If you haven’t sampled them already then let us take a few minutes to acquaint you with some new coffees that we have added to our collection.
Dominican Republic – Complex and Sophisticated
First up is this delightful single origin coffee from the Dominican Republic. It is grown in the southeast in the Barahona region, which is widely considered to be the finest of the country’s premium gourmet coffees. This region is above the altitude of 1,800m so produces a slower maturing fruit and a denser bean which creates a more complex, sophisticated taste. Therefore you can expect a clean taste, with cane sugar and chocolate notes, a light body and soft acidity.
The Barahona coffee is notable for its rich flavour, sweet and full body with high acidity and an overall good aroma. Considered to be somewhat similar to the gourmet Jamaican coffees means that this is a balanced coffee with chocolatey notes with a hint of spice.
The Dominican Republic’s long coffee growing season is in part due to the fact there is no rainy season and is extended by the warm and gentle tradewinds and ocean currents, which together with the moderate climate allow the coffee cherry (fruit) to ripen very slowly on the coffee plants producing a high quality coffee bean.
The coffee plant is grown in a traditional way, which also guarantees the ecological character of the product. This means that it is shade-grown beneath native pine, guava, and macadamia nut trees. The process for this Dominican Republic Barahona AA coffee cherry is hand-picked and then sun-dried on large patios.
Regions: Barahona (southeast region of the Dominican Republic)
Growing Altitude: 1,800-2,200 + m.a.s.l.
Arabica Variety: Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, size AA
Harvest Period: November – April
Preparation: Washed, sun dried
Rwanda – Single Origin Coffee
Another new coffee is our fabulous coffee from Rwanda. It is full bodied, bursting with aromas of berries, prunes, chocolate, and almond with lemon like acidity. The producer – Nova Coffee Ltd – was established in 2015 by Agnes Mukamushinja. The high altitudes and the rich volcanic soil where this coffee is grown on a microlot, provide ideal growing conditions. This allows Nova to produce mainly supreme quality coffee.
Nova Coffee Ltd. Is located between volcanic mountains and the beautiful Lake Muhazi in North Rwanda. Agnes has coffee running through her veins as her father had a coffee plantation that he sadly lost during the genocide. So whilst she was running a successful pharmacy with her husband in Kigali, she was able to use some of the proceeds to buyvand restore an old coffee washing station in the area where Agnes grew up and where her family still lives; on the shores of the lake. After the 2015 season, they were able to install a new pulping machine, new tanks to ferment coffee beans, new drying beds and a high-quality storage warehouse. Agnes is dedicated to producing the best possible coffee and using it to transform her community.
The production and processing of this coffee is mainly in the hands of women. Nova is committed to develop the neighbouring community in order to create jobs and eradicate poverty. The company builds houses for the poor, constructs roads and wells and provides microcredit to farmers. Nova takes a special interest in the position of women. Agnes is entrepreneurial, she develops new off-season business opportunities for women like weaving baskets. Nova is committed to job creation and community empowerment. Part of the proceeds are designated for social & ecological projects and a special premium is paid for the individual farmers.
Nova is a cooperative with a strong social mission! And we are glad to be able to do our part to support it as we purchase their coffee to bring to you.
Regions: Gicumbi District > Bukuru/Kivumu/Ruyange Northern Province
Growing Altitude: 1,800-2,000 + m.a.s.l.
Arabica Variety: Red Bourbon, grade1
Harvest Period: November – April
Preparation: Washed
East Africa Blend
In combining different coffee beans we have created our East Africa blend in a tribute to the birthplace of the coffee plant.
The rich volcanic soil in the high altitudes of East Africa are ideal growing conditions for coffee. In this blend we choose coffees from a seller in Burundi and two sellers in the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe region. These three coffees have similar characters and together they represent a near full spectrum of flavours coffee can have; very rich, sweet, full bodied, with honey, berries, date, prune, chocolate, citrus and a touch of jasmine notes. And it’s not just about the aromas but the appearance matches this too. The brewed coffee has an exceptional rich, deep, dark, reddish brown colour.
Regions: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Burundi Butihinda
Growing Altitude: 1,700-2,200 + m.a.s.l.
Arabica Variety: heirloom
Harvest Period: November – April
Preparation: Washed
Each of these bean varieties can be made into your favourite coffee beverage by our baristas in Café Lounge. Call in and make sure you ask for any of these beans to be used before buying a bag to keep savouring the different notes at home.
