In My Mug

I don’t know how good your memory is but we had a coffee a couple of years ago called Colombia Huila Pitalito Oporapa. It was from a mix of eleven producers; eleven producers who had been picked out, on a cupping table, as people doing amazing things with coffee. Since then we have gone on to develop and create relationships with two of these eleven, and Edier is the third.

Edier Perdomo owns a farm called Buena Vista in Pitalito, which is in the Huila department of Colombia. Edier is 34 years old and has worked with coffee his whole life, but he has only been focusing on quality for the last two years. He grows the Caturra varietal on the farm, which is at an altitude of 1,700 metres above sea level.

Edier is a little different, though. He is from a family of coffee growers, but he's one of the new generation trying different things and experimenting. His family own the farm next door to his, and they take a more traditional approach. They are planting rust-resistant varietals like Colombia and Sarchimor, for instance, while Edier perseveres with the vulnerable Caturra because he knows it has a superior cup profile with his set of growing circumstances.

He also does something different at the processing stage. For his fermentation process, Edier fills big blue tanks with 50% wet parchment (just out of the depulper) and then shuts them. He waits for 24 hours before opening the tank again, and then he proceeds with washing the coffee normally. This is an interesting way of fermenting, and it seems to be working really well for him.

So we have been running an experiment with him to cup and score each of his day's lots. First he has to deliver the lots at the right moisture content to the warehouse. It's not uncommon for lots to be rejected, but Edier rarely gets anything turned away and is the best at this in the Pitalito warehouse. We approve anything scoring over 86; anything below 86 is rejected, put into a bulk lot (a Pitalito blend) and sold on. So far we have seen that almost all his coffee has been approved with high scores: so much so that we created an 86-89 lot, which is here. There were a couple of special micro lots that scored over 89, which we will be selling for a little more (because we paid more for them), but this is the most versatile of them all.

In the cup expect a lovely green-apple acidity mixed with a powerful caramel that gives it amazing balance and mouthfeel. A great espresso.

To see photos of Buena Vista take a look here.

• Country: Colombia

We have had this coffee before but last time the lot was produced by various smallholder farmers from the small town of Copacabana, which lies about 180km from La Paz in the heart of the Caranavi coffee producing region. This time it comes from one individual, called Vincent Paye who has been working hard to produce great coffee, and in fact is a beacon of hope in this tough growing region.

This is a lush and fertile region, whose steep slopes and valleys provide excellent conditions for growing specialty coffee, as well as supporting a diverse range of native flora and fauna, with rich volcanic soils and regular rainfall. 

The colony of Copacabana has a collection of small farms that are around 5 hectares each (Vincent has 10), and range over an altitude of 1,300 to 1,600 metres, benefiting from an average annual temperature of between 15 and 26°C. This lot comes from a farm matching these criteria but is around 1,550 m.a.s.l. These traditional farms use no chemicals or pesticides and are certified organic although we do not hold an organic certification. 

The main harvest runs from May to September, peaking in June and July. The cherries are hand-picked only when fully ripe and delivered to the central mill called Buena Vista where they are then fully. This lot was picked on the 29th of August and is part of our second container of coffees we bought from Bolivia this year.  They are then dried, this time because of the wet weather mechanically over a 9 day period. 

In the cup, this is yellow. Now I know 'yellow' is a strange description, but think yellow; think peachesand oranges (not strictly yellow), mangoes. 'Sunshine in a cup' may be one description too far, but you get the idea. A delicious brewed coffee.

• Country: Bolivia 

This is our third year of working with this farm, but the first year's lot was so tiny it never made it to the website and was sold as an exclusive to one of our wholesale partners. Luckily, this year we focused a little bit more on the farm: we cupped a lot more pickings and found a little more coffee.

Carlos sent us every day's pickings to cup. We bought everything that scored over 86 points on the cupping table; anything below 86 was sold for commodity. This meant we had to pay a premium for the coffee, but I think it's worth it. It also meant we had some coffees that scored over 90, which will become the "reserve" from this lot.

The farm is located near to the city of Pitalito, in the south of the Huila department. It's in the valley of the Rio Grande de la Magdalena, known as "The Valley of Laboyos", which is 180 KM from Nieva – the capital of Huila. Pitalito is also the second largest city of the department of Huila, at approximately 125,000 inhabitants, and is considered one of the largest coffee producers in Colombia.

This farm is located on top of a mountain at 1,735 metres above sea level. The farm contains 70% Caturra (25,000 plants; this lot comes from them), 20% Colombia F6 (7000 plants) and 10% Castillo (2000 plants). The farm consists of eight hectares, six of which are planted with coffee. The other two hectares house the mill and inaccessible mountainous areas. The family house, which is also used for drying, is at the bottom of the hill at around 1,400 metres above sea level.

I took some amazing pictures on my trip in 2013 so take a look here, and I took some more on my trip in 2014 – find them here!

The farm is owned and run by the Claros family: Pedro, his wife Nelcy and their six children (Alberio, Edilson, Sandra, Hermes, Diana, and Monica). It's a real family business with everyone pitching in to the farm to make it work.

The drying patio was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen, with a greenhouse built on top of the house so that the coffee could be kept turning regularly but also to make sure no one steals it. The latter is not so much of a problem this year with market prices being low, but it was a real problem over the last three years. Of course, Pedro doesn't have to worry about market prices; he always get a premium because he consistently gives quality, but black market coffee goes to the highest market bidder.

In the cup expect a lovely creamy mouthfeel followed by a super-balanced green apple acidity. Also expect black tea and floral notes, along with an aftertaste that's sweet and just goes on and on.

• Country: Colombia

Grown in the Viphya North Hills on the grassland plateau overlooking Lake Malawi, this micro lot is a mix of Nyika (which is a dwarf hybrid of Catimor 129 developed in Malawi) and the much prized Geisha vareital. Geisha is an ancient and very rare coffee variety that has gianed a lot of favour of late, but is very low yielding and vulnerable to disease and pests. The Nyika is the opposite, high yielding, hardy and strong, but catimor is less desirable to the coffee buyer who doesn’t taste.

Luckily for this coffee it was part of a competition where the lots are all cupped blindly called the Taste of Harvest (ToH) competition. A competition that is held in a few african countries, and this one won outright coming first this year for Malawi.

Located on the Viphya plateau which is in the eastern part of Mzimba district, Northern Malawi. Approx 85km south of Mzimba town, and 165km south of Mzuzu (the regional capital).

After pulping, coffee is fermented underwater (using clean water from local rivers) for between 12-36 hours, in order to remove remaining mucilage. Post-fermentation, coffee is washed and graded in sorting channels. Processing water is redistributed into seepage pits.

Parchment is then placed on pre-drying beds for 2-3 hours, until any surface water has evaporated, before being transferred to African raised beds, in layers of 3-5cm. In order to prevent parchment cracking, it is turned regularly, and covered at midday heat, to ensure uniform drying. When moisture levels reach 10.5-11%, it is removed from drying tables and placed in conditioning bins, in the parchment shed.

In the cup expect a lovely clean lemon citrus, and huge floral hit. But then this coffee surprises you as it takes a left turn into toffee sweetness and a mouthfeel and taste that only reminds me of my childhood and Nesquik chocolate milkshake. 

Country: Malawi


This coffee is a staple, a big favourite and a stunning example of what a very fine coffee from Brazil should be. Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Yellow Bourbon Pulped Natural from the Minas Gerais area is one of my all-time great cups. This coffee has always been fantastic, and it has such amazing memories for me.

This farm and its coffee sparked a massive change in what I thought I knew about coffee. I remember the first time I ever cupped this coffee: time stood still as the cup opened my mind to what great coffee is and can be. Gabriel, the farmer, continues to produce great coffee year on year. We have access to the best of the crop this year – and have had for the last three years – on a European exclusive. This is due to the special relationship we, and our importers, enjoy with Gabriel.

Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890 and recently celebrated its 109th crop. It is located in São Paolo state, just three miles from the border with Minas Gerais state. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Mogiana and Sul de Minas regions, and it's located at an altitude of 1,100–1,250 metres above sea level

Gabriel de Carvalho Dias is one of Brazil’s leading agronomists. His family owns several farms, and they border each other in this area. With a total area of 417 hectares, Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has a coffee plantation area of 165 hectares. Everything is done manually on this farm since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanisation. The mill is located close to the spa town of Poços de Caldas, which is 45 minutes from the farm.

The Carvalho Dias family consider social and environmental sustainability to be very important. The farm has a programme of planting native species of trees to maintain a better ecological balance. There is also a school, a club and an official-size soccer field for the employees and workers. There are 47 houses, all with modern facilities. The waste water is treated in order to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm. The farm has a small hydroelectric plant and only buys energy during the peak harvest. Some of the original Bourbon varietal trees are as much as 108 years old.

The beans are harvested on a sheet and prepared by the ‘pulped natural’ process, which separates the greens. The beans receive the maximum possible attention after harvest so they don't lose any of the body and cup qualities for which this region is famed.

This comes from the rare Canario varietal. It's a Bourbon mutation that originated in Brazil. You can find out more about it here, but what you will notice in the cup is that it adds complexity and acidity compared to Bourbon coffees.

In the cup expect outstanding sweetness joined by an apricot acidity and a lovely peach aftertaste. Sure there's the normal Brazilian chocolate, caramel and toffee, but this cup offers a little more.

Country: Brazil

This coffee is a staple, a big favourite and a stunning example of what a very fine coffee from Brazil should be. Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira de Grama Canario Natural from the Minas Gerais area is one of my all-time great cups. This coffee has always been fantastic, and it has such amazing memories for me.

This farm and its coffee sparked a massive change in what I thought I knew about coffee. I remember the first time I ever cupped this coffee: time stood still as the cup opened my mind to what great coffee is and can be. Gabriel, the farmer, continues to produce great coffee year on year. We have access to the best of the crop this year – and have had for the last three years – on a European exclusive. This is due to the special relationship we, and our importers, enjoy with Gabriel.

Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890 and recently celebrated its 109th crop. It is located in São Paolo state, just three miles from the border with Minas Gerais state. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Mogiana and Sul de Minas regions, and it's located at an altitude of 1,100–1,250 metres above sea level.

Gabriel de Carvalho Dias is one of Brazil’s leading agronomists. His family owns several farms, and they border each other in this area. With a total area of 417 hectares, Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama has a coffee plantation area of 165 hectares. Everything is done manually on this farm since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanisation. The mill is located close to the spa town of Poços de Caldas, which is 45 minutes from the farm.

The Carvalho Dias family consider social and environmental sustainability to be very important. The farm has a programme of planting native species of trees to maintain a better ecological balance. There is also a school, a club and an official-size soccer field for the employees and workers. There are 47 houses, all with modern facilities. The waste water is treated in order to avoid polluting the stream that runs across the farm. The farm has a small hydroelectric plant and only buys energy during the peak harvest. Some of the original Bourbon varietal trees are as much as 108 years old.

The beans are harvested on a sheet and prepared by the ‘natural’ process, where cherries are taken and dried in the sun (see here for a more full explanation).

This comes from the rare Canario varietal. It's a bourbon mutation that originated in Brazil. You can find out more about it here, but what you will notice in the cup is that it adds complexity and acidity compared to Bourbon coffees.

In the cup there's dark chocolate sweetness with a wafer biscuit base; this is finished with dried-raisin acidity. A delicious, full-bodied cup with a huge mouthfeel.

• Country: Brazil

We had coffee three years ago from Anastacio but it was called Ilimanni Bolinda mixed with Bolinda from a neighbouring canton. Two years ago Felix from Bolinda didn't send any of his coffee to the mill, and in fact has since abandoned the farm.

This gave us the opportunity to try Ilimani from Anastacio all on its own for the first time, and it was delicious! We're really happy to welcome it back for a second year.

Anastacio Cadena is 49 and bought his farm in 1993, but he had worked on his neighbour's farms since he was 16 years old. His farm is located in the Illimani colony, near the town of Caranavi. Anastacio has 2 hectares of coffee with approximately 6,000 coffee plants of Criolla and Caturra varietals, which are at an altitude between 1,350 and 1,800 metres above sea level. The farm is completely inaccessible from the road so Anastacio has to move the crop by hand for a quarter of a mile, at which point he can use trucks to move the coffee. All of this effort is truly worth it when you taste the coffee.

Unfortunately this is the last time were going to see this coffee. Anastacio has decided that he is not going to grow coffee and after the harvest cleared the land and is going to use it for grazing cattle. The last time to try one of my favourite cups

In the cup think pineapple cubes and pear drops. It's sweet with a clean, bright green-apple aciditythat finishes with milk chocolate. What makes this cup really great and interesting is its complexity.

• Country: Bolivia

Episode 328 on Monday the 2nd of March 2015 Colombia CENCOIC Cauca Washed

The Vieira Ferreira family has specialised in coffee production for three generations and is now headed by Adolfo Vieira Ferreira, whose attention to detail and commitment to producing top-class specialty coffee is second to none.

The farm employs a high number of skilled workers to carry out most of the production process by hand, in order to guarantee quality. They do everything, from soil preparation for planting to hand-picking the ripe cherries. In return, the farm looks after its workers. Permanent workers and their families live on-site and are provided with schooling for their children, professional training and environmental education.

The farm also takes environmental sustainability seriously and abides by all Brazilian environmental protection laws. Its native forests are set aside as protected reserves and are often visited by tourists, school children and ecologists. The farm also regularly plants new trees, particularly around its water sources, in order to maintain the local ecosystem.

Passeio’s coffee is picked by hand only when the cherries reach an advanced stage of ripeness, to avoid processing green beans. Pulped natural lots such as this one are pulped and then, rather than being soaked and washed, they are immediately transferred to the patios for drying with the bean’s sticky outer mucilage still attached. The coffee is then kept in wooden resting bins for a minimum of 60 days before the final dry milling, and is sorted immediately prior to export.

The farm cultivates several different varietals: this Rubi lot, a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Catuaí. This single-varietal lot was harvested and processed separately from other lots to maintain its own, distinct characteristics.

In the cup, it's just like its Natural brother. You get sweet milk chocolate and white sugar sweetness, with a honeydew-melon acidity, and a biscuit finish.

• Country: Brazil