Café Granja La Esperanza are well known for producing competition winning coffees. They are known for experimenting by matching processes with varieties to produce unique flavour profiles. Different varieties will respond at differing rates to processing methods.

It all began in 1930 when Israel Correa and Carmen Rosa Vega arrived in Valle del Cauca, seeking unoccupied land to start a farm and acquired Potosi. Five farms make up Café Granja La Esperanza – Cerro Azul, Las Margaritas, La Esperanza, Potosi and Hawaii. With 188,725 trees over 52 hectares, the farm is split in to 10 lots, and grows Sidra, Mandela, San Juan, Castillo and Colombia. Sweet Valley is a microlot, as a natural Colombia landing at a time when fresh crop fruity coffees are harder to come by. The cherry is fermented for 15 hours at a controlled temperature before being moved to a dehumidifier for another 72 hours until fully dried. It is then dehulled and bagged for export.

Sweet Valley 

Our characterful speciality coffee is ethically sourced from sustainable, eco-conscious growers in Africa and Central/South America. Sales of our coffee help support the creative community through our Art + Industry Programme.

We love good coffee. Buying direct from farmers all around the world, our coffee is some of the finest and freshly roasted in the UK, produced from our micro-roastery in the Shropshire Hills. Our scope is simple. Source the best coffee from small holds around the world, sample and develop the roast in response to the unique flavours and aromas.

Hundred House Coffee

Arsosala is a washing station founded in 2015 that currently serves about 1,200 smallholder producers in the Urga woreda of Guji. According to the washing station manager, most of the coffee delivered to the station is Bourbon: While Typica and Bourbon are two varieties better-known in Central and South America, the same terms are used colloquially in Ethiopia to describe certain coffee-berry-disease-resistant cultivars. The Ethiopian "Bourbon" and "Typica" varieties are typically genetically removed from the ones found elsewhere around the world. Washed lots at this washing station are delivered ripe, depulped the same day, fermented overnight, and washed before being soaked/fermented underwater for 8–16 hours. Then they are washed again. The total fermentation time is between 48–72 hours. The coffee is dried on raised beds for 9–12 days. Coffees in Ethiopia are typically traceable to the washing station level, where smallholder farmers—many of whom own less than 1/2 hectare of land, and as little as 1/8 hectare on average—deliver cherry by weight to receive payment at a market rate. The coffee is sorted and processed into lots without retaining information about whose coffee harvest is in which bag or which lot.

FARM: Various smallholder farmers delivering to the Arsosala washing station
VARIETAL: Bourbon Typica

Arsosala

Of all the Guatemalan producing regions Huehuetenango is probably the most famous (and difficult to pronounce—it is generally said “way-way-ten-AN-go”) region, and has the highest altitudes in the country, as high as 2,000 meters. Crisp malic and citrus acidity, full body, and toffee sweetness mark these coffees, which tend to be the most fruit-forward and can be the most complex of what Guatemala has to offer.

This Fairtrade, organic coffee is from a stunning women’s co-op; Asociación de Productores de Café Diferenciados y Especiales de Guatemala (Asprocdegua) is a producing organization with 664 contributing members, 394 of whom have organic certification. The producing members own small farms, an average of 2 hectares each, on which they plant coffee as well as other crops for diversification, including bananas, citrus fruit like oranges and lemons, avocado, guava, and cassava.

The organization offers its members access to technical assistance and routinely provides services such as soil analysis, test farms, and social projects based on food security, education, and nutrition. The smallholders of Asprocdegua are from several different municipalities within the area, including San Marcos, Cuilco, Colotenango, Santa Bárbara, San Sebastián Huehuetenango, Sipacapa, San Antonio Huisa, Cantinil Union, San Pedro Necta, Todos Santos, and Concepción Huista.

FARM: Various Women Small Holders of Asprocdegua
REGION: Huehuetenango
VARIETAL: Caturra, Catuai, Pache

Huehuetenango

This AB lot was produced by numerous smallholder farmers, all of whom are members of the Iyego Coffee Growers Cooperative Society (CGCS) delivering to Gitura Coffee Factory (as washing stations/wet mills are called in Kenya). The factory is located near the town of Kangema, in Kenya’s Muranga County.

Situated to the east of Aberdare ranges and South West of Mt. Kenya, Muranga County  was home to the first administrative post set up by British missionaries in 1895. The area is inhabited and considered home to the Kikuyu people, Kenya’s largest ethnic group, accounting for nearly a 5th of the total population. Gitura, the name of the factory where this coffee was produced, is a Kikuyu word translating as locality. The land surrounding Muranga County is blessed with deep red volcanic soils, rich in organic matter and perfect for coffee farming.

Processing at the Gitura wet mill adheres to stringent quality-driven methods. All coffee cherries are handpicked and are delivered to the mill the same day, where they undergo meticulous sorting.

After being weighed and logged, the weight of the delivery and the farmer’s identification is recorded in the Cherry Clerk’s register and the cherries are introduced into the hopper to be pulped. Pulping will only begin when a sufficient quantity of cherries has been received.

Once the coffee has been pulped, beans are fully washed using clean river water to remove all traces of mucilage, during which time it will be graded.

After this, water used for processing is taken to one Gitura’s 6 soak pits.

These pits were created as part of the factories environmental conservation project, which allows the water to soak back into the ground slowly and safely. Next, the coffee will be delivered to dry on the factory’s raised drying beds. The coffee will dry here slowly over the course of 2 to 3 weeks, during which time it will be turned regularly and covered during the hottest part of the day. Finally, the dried coffee is taken to the dry mill for secondary processing. Here, coffee is hulled and graded by size and density, before being rebadged ready for export.

One of Kenya’s newest but most dangerous threats is that of climate change. Due to the nation’s geographical location in relevance to the equator, Kenya is lucky to receive two crops per year. Traditionally, the main harvest is carried out in October through to December, with the fly crop in June through to August producing minimal quantities. However, recent issues caused by changing climates have meant lower yields during the main harvest, and new quantity being produced in the fly crop. This provides strain to producers, whose yearly income and crop cycles are affected by this change.

FARM: Gitura Factory; Iyego Coffee Growers Cooperative Society
REGION: Muranga County
VARIETAL: SL28, SL34 & Ruiru 11

Gitura

This is our first exclusive coffee from JASAL and the Salverria family on the Los Nogales estate. This lot is the new crop from a plot on the farm named ‘Miramar’ and consists of a red catuai varietal grown at 1450-1650 masl and is double soaked at the farm. In the cup there is a rich dark chocolate undertone, followed by a complex muscovado sugar sweetness and dry sherry acidity. 

Los Nogales is a very special farm as it was the first farm that the Salaverria bought and it is where Jose Antonio Salaverria grew up. 

FARM: Los Nogales, Miramar plot
REGION: Apaneca Llamatepec
VARIETAL: Red Catuai

Los Nogales

La Candelilla was the first independent mill created in Costa Rica in the 2000’s. They used to deliver their cherries to the huge neighbour Coope Tarrazu mill but decided in 1998 to add value to their product taking control of the process.

The farms and mill are run by siblings covering 70ha of planted coffee in total.

The pulp from wet mill is piled in one parcel before being used as organic fertilizer. 9 to 10 pickers help the family during the season to harvest Caturra, Red and Yellow Catuai, Typica, Geisha and SL28.

The new, fourth generation is already working along with their parents, innovating and growing the business. It has been informally agreed that one son or daughter per household will take over the farm when the parents retire. It also seems that more young people are coming back to the region after finishing their studies in the capital which is a great asset for the coffee industry.

La Candelilla

The Gulmarg Estate is in Kiambu county, located just outside of Nairobi city. The region has a long history of coffee production and is famous for its large estates, which were originally built by British colonists in the early 20th century. After decolonisation the estates were sold to local Kenyans who have been managing them since.

The total farmed area is 145ha and the soil is rich, red and sandy. They have two harvests; November to March and May to July.

While estates such as this used to produce the majority of Kenyan coffee, the increased urban sprawl from Nairobi, as well as the increasing land value in the region has meant that estate coffee production has gradually diminished, while smallholder production elsewhere has increased. Nevertheless, estates such as Gulmarg continue a legacy of many generations of coffee production, supported by unparalleled local knowledge and experience.

We’re delighted to have this honey processed lot, relatively unheard of for Kenyan coffee. Ripe cherries are carefully selected and floated in clean water to remove any immature or poor quality cherries, which float to the top of the tank. These top cherries are then de-pulped to remove the majority of the fruit, whilst retaining the sugary mucilage on the outside of the bean.

FARM: Gulmarg Estate
REGION: Kiambu
VARIETAL: SL34

Gulmarg AB

More than a saying, more than a co­ffee. Pura Vida is a way of life, our very favourite motto from Costa Rica. Ticos use Pura Vida to say hi, say bye and more importantly; everything’s good! To us it means clarity in contentment in the most raw of forms. No worries, no fuss, no stress. The act of being thankful for this simple life of ours.

The most common theory on the origin of the phrase comes from a Mexican movie by Gilberto Martínez Solares called ¡Pura vida! that came to Costa Rica 1956. In the film, the saying is used by the main character who remains optimistic, unflustered and upbeat, despite the unfortunate series of events that befall him. Although it took a little while to catch on, the phrase Pura Vida was being used nationwide by 1970.

Our nod to the Pura Vida lifestyle is this organic espresso blend, sourcing co­ffees from all over the world to find the best organic beans for our Vida Blend.

Expect notes of orange, hazelnut and caramel. A sense of clarity and an un-fussed pour.

Vida

FARM: Several small farmholders
REGION: Cauca, Caldono
VARIETAL : Castillo, Caturra, Colombia

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