SINGLE ORIGIN

KINIEZIE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

NOTES: FLORAL HONEY, DRIED APRICOT, SWEET CITRUS

The Democratic Republic of Congo, with its high elevation and great rainfall, produces some of the best coffee in Africa. The civil unrest that has destabilized security for larger coffee estate investment along with the lack of infrastructure has accelerated the rise of small holder farms along the eastern edge of the country. 

Founded in 2009, Muungano coop is comprised of around 4,400 smallholder farmers, nearly half of them women and is located in the town of Kiniezire, along the western shore of Lake Kivu three hours south of Goma. Gender justice is a principal focus of the members, as is integrating farmers from different ethnic groups into the operation. The word “Muungano” actually means “Togetherness” in the Swahili language. 

We are very fortunate to have this coffee for it is one of the first coffees from this region to ever arrive in North America and one of the oldest Bourbon varieties in Africa. This coffee is an amazing intro to African coffees, intense sweetness and underlying fruit flavors. We enjoyed the floral notes and honey like sweetness through out the cup and we think you will too.

Producer: Muungano Cooperative 

Process: Washed

Varieties: Bourbon

Elevation: 1480-2000 MASL

SINGLE ORIGIN

PALESTINA, HUILA, COLOMBIA

NOTES: DELICATE FLORALS, COMPLEX CITRUS, RED GRAPE

It isn't often that you truly find a producer whose coffee you love every time you blind taste them. On three separate times, while cupping with the Osito team in Garzon, Huila, Colombia; Kyle picked out this producer's coffee as his highest scoring personal favorite. All three of these coffees happened to be from one producer, Jose Martinez. It was no surprise that all three were mostly Pink Bourbon varieties which is one of Kyle's favorites. These coffees are bright, clean, fruity and floral. 

Jose Martinez is a special producer whose care and attention to detail is clear. His coffees are vibrant expressions of the intermarriage of excellent processing coming alongside complex varieties. We are happy to be able to share a small portion of Jose's work with you. Jose has a long standing relationship with Phil & Sebastian in Calgary, Canada; but these lots fell outside of that relationship and Kyle was more than happy to take advantage of the timing, buying all three lots on site in Colombia. 

We combined two of those lots for one release and held the highest scoring lot for a special release as well. We hope to continue this relationship and cannot wait to meet Jose in person. 

Producer & Farm: Jose Martinez, "El Casino"

Variety: Pink Bourbon

Process: Washed

Altitude: 1800 masl

SINGLE ORIGIN

JAEN, PERU

NOTES: BLACKBERRY, TROPICAL FRUITS, DATES

Months ago in Peru, a conversation about this style of coffee process started with Tim Hill and Origin Coffee Lab. Origin had noticed that farmers where holding cherry in grain pro bags for extended times as a way to increase cup score, and alter flavor profile. This was a movement directly from the farmers and their communication with each other. A movement started with out direction from buying groups to do so. 

This process was mentioned to us at Black & White Coffee, as Origin and Tim Hill knew we were interested in experimental and anaerobic processing. From this conversation came producer Italia Sanchez.  

The most common critique of Peruvian coffee is its overall lack of acidity, but this coffee having been processed in "Low Impact Whole Cherry Anaerobic Washed Process" gives this coffee complex acidity and depth of flavor that highlights the dense sweetness making this an exceptional coffee.

We are so happy work with producers who are pushing boundaries and we love when we get to share these special coffees with you.  We purchased the entire 18 bag lot from Origin Coffee Lab via Atlantic Specialty.

Producer: Italia Sanchez

Process: Anaerobic Washed

Variety: Bourbon, Caturra

Elevation: 1850 masl

SINGLE ORIGIN

NGOZI, BURUNDI

NOTES: CITRUS, MIXED BERRIES, CHOCOLATE

 Burundi has all the things Green Coffee Buyers look for in a producing origin.  Amazing Bourbon Varieties, great elevation that leads to sweeter coffees, and a devotion to clean and clear processing. Burundi this year also arrived quite early, which is exciting because often Feb/March can be a bit of a slow time for interesting and complex coffees. We were drawn to this beautiful coffee on the cupping table among many other origins and processes for its clean fruit flavors, and amazing sweetness. Burundi as a whole tends to produce Naturally processed coffees that are on the cleaner side, similar to Ethiopia rather than to big boozy blue berry notes look for cleaner grape, black berry, and floral notes with great sweetness. This coffee comes to us through Atlantic Specialty, along with many of our African coffees this year.

The Gisha Washing Station supports the Tangara Commune located in Ngozi Province, Buyenzi region of north Burundi. The community hosts 1748 Farmers picking coffee from March thorough to July and processing on 253 drying tables. They have built two soaking tanks, five flotation tanks and twelve fermentation tanks for their washed lots. The Gisha Washing station is just big enough to process 12 tons per season; After precleaning, the cherry or parchment is dried on raised African Beds.

Variety: Bourbon, Mbirizi, Jackson

Process: Natural

Elevation: 1650 masl

SINGLE ORIGIN

RISARALDA, COLOMBIA

NOTES: BERGAMOT, FRESH RASPBERRY, CANDIED ORANGE, OOLONG TEA

In 2018 we ran into producer, Paul Kevin Doyle at SCA and loved his approach to experimental processing, variety exploration, and flavor clarity. Over the years we kept in touch and developed a friendship, constantly tasting and seeing if we could work together.  Last year we had one of their CM Geshas from his Mikava Coffee Estate in the department of Risralda, Colombia. Paul’s coffee scored a 92.71 in the Cup of Excellence Colombia 2019.

This year we are even more excited to be working with the second farm from Mikava Estates called Marsella (Mar - Say- shuh), Yet another Carbonic Macerated Gesha coffee displaying that distinct "Mikava Clean" natural profile. Still with that same Panama seed stock, but this time at a price point for more people to take part, and at a volume to be around for more than a couple weeks. Not a huge lot, but we will be able to wholesale this coffee to have even more people experience what is possible with Carbonic Maceration.  

Farm: Marsella Farm

Variety: Gesha

Process: CM Natural

Altitude: 2000 masl

SINGLE ORIGIN | DIRECT PARTNERSHIP

BENCH MAJI, GESHA, ETHIOPIA

NOTES: WHITE FLOWERS, VIBRANT CITRUS, HONEY

Gesha Village has always had a special place with us here at Black & White Coffee. The Gesha Village is a project with a clear and distinct vision to produce the most amazing coffees possible, and have been wildly popular in the competition circuit. It started as a coffee documentary project from Rachel Samuel and Adam Overton, who after gaining permission from the local Meanit Shasha Woreda people to plant wild seeds harvested from the Gori Gesha Forest.

The farm is home to more than 30,000 native shade trees and 700,000 coffee trees with half descended from the Gori Gesha forest seeds. The lot we were able to obtain through last year from our friends at Genuine Origin was the highest scoring coffee we have brought into the Black and White Coffee family. We are excited to offer this amazingly clean and complex natural processed coffee, that we were able to work directly with Adam at Gesha Village to buy direct with help from Trabocca.

Kyle and Adam have cultivated a friendship of sharing information and chatting about the possibilities of the speciality coffee market. Both of them share an amazing love for Ethiopian coffee along with the Gesha Variety that they both love so very much. All of this adds to the beautiful complex and juicy cup with notes of soft fruit, delicate florals, intense tropical citrus and an even syrupy sweetness throughout.

FARM: Gesha Village, Chaka Selection Lot 93 

VARIEITY: Gori Gesha Forest, Gesha 1931, Illubabor Forest 1974

PROCESS: Washed

ELEVATION: 1,909-2,069 masl

SINGLE ORIGIN | DIRECT TRADE

BENCH MAJI, GESHA, ETHIOPIA

NOTES: FLORAL, MANGO, POMEGRANATE, HONEY

Gesha Village has always had a special place with us here at Black & White Coffee. The Gesha Village is a project with a clear and distinct vision to produce the most amazing coffees possible, and have been wildly popular in the competition circuit. It started as a coffee documentary project from Rachel Samuel and Adam Overton, who after gaining permission from the local Meanit Shasha Woreda people to plant wild seeds harvested from the Gori Gesha Forest.

The farm is home to more than 30,000 native shade trees and 700,000 coffee trees with half descended from the Gori Gesha forest seeds. The lot we were able to obtain through last year from our friends at Genuine Origin was the highest scoring coffee we have brought into the Black and White Coffee family. We are excited to offer this amazingly clean and complex natural processed coffee, that we were able to work directly with Adam at Gesha Village to buy direct with help from Trabocca.

Kyle and Adam have cultivated a friendship of sharing information and chatting about the possibilities of the speciality coffee market. Both of them share an amazing love for Ethiopian coffee along with the Gesha Variety that they both love so very much. All of this adds to the beautiful complex and juicy cup with notes of tropical fruit, delicate florals and intense berries and an even syrupy sweetness throughout.

FARM: Gesha Village, Chaka Selection 

VARIEITY: Gori Gesha Forest, Gesha 1931, Illubabor Forest 1974

PROCESS: Natural

ELEVATION: 1,909-2,069 masl

YEAR ROUND

El Eden Java - Natural  & Italia Sanchez Anaerobic Washed 

NOTES: JUICY, TROPICAL, COMPLEX

Anaerobic coffees have rewritten the rules for Barista Competition's around the world. In the last two years the top 6 Competitors at both the USBC (United States Barista Championship) and the WBC (World Barista Championship) have utilized coffees with this style of fermentation.

As a result, this new method of processing has inspired us to create our own product that focuses on highlighting the complex acidity and vibrant fruit flavors found in these coffees. Not simply concerned with cupping scores and competition points, we believe for a number of reasons that this style of fermentation truly is the future.  

In a time when the Commodity Market value for coffee is dropping lower and lower, producers are always looking for ways to maximize their earnings on a given crop. However, in order to do so they are forced to produce high scoring coffees in order to make these premiums. This is made even harder when a lot of these coffee farms do not have the high elevation required to produce the complex flavors and  boutique varieties found in specialty coffee (such as Gesha, Pink Bourbon, Java).

However, in the last few years many more farms have had access to anaerobic processing, which done simply can add acidity, and complex fruit character to the cup. Anaerobic processing, in its most basic form is holding the coffee (either in cherry, or pulped) in an oxygen free environment (which can be achieved a number of ways) for an extended time in order to promote the growth of bacteria, Lactobacillus. Where, Lactobacillus is the agent that promotes acidity by producing lactic acid. The result of this is the acidification of the coffee pulp, which translates to a more vibrant coffee both on the cupping table and in the cafe. 

This main benefit of this unique style of processing is that it can make coffees that are grown at low elevations taste very similar to coffees grown at higher elevations. As the global climate warms, farmers must go higher and higher up the mountain in order to achieve the same results, but for most producers this simply is not possible.

Now, however farmers can add acidity and complexity through processing and thus combat the effects of climate change, at least in the cup.

This Blend will showcase these coffees and their varying profiles from around the world. Most of these coffees that we are currently sourcing are coming from Colombia, but we are also sourcing some from Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and Peru. With some being washed, some natural and some honey.  

This version is a blend of an Anaerobic Process from Huila, Colombia; blended with the ever vibrant El Eden Washed Java from Tolima, Colombia.  This is a juicy and clean cup represented by the blue corner on the label. This corner will change as the flavor profile and blend components shift throughout the year.

We hope you all enjoy this adventure into what we believe to be the future of specialty coffee.

 - Kyle Ramage (Co-owner | Green Coffee Buyer)

Regions:  Tolima, Colombia , Jaen , Peru

Process:  Anaerobic Washed & Natural (El Eden Java)

Elevation: 1450