paving the way by producing consistently excellent coffee and inspiring other producers in the region of the potential of smaller, quality lots over commodity farming.

40% DR CONGO – COOPADE (WASHED)

In July 2016, Coopade created a Women’s Section with the objective of allowing women coffee farmers to control and develop their own coffee production through the whole chain – from production through to export. The Women’s Section have built a total of 7 out of 15 Coopade washing stations to date. Their aims are to improve both coffee yields and coffee quality to secure better livelihoods for their families.

30% COLOMBIA – PASTO BLEND (WASHED)

This Castillo, Colombia & Caturra blend represents six coffee producing municipalities of the Huila department. Comprised of coffee from the municipalities of Algeciras, Santa Maria, Neiva, Tello, Colombia and Baraya, this regional blend highlights the hard work of several producing partners from northern Huila, as well as generations of inherited knowledge. Cadefihuila is the oldest cooperative in the department and shares in our intention and objective of protecting the entire chain of production. The members have become a vital part in our selection process and we are grateful to their determination in sourcing high quality coffee from farmers with sustainable farming practices.

EQ V.19

Introducing our 20th iteration of our seasonal espresso…

This year we’ve brought together 4 of our most popular coffees.

40% EL SALVADOR – FINCA BUENA VISTA (Mixed Process) 
This year we’re bringing our beloved E1 Project to our seasonal blend. Launched in 2015, the E1 Project was our first direct-trade coffee and became the foundation of our sourcing program. Now, over 97% of our coffee volume is being bought directly from origin through our own relationships.

40% ETHIOPIA – WERKA WURI (Fully Washed)
Ethiopia is an origin that is close to the hearts of everyone in speciality coffee. It’s the original home of the Arabica plant, and its coffee displays a wide range of genetic diversity and flavour profiles. Located in the Southern Nations of Ethiopia, Werka Wuri is a BNT owned washing station that processes cherry from over 750 smallholder farmers that surround the village of Werka Sakaro, a few kilometres east of Gedeb town.

15% PANAMA – ROCKY MOUNTAIN (Anaerobic Fermentation)
In this year’s seasonal espresso blend, we’re adding a touch of Panama magic by including our popular Rocky Mountain. Processed exclusively for us by Allan Hartmann, using a method typically reserved for Geisha in Panama, this vibrant Caturra is anaerobically fermented for 18 days.

5% UGANDA – DONKEY LOT (Natural) 
This unique natural comes from the heights of the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda. Glistening with gorgeous snow-capped peaks that stretch across 120 km, this magical region offers perfect conditions for growing complex and flavourful coffee.

EQ V.20

The Hartmann family is considered one of the pioneers of the specialty coffee production in Panama. Their story starts with Alois Strasil Hartmann, born in 1891 in the region of Moravia, then Austrian-Hungarian empire (you might understand our personal affinity to this finca), laid the ground work for Finca Hartmann, which was founded by his son, Ratibor Hartmann, in 1940. Alois came to Panama in 1912 in search of adventure, which made him follow the telegraph lines all the way to Volcan instead of staying in Panama City. He was the first resident of Volcan, where he settled, married Susana Troetsch, daughter of a German immigrant and took care of 2000 cattle and 1000 donkeys for a certain Mr. Landberg. He started a coffee farm and later moved to Santa Clara where he had another coffee farm, but his real interest lay with archeology. He died on May 25th, 1970 at age 78 and is still nowadays remembered/recognized for his knowledge of the zone and panamanian archeology.

For the coffee farm he bought 500has from the Panamanian government and gave 100has of this land with virgin forest to one of his sons, Ratibor Hartmann, who was working with the US army in Panama City and turned that land into the Finca Hartmann coffee farm. In 1966 Ratibor married Dinorah Sandí from Costa Rica. Together they raised 5 children, Ratibor Jr, Allan, Alexander, Aliss and Kelly.

We have worked directly with the Hartmanns since 2017 and have used many of their coffees in barista competitions acorss the globe.

Today Finca Hartmann is a family enterprise – each member of the family is passionately involved in the management and performs a different function in the growth, production and tourism of the farm. Coffee for them is a way of living, their culture, their family – a lot of work, but also a lot of love. Their employees come return every year, as do their buyers, because they like their vision: work together with nature, work the land without destroying it. The finca consists of 2 farms – Santa Clara Finca Hartmann and Ojo de Agua, located between 1.300 and 2.000 mts above sea level with nearly 100has of forest reserves bordering on the Parque Nacional de La Amistad. The coffee is grown under the shade of native rainforest trees that have been there for many years. The Hartmanns try not to cut trees, they replant native trees and plantains to maintain the natural cycle and a healthy soil and fauna.

“From the beginning, since my parents started with this farm, they have worked the land with a lot of love and respect. We are following in their footsteps, we love this farm, we love what we do, despite the difficulties one might face in the market, and we intend to pass this passion on to our children.” Aliss Hartmann

“My father always linked the coffee production to the conservation of the environment.” Ratibor Hartmann

This coffee was picked during the main harvest of the season. The ripe cherry is selected, picked and placed in fermentation thanks for approximately 36 hours, then washed and dried in the rotary dryer at low temperature for 72 hours until optimum humidity is reached. Finally, the beans are left to rest for no less than six weeks.

Panama Lot 121 Maragogype

Farmer, Mauro Riccetto is a descendant of an Italian family who came to Brazil in the early 1900s aiming to find land and jobs. They settled in the region of Divinolândia and São Sebastião da Grama, where they began work on a coffee plantation.

They managed to buy a small farm for their family, where besides coffee, they raised cattle, planted beans, rice, corn, and other crops for subsistence. Mauro, with a rich generational history of agriculture, continues to practice everything he learned from his parents and grandparents.

This rich and delicious natural is patio dried before being sent to the tulha (wooden boxes) where it rests for a few days before being processed.

Brazil Sitio Contendas

This delicious Peaberry lot was produced at The Twin River Estate, near the town of Thika in Kenya’s Kiambu County.

Situated just north of Nairobi and to the South of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare mountain ranges, Twin River Estate takes its name from rivers Rui Ruaka and Gacii. The rivers provide a substantial amount of hydroelectric power to Kenya, as well as most of the water used for coffee processing at the estate. The land surrounding Kiambu is blessed with deep red volcanic soils, rich in organic matter, perfect for coffee farming.

This vibrant, fully-washed coffee is carefully picked and processed before being left to dry for 2-3 weeks on raised African beds. It produces a clean and complex cup, that delivers a sweet, rich and buttery body, complemented by balanced acidity and notes of blackcurrant.

Kenya Twin River PB

This unique lot from Finca Los Alpes is no traditional Natural; the fermentation process is split into two phases and leverages, exclusively, the microbiological components (yeast and bacteria) that are naturally present in the coffee cherries.

First, the cherries are stored in a tank for 16 hours where they begin fermenting. The cherries are then transferred to hermetic containers where carbonic maceration starts, the process of starving the tank of oxygen by regularly injecting carbon dioxide. The saturation in carbon dioxide provides an ideal environment for lactic acid bacteria to develop. During the carbonic maceration, experts from Finca Los Alpes closely monitor the temperature, the Brix degree (sugar measurement), the pH and the electrical conductivity of the cherries. This second phase of the fermentation lasts 72 hours. Once fermented, the cherries are dried in a temperature-controlled mechanical dryer, fuelled with coffee husk before entering a stabilisation phase for up to two months.

Colombia Los Alpes

The western slopes of the Nevado del Ruiz are home to Villamaría, an extinct volcano that sits in the centre of the Colombian Coffee Axis. While its rough terrain proves a challenging environment for humans, its high altitude, fertile soil and tropical climate make for perfect coffee growing conditions.

Producer Juan Felipe Aristizábal is part of a community of smallholder farmers from Villamaría, Chinchiná and Manizales that operate a wet mill. Juan is renowned in the region for his attention to detail, ensuring that all of the coffee he processes is of the highest standard. The cherries are carefully hand-sorted and bathed in water to remove any overripe and underdeveloped cherries and then left to dry on patios for 30 days. When the parchment is ready, it undergoes the decaffeination process at Descafecol in Manizales, a local and unique Colombian decaf company. They then apply a combined process of spring water and naturally created Ethyl Acetate (EA).

The EA-water decaffeination process from Descafecol works in three steps:

During the pre-treatment phase, the parchment is heated with low-pressure steam to remove the cuticle attached to the bean. The coffee is then moistened with hot water to swell and soften the beans to begin the hydrolysis of caffeine that is bound to chlorogenic acid salts within the beans.
The coffee is then taken to extractors, where the extraction phase occurs. Caffeine removal is done by successive washing of the beans with recirculation of solvent (natural ethyl acetate) in the extractors. This procedure must be done several times to remove a minimum of 97% of the caffeine initially present in the coffee beans. Once the caffeine ex- traction is finished, the coffee beans have to be stripped of the solvent, for which a low pressure saturated steam streams through the coffee bed in the extractor to remove all remaining traces of EA.
In the post-processing, the beans are sent to a vacuum drying equipment which removes the water applied in the first stage and bring the beans back to a 10-12% moisture rate.

Colombia Juan Aristizabal - EA Decaf 

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of coffee and has been for more than 150 years, growing around 1/3 of the world’s consumption.

This high scoring natural from Caldas in Minas Gerais, Brazil was grown by husband and wife Abner & Vanessa Carvalho at their farm, Sítio Baixão de Serra.

In 2011, after years of working together on their family’s estate, the couple sold their house in pursuit of purchasing a farm of their own. The duo started producing lower-grade coffees at first, which served as a barometer for them to understand the potential of their land. After just a few years of experimentation & adjustments, Abner & Vanessa have gone on to grow some of the region’s highest-scoring coffee.

Brazil Sitio Baixo De Serra

Francisco Salucio Ramirez is a second-generation coffee farmer from the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala.

Located up in the mountains of Concepcion Huista, his farm, Mumuxa, translates from the local indigenous language Popti as “Continuous Rain” which perfectly reflects its cold and rainy climate. Francisco’s 11.8-hectare farm yields around 2,000 kg of coffee cherry each year.

His cherries are de-pulped on the same day as picking and left to ferment in water for 48 hours. After the coffee is washed, it is left for another 12 hours to soak in clean water. This so-called “double washing” technique produces exceptional results by strengthening the coffee’s natural flavours.

Guatemala Mumuxa

This year’s House Filter comes from Ywangan, a township in the Taunggyi District of the Shan State of Myanmar.

Produced by The Mandalay Coffee Group (MCG) which was formed in 2014 and is owned entirely by citizens of Myanmar. This coffee brings together collections of cherry from over 50 smallholders, each of whom cultivates approximately 0.25 – 3 acres of land each.

Within 48 hours of picking, the hand-sorted cherry is collected in trucks and transported to MCG’s processing mill in Pyin Oo Lwin. It is then floated, pulped and fermented overnight in tiled tanks that maintain lot separation. Parchment is then rinsed in a mechanical “demucilager” and sent to dry on concrete patios. Cherry pulp gets sent back to farms immediately for fertiliser, and wastewater is treated on the facility before being eventually released as extra fertigation for coffee trees.

Myanmar has become fragile and complex in recent months, with Covid continuing to grip the country, against a backdrop of extreme violence and civil unrest, following its military coup.

Earlier this year, we spoke to our partners in the region, Indochina, to understand what we could do to help support the farmers and communities they work directly with. We were told, simply, that the best and most effective way to bring hope and real positive and sustainable change was through ongoing trade.

We, therefore, decided to put Myanmar at centre stage this year by choosing it as our next House Filter. Showcasing just how incredibly special Myanmar is as a coffee origin.

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Bani Ofair

Brazil Sitio Baixo De Serra

Colombia Juan Aristizabal - EA Decaf

Colombia Los Alpes

E1 Project Espresso

EQ V.20

Eratoi

Guatemala Mumuxa

House Filter V.11

Huila-Sugarcane Decaf E.A

Kenya Twin River PB

Kirundo Kayanza Cafex

Panama Lot 121 Maragogype

Suspension Espresso

Village Espresso

Werka Wuri

Coffee archive

Brazil Sitio Contendas

Comsa

EQ V.19

El Mirador

House Filter V.10

Ou Yang

Pha Yar Gyi Kone

Rocky Mountain

Rocky Mountain

Sitio Tres Barras

Wahana Longberry

New Coffee Review