Discovery Series: Unique Coffees with Uncommon origins
Wild Fiji
Coffee may have once been planted in Viti Levu and Vanua Levu Islands in Fiji, but currently it isn’t formally cultivated. As a result, you can taste the wildness of this organic Arabica coffee picked by local farmers. It has some chocolatey notes, almost Robusta-like to the nose, and hints of floralness and acidity.
Racemosa S. Africa
Racemosa is an extremely rare species of coffee endemic to South Africa, as well as Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It is unusual for a number of reasons. For one, it’s grown at altitudes of no more than 600 MASL (meters above sea level), whereas most Arabica coffee is cultivated at 1000 MASL or more. Another thing that makes this species of coffee unique is that it is naturally low in caffeine! However, the most immediately noticeable difference between Arabica coffee and Racemosa coffee is the bean size: Racemosa beans are teeny tiny! They also have a unique flavor that we have never experienced with any other coffees we have tried before. It’s very floral and fruity, almost reminiscent of a pink peppercorn or Timut peppercorn.
Venezuela Tachira
This Arabica coffee from Venezuela has potential for greatness. Venezuelan coffee doesn’t often reach American markets, for various reasons; as soon as we found some Venezuelan green coffee we knew we had to roast it to see what it would be like. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get much information about the coffee growers from the Tachira region of Venezuela (which borders northern Colombia). This coffee in particular has bold chocolatey notes that are pleasing as an espresso as well as in drip form.
Jack Murat - Australia
In our search for coffee from around the world, we came across Australia as a coffee-growing country. The northeastern part of the state of Queensland falls within the Coffee Belt, which is the series of latitudes that coffee is mainly known to be produced. As such, it has the right volcanic soil, elevation, and weather conditions to produce spectacular coffee. We were lucky enough to be able to purchase a small amount of green coffee from Jack Murat, a well-known coffee grower and roaster out of North Queensland, Australia. The natural process used to dry the coffee results in a sweet, berry-forward cup.
Ethiopia - Gori Gesha
The forests of the Gesha region of southwestern Ethiopia are where the gesha (or geisha) variety is known to have developed from. We had never tried the Gesha 1931 nor the Gori Gesha variety of Arabica coffee, so when this carbonic maceration of the two varieties appeared on our radar we knew we had to try it. The 96-hour fermentation process before sun-drying on raised beds increases the complexity and funkiness of the overall coffee flavor. With apricot and raspberry jam notes, this light roast is great as a pour-over or drip cofee.
California - Geisha
FRINJ coffee supplied us with a small amount of one of their washed geisha varieties grown in the hills of Santa Barbara, California. Having never tried a coffee grown in the continental United States, we were impressed by the strawberry and brown sugar notes we tasted in this cup. FRINJ is on the rise as an American specialty coffee producer, so keep an eye out for more from there!
Anna Donneys -
Pink Ranger Honey Anaerobic
A funky, fermented and berry-forward coffee! Anna Donneys is a well-known coffee producer from Colombia and her projects always tickle our taste buds. This anaerobic honey has produced strawberry and peach notes.
Edwin Noreña -
PAssion Fruit Co-ferment
If you like fruity, funky coffee, Edwin Noreña is one of the Colombian coffee producers to follow. Constantly creating exciting co-fermentations, and this passion fruit one certainly packs a punch.
Guadeloupe Vanibel Estate
This Arabica coffee from the French West Indies doesn’t often make it out of the Caribbean or Europe. We had the opportunity to visit the estate and visit the farm that has been producing coffee for generations. While grown only at 800-1000 MASL, this dark roast is as good as any typica from the Caribbean. The same strain of typica as gtown in Haiti, this coffee is a smooth drinker and makes a great espresso.
Sao Tomé
A former Portuguese colony, this island is one of the producers of the world’s best coffee. Monte Cafe is the plantation that has been revitalized by the people of Sao Tomé since decolonization.
Philippines Bourbon -
MT. Apo
Arabica
Filipino coffee! A church-based organization out of New Orleans actually sources this coffee direct from producers in the Philippines, and part of their revenue goes back to developing farm projects to increase and improve the livelihood of the coffee producers. This particular coffee is a bourbon variety of coffee, which is an heirloom varietal. It is grown on the island of Mindanao, below the slopes of the volcano Mt. Apo.
Nepal Nuwakot AnaeRobic
Himalayan coffee at its finest, grown at 1500 MASL. With port wine or slightly funky cooked berry notes from the anaerobic fermentation, as well as cacao hints and a tea-like body, this coffee has a different profile to that grown just to the south in India. Produced exclusively by small farm holders, this shade-grown coffee ripens slowly, thereby developing the natural sugars and flavors of the coffee cherries to their peak before picking.
Kivu
Espresso
We love coffee from around Lake Kivu, sandwiched between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Our espresso blend includes coffee from various farms and washing stations around lake Kivu, including Gishamwana and Nyamasheke Gatare in Rwanda, and Kahondo (via the Virunga company) and Idjwi (an island in Lake Kivu) from Congo. Surprisingly, for being from roughly the same region, the coffee from the Rwandan side of the lake can ripen a few months before the coffee cherries on the Congolese side of the like does. We love a funky, fruity coffee but ultimately we are espresso people at heart. We look for the fruitiness of a dark chocolate in an espresso without too much bitterness or acidity. This one hits the spot.
Cameroon
Oku Valley
Cameroonian coffee is interesting for several reasons. Geographically-speaking, most coffee that comes to North America from the continent of Africa comes from East and Central East Africa, along the Great Rift Valley. Cameroon is situated in West Central Africa, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Still, Cameroon has all the right conditions for coffee growing, including points of high elevation, tropical forests, and volcanic soil. Cameroon grows Robusta and Arabica coffee, and this Arabica has some interesting chocolatey and tobacco-y notes as a medium-dark roast.
Madagascar Robusta
When I was 23, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in Madagascar. At the time, I was an early riser by nature and could easily be up at the crack of dawn to take in a hike in the rainforest to spot some lemurs. If I were to return now, I would definitely need this Robusta to wake me up in the morning to be ready for adventuring.
Congo Virunga Natural
Congolese coffee has become one of our favorites these days. This natural processed coffee sun-dries on raised beds at the Kahondo washing station, one of nine coffee processing stations owned by the Virunga Coffee Company around the north western part of Lake Kivu. The Virunga Coffee Company exports fair-trade, organic coffee out of the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and they invest in farmers and in improving the coffee crops each year. This is a bourbon variety of Arabica coffee, organic at that. It has raisin and blackberry jam-like qualities in addition to more traditional chocolatey notes, which makes it quite versatile. We used some of this in our Kivu Espresso blend and it makes for a delicious cup.
Yemen Mohka
Women are the primary exporters of the Yemeni coffee that we purchase. In fact, in a lot of the small coffee farms in the region surrounding Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, women are the main producers. Yemeni coffee beans tend to be quite small in size.
Taiwan-
Ali Shan Geisha
Coming soon!