Creamy milk chocolate & nougat flavours support integrated fruit tones of fig & apple compote. Expect a clean, herbal finish with an aftertaste of Gianduja.

After thoroughly enjoying a lot roasted as espresso last year from Marysabel Caballero & her husband Moises Herrera, were thrilled to have secured four distinct lots from them to share with you in 2020. El Pantanal is a particularly beautiful plot of theirs that we were able to visit in 2019.

The Producer

Chinacla is home to a couple as passionate, positive and enthusiastic about coffee as we have met on any of our travels: Marysabel Caballero and Moises Herrera. They have around 200 hectares of farmland, an impeccable wet mill, an organised and technically advanced dry mill and an enormous warehouse to store their product.

They recently upgraded from a Honduran-made Aguapulpa, which had a propensity to damage beans, to a Pinhalense Eco-Pulper. Whilst they do some small-scale preparations of rare varieties, the majority of their coffee is depulped and dry fermented overnight for 12-14 hours, before being washed, graded in channels and then soaked in clean water for a further 12 hours. 

The Plot & Washing Station

In 2019, we visited several of the plots across their estate, including El Pantanal, which has been in their family since 1995. With Catuaí planted on around 20 hectares, the plot is protected by Colpachi windbreakers and pine trees. The pine can make the soil slightly acidic and so they apply limestone to act as a neutraliser. 

Once the cherries are harvested, they depulp using their Pinhalense Eco-Pulper before the parchment is fermented for 12 hours. It is then washed and at the same time floaters and underdeveloped beans are removed in grading channels. Underdeveloped, broken or insect damaged beans are more prone to float due to their lower density, which in turn indicates that they aren't conducive to producing delicious cups of coffee. They're therefore removed at this stage, siphoned off into lower grade lots so as not to taint the core production.
After washing, the beans are soaked for about 12 hours in running clean water. Utilising equipment that we’ve never witnessed before, the wet coffee is then spun in a centrifuge to remove excess water before being laid out on patios for around 8 to 10 hours to initially drain before being dried on raised beds.

Their Approach

Employing 150-200 pickers during the peak of the harvest, Marysabel and Moises aim to hire the same people as much as possible each year. However, many workers are actually employed year-round, fulfilling tasks such as pruning, planting, removing old or sick trees and weeding so as not to have to use herbicides. This year-round support creates a stronger social bond between the Caballeros Estate and the community of Chinacla, with Marysabel explaining how being so interwoven with the local community means that they don’t require extra security to combat coffee theft – something that's seen on many other large farms and estates in Central America. 

The Caballeros are extremely committed to the environmental sustainability of their farms. A lot of their energy and focus goes towards improving the soil of their farms to ensure a healthy growing environment for their coffee shrubs. Therefore, they produce organic fertilizer made from cow and chicken manure mixed with pulp from coffee cherries and other organic material. This is used in addition to some mineral fertilizer to ensure that the coffee plants get the nutrients they need. Oranges, avocados, flowers, bananas and other fruits are also grown at the farms, but mainly for the pickers to eat and to create biodiversity at the farms that ensures good growing conditions and shade for the coffee trees.

As Marysabel said to us “You can never get bored in coffee as there are always so many exciting projects to pursue and ways to improve”. We have to agree.

Pantanal

Dedicated to sourcing, roasting and serving the best coffee possible.

Workshop Coffee

Zesty orange, subtle spice & a sticky date sweetness make for a clean, moreish espresso. Expect flavours of maple syrup & candied pecan in milk.

Story

Rwanda's 2019 harvest marks our fifth time buying coffee from Mahembe coffee washing station, processed by Justin Musabyimana in Rwanda’s Nyamasheke region. Justin rose to fame quite quickly; his initial move in 2008 to take over his father’s coffee farm led to operating the coffee washing station at such a high level that he placed 4th in Rwanda’s 2010 Cup of Excellence (CoE) competition and continued to place highly in following years. After first purchasing and roasting Mahembe in 2013 we struggled to compete for Justin’s lots in 2014 and 2015, as his reputation in the CoE attracted buyers from Starbucks. Thankfully, through Nordic Approach and their relationship with Rwanda Trading Company (RTC), we’ve been able to maintain the relationship and secure Mahembe lots from the last four years’ harvests. We returned to Rwanda this summer to revisit him at his station, taking Kristyna, our Quality Assurance Supervisor, on her first trip to origin, who could instantly recognise Justin’s coffees on the cupping table at RTC because of their vivid fruity qualities.

Despite success from early on, Justin is always adapting and aiming to improve his specialty grade coffees. In 2016 the coffee washing station eschewed their traditional disc pulper in favour of a Penagos eco-pulper, used to depulp and mechanically remove mucilage from the coffee seeds before processing. However, due to a freak lightning strike this year mid-season their depulper exploded, taking a reception tank used for floating coffee cherries with it! They rebuilt the tank and structures surrounding the depulper quickly, and reinstalled a traditional three-disc pulper, which inevitably altered the fermentation profile of his coffees this year, compared to the last three. We don’t feel it has negatively affected quality, conversely there is a little more depth and ripeness to the fruity tones in the lot we have chosen this year, potentially as a result of the increased level of sugars on the parchment as it is left to ferment, providing more fuel for the native microbiome relied on to break down this pectin rich layer surrounding the seeds before washing and soaking.

Justin continues to focus on producing high quality, specialty coffee, which makes up around 75% of his total production. As well as purchasing cherries from local smallholders for a premium price they tend to their own 8-hectare farm near the coffee washing station. When we last visited there were 12,000 trees, but they now have 40,000 coffee trees planted on their land, which next year will be certified organic. They are collaborating closely with the 70% female Twitezimbere Mahembe Union to bring selectively picked, ripe coffee cherries to the station.

As well as rebuilding part of the processing station, Mahembe have recently installed a solar powered generator to boil water for the workers. They continue to make organic compost from the discarded coffee pulp, which the smallholder farmers delivering cherries can take to put around their coffee trees to increase vigour and yields, as well as use on their other crops.

As always with our espresso roasts of coffee from Mahembe, expect a balance of jammy fruit, subtle baking spice and a deep, brown sugar sweetness.

Mahembe Espresso

A rich & satisfying espresso. look for notes of dark chocolate, raspberry & dried papaya, leading to a clean, long-lasting finish.

Combining coffees produced in four of Quindío’s twelve municipalities, this blend from small producers stood out amongst both decaffeinated and regular lots when we first encountered it during our travels in Colombia in September last year. We're thrilled to offer it as both espresso and filter roast styles.

The Farmers:

The municipalities of Calarca, Cordoba, Génova & Pijao run throughout Quindío, close to the capital of Armenia. These lush evergreen hills are known not just for coffee growing, but also plantain and yuca production, and Pijao, one of the regions, has been recognised by the Slow Food Movement for their dedication to local and sustainable agriculture. These particular municipalities in Quindío possess a microclimate very conducive to producing complex, delicious coffees. The smallhold farmers, whose coffee has been bulked together in this lot, tend to a range of varieties, including Caturra, Castillo and Variedad Colombia, which are hand harvested before being depulped and in the traditional manner are left to spontaneously ferment for between 12 and 24 hours. Once the fermentation phase is deemed complete, the coffees are fully washed, and put out to sun dry in parabolic dryers for up to 12 days. 

The Exporter:

We met with Iliana Delgado Chegwin and Jairo Muñoz from Azahar Coffee during our travels in Colombia last September. Through cupping and visiting producers we made a selection of two decaffeinated lots (the Quindío being the first that we will release this year) as well as a lot from Yacuanquer in Nariño that we will roast as a single origin espresso. Azahar Coffee work closely with dedicated coffee producers, aiming to highlight the value and cost of the hard work that goes into producing specialty coffee. 

The Decaffeination Process:

Over the last five years we’ve solely purchased decaffeinated coffees that have undergone the Sugar Cane Ethyl Acetate process. Not only does this method provide a secondary income to the producing country, but the green coffee only needs to be transported once rather than twice. Obviously more eco-friendly and less costly, it has a huge impact on cup quality too. The conditions in which coffee is transported are rarely conducive to preserving quality, and so avoiding this process from happening twice is always beneficial for the cup. The coffee, having been shipped only once unlike most decaf options that arrive into the UK via Mexico, Canada or Germany, tastes all the fresher for it. 

The actual solvent doing the work of decaffeinating the green coffee at Descafecol is derived from fermenting and making an alcohol from predominantly sugar cane, but other sources include blackberries, beetroots and grapes. This is combined with acetic acid (a simple vinegar) and spring water and is used to wash the caffeine out of the steamed green coffee until less than 3% of the original caffeine content remains. 

Please enjoy this delicious decaffeinated option from the smallholders of Quindío.

Quindio Decaffeinated Espresso

Super soft, sweet & comforting, look for notes of greengages, chamomile & brown butter. hints of honeysuckle & caramel linger in the finish.


Expanding on a family tradition of tending to livestock, Maynor has invested in diversifying and renovating his inherited farm, Finca El Potrero. In 2004 he planted a range of new coffee varieties alongside plenty of shade trees, and has built his own wet mill to process his crop.

The Farmer

Learning to work with coffee from a young age, Maynor is following in his father’s footsteps in producing coffee on the family farm, Finca El Potrero. He lives with his wife and two children in Aldea El Coyegual, just 10km or so from the Mexican border. Close by in the community of Cipresales is Francisco Morales, whom we were able to visit last year and whose coffee (La Esperanza) we bought and roasted for espresso. Spending more time in the western region of San Marcos during our travels to Guatemala this year, we weren’t able to physically connect with Maynor, but through cupping with our friends and partners at Primavera in Guatemala City we were able to identify some really delicious lots from this same region, and Maynor’s coffee really stood out.

Maynor wishes to pass the coffee farm on to his children, to maintain the family tradition of cultivating coffee.

The Farm

Spanning 26 hectares, Finca El Potrero, which translates to “The Paddock” hints at the old primary function of the farm as land for livestock to graze. Coffee was first planted here by his father, but in 2004 after inheriting the farm, Maynor has expanded the range of coffee varieties grown on the farm to include Caturra, Catuaí, Bourbon & Typica. These now sit between 1,680 and 1,760 metres, amongst Chalum and Gravilea shade trees which create dappled light to protect the coffee trees from too much direct sunlight. They have invested not just in the plants and processing facilities at the farm, but also in terms of improving the accessibility of the farm. Back in 2004 it was a big challenge to get to the farm and transporting coffee can be an expensive and perilous job!

Their Approach

They divide the harvesting of their coffee cherries into three passes. This is to optimise the quantity of ripe cherry in each pick, which is one of the foundations of specialty coffee production. After receiving the coffee cherries at the wet mill, it is depulped and then left in a tank for 24 hours, so that the native microbiome breaks down the sugary fruit mucilage on the parchment coffee. After this the coffee is washed and scrubbed, before going back into a tank to spend a further 5 hours in clean water to “soak” the parchment coffee, a practice that we have seen add extra clarity and angularity to the cup profile of a coffee.

El Potrero

Juicy & slick, we’re getting flavours of bramble jelly, poached quince & custard creams. A clean, brisk finish reminds us of darjeeling tea.

Adapting and evolving his farm since it was first planted in 1991, ranferi morales has radically renovated finca peña blanca in the last five years. New varieties have been planted and they are undertaking a more holistic biological approach, utilising shade trees, eschewing herbicides and applying organic fertilisers.

The Farmer

For Ranferi, producing specialty coffee involves a lot of hard work and sacrifice. There are many protocols that need to be met to produce a high quality product, but he has also taken on a broader and more holistic approach to ensure there is a greater appeal for buyers to take his coffee, as he is working with a greater respect for the environment.

Despite the leaps and bounds taken in the specialty coffee market in terms of marketing and quality control, Ranferi still sees the industry as one that is in crisis. Whilst we didn’t get to meet Ranferi first hand on our trip to Guatemala earlier this year, his worries and concerns were echoed by every other farmer we visited. Migration to the US is depleting the pool of workers to help during the harvest, but also some of the farm owners and their families are leaving too, abandoning their farms to pursue more lucrative work abroad.

The Farm

Initially planted in 1991, Finca Peña Blanca is now predominantly planted with Caturra across 18 hectares. The limestone rich soil is enriched with organic fertiliser, and the coffee trees themselves are shaded by Chalum, Gravilea and Cypress trees.
Due to the high altitude of 1,700 to 1,750 metres, the nights are very cool whilst the days hot, which can contribute to seeds with more density and concentrated, complex flavours. In order to protect and respect the native fauna and flora on the farm they are eschewing the use of chemical herbicides.
 

Their Approach

Once their Caturra coffee is harvested it undergoes processing typical in the region. Once depulped the coffee is dry fermented before being fully washed to remove any broken down mucilage. An extra step to ensure a cleaner and more stable cup, Ranferi then opts to soak the washed coffee for a further 24 hours in clean water, before putting it out to dry on patios for 10 days.

The result is a very soft yet full cup, with hints of bramble fruit and berry notes.  

Pena Blanca

Expect a round & balanced cup with dried fruit notes like raisins & papaya. Hints of warming ginger & milk chocolate linger in a clean, sweet finish.

Combining coffees produced in four of Quindío’s twelve municipalities, this blend from small producers stood out amongst both decaffeinated and regular lots when we first encountered it during our travels in Colombia in September last year. We're thrilled to offer it as both espresso and filter roast styles.

The Farmers:

The municipalities of Calarca, Cordoba, Génova & Pijao run throughout Quindío, close to the capital of Armenia. These lush evergreen hills are known not just for coffee growing, but also plantain and yuca production, and Pijao, one of the regions, has been recognised by the Slow Food Movement for their dedication to local and sustainable agriculture. These particular municipalities in Quindío possess a microclimate very conducive to producing complex, delicious coffees. The smallhold farmers, whose coffee has been bulked together in this lot, tend to a range of varieties, including Caturra, Castillo and Variedad Colombia, which are hand harvested before being depulped and in the traditional manner are left to spontaneously ferment for between 12 and 24 hours. Once the fermentation phase is deemed complete, the coffees are fully washed, and put out to sun dry in parabolic dryers for up to 12 days. 

The Exporter:

We met with Iliana Delgado Chegwin and Jairo Muñoz from Azahar Coffee during our travels in Colombia last September. Through cupping and visiting producers we made a selection of two decaffeinated lots (the Quindío being the first that we will release this year) as well as a lot from Yacuanquer in Nariño that we will roast as a single origin espresso. Azahar Coffee work closely with dedicated coffee producers, aiming to highlight the value and cost of the hard work that goes into producing specialty coffee. 

The Decaffeination Process:

Over the last five years we’ve solely purchased decaffeinated coffees that have undergone the Sugar Cane Ethyl Acetate process. Not only does this method provide a secondary income to the producing country, but the green coffee only needs to be transported once rather than twice. Obviously more eco-friendly and less costly, it has a huge impact on cup quality too. The conditions in which coffee is transported are rarely conducive to preserving quality, and so avoiding this process from happening twice is always beneficial for the cup. The coffee, having been shipped only once unlike most decaf options that arrive into the UK via Mexico, Canada or Germany, tastes all the fresher for it. 

The actual solvent doing the work of decaffeinating the green coffee at Descafecol is derived from fermenting and making an alcohol from predominantly sugar cane, but other sources include blackberries, beetroots and grapes. This is combined with acetic acid (a simple vinegar) and spring water and is used to wash the caffeine out of the steamed green coffee until less than 3% of the original caffeine content remains. 

Please enjoy this delicious decaffeinated option from the smallholders of Quindío.

Quindio Decaffeinated Filter

Flavours of cacao nib & damson jam make for a satisfying, rounded espresso. A brisk, black tea like character creates a clean finish.

Story

Last year one of our most exciting espresso releases was from Ecuador: the Mitad del Mundo Espresso, comprising coffee from several farmers based around the region of Loja. Having been exploring the country in more depth and repeat-purchasing coffee from Ramiro Granda, Felipe Abad and Jorge Tapia, we’re also pleased to have secured another lot from this community to roast for espresso this season.

They’re all growing coffee near to the city of Loja, in the south of Ecuador. Some of their volumes are too small to be workable as their own lot, with an average contribution of 90kg per farmer making up this AA grade community lot that has been dubbed “Mitad del Mundo” or “Middle of the World”. Caravela, our exporting and importing partner for Ecuador, are able to provide an incredibly detailed traceability report which breaks down exactly which farmer has contributed what volume to the lot, and the price they were paid for their coffee, which is elevated well above market rate to reward the hard work that goes into producing clean coffees with a high cup score. As well as being transparent and forthcoming with information about how they're buying coffee, they’re ready and willing to explain their PECA (Programa de Educación a Caficultores) program. Employing a team of agronomists and field workers on the ground year-round, they frequently travel to their producers to dispense advice and guidance which is designed to help improve the quantity and quality of coffee that a farmer is producing. It's especially difficult for Ecuadorean coffee farmers, as the associated cost of production is much higher than their neighbours in Peru and Colombia. 

Some information we witnessed Ivan, the head of PECA, sharing with a group of producers was a recipe for homemade fungicide, using milk and beer as the base. This offers a great cost-saving alternative to share with a producer who wishes to curb coffee-leaf rust on their farm, but cannot afford to buy chemical fungicides. Also, advice on pruning techniques and analysing the climate and soil conditions on each of the producers’ farms enables Caravela’s team to offer specific advice about when to perform certain practices. For instance, mulching and the application of fertilisers is tailored to the particularities of the microclimate experienced and varieties being grown on each farm. 

Most of the farmers grow their coffee under shade trees, with plantains and guavas being popular choices. This coffee is a combination of Typica, Caturra and Bourbon varieties and has been traditionally depulped and fermented, before being washed and dried under shade on patios. As with the lot from last year, expect dark fruit jams and a super clean cup.

Mitad Del Mundo Espresso

Expanding on a family tradition of tending to livestock, Maynor has invested in diversifying and renovating his inherited farm, Finca El Potrero. In 2004 he planted a range of new coffee varieties alongside plenty of shade trees, and has built his own wet mill to process his crop.

Super soft, sweet & comforting, look for notes of greengages, chamomile & brown butter. Hints of honeysuckle & caramel linger in the finish.

The Farmer

Learning to work with coffee from a young age, Maynor is following in his father’s footsteps in producing coffee on the family farm, Finca El Potrero. He lives with his wife and two children in Aldea El Coyegual, just 10km or so from the Mexican border. Close by in the community of Cipresales is Francisco Morales, whom we were able to visit last year and whose coffee (La Esperanza) we bought and roasted for espresso. Spending more time in the western region of San Marcos during our travels to Guatemala this year, we weren’t able to physically connect with Maynor, but through cupping with our friends and partners at Primavera in Guatemala City we were able to identify some really delicious lots from this same region, and Maynor’s coffee really stood out. 

Maynor wishes to pass the coffee farm on to his children, to maintain the family tradition of cultivating coffee. 

The Farm

Spanning 26 hectares, Finca El Potrero, which translates to “The Paddock” hints at the old primary function of the farm as land for livestock to graze. Coffee was first planted here by his father, but in 2004 after inheriting the farm, Maynor has expanded the range of coffee varieties grown on the farm to include Caturra, Catuaí, Bourbon & Typica. These now sit between 1,680 and 1,760 metres, amongst Chalum and Gravilea shade trees which create dappled light to protect the coffee trees from too much direct sunlight. They have invested not just in the plants and processing facilities at the farm, but also in terms of improving the accessibility of the farm. Back in 2004 it was a big challenge to get to the farm and transporting coffee can be an expensive and perilous job!

Their Approach

They divide the harvesting of their coffee cherries into three passes. This is to optimise the quantity of ripe cherry in each pick, which is one of the foundations of specialty coffee production. After receiving the coffee cherries at the wet mill, it is depulped and then left in a tank for 24 hours, so that the native microbiome breaks down the sugary fruit mucilage on the parchment coffee. After this the coffee is washed and scrubbed, before going back into a tank to spend a further 5 hours in clean water to “soak” the parchment coffee, a practice that we have seen add extra clarity and angularity to the cup profile of a coffee. 

Among the tens of thousands affected by the recent explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, were our friends & partners, papercup. This coffee aims to help & support them and their community.

Our Beirut-based friends and partners, papercup, have – like many thousands of Lebanon residents – been enormously affected by the recent explosion in the city’s port. In support of the team and the community they serve, we bring you this special release filter coffee from Peru’s Cusco region. 50% of all sales will be donated to impact Lebanon.

The Cause

On Tuesday 4th August 2020, Beirut, Lebanon, was shaken by an enormous explosion that devastated the city and those living within it. Among the tens of thousands affected were our friends and partners Papercup, an independent bookshop and cafe located less than two kilometres from the Port of Beirut. Thankfully, the team is safe and well, but they’re still coming to terms with the direct and long-term repercussions of this week’s events.

In instances like this, the natural reaction is to want to help, but the challenge is in identifying how to do this in a constructive way. After some thought and conversations with the Papercup team, we’ve chosen to donate 50% of all proceeds (£6.00) from the sale of Ignacio Bajar to Impact Lebanon’s Disaster Relief Fund.

This not-for-profit organisation focuses its efforts on bringing the Lebanese community together to pursue initiatives that deliver impact for the country. Their immediate energy has now turned to providing relief to those afflicted by the recent catastrophe as they identify, select and donate to carefully selected apolitical and nonsectarian NGOs.

The Producer

Ignacio and his family began tending to their Typica and Bourbon coffees in Alto Cedruyoc in 2003. They use organic compost and both harvest and depulp the coffee by hand. After depulping the coffee is wet fermented for 18 hours before being fully washed. It is dried on raised beds in covered tunnels, built courtesy of funds from the Valle Inca Association, for up to 15 days.

The Association

In 2019 we visited Peru’s Cusco region with José Prudencio, Valle Inca Association’s president, to get to know some of their members first hand and taste through many samples to make this year’s selections.

From around 100 members in 2018, that number almost doubled in 2019! This is predominantly thanks to word of mouth, with producers telling their neighbours of the premium prices that they were able to receive, having been able to access a more discerning coffee market through the association.

All the members are working organically and are certified as such via the Valle Inca group. For a member to join, there needs to be a baseline of quality met, dictated in part by altitude and the type of varieties planted, but ultimately it is down to the desire of each member to improve their quality through hard work. The group provides agronomical advice and training as well as pre-financing, so the farmer members are supported in multiple ways.

Ignacio Bejar

A highly floral and well composed cup. expect flavours of lychee & guava with heady geranium, rose & lemon oil aromatics, and a light caramel finish.

One of three coffees well be releasing this year sourced thanks to nordic approachs budding relationship with a new exporter: snap coffees. This lot from Guji is elegant and squeaky clean thanks to the hard work and investment in infrastructure implemented at the Raro Boda wet mill.

The Farmers

Around 430 farmers deliver their coffee cherries to the Raro Boda washing station, located in Guji Zone’s Uraga woreda. Amidst natural forest and vegetation they are tending to a range of varieties, some of which are improved landrace selections such as Wolisho, Dega & Kurume. There are also pockets of JARC (Jimma Agricultural Research Center) identified and released varieties, dubbed 74110 and 74112 after having been initially catalogued in 1974, which are being promoted due to their resistance to coffee berry disease. Each farmer tends to between 2,000 and 4,000 coffee trees.

The Washing Station & Their Approach

Named after the kebele (small town), Raro Boda washing station has recently been refurbished and fitted out with a Penagos depulper and beautiful white tiled fermentation tanks. These innovations and investments allow greater control over the processing of the fruit delivered by smallholders in the kebele. They traditionally process the coffee by depulping and fermenting under water for 48 hours before the parchment coffee is graded, initially in washing channels and then by hand during the time it spends drying in the sun on raised beds.

To ensure uniform drying the layers are spread around 2cm deep and spend 10 days or so on the beds before they are consolidated and samples are sent to the cupping lab.

The Exporter

Snap Coffee was established in 2008 by Negusse Weldyes and are responsible for the running and operation of several coffee washing stations including Raro Boda, Danche & Refisa, all of which will feature in our coffee range this year.

Abenezer Asfaw is in charge of logistics and supply chain mapping, and is the liaison for Tropiq, which is Nordic Approach’s sister company with a team on the ground in Ethiopia year-round. Abenezer and his team oversee the processing facilities, but also take on the task of dispensing agricultural knowledge to their contributing farmers. They are committed to recycling waste byproducts from coffee processing at each of their stations where they have also built schools and provided them with computing equipment from the other arm of their business, which is in electronics.

They intend to improve the roads to streamline access to the washing stations as well as build health clinics to provide access to better healthcare for their contributing farmers as well. Of the three lots we’ve secured this year the Refisa is certified organic, and Snap Coffee are working to have all their coffees certified organic by 2021. 

Raro Boda 

Like drinking a rich, chocolate brownie rippled through with caramel. This creamy bodied espresso with hints of red fruit is super satisfying & balanced.

Our first ever espresso from Nariño comes from the municipality of Yacuanquer, located close to Volcán Galeras in the south-west of Colombia. It’s as close to drinking a chocolate brownie as we’ve ever experienced in an espresso.

The Farmers

During our first ever visit to Nariño in September 2019 we visited many producers whose farms circled the base of Volcán Galeras, located west of Pasto, as well as spending a day travelling through Yacuanquer. We connected with several farmers whose Caturra and Castillo coffee cherries make up this community blend of coffees that we are naming after the region.

One such farmer was Javier de la Rosa whose farm Finca San Javier is managed by Jorge Hernando Morales Daza. Incredibly fertile soil is flecked through with large rocks, which makes tending to the coffee trees and picking a slightly more treacherous task. We witnessed a team of three workers renovating an entire field of stripped coffee trees, wielding their pickaxes in the 33° heat to dig out the old, tired coffee plants.

Once dug out the next step was replanting the entire section of the farm with young, vigorous plants from their nursery, which would take them the best part of two weeks. Renovation of this scale is hard work and a big investment and shows a dedication and commitment to continuing in coffee production for many years to come.

Their Approach

Passing swathes of eucalyptus and potatoes on the drive from Pasto, the farmers in the high elevation region of Yacuanquer are predominantly working with coffee, a shift away from the more traditional crops of corn and beans. The topography is extreme and the terrain troublesome to navigate. Driving down from 2,760m in Yacuanquer town itself, the farmers whose coffee has contributed to this blend are growing their coffee at between 1,900 and 2,000 metres, all tending a combination of Caturra and Castillo varieties on their small estates, typically no larger than 4 hectares.

Once harvested each farm will process their own coffee cherries, first depulping and then leaving the sugary, mucilage covered parchment to ferment and break down in tanks for around 24 hours. After thoroughly washing the parchment to remove the sugars the coffee is dried in the sun for up to 12 days, typically on patios and rooftops.

The Exporter

We met with Iliana Delgado Chegwin and Jairo Muñoz from Azahar Coffee during our travels in Colombia last September. Through cupping and visiting producers we made a selection of this lot from Yacuanquer as well as two decaffeinated coffees from Quindío and Huila. Azahar Coffee work closely with dedicated coffee producers, aiming to highlight the value and cost of the hard work that goes into producing specialty coffee. 

Yacuanquer Espresso

Tart & well structured. Expect an intense flavour of rhubarb & custard boiled sweets, complemented by notes of hibiscus, nectarine & blackcurrant.

One of our favourite coffees from last year returns, with this ab selection from muchagara in Kenyas Kirinyaga county. Tart, juicy and complex, were really pleased to have secured 15 vac-pack boxes of this lot.

The Farmers’ Co-operative Society:

The Baragwi Farmers’ Co-operative Society oversee the operations at Muchagara, as well as 11 other facilities, with just shy of 17,000 members growing and delivering coffee to their total of 12 factories. 

As well as investing in producing high grade, specialty coffee the 17,000 strong membership of the Baragwi F.C.S have strong ethics which shape their methods of production. Amongst the 10 of their admirable guiding principles are a commitment to conserve the natural ecosystem, as well as aiding ecological restoration in critical areas and providing a refuge for native wildlife on their farms. They also focus on conservation of soil and water resources at the farm and factory level, using organic matter to enrich the soil as well as preventing erosion and minimising the use of chemical products through informed intercropping. 

The Washing Station

Established in 1959, Muchagara was the first coffee processing factory in Kenya’s Kirinyaga County. Whilst the mill itself is the oldest in Kirinyaga, the manager David Shege is relatively new and has been running operations for the last three years. His primary goals are to renovate and improve the factory’s infrastructure in order to increase the quality of their coffee. They are typically producing up to 200 tonnes of coffee per year, which puts a strain on everything from their depulping equipment, fermentation tanks and drying beds.

After depulping the coffee is fermented in tiled tanks for between 36 and 48 hours, before being fully washed and soaked in clean water from the river. Once the parchment is squeaky clean and homogenised it is dried on raised beds in the sun for between 10 and 15 days.  

The Farmers

There are 1,531 smallholders delivering their coffee cherries to Muchagara to be processed. They live in the surrounding area, and whilst a range of coffee varieties are being grown the overwhelming majority at 90% is SL34. There are pockets of SL28 as well as more recently introduced, rust-resistant varieties like K7, Ruiru 11 and Batian. 

The agricultural conditions for growing coffee are particularly good, being located between 1,700 and 1,800m on the volcanic, southern slopes of Mount Kenya in Kirinyaga County. Coffee cherries take a long time to slowly mature and ripen, and this particular selection we’ve bought comes from the 18th week of the harvest, when cherries are at their peak. This contributes to more sweetness and complexity in the cup. 

Most of the smallholder farmers delivering coffee cherries have between 200 and 500 coffee trees, provided under the F.C.S with Rainforest Alliance and 4C certificates. The collected fruit is sorted on tarps before processing, to refine the quality by removing under and over ripe cherries, and then pooled together at the mill.

Muchagara AB

Gitesi By Gahizis

Yolanda Cabrera

Felipe Abad

Yuli Rosibel Parades

Caballero Espresso

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La Serrania Decaffeinated Filter

The Producer

Justin rose to fame quite quickly; his initial move in 2008 to take over his father's coffee farm led to operating the coffee washing station at such a high level that he placed 4th in Rwanda's 2014 Cup of Excellence (CoE) competition and continued to place highly in following years. 

After first purchasing and roasting Mahembe in 2013, we struggled to compete for Justin's lots in 2014 and 2015, as his reputation in the CoE attracted buyers from Starbucks. Thankfully, through import partner Nordic Approach and their relationship wit Rwanda Trading Company (RTC), we've been able to maintain the relationship and secure Mahembe lots from the last five years' harvests.

We last visited Rwanda in the summer of 2019 to revisit Justin at his station, taking Kristyna, our Head Roaster, on her first trip to origin. She instantly recognised Justin's coffees on the cupping table at RTC because of their vivid fruity qualities.

The Washing Station

Despite his early success, Justin is always adapting and aiming to improve his specialty grade coffees. In 2016, the coffee washing station eschewed their traditional disc pulper in favour of a Penagos eco-pulper, used to depulp and mechanically remove mucilage from the coffee seeds before processing.

However, due to a freak lightning strike mid-season in 2018, their depulper exploded, taking a reception tank used for floating coffee cherries with it. They rebuilt the tank and structures surrounding the depulper quickly, and reinstalled their traditional three-disc pulper, which inevitably altered the fermentation profile of his coffees. 

The increased level of sugars on the parchment as it is left to ferment provide more fuel for the native microbiome, relied on to break down this pectin rich layer surrounding the seeds before washing and soaking. As a result, it stands a little apart from the flavour profiles of eco-pulped and then fermented lots we have roasted from Mahembe in the past.

Their Approach

Justin continues to focus on producing high quality, specialty coffee, which makes up around 75% of his total production. As well as purchasing cherries from local smallholders for a premium price, they tend to their own 8-hectare farm near the coffee washing station. When we last visited, there were 12,000 coffee trees, but they now have 40,000 planted on their land, which next year will be certified organic. They are also collaborating closely with the 70% female Twitezimbere Mahembe Union to bring selectively picked, ripe coffee cherries to the station.

As well as rebuilding part of the processing station, Mahembe have recently installed a solar powered generator to boil water for the workers. They continue to make organic compost from the discarded coffee pulp, which the smallholder farmers delivering cherries can take to put around their coffee trees to increase vigour and yields and use on their own crops. 

As always with coffees from Mahembe, expect a balance of crisp red fruits, a sweet, juicy character, brisk tea-like notes and delicate florals.

Mahembe

The Producers & Their Approach

In the small hamlet of San Antonio de Chingama reside the 12 families whose coffee has been combined to create this lot from Agua Azul. They are collectively working as a ‘Comite’, producing their coffee completely organically and tending to a mixture of coffee varieties, predominantly Caturra, Catuaí, Pache and some Bourbon. Each family has their own small beneficio where they will process their own lots before they are cupped and either kept separate or collated into larger blends. 

The farms are small, between 1 and 3 hectares in size, spanning from 1,550 to 2,200 metres in altitude. At harvest time it is typical to practice ‘Mingas’ (loosely translating as ‘today for me, tomorrow for you’) which involves sharing the labour of collecting cherries from the trees as a community, with each family helping the others out in turn. They will typically leave the harvested fruit overnight in sacks before depulping the following morning and dry fermenting for between 15 and 48 hours, depending on the weather. The coffee is then fully washed before drying for between 12 and 25 days in parabolic dryers. 

The Exporter & Importer

Whilst we have established a more direct approach working in Cusco in Peru, for this coffee we cupped selections from Nordic Approach, who are working with an exporter called Origin Coffee Lab, through whom we secured a lot from Duber Vasquez earlier this year. 

The farmers contributing to the Agua Azul brand are part of a program called Solidario, which includes training on farm practices and post-harvest protocols to improve yields and quality, as well as access to pre-financing. Origin Coffee Lab are paying higher prices for increased quality and aiding the producers in elevating their coffees to these higher levels. They are focussed on securing a living wage for their producers, and last year they paid out over $500,000 in premiums, meaning the price paid for the coffees was well in excess on not just the global C market price, but also well above the market rate for washed, organic Peruvian lots.  

We hope to be able to visit Origin Coffee Lab soon and explore the northern profiles of Peru with more interest next year. 

Agua Azul Espresso

The Producers

Ramiro and Victoria Granda live on their farm in San Antonio, Pichincha, Ecuador, which has been in the Granda family for 100 years. They’re joined by their children Martín, David & Emilia, grandson Tiago and youngest granddaughter, Elina.

As a trained agronomist, Ramiro tends to the coffee which is planted on just three hectares of their estate, and also avocados, citrus fruits and bananas. These other food crops create supplementary means of income but also support biodiversity of wildlife on the farm. Victoria is a co-owner of the farm and is in charge of quality control procedures and guiding the staff.

Their Approach

The area itself is very dry, but a spring provides fresh water for irrigation on the farm. As well as small amounts of Robusta (after all, Ecuador does produce a lot of instant coffee), they are growing Typica Mejorado, which is actually a cross between Bourbon and Geisha, as well as Typica (gifted to them by Jesuit missionaries.

In 2017 there were some obstacles Ramiro needed to overcome to break into the specialty coffee market. Despite having high quality varieties producing on his farm, he was drying the coffee at his neighbour’s house, and it was improperly done. Poor drying can quickly undo the hard work undertaken at the propagation, harvesting and processing stages. With help from Caravela and their PECA team members, a new infrastructure has been built at the farm, replete with raised beds slung with mesh to allow for optimal ventilation around the drying parchment coffee.

During the harvest season they employ a handful of local people, around 5 in total, to work under Henri, their year-round farm manager, and Victoria. By supplying them with burgundy-coloured wristbands the pickers are able to compare the colour with the coffee on the trees, to enable uniformly ripe selections.

In 2019 Ramiro’s Typica trees, which had been stumped back and not producing for the 2018 crop, were cropping again, and the lot we roasted was a combination of Typica and Typica Mejorado. It isn’t advised to mix varieties at the harvesting stage, as they may require different fermentation protocols and drying times. However, we still got a tonne of sweet, floral character in the Grandas’ coffee last year. This year the lot is entirely Typica Mejorado once again, and the focus and clarity has improved once more.

Familia Granda

The Producer

Miranda Huaman Gregoria has been working in coffee for 33 years, the last 5 of which has been in partnership with the Valle Inca Association, headed up by José Prundencio. She is tending to bourbon coffee trees on her 5-hectare farm, Mesapata, which are between 6 and 10 years old. Being situated at 2,000 metres above sea level means that both Broca (coffee borer beetle) and Roya (coffee leaf rust) aren’t really an issue for her.

Their Approach

Miranda has planted Pacay trees on her farm, to provide shade for the coffee plants as well as to encourage biodiversity. As well as coffee she is producing small peppers known locally as Rocoto. The coffee plants are nourished with a homemade compost, composed primarily of spent coffee pulp and bird poo.

After the coffee cherries are fully ripened and harvested Miranda uses a manually cranked depulper to remove the cherry skins before sealing the mucilage covered parchment coffee in barrels with an airlock system to ferment and break down for up to 39 hours. We’ve seen producers and exporters describe this kind of processing method as ‘Anaerobic Fermentation’, which is terminology we’re not entirely comfortable with using ourselves.

What matters to us is that it allows Miranda to process her coffee in a consistent and controlled manner which delivers positive results and is hopefully repeatable from season to season. After fermenting the coffee, it is fully washed in clean water, which is then treated in wells, before the parchment coffee is placed onto raised beds in a parabolic dried to slowly dry down to a stable moisture content over around 18 days. 

Challenges

In 2018, our first year buying coffee through Valle Inca, the group had around 100 members, a number which has almost doubled in 2019. This is predominantly thanks to word of mouth, with producers telling their neighbours of the premium prices that they were able to receive, having been able to access a more discerning coffee market through the association.

All the members are working organically and are certified as such via the Valle Inca group. For a member to join, there needs to be a baseline of quality met, dictated in part by altitude and the type of varieties planted, but ultimately it is down to the desire of each member to improve their quality through hard work. The group provide agronomical advice and training as well as pre-financing, so the farmer members are supported in multiple ways. 

 When we cupped with the president of the association, José Prudencio, and his team at their lab in Calca during our last visit we tasted some really interesting small lots which we didn’t want to pass up on. This year, through our partnership with Promoting Peru, we were able to assess many samples once again, and found that this coffee from Miranda was uniquely floral, herbal and delicate. Whilst unable to travel we were able to learn all about Miranda’s farm and production methods via Promoting Peru and José Prudencio at Valle Inca. 

Miranda Huaman Gregora

The Producer

Emilio Gomez has been living in El Naranjo, in Dipilto, for the last 36 years. On his farm, Finca San Antonio, he works alongside his wife Teresa Castellanos and his children to produce coffee alongside plantains, mandarins, oranges and lemons, as well as rearing some cattle. He is growing mostly caturra, as well as some maragogype. Lots of producers in the area are shifting to more resistant varieties, but he is intent on keeping the traditional varieties going. Thanks to help and instruction from Caravela, he has seen his coffee quality and production increase, meaning it's still his most important crop.

During a walk around his farm when we last visited, eating satsumas straight from the tree, Emilio explained "I take care of my trees as if they were children. Love and attention are what they need to flourish." Emilio gets help running the farm from his family, his son helping with coffee processing and his daughter doing the farm admin. Jaciel, his youngest, was busy running barefoot amongst the trees and howling, but maybe in a few years, there will be a job for him too! He has recently purchased a second plot at 1,500 metres nearby, called Regardo dos Dios.

Their Approach

When we first cupped in Caravela's Ocotal lab in Nicaragua we came across a 22-hour fermented lot of caturra from Finca San Antonio which was one of the highlights from our visit. We roasted this coffee back in 2019 and are thrilled to have secured the same lot again this year. 

Emilio shares the small wet mill (typically referred to as a beneficio in Central America) with his brother. Owning eight hectares he harvests each variety separately to sell as single variety lots. He used to depulp his coffee and ferment for 8-10 hours, in line with local tradition but for the last few years has been extending to 12 hours or so, and trialled experiments of fermenting batches for 24 hours plus. 

Eight people are hired to work permanently on the farm, as well as the whole family pitching in, from manually clearing weeds to spraying the home-fermented aguamiels to nourish and protect their coffee plants, as well as undertaking selective picking at harvest time. Emilio likes to keep lots of dry matter that has fallen from shade trees on the ground to keep moisture in the soil.

After processing the still wet parchment coffee is delivered to Caravela’s Beneficio La Estrella to be shade dried on raised beds with the utmost care, locking in and preserving all of the coffee’s characteristics produced at the farm level.

Emilio Gomez

Producer  Mutheka Farmers’ Cooperative Society
Harvest  January, 2021
Process  Traditionally depulped & fermented overnight, fully washed & soaked, dried on raised beds.
Variety  SL28, SL34, Batian & Ruiru 11
Region  Kaiguri, Nyeri
Country  Kenya
Altitude  1,700 - 1,800 metres
Arrival  May, 2021

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