In My Mug

Tejao is the original name for the town of Huautla de Jimenez: a town in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, which is famous for its coffee, in the north of the La Cañada Region. Traditionally, despite coffee being the main agricultural product of the region, coffee yields have been low and crops have often been sold to the commodity market, however recent investment in the area from projects like Ensambles sees an increased focus on specialty coffee. Coffee in this region is traditionally fully washed and mainly organic, although not certified as such, and the majority of farms feature shade-grown coffee. There is a culture of minimal intervention in this area too, meaning producers tend to refrain from pruning the Typica plants, often resulting in 2-3 metre high coffee trees, as old as 40 years in some cases! Typica is a varietal that often suffers from Coffee Leaf Rust, however, due to the altitude of this region, the coffee crops have not suffered from this. Because of the lower temperatures (particularly overnight) in this region, there is a high level of humidity in the atmosphere. This makes drying coffee a tricky endeavour, meaning that many producers often have to move coffee from outdoor drying patios inside overnight. As a result of this, coffee is often dried to a lower humidity than is usually seen in the surrounding areas: around 11% humidity, compared with the typical 12-13% to ensure longevity. However, these lower temperatures aren't all bad and, when managed effectively, can lead to great things. The colder climate and later harvest than other coffee-growing parts of Mexico means the coffee cherries have a longer, slower maturation period, often resulting in a sweeter, complex cup. We think this coffee showcases this beautifully! Think soft brown sugar and tinned peaches for this coffee. A delicate raspberry joins in on the aftertaste, whilst it’s silky texture and great balance keeps you going back for another sip. CUPPING NOTES Brown sugar, tinned peaches, raspberry. Clean cup: (1–8): 6 Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5 Acidity: (1–8): 6 Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5 Flavour: (1–8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1–8): 6 Balance: (1–8): 7 Overall: (1–8): 6.5 Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roast Information Medium Dark - keep it nice and steady, but push the roast through the gap and just up to the first pops of second crack on the drop. This coffee is all about the sweetness and silky body, which needs to get an opportunity to develop.

A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons that we love buying from San Patricio El Limon; we've been getting coffee from them since first introduced seven years ago by our mutual friend Raul Rodas (2012 World Barista Champion), and they're just getting more and more awesome each year. The experimentation is thanks to the motivation of Guadalupe Alberto Reyes (known as Beto to his friends), he's been the owner of the farm for 21 years now, and in recent years has really focussed on the farm and on continually striving to improve. He aims to take more care in every step they take on the farm, from picking, to processing, to shipping. Beto's son, Saul, has been studying agronomy at the local college for the past seven years, and he uses his knowledge to benefit practices on the farm. All the family has a part to play in the day-to-day running of the farm, including Beto's wife Maralyn, their children Saul, Elena, and Betio; Betio's wife Mafer; and Beto's brother Felix, who runs their mill. In addition to the family, they employ a team of seven workers outside of harvest. That team manages the weeding, mill upgrades and general farm work. The farm itself is eighteen hectares in size and sits at an altitude between 1,350–1,850 meters above sea level. The farm mainly produces Caturra and Bourbon but has also recently started growing SL28, H1, H3, Maracaturra, Maragogype, Geisha, Pacamaras, Caturras and Catuaí (yellow and red). In addition, around 8 water reservoirs have been built around the entire farm in order to preserve this vital liquid and help ensure the sustainability of the farm. It is located roughly an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, which Beto also happens to be Mayor of! He has helped to build and develop the town alongside running his farm – honestly have no idea how he finds enough hours in the day, what a guy! Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé (the National Association of Coffee in Guatemala), but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. As a coffee buying business, we've always liked being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. Over time El Limon has become one of our favourite Hasrelationships, and back in 2013, they were the first producers that we ever bought from directly in Guatemala. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family operates their own wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. They are able to process many lots simultaneously and keep separate days' pickings, processes, and varietals in their own parcels. The wet mill also benefits the local community as neighbours within the region of Palencia also bring their coffees to the mill to be processed. They have had the mill on-site since the very beginning but it's very much an ongoing project and they recently invested in a rebuild, alongside the construction of a QC laboratory, a new warehouse, and accommodation for their staff. Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. You can tell that this is a farm on top of their game. Whenever we visit all questions are dispatched with exactly the right answer and every suggestion is listened to and taken on board. For a naturally processed coffee this is very crisp, think orange zest and melon with only a slight boozy edge. Finishing out each sip is a lovely aftertaste of cranberry. CUPPING NOTES Orange zest, melon, boozy, cranberry. Roasting Information Medium-dark – keeping the pace moderate, aim to go through first, through the gap and finish just on the cusp of second.

The story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo is a long and exciting one - we've been working together for 13 years now! A bakers' dozen of coffee harvests shared between Matagalpa and Stafford make us very happy customers. We've been telling the story of this relationship for many years now and we don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for us! So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. We're super proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Limoncillo (and a handful of other fantastic farms) are owned by Dr. Erwin Mierich. Having previously lived and worked in the USA, he returned to Nicaragua in the mid-1990s. He explained, "While I was living in the United States, I worked as a gynaecologist, but then I had to come back to Nicaragua and lead this farm. Coffee has been my passion since I was a little boy". Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. We cupped the coffee and instantly loved it - We had to have it! It was a wonderful surprise to discover after the auction closed that it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of ours! The following year we visited the farm with our Nicaraguan importers and agreed that they would bring the coffee into the UK for us. A few years ago we were notified by the importers that they would not be buying the coffee again (for reasons other than the cup quality) which led to some frantic phone calls on our part, and a dig down the back of the sofa for enough loose change to fund buying 12 months' worth of coffee all in one go. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that we're so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua and it's a whopping 171 hectares in size, which is heckin chonky! 109 hectares of this is used for coffee cultivation, with the remainder used to raise cattle and horses, and left to natural woodland. The family have heaps of policies and initiatives to make everything as sustainable as possible on this vast farming area: their use of chemicals is minimal, and the impact on the environment is always minimised by careful and considerate land management. It's owned and run by the Mierisch family who are, by now, very close friends, and well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They're known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The family employ over 3000 staff during the harvest, and at Limoncillo over 60 families live on the farm full time. They are seriously loved by the guys who work for them, more than any other producer we buy from there is genuine love and respect between the family and their workers. The fact that the family are our friends helps us drill down into the details of what they do for the people who work for them. On the farm, the family: Our most consistent coffee, we've come to expect toffee apple jumping out at you when you taste this coffee. Each year the balance between that fresh apple and sweet caramel changes slightly and this year it's nice and apple-y! A wonderfully consistent, easy drinking coffee, it's always a toffee apple in a cup. There's loads of sweet green apple at the front, with the crisp bite of it balanced by silky toffee and creamy milk chocolate on the finish. That chocolate rolls on into the aftertaste, where it's joined by an almond note. CUPPING NOTES Green apple, toffee, milk chocolate, almond Roast Information Medium-dark - Go through first crack, slow it down a little to get some sweetness...

When we found this farm for the very first time all the way back in 2013 we knew very little about it, so little in fact that the coffee didn't even have an official name! Back then all we knew was that the coffee was grown by a gentleman called Carlos Arrieta and it was really, really delicious! However, since then I've been lucky enough to visit Carlos on my trips to Costa Rica and, over the past few years, have found out lots more. The farm is located in the Western Valley region near to the town of Lourdes de Naranjo. It's located at 1,600 meters above sea level and contains mostly Caturra, Catuai + a tiny bit of Villa Sarchi, there are also plans to plant some small micro-lots too in the future. El Oasis is actually one of Carlos's four farms... The farm is run by Carlos with his wife and children, Maria Isabel, Yessica, Karen, Esteban and Jose Ignacio. He has owned this farm for almost twenty years but only started processing the coffee himself in 2014 (while still paying someone else to pulp it for him). He hadn't been able to present his coffee to a single buyer previously, so he would send it to the exporter we use in Costa Rica and, thankfully, that's how we found him! The mill name "ARBAR" comes from the combined family names - Carlos ARietta and Maria BARboza - ARBAR. Their children are Yessica, Karen, Esteban & Jose Ignacio. Carlos is very active in the local community and they have close relationships with their neighbours - which includes CoE winning mills like Herbazu, Vista Al Valle and Sumava. The farm operates mostly Organic processes, but they're not Organic certified. They believe in the value of biodiversity on the farms, and plants like fruit trees are positioned among the coffee plants to provide shade and to help the soil. These trees also provide food for the family. They even have a few sheep and other animals, with the farm being as self-sufficient as possible. They have one full-time employee, who lives on the farm. When Carlos and his family started selling to us, it gave them a chance to try new things; the prices that we pay gave them the opportunity to take bigger risks. One of the ways they did this was by trying small plantings of new varietals including Bourbon, Kenya (SL28) and Geisha which we saw some of for the first time last year and are really excited to welcome back again in the future. This coffee has been processed at the ARBAR micromill using the White Honey process. Honey processing is somewhat similar to a Pulped Natural (but uses less water), falling somewhere in between a Washed and a Natural coffee both in terms of contact between the cherry mucilage and the bean during drying time and in the resulting flavour profile. The outer skin and fruit pulp is removed from the seed (bean) of the coffee inside, and it's left to dry. The colour in the name refers to the amount of sticky fruit that's left on the surface of the seed after depulping - darker indicates more / lighter indicates less. As a White Honey process, this coffee is the closest you can get to a washed process, while still being classed as a "honey". This method can present some risk of over fermentation during processing but water is a precious commodity in this area of Costa Rica, so this method suits the location very well. Carlos definitely has the skills to pay the bills though so no worries about mucking up the Honeys at ARBAR! When you sip this coffee it's a little bit like someone melted the whole chocolate bar section at the shop and you're tasting your way through a range of delicious treats! Right away you'll immediately get milk chocolate and orange with just a little hazelnut and raisin too, this is a very creamy coffee that finishes with nougat. CUPPING NOTES Milk chocolate, orange, hazelnut, raisin, nougat Roast Information Medium - through first and let it slow down a little as you go through the gap, keeping the roast going but finishing before you hit second crack with the sweetness really...

The story of Hasbean and Finca Limoncillo is a long and exciting one - we've been working together for 13 years now! A bakers' dozen of coffee harvests shared between Matagalpa and Stafford make us very happy customers. We've been telling the story of this relationship for many years now and we don't intend to stop any time soon because it's such a big, big, big relationship for us! So much of where we are today has come from this relationship. We're super proud of everything that's happened in the past, and super excited for where we can go in the future. Limoncillo (and a handful of other fantastic farms) are owned by Dr. Erwin Mierich. Having previously lived and worked in the USA, he returned to Nicaragua in the mid-1990s. He explained, "While I was living in the United States, I worked as a gynaecologist, but then I had to come back to Nicaragua and lead this farm. Coffee has been my passion since I was a little boy". Our relationship with Finca Limoncillo began in 2007, and back then we were buying their delicious coffee as part of a buying group. We cupped the coffee and instantly loved it - We had to have it! It was a wonderful surprise to discover after the auction closed that it was owned by a family in Nicaragua who were already good friends of ours! The following year we visited the farm with our Nicaraguan importers and agreed that they would bring the coffee into the UK for us. A few years ago we were notified by the importers that they would not be buying the coffee again (for reasons other than the cup quality) which led to some frantic phone calls on our part, and a dig down the back of the sofa for enough loose change to fund buying 12 months' worth of coffee all in one go. There were many, many obstacles in the way of doing this deal, but we were lucky in that we were able to pull everything together in a very short amount of time. The upside of all of this is that we now work directly with Finca Limoncillo instead of going via anyone else. This coffee has gone from a one-off Cup of Excellence buy to a fantastic long-term relationship that we're so very proud to have. Finca Limoncillo is located in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua and it's a whopping 171 hectares in size, which is heckin chonky! 109 hectares of this is used for coffee cultivation, with the remainder used to raise cattle and horses, and left to natural woodland. The family have heaps of policies and initiatives to make everything as sustainable as possible on this vast farming area: their use of chemicals is minimal, and the impact on the environment is always minimised by careful and considerate land management. It's owned and run by the Mierisch family who are, by now, very close friends, and well-respected producers in Nicaragua. They're known for their experimental processing, varietal work, and exceptional coffee. The family employ over 3000 staff during the harvest, and at Limoncillo over 60 families live on the farm full time. They are seriously loved by the guys who work for them, more than any other producer we buy from there is genuine love and respect between the family and their workers. The fact that the family are our friends helps us drill down into the details of what they do for the people who work for them. On the farm, the family: Right then folks - it's time to learn all about Ethiosar! This coffee varietal is a stable hybrid plant, which is the result of lots of clever (and slightly convoluted, so bear with us) mixing of other coffee varieties. To make up a batch of Ethiosar we're going to need a pinch of Sudan Rume, a sprinkle of Timor, and a couple dashes of Villa Sarchi. Fun ingredients, right? A cross of Villa Sarchi (an improved Caturra from Costa Rica) and Timor (a mix of Robusta and Arabica varieties) makes a Sarchimor. That Sarchimor is then crossed with Sudan Rume (a very old Ethiopian variety), and the offspring of these plants is then crossed back once again with Villa Sarchi... all of that hard work...

We first came across this coffee all the way back in 2016 after being introduced by the importers that we worked with in Ethiopia at the time. We have been buying from Ana Sora consistently ever since and it's safe to say that this is one of our most popular coffees – when it goes out of season we're flooded with emails asking when it's going to come back... well, happy days are here again! We see a lot of consistency from this coffee and year-on-year it always delivers with those clean blueberry/floral flavours and a little bit of seasonal variation. We always blind cup pre-shipment samples and when we come to this bowl we often say “Ooooh I hope this is the new Ana Sora!” and lo and behold it is, it's a super distinctive coffee. It's our sixth year of roasting this coffee and Ana Sora is now the Ethiopian farm that we buy the most volume from as, for good reason, it's just so popular with everyone! Ana Sora is a private farm owned by second-generation coffee farmer Israel Degfa. He grew up immersed in various aspects of the coffee industry as his father was a mill manager and his mum sold coffee to commuters in the local bus station. Because he grew up in a coffee producing area, he shows great respect for the farmers, both as business partners and as people. As coffee farms go, Ana Sora is a very new farm: it was only formed in 2013. Coffee trees take an average 2-3 years to produce a crop of cherries that's big enough to sell, so we started buying soon after it first went on the market. It's located at a whopping altitude of between 1,900 and 2,350 metres above sea level. It's a gorgeous but somewhat tiring walk to get there - it's not all just holiday snaps, this coffee buying malarkey! The estate is located in the Guji Zone in the South of Ethiopia, due East of the town of Yirgacheffe. It’s western neighbour is Uraga and to the East is Adola - both places where Israel owns mills as well. Broadly speaking there are 5 primary coffee producing regions in Ethiopia; Sidamo, Limu, Yirgacheffe (a subsection of Sidamo), Harrar, and Djima – each presenting characteristic flavour profiles. Guji coffees have historically been sold as Sidamo coffees, but today they are thought of as separate and are being more properly marketed as such. The local area is known for coffees with bright acidity and juicy, fruity flavours, often with a tea-like body. It is unusual to find private farms of 250 hectares in Ethiopia (the norm being smallholder gardens of less than 2 hectares each) and even more unusual to find them at such high altitudes. Ethiopian coffee farms are high in general compared to other producing countries (mostly between 1,700 - 2,100 masl) but Ana Sora is on the higher side still, reaching as high as 2,350 masl. The altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry, with temperatures averaging between 16-19ºC allowing more time for the plant to develop, which contributes to the super unique cup profile. Coffee growing is popular locally, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area. Each washing station has around 1000-2000 members, each with one of the small home coffee plots typical of Ethiopia, producing very small quantities. The area is populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. In his role as CEO of producing and exporting company Kerchanshe, Israel believes in helping these farmers through education in husbandry, and also through financial assistance. Their passion for fine coffee is coupled with consistent reinvestment not only in improved infrastructure, technology and processes, but Kerchanshe also invests 10% of its annual profits into social responsibility programs such as building schools and providing clean water to the communities it serves. Israel has already built schools in Adola and Kercha and is currently constructing schools in Gelana Gesha and Kilenso Mokonesa. The farm used to only produce Naturally processed coffee, however in 2018 the...

Here at Hasbean we love to celebrate the awesome things that happen when strong relationships are built between roasters and producers, and Finca Licho is a shining example of that ethos. We first bought from this farm way back in 2007 when it was awarded 4th place in the Cup of Excellence. Fast forward fourteen years (gosh, feeling old now), and Licho has become a firm favourite – both with customers and our little Hasbean team. The arrival of coffees from Finca Licho is greatly anticipated every year. We really feel that this coffee showcases our development as a roaster over the years, as we've moved from buying via an importer to buying directly from the farm ourselves. A few years ago we visited the farm and made a deal with the family for a European exclusive on these coffees, and this year we continue that. You'll not see these coffees anywhere else in Europe. They're so tasty, we wanted them all for ourselves! We love the fact that we simply walked onto the farm after cupping a particular lot in the exporter's office, had a chat about how much money they wanted, and then we all shook hands. We got back into the 4x4 and drove away very happy! The farm is owned and run by Los Hermanos Aguilera. It's often translated as 'The Aguilera Brothers', but everyone is involved, not just the boys! The family of twelve brothers and sisters inherited the business from their parents, who started their coffee-growing career over 50 years ago. With the help of the third generation, the family work the farm with basically no hired labour except for during the harvest. They manage the mill and drying patios, fertilise, prune the coffee trees, and so on. They do it all themselves, and all year round. The Aguileras have a reputation for their deep understanding of quality at the farm and mill level, and this is why we are excited about working with them. Situated 1,500 metres above sea level in the region of Naranjo, the farm is located in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, which is an area famous for its excellent coffee production. The majority of the coffee grown at Finca Licho is Villa Sarchi variety, but there's a smidge of Caturra too (they're about 65% and 25% of production respectively). The remainder of coffee production is made up of a mixture of more unusual varieties, some of which we've been able to snag this year now that they're established enough to provide a crop. Starting with peaches and white sugar, this slips effortlessly through sweet lemon and into an aftertaste of ripe raspberries. As it cools, there's a chocolate edge which starts to appear. Yellow Honey CUPPING NOTES Peach, white sugar, sweet lemon, raspberry, chocolate. Roast Information Medium – through first and let this develop a little in the gap but not too long - you want to finish the roast at the end of the gap and keep it quick enough to preserve the great balance of simple sweetness and fruit acidity.

A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons that we love buying from San Patricio El Limon; we've been getting coffee from them since first introduced seven years ago by our mutual friend Raul Rodas (2012 World Barista Champion), and they're just getting more and more awesome each year. The experimentation is thanks to the motivation of Guadalupe Alberto Reyes (known as Beto to his friends), he's been the owner of the farm for 21 years now, and in recent years has really focussed on the farm and on continually striving to improve. He aims to take more care in every step they take on the farm, from picking, to processing, to shipping. Beto's son, Saul, has been studying agronomy at the local college for the past seven years, and he uses his knowledge to benefit practices on the farm. All the family has a part to play in the day-to-day running of the farm, including Beto's wife Maralyn, their children Saul, Elena, and Betio; Betio's wife Mafer; and Beto's brother Felix, who runs their mill. In addition to the family, they employ a team of seven workers outside of harvest. That team manages the weeding, mill upgrades and general farm work. The farm itself is eighteen hectares in size and sits at an altitude between 1,350–1,850 meters above sea level. The farm mainly produces Caturra and Bourbon but has also recently started growing SL28, H1, H3, Maracaturra, Maragogype, Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra and Catuaí (yellow and red). In addition, around 8 water reservoirs have been built around the entire farm in order to preserve this vital liquid and help ensure the sustainability of the farm. It is located roughly an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, which Beto also happens to be Mayor of! He has helped to build and develop the town alongside running his farm – honestly have no idea how he finds enough hours in the day, what a guy! Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé (the National Association of Coffee in Guatemala), but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. As a coffee buying business, we've always liked being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. Over time El Limon has become one of our favourite Hasrelationships, and back in 2013, they were the first producers that we ever bought from directly in Guatemala. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family operates their own wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. They are able to process many lots simultaneously and keep separate days' pickings, processes, and varietals in their own parcels. The wet mill also benefits the local community as neighbours within the region of Palencia also bring their coffees to the mill to be processed. They have had the mill on-site since the very beginning but it's very much an ongoing project and they recently invested in a rebuild, alongside the construction of a QC laboratory, a new warehouse, and accommodation for their staff. Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. You can tell that this is a farm on top of their game. Whenever we visit, all questions are dispatched with exactly the right answer and every suggestion is listened to and taken on board. A wonderfully straight forward, easy drinking coffee, it's a mash up of bourbon biscuits and brown sugar. There's a delicate green apple acidity in there and a little walnut on the finish too, which gives it that great balance which makes you empty a cup and go back for another. CUPPING NOTES Bourbon biscuit, brown sugar, green apple, walnut. Roasting Information Medium dark – through first, slowing it just a little to help the sweetness develop and then pushing on to the very first pops of second as you finish the roast.

Here at Hasbean we love to celebrate the awesome things that happen when strong relationships are built between roasters and producers, and Finca Licho is a shining example of that ethos. We first bought from this farm way back in 2007 when it was awarded 4th place in the Cup of Excellence. Fast forward fourteen years (gosh, feeling old now), and Licho has become a firm favourite – both with customers and our little Hasbean team. The arrival of coffees from Finca Licho is greatly anticipated every year. We really feel that this coffee showcases our development as a roaster over the years, as we've moved from buying via an importer to buying directly from the farm ourselves. A few years ago we visited the farm and made a deal with the family for a European exclusive on these coffees, and this year we continue that. You'll not see these coffees anywhere else in Europe. They're so tasty, we wanted them all for ourselves! We love the fact that we simply walked onto the farm after cupping a particular lot in the exporter's office, had a chat about how much money they wanted, and then we all shook hands. We got back into the 4x4 and drove away very happy! The farm is owned and run by Los Hermanos Aguilera. It's often translated as 'The Aguilera Brothers', but everyone is involved, not just the boys! The family of twelve brothers and sisters inherited the business from their parents, who started their coffee-growing career over 50 years ago. With the help of the third generation, the family work the farm with basically no hired labour except for during the harvest. They manage the mill and drying patios, fertilise, prune the coffee trees, and so on. They do it all themselves, and all year round. The Aguileras have a reputation for their deep understanding of quality at the farm and mill level, and this is why we are excited about working with them. Situated 1,500 metres above sea level in the region of Naranjo, the farm is located in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, which is an area famous for its excellent coffee production. The majority of the coffee grown at Finca Licho is Villa Sarchi variety, but there's a smidge of Caturra too (they're about 65% and 25% of production respectively). The remainder of coffee production is made up of a mixture of more unusual varieties, some of which we've been able to snag this year now that they're established enough to provide a crop. This is all about the plums! There's fresh, ripe plums mixed in with bruised plums before it finishes with a jammy sweetness of, you guessed it, plum jam. There's a gentle boozy edge to it all, but it's very delicate. CUPPING NOTES Fresh plum, bruised plums, plum jam, boozy Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5 Sweetness: (1–8): 7 Acidity: (1–8): 6 Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5 Flavour: (1–8): 7 Aftertaste: (1–8): 6 Balance: (1–8): 6 Overall: (1–8): 7 Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 88 Roast Information: Medium – through first crack and let this run steadily through the gap towards second, but finish the roast before you hit the end of the gap. The great processing lead flavours will really shine here - don't over-develop the coffee or you'll lose this fruity character.

Finca La Escondida is close to Lake Apanas near the city of Jinotega, which is the capital of the department of Jinotega in the north-central region of Nicaragua. The straight translation from Spanish to English of 'escondida' is ‘hidden’. Escondida is called 'Escondida' because the farm is 'hidden' from the road by forest and trees, which makes it appear to blend right into the side of the mountain. La Escondida is a rather young farm as coffee farms go, because the first trees were only planted there in 2006. La Escondida is planned around identifying the plots with individually different micro-environments resulting from factors such as soil quality, sun exposure and temperature range. This is one of the upsides of starting to plant a new farm. Some of the downsides of starting a brand new farm can be that it may take a while for the quality of the cup profile to build up, it might take time to have the right facilities for processing and picking, and it might take time to train the staff for picking and processing. Not to mention that it might take a while to achieve the yield to go with it all. But this farm, for us, has hit the whole group of requirements running. As a result of their experience in the area, the Mierisch family have built a new mill with a huge investment, and they utilised some of the people already in place in the neighbouring 'San Jose' farm to blend together an Escondida team comprising experienced and new members. The Mierisch family love to experiment with their coffee processing, and this is a great example of that! Inspired by similar techniques in the cacao, wine and beer industries, Perla Negra (which translates to "black pearl") is the name of the Mierisch's latest experimental process. It involves spreading the coffee out, after pulping, in a thin layer on a plastic tarp in a cool, dark environment. It is then covered with another tarp and left for 96 hours, before being dried on raised Africa beds. The result is a super unique, but relatively divisive cup! This is a really unique coffee - which you'll know the moment you smell it. There's a distinctive, funky, yoghurt-like smell, but when you go in for a sip it's super creamy, with a dark chocolate flavour which fills out on the finish. As it cools, there are notes of raspberry and raisin mixed in. CUPPING NOTES Yoghurt, dark chocolate, raspberry, raisin. Clean cup: (1–8): 6 Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5 Acidity: (1–8): 6 Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7 Flavour: (1–8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1–8): 6 Balance: (1–8): 6 Overall: (1–8): 7 Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roasting Information Medium-dark - through first and let it slow down just slightly as it gets towards second and you finish the roast just as you approach 2nd crack.

A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons that we love buying from Finca El Limon; we've been getting coffee from them since first introduced seven years ago by our mutual friend Raul Rodas (2012 World Barista Champion), and they're just getting more and more awesome each year. The experimentation is thanks to the motivation of Guadalupe Alberto Reyes (known as Beto to his friends), he's been the owner of the farm for 21 years now, and in recent years has really focussed on the farm and on continually striving to improve. He aims to take more care in every step they take on the farm, from picking, to processing, to shipping. Beto's son, Saul, has been studying agronomy at the local college for the past seven years, and he uses his knowledge to benefit practices on the farm. All the family has a part to play in the day-to-day running of the farm, including Beto's wife Maralyn, their children Saul, Elena, and Betio; Betio's wife Mafer; and Beto's brother Felix, who runs their mill. In addition to the family, they employ a team of seven workers outside of harvest. That team manages the weeding, mill upgrades and general farm work. The farm itself is eighteen hectares in size and sits at an altitude between 1,600–1,800 meters above sea level. The farm mainly produces Caturra and Bourbon, with a smattering of Pacamara, San Ramon, and Pache alongside. It is located roughly an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, which Beto also happens to be Mayor of! He has helped to build and develop the town alongside running his farm – honestly have no idea how he finds enough hours in the day, what a guy! Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé (the National Association of Coffee in Guatemala), but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. As a coffee buying business, we've always liked being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players. Over time El Limon has become one of our favourite Hasrelationships, and back in 2013, they were the first producers that we ever bought from directly in Guatemala. The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family operates their own wet mill, so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. They are able to process many lots simultaneously and keep separate days' pickings, processes, and varietals in their own parcels. The wet mill also benefits the local community as neighbours within the region of Palencia also bring their coffees to the mill to be processed. They have had the mill on-site since the very beginning but it's very much an ongoing project and they recently invested in a rebuild, alongside the construction of a QC laboratory, a new warehouse, and accommodation for their staff. Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. You can tell that this is a farm on top of their game. Whenever we visit all questions are dispatched with exactly the right answer and every suggestion is listened to and taken on board. Expect a big mouthful of sweet caramel at the start, with a fresh lime zest balancing it out and a delicate floral edge on the finish. On top of that, there’s a lovely thick and silky mouthfeel which gives the whole thing a creamy, milkshake like quality. CUPPING NOTES Caramel, lime zest, floral, creamy Clean cup: (1–8): 6 Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5 Acidity: (1–8): 6.5 Mouthfeel: (1–8): 7 Flavour: (1–8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1–8): 6 Balance: (1–8): 6.5 Overall: (1–8): 6.5 Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87.5 Brewing Tip Pacamaras have a very unique size, density and structure, so don't expect them to grind like any other coffee. I find going a little finer than I normally would and allowing more time for the grinder to get its teeth into the bigger beans often leads to...

This is our first year buying from the Telilia Washing Station and also the first time in quite a few years we’ve had a coffee from Jimma on offer! Jimma is one of the traditional coffee producing regions of Ethiopia, situated north of the famous Yirgacheffe. Traditionally, coffees from the Jimma region are called “Limu” and are produced using the washed process. Whereas Washed Yirgacheffe and Sidamo coffees typically have a light body and black tea flavours, the coffees of Jimma are known for a fuller texture and bright acidity. As well as producing coffees with a unique flavour profile, Jimma is also home to the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre (JARC). This is the home of coffee plant research and development in Ethiopia. Coffee plant varietals is a tricky conversation in Ethiopia, where there is a huge range of genetic diversity in plants, and we often have to describe them as “heirloom”. These might be truly wild plants, but in many cases these are actually plants which came originally from the JARC selective breeding programs. Two of the most famous selections from JARC, popular throughout Ethiopia and which make up this lot are JARC 74110 & JARC 74112 (catchy name, right!!). This particular mill - Telila Washing Station - is situated near Kecho Anderacha in Gera woreda. the washing station is owned by Mike Mamo. Mike is a coffee exporter and also partner in the importer for this coffee, but in 2019 he decided to buy this Washing Station. It’s taken him a while to get it organised and get good practices in place, so this is the first opportunity we’ve had to taste the coffee - but if it’s this good already, we’re excited to see what the future brings! Like most Washing Stations in Ethiopia, Telila takes coffee cherries from local smallholders. Unlike many Washing Stations, Mike has focused on controlling and separating the coffee cherries the mill takes in lots can be kept apart. That’s where the second part of this coffee’s name comes in - this lot (which we have all of) has come from one day’s worth of coffee processed from the nearby Yukro village. Brightly zingy, but with a juicy body, there’s a hit of fresh white grapes up front. That mellows out into a big, sweet nectarine, with delicate hints of raspberry and passionfruit on the finish. The nectarine lingers through the aftertaste, finally slipping into kiwi fruit as you go back for the next sip. A super interesting and complex cup of fruit for you. CUPPING NOTES White grape, nectarine, raspberry, passionfruit, kiwi fruit. Roasting Information Medium - keep a nice steady pace and let it run through first crack and into the crack, but don't let this anywhere near second.

Gregorio Paye's parents moved from a province called Muñecas to the Caranavi area when he was a child. They were searching for an education for Gregorio, as there was no school in their town. Nowadays, he lives with his wife Daisy and his two youngest children on a farm he's owned for 35 years. He has two grown-up children from his first marriage that have families of their own, but the two little ones help out on the farm from time to time. His brother, Julio Paye, also has a coffee farm nearby. In his free time, Gregorio enjoys going on walks around town with his kids, swimming in the river and playing football. Gregorio is a full-time coffee farmer; he doesn't have any other businesses. His farm has twelve hectares in total, two of which he currently grows coffee on. The farm is called Volcán del Tigre, which means Tiger's Volcano. It used to be overgrown – wild vegetation – and people used to say they saw smoke coming from one of the hills, and thought it was a volcano (legend has it that when smoke comes from the hills, there's gold to be found). Around the same time, people noticed what seemed to be a footpath running through the land. It turns out it was a tiger's path. To this day, Gregorio doesn't keep animals on the farm as they might become the tiger's next meal. Gregorio also participates in the Sol de la Mañana program. He says he's already learned a great deal about sowing coffee and fighting coffee pests. He's had issues with leaf rust, borer Beetle, and mycena citricolor, but thanks to the program he's been able to get them all under control. He has another ten hectares on his farm to keep growing coffee on, and he's really excited about what the future at Volcán del Tigre holds. Gregorio might not have found gold on his farm like the legend foretold, but what he did find comes pretty close! There's a delicious black grape, alongside a sweet, pale caramel - with an almost buttery smooth texture. Red apple joins on the finish and then there's a delicate cocoa on the aftertaste for a very well rounded and balanced coffee. CUPPING NOTES Black grape, caramel, red apple, cocoa Clean cup (1–8): 6 Sweetness (1–8): 7 Acidity (1–8): 6 Mouthfeel (1–8): 7 Flavour (1–8): 6.5 Aftertaste (1–8): 6 Balance (1–8): 7 Overall (1–8): 6.5 Correction (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 88 Roasting Information Medium-dark – this coffee suits a balanced roast profile, not too slow or fast, steadily through first crack and taken up to the first pops of second on the drop.

Aside from Ethiopia, Yemen has one of the longest (and we think among the most interesting) histories with coffee production. The region is largely to thank for the global spread of coffee, both as an agricultural product and as a beverage. Yet in recent years it has had a dramatic decline in both the production and, unfortunately, the quality of its coffee, largely due to political and social upheaval. Yemeni coffees were some of the first really different and unusual lots we came across and we were very proud to offer, but because of the difficulties in Yemen we were unable to find any great lots for six years. Then, in 2017, something very special came across our cupping table – a great Yemeni Natural – and this is the fourth crop we’ve had following on from that. Coffee’s discovery in what we now recognize as Ethiopia was the beginning of the story, but it is spice traders and devout Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula who are credited with turning the local crop into an international one. For one thing, the plants themselves made the jump across the Red Sea. They were transplanted for the first time in Yemeni soil in the 17th century as the merchants sought to corner the coffee market, both for their own personal use and for trade with Europe. It was via those trade routes that the beverage spread in popularity, and by the late 1600s, Yemen was the world’s coffee powerhouse in every sense. It was a plant from Yemen – probably the Moka variety (so-called after the country’s major port, Al Mokha) – that made its way to Java and began the enormous Dutch plantations there, which subsequently fed plants to the rest of the New World. It’s among the most dangerous and difficult places in the world to survive – let alone to do business and to help communities. Despite this, we’ve seen a small, very fragile bloom in the last few years of people doing just that and using coffee as a way to a better future. This lot has come from the traditional coffee production of Yemen - being sold as dried cherries. Traditionally, coffee producers would dry their cherries on the tree and then on their roofs, storing the dried cherries for selling as they needed cash (or in trade for other goods). As time moved on, it became normal for traders to buy these cherries, combine them and sell them on. This meant that finding a great lot was always a bit like finding a needle in a haystack, but finding one from the same producers next year was absolutely impossible. Recently, some enterprising speciality coffee exporters have tried to give Yemeni coffees that traceability and consistency. At the front of this is Qima, who source fresh coffee cherries from farmers and handle the drying of those cherries at one of their special facilities. They’ve also supported recent research into the coffee plants in Yemen. The results are super interesting and hold a lot of promise for the future, as they have shown that although some of the coffee plants in Yemen are descended from Bourbon and Typica (the plants from which the rest of the world’s cultivated arabica comes from), some of Yemen’s plants are not related to these at all. This collection of varietals - dubbed Yemenia - is thought to have come as wild Ethiopian arabica into Yemen at some point and then not left. This could offer not only new flavour profiles, but also hope for finding varietals which will handle drought, high temperature and diseases better than their more well-known cousins. Qima have done an amazing job buying fresh cherries, but the production in this way is still a super tiny amount and they’re ambitious to make a bigger impact. This has lead to a sister company - Arabica Felix. They combine the traditional method of selling dried coffee cherries with the traceability, expertise and control that the infrastructure on the ground makes possible. This lot, one of theirs, is sourced from 6 communities around Sana’a and Mahwit. The cherries are delivered to the processing centre in...

Much of Kenya's coffee comes from cooperatives, which means it's tough to go to visit a person or build a long-term relationship. That said, it is possible to get something interesting going and to work on projects together by speaking with the leaders of the co-ops and washing stations. Othaya Farmer's Cooperative is based at the Gatuyaini wet mill, just north of Othaya town where they house a cupping room (and talented QC person) and their latest addition – a small roastery (where they hope to develop a market for their coffee inside Kenya). Othaya have many different wet mills in the co-operative, and we buy from one of the smallest – Chinga. Situated just south of Othaya town, the mill was built in the 1960s on the banks of the Gikira River. The last time we visited Othaya, we were invited to the mill to cup some of the washed production from different farms. There was a clear standout lot, which turned out to be a small lot from Chinga. Breaking the usual rule about not buying when you're in the country, we asked then and there if we could buy it! The mill has some 783 members, and each member only owns a small piece of land of an average 0.3 acres. Members of co-operatives pick their coffee cherries and deliver them to a local mill like Chinga. At Chinga, they collect the cherries together and when they have enough they put them through the washed process as a batch – called an Outturn. For each Outturn, the cherries are sorted before being depulped and emptied into large vats filled with clean, cold water. There they ferment, until the remaining fruit parts have come away from the beans. They get floated (which separates out the ripe, dense beans from lower quality ones) before being dried on raised beds. They then go to the Dry Mill, where they have the parchment removed and go through screens. These are a bit like giant sieves, and separate the beans by size. An AA lot is made up of large beans, with an AB being slightly smaller - this lot is an AB. Washed coffees from Othaya are famous for their citrus flavours and that's exactly what you get here - a big zing of lemon and lime, with a good white sugar hit. On the finish is a little satsuma, slipping into cranberry on the aftertaste, for a bright, refreshing cup. CUPPING NOTES Lemon, lime, white sugar, satsuma, cranberry. Clean cup: (1–8): 7 Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5 Acidity: (1–8): 7 Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6 Flavour: (1–8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1–8): 6 Balance: (1–8): 6 Overall: (1–8): 6 Correction: (+36): +36 Total: (max. 100): 87 Roasting Information Medium - keep it quick, through first crack and through the gap, dropping before second gets going.

The name of this coffee producer may sound a little familiar: Bebeto ('Beto' for short) is the son of the legend that is Teodocio Mamani. Teodocio owns Finca Canton Uyunense, which is a farm we have worked with since 2012. His farm is located in 18 de Mayo, which is a municipality of Caranavi (and part of canton Uyunense). Lots of farms can be called a variation on these names because the land traditionally tends not to have a name. This year is the sixth year that Bebeto has grown coffee under his own guardianship, and it's the fifth year that he has processed it himself too. Just like previous years, and as you'd expect from a Mamani, the results are delicious. Bebeto used a depulper to remove the cherry, then left the coffee to go through a dry fermentation process for 16–18 hours, and then ran it through the scrubber section of the pulper to remove the final remains of the mucilage. Bebeto then transferred the coffee to raised African beds, where it dried in around 7–9 days. The picking method Bebeto uses is called 'Ayne'. It's the same method his dad uses on Canton Uyunense. This method involves selective picking (not stripping the tree, like their neighbours do), and it demands much more labour and incurs much higher costs. But because of this method, Bebeto gets more coffee he can sell as specialty, and the cup profile is improving year after year. There's a great balance to this cup of coffee - think a Cadbury's caramel sweetness of milk chocolate and caramel, with a crisp but restrained acidity of green apple cutting through and finishing with white grape on the aftertaste. CUPPING NOTES Caramel, milk chocolate, green apple, white grape Clean cup: (1–8): 6.5 Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5 Acidity: (1–8): 7 Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5 Flavour: (1–8): 6 Aftertaste: (1–8): 6 Balance: (1–8): 7 Overall: (1–8): 6 Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87.5 Roast Information Medium dark – Through first and keep pushing the roast up to the first pops of second. Make sure you get enough development to build the caramel and chocolate, but keep it quick enough for the balancing acidity to remain.

The Trapiche farm is another venture by our friends at Agricafe in the Samaipata region of Bolivia. Pedro Rodriguez and his family also own a handful of other farms in the area (El Fuerte and Samaichacha we've got coffees from this year too!) and a whole host of other farms further afield in Bolivia, such as La Linda and Alasitas, that a lot of you will also be familiar with. We have purchased coffee from Trapiche once previously and it was just a teeny tiny lot that went exclusively to the #SSSSS subscribers (lucky folks!) but this year we've bought more and are super excited to be able to share it with all of you here. Trapiche's name was inspired by a vineyard of the same name in Argentina that Pedro visited before setting up this new farm in 2016. He and his family love good wine and have drawn on this when developing the design for this land. The word “Trapiche” originally refers to a type of mill made of wooden rollers used to extract juice from fruit such as grapes or olives. The Rodriguez family are continuously looking for inspiration from other coffee-producing countries and from other industries such as winemaking – Trapiche is an example of this winery inspiration in action. The farm is a truly amazing place and the team have designed it to look and function like a vineyard, using those methodologies to refine their coffee production process. This is particularly fitting as Samaipata is an up and coming wine region within Bolivia, with several small vineyards located only a short distance from Trapiche. The farm has only been operational since 2016 so it's still very young but the results from the first few harvests are very exciting. Samaipata isn't a traditional coffee growing region but it's one that the Rodriguez family have pioneered. The climate of the Samaipata region is temperate, semi-dry in the winter months, and mild with an average annual temperature of 19.9°C. During the winter months, cold fronts called Surazos come from the Argentine Pampas and enter the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz, these cold winds combined with the altitude can reach temperatures below freezing. In the summer the days are warm and the nights cool, this variation in diurnal temperature causes the cherries to take a longer time to ripen and their mucilage becomes very thick. The local soil contains a lot of magnesium, which is great for growing coffee and means that the coffee plants are less susceptible to roja, or other fungi. All of these factors contribute to a very unique taste profile. The Rodriguez family are superstars in the world of Bolivian coffee, we think it's fair to say that the landscape of Bolivian coffee production would look a lot different without Agricafe's phenomenal work. Agricafe initially entered the coffee industry in 1986, when Pedro Rodriguez decided to pursue his passion for agriculture. Now they produce coffee from their own farms in the La Paz and Santa Cruz departments, source high-quality micro-lots from small local producers, and carry out the processing of everything at their state of the art mills. The steady decline of coffee production in Bolivia has put the sustainability of the family's business in jeopardy. Without the intervention of people like the Rodriguez family, the future of coffee production in Bolivia is at risk of disappearing. It's an expensive place to grow coffee, which means that the specialty market is the only sustainable model – higher quality means that producers can demand higher prices for their harvest. Alongside the exceptional work at their own farms and mills the Rodriguez family run the Sol De La Manana project, which seeks to educate local producers by providing agronomical expertise to improve the quality of their farms, and the Qhatu Café program which sources from small Organic producers to assure them a market for their coffee. In their own words, “In line with our values, it is very important to us to improve Bolivian Coffee culture and to diversify...

We first came across this coffee all the way back in 2016 after being introduced by the importers that we worked with in Ethiopia at the time. We have been buying from Ana Sora consistently ever since and it's safe to say that this is one of our most popular coffees – when it goes out of season we're flooded with emails asking when it's going to come back... well, happy days are here again! We see a lot of consistency from this coffee and year-on-year it always delivers with those clean blueberry/floral flavours and a little bit of seasonal variation. We always blind cup pre-shipment samples and when we come to this bowl we often say “Ooooh I hope this is the new Ana Sora!” and lo and behold it is, it's a super distinctive coffee. It's our sixth year of roasting this coffee and Ana Sora is now the Ethiopian farm that we buy the most volume from as, for good reason, it's just so popular with everyone! Ana Sora is a private farm owned by second-generation coffee farmer Israel Degfa. He grew up immersed in various aspects of the coffee industry as his father was a mill manager and his mum sold coffee to commuters in the local bus station. Because he grew up in a coffee-producing area, he shows great respect for the farmers, both as business partners and as people. As coffee farms go, Ana Sora is a very new farm: it was only formed in 2013. Coffee trees take an average 2-3 years to produce a crop of cherries that's big enough to sell, so we started buying soon after it first went on the market. It's located at a whopping altitude of between 1900 and 2350 metres above sea level. It's a gorgeous but somewhat tiring walk to get there - it's not all just holiday snaps, this coffee buying malarkey! The estate is located in the Guji Zone in the South of Ethiopia, due East of the town of Yirgacheffe. Its western neighbour is Uraga and to the East is Adola - both places where Israel owns mills as well. Broadly speaking there are 5 primary coffee producing regions in Ethiopia; Sidamo, Limu, Yirgacheffe (a subsection of Sidamo), Harrar, and Djima – each presenting characteristic flavour profiles. Guji coffees have historically been sold as Sidamo coffees, but today they are thought of as separate and are being more properly marketed as such. The local area is known for coffees with bright acidity and juicy, fruity flavours, often with a tea-like body. It is unusual to find private farms of 250 hectares in Ethiopia (the norm being smallholder gardens of less than 2 hectares each) and even more unusual to find them at such high altitudes. Ethiopian coffee farms are high in general compared to other producing countries (mostly between 1700 - 2100 masl) but Ana Sora is on the higher side still, reaching as high as 2350 masl. The altitude helps with the slower maturation of the coffee cherry, with temperatures averaging between 16-19ºC allowing more time for the plant to develop, which contributes to the super unique cup profile. Coffee growing is popular locally, and Israel also sources coffee from the surrounding area. Each washing station has around 1000-2000 members, each with one of the small home coffee plots typical of Ethiopia, producing very small quantities. The area is populated by smallholder farmers who speak Oromife and are of Oromo ethnicity. In his role as CEO of producing and exporting company Kerchanshe, Israel believes in helping these farmers through education in husbandry, and also through financial assistance. Their passion for fine coffee is coupled with consistent reinvestment not only in improved infrastructure, technology and processes, but Kerchanshe also invests 10% of its annual profits into social responsibility programs such as building schools and providing clean water to the communities it serves. Israel has already built schools in Adola and Kercha and is currently constructing schools in Gelana Gesha and Kilenso Mokonesa. The farm used to only produce Naturally processed coffee, however, in 2018 the...

Bulessa Washing Station is located in the Sidamo region of Ethiopia, named after the native ethnic population of Sidama people who originate from this Southern-Central area of the country. The Sidama have an estimated population of 3.5 million and as with all other ethnic groups in Ethiopia, they have their own unique culture, tradition, and heritage. Broadly speaking there are 5 primary coffee producing regions in Ethiopia; Sidamo, Limu, Yirgacheffe (a subsection of Sidamo), Harrar, and Djima – each presenting characteristic flavour profiles. In coffee terms, Sidamo is known for the variety that it offers, which often results in a profound complexity of taste. The coffee farmers of Sidama grow their unique varieties on small land parcels and deliver their produce to processing sites. This results in a unique mixture of “mixed heirloom” varietals that give Sidamo coffee its distinct flavour. The coffee you see here is grown on land between 1650-1850 metres above sea level by a group of 112 majority-female smallholder farmers who deliver their crop to the Bulessa Washing Station to be processed. The washing station is run by Tizita Bizuneh and managed by a team of 15 full-time female workers, with up to 100 additional seasonal workers during harvest season. Tizita started this project with the goal of empowering women working in coffee from production to management of the station, something that has already become a reality at Bulessa. Due to traditional gender roles a lot of coffee-producing countries such as Ethiopia often see higher levels of gender inequality – it's common to see women doing harvesting or quality work but men most often occupy positions of leadership and are in charge of the decision making, selling, and higher business matters. It's unusual for a woman to run a washing station as this is a prominent position in the community, but Tizita is a shining example of what's possible. As the project has evolved, the scheme has developed and started providing educational and agricultural workshops for children and women across the community. Further to the empowerment project, the contributing farmers are also registered and a part of the Kerchanshe support network set up by Israel Degfa. This network helps smallholders and their families with access to healthcare, education and agricultural support. A lot of you will be familiar with our friend Israel Degfa from some of our other Ethiopian offerings (Ana Sora, Adola, Uraga, to name a few!) - well we purchased this coffee via our friends at Kamba who source coffees from Kerchanshe... Israel is one of Kamba's shareholders and is the owner and CEO of Kerchanshe. The term ‘vertical integration’ is one that is used a lot in specialty coffee, but our sourcing strategy in Ethiopia is exactly that. Israel owns a variety of mills, washing stations and private farms across the coffee-producing regions of Ethiopia. Ultimately the money that these coffees are sold for by Kamba at the end of the chain (what we paid for the green coffee, made possible by what you guys pay us!) goes in part back to Israel and is reinvested in the Ethiopian coffee community. Founded 15 years ago on the principles of bringing fairness and transparency to the coffee value chain and giving back to the community, Kerchanshe has established a track record of fair trading and excellent quality, and now employs over 1250 permanent staff and 10,000 seasonal staff. Directly and indirectly, it impacts the livelihoods of over 1 million coffee growers throughout the Southern and South-Western coffee cultivating regions of Ethiopia. This ethical policy stretches far beyond coffee too: Israel has set up the Buna Qela Charity (https://www.bunaqela.org) and a Smallholder Membership scheme. He believes in helping local farmers through education in husbandry and financial assistance, his passion for fine coffee is matched with consistent contribution to improved infrastructure, technology and processes, and...

Kiriga Estate sits between 1,550 and 1,650 metres above sea level. It is approximately five kilometres from Thika town, which is an industrial town in the central province of Kenya. It's four kilometres from Blue Posts hotel, which has the famous Chania and Thika falls. Thika lies 50 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Administratively, the Kiriga coffee estate is in the Gatanga constituency of Muranga county, and it's separated from Kiambu county by the Chania river. Kiriga coffee is predominantly SL28 variety (notable for its world-renowned cup quality). The farm has an estimated two hectares of Ruiru 11 variety (which has improved resistance to coffee berry disease and leaf rust); some K7 variety (similar characteristics as SL28, but with better resistance to leaf rust compared to SL28); and a field of the newest Batian variety. About 60% of the coffee that the estate produces is AA/AB. Like any natural product, each coffee bean is different - some bigger, some smaller, some longer, some rounder...that's lead coffee buyers many years ago to begin separating the coffee by the size of the bean. Throughout the world, this is done by screens - like a stack of flat colanders, with each layer having slightly smaller holes in it than the layer above. Whatever the smallest size a bean passes through, that’s its size. In most places, they’re named by 1/64th inch - so a screen 18+ means all the beans are 18/64th of an inch or bigger. Simple, right? Well...in Kenya they use the same screens, but give them different names. An “AA” is screen 17 and 18, an “AB” is screen 16 and 15 and anything smaller (but still a whole bean) is a “C”. There’s one more class you might have tried - “PB” or Peaberry. That’s a bit different again, but it’s usually separated from the other beans because the round cross-section of a peaberry lets it pass through the holes of a screen easily. This year we will have the AA, AB, C and Peaberry from Kiriga - so big beans, medium beans, little beans and even littler beans! Traditionally, the AA has got the highest prices (they’re about 15-20% of the crop), with AB being a bit cheaper and C going into commodity coffee. However, Brian from Kiriga sent us his C to try the year before last for the first time and we were wow-ed - it’s really sweet and nice - so we began buying it and are super excited to have it again for another year. The Peaberry has previously been included in with the C, due to the similar size and smaller harvests, however this year the two have been separated out and there's enough of it to stand alone! All coffee activities at Kiriga are carried out at a factory level, from the coffee nursery to all the farm operations (pruning, weed control, nutrition, irrigation, basin digging, disease control, infilling, mulching, and planting). Wet mill operations are also carried out on the factory level. Kiriga delivers both parchment coffee and Mbuni (naturals) to the commercial dry mill for milling and grading, in preparation for sale at coffee auctions and via indirect sale. In addition to growing coffee the estate also has shoats (sheep and goats), a dairy, and the potential to keep fish. It's all about diversity, and what's more diverse than a 'shoat'?! The estate is also occasionally visited by two hippos, in addition to some bird-life, while also being the home of a family of monkeys. Blackcurrant jam in a cup. Super sweet with brown sugar and biscuit against the blackcurrant and then a little sprinkle of cocoa nibs on the aftertaste. CUPPING NOTES Blackcurrant jam, brown sugar, biscuit, cocoa nibs Clean cup: (1–8): 6 Sweetness: (1–8): 6.5 Acidity: (1–8): 6.5 Mouthfeel: (1–8): 6.5 Flavour: (1–8): 6.5 Aftertaste: (1–8): 6 Balance: (1–8): 6.5 Overall: (1–8): 6.5 Correction:(+36): +36 Total (max. 100): 87 Roast Information Medium - keep it fairly quick to highlight the acidity, or slow it down slightly if you want to develop some more of the jammy sweetness. Either way, finish the roast