Tasting Notes: April 2020 Coffees

 Tasting Notes: April 2020 Coffees

KUDU Audun SlowMov Caravan Coffee Tasting Notes

Caravan Coffee Roasters is a London based coffee roaster with cafes and restaurants dotted across London’s coolest locations. They roast with an eco-friendly Loring Smart Roaster and run their own coffee school from their roastery in North London. Caravan Coffee Roasters believe in raising the UK’s standard of coffee by providing a superior experience in every cup. They source the world’s best beans and roast them to specific and consistent profiles, so to ensure each coffee’s individual characteristics are fully nurtured.

Caravan Coffees  |  UK

Coffee Information Notes Packages
Primaveran Decaf Most decaf coffees are blends scraped together from lower grade coffees and processed en-masse, without any distinguishing features or terroir. Then, typically, flavours are further covered up by dark roasting, a process that removes acidity or sweetness. The result is a cup with nothing remarkable or memorable whatsoever. Voila: decaf’s bad reputation is born.

Thankfully for you, Caravan disagree with the status quo. Our newest decaf offering has been sourced from just seven farmers through our partnership with Primavera, a Guatemalan based importing company. All seven farms are located in the small town of San Antonio Huista, in the highlands of Huehuetenango. As Guatemalan lovers will know, this Central American country produces some of the most complex and beautiful coffees in Latin America, with notes that range from creamy caramels to green apples and fresh florals. Primavera worked with these seven farmers to source a decaf lot that would preserve some of these amazing flavours, and taste great as espresso or filter.
Malt loaf, apple and black treacle. Decaf
Aldo Parducci SOE Espresso El Pacto is a family-owned and operated farm high up in La Cordillera del Balsamo, overlooking the El Salvador Pacific coastline. Compromising 80 hectares of a rugged, steep hillside, El Pacto benefits from rich volcanic soil and dense frequent mists that roll in from the ocean; both of which provide ideal conditions for growing and coffee.

Aldo Parducci has been managing El Pacto and its processing program for several years now, taking the farm in a new and progressive direction. Experimental techniques have been implemented as well as a wide range of varietals planted. Pacas, Gesha, Pacamara and Kenyan SL varieties have all been started over the past 2 years and are being carefully nurtured.

This Red Bourbon is a natural processed lot and is an excellent example of the quality that can be found at El Pacto. Sweet, juicy and clean this coffee makes a delicious, easy drinking and incredibly versatile brew. Caravan have profiled this coffee to be used as both filter and espresso to fully explore the range of flavours that can be found through different brew methods. This coffee scored a cupping score of 87.
Pineapple, papaya and mango. Plus 87
Market Blend The Market Blend has been Caravan’s signature espresso blend for a number of years now. Blended exclusively with coffees that have been sourced at origin with producers with whom they enjoy an open, active relationship with. The aim has always been to showcase high quality, in season coffees, with a clear and traceable provenance.

At any given time throughout the year, you can expect the Market Blend to consistently deliver intensely sweet notes alongside a light, bright, zesty acidity. Regular shipments of fresh green coffee year round help maintain its signature flavour profile and regular feature the best lots that we can source from East Africa, Central and South America.
Raspberry, cherry jam and milk chocolate. Blends
Guatemalan 86 Antonio Gonzales and his family, owners of the small farm La Nueva Montaña (‘the new mountain’), live in the town of El Palmar in the southeast of Guatemala. Antonio is interested in developing his agronomic practices, helping to improve quality at his farm and throughout his community using varietal separation and advanced fermentation methods. He works with other producers in a Grupo de Amistad y Trabajo (‘friendship and work group’) to collectively purchase supplies, share knowledge, and organize labour during the harvest.

La Nueva Montaña was sourced through our partnership with Primavera, a Guatemalabased importing company owned by fourth generation farmers. The primary mission of Primavera is to deliver sustainably grown coffees with total price transparency to both producers and roasters. This aligns perfectly with Caravan’s sourcing policy, which is committed to paying a fixed price to every farmer which is well above the commercial market.
Caramel, dried fruit and hazelnut. Selected Mix
Colombian 84 The Risaralda Espresso is comprised of coffees harvested and processed by farmers in three small towns within the department of Risaralda – Santuario, El Aguila, and Belen de Umbria. This coffee was sourced through our partnership with Raw Material, a social enterprise working with coffee producers to deliver economic security for small farmers and their families.

Caravan’s sourcing team is committed to paying a fixed price to every farmer which is well above the commercial market. This allows farmers to ensure they can cover their cost of production and supports a consistent and secure income for their families. By purchasing this coffee, customers provide economic stability and a consistent market for the farmers of the Risaralda community.
Dark chocolate, toasted nuts and baking spice. Selected Mix

A returning favourite of ours, SlowMov are a Barcelona based coffee roaster with a philosophy that favours quality versus quantity, a job well-done versus speed, and passion and reflection over irrational consumption. As we hope you’ll agree, these values really shine through in their range of coffees.

SlowMov Coffees  |  Spain

Coffee Information Notes Packages
Caldas This coffee has been decaffeinated with a sugarcane distillate, ethyly acetate, which is a selective solvent that is present in nature and is used to trap caffeine when green coffee is soaked in it. With this process, more than 97% of the caffeine is extracted. Walnut and sugarcane. Decaf
Finca Quejina Nicolas’s great-grandfather acquired Finca Quejiná, nestled in the dense forest of Petatán. The coffee harvest in this region and altitude takes place from February to May. Then Nicolás takes his coffee to the warehouse in Huehuetenango, where he delivers small lots that he has previously separated by variety and quality. Chocolate, hazelnuts and plum. Various
Raro Boda The Raro Boda washing station is owned and operated by Negusse Debela. His company SNAP took over management of the Raro Boda washing station just this harvest and this was the first year SNAP produced their own coffee in the district, or woreda of Uraga. This area is known for Garden style of coffee farming with many small lot holders in the Raro Boda kebele. The coffee trees are a mixture of heirloom varieties as well as the Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) chosen varieties 74110 and 74112, well know for their great cup quality.

The high consistent elevations of Uraga, usually between 2,000 and 2,300 meters above sea level, mean an almost unparalleled potential for quality in the country. Negusse was given the opportunity to invest, renovate and manage a washing station located in the Raro Boda kebele, or community, at the peak of Uraga, which is around 2,450 meters high. At this altitude above the coffee farms there is a consistently cool temperature which allows the washed lots to dry from 10 up to 14 days, giving it a clean, clear and stable cup quality.

In early 2019, SNAP finished the final touches on their own export dry mill, giving them full control of their product and quality. This gives Negusse Debela the ability to control the selection of cherry, processing of the coffee and the dry milling and sorting.
Black tea and elderflower notes. Plus 87

Audun Coffee is the coffee roasting outlet of Audun Sørbotten, who won a little known competition called the World Coffee Roasting Championship back in 2015 - you can be certain that he knows a thing or two about coffee. All of the coffees sold by Audun Coffee are bought through Nordic Approach, which is an importer based in Oslo, Norway, that solely focuses on sourcing traceable quality green coffees with distinct flavour profiles. These coffees always roasted in a strictly Nordic style, which favours a lighter roast profile. The result is a selection of very highly scoring coffees that offer a very unique coffee experience.

Audun Coffees  |  Poland

Coffee Information Notes Packages
Burundi, Mbirizi Gatara This coffee is from Burundi where it was first dried under shade for around 5 days, after which it was put on raised beds to complete drying under the sun. The Mbirizi station specialises in the shade drying approach and often produces lots that hold up incredibly well. The cupping score for this lot was 87. Soft and tea-like with florals and candied berry undertones. Sugarcane, Mandarin notes and yellow florals in the finish. Light
Haru #1 This coffee is from Kanketi, which is a family run business from Yirgacheffe that manages 6 washing stations and a private farm of 85 hectares. The washing station scored highly on the cupping table as being rich and velvety with a good amount of fruits and florals, achieving a score of 89. Green tea, apples, pears and dark chocolate. Plus 87
Honduras Espresso This coffee is from a farm called El Campo in Honduras, which is run by the Cabelleros family. It was started back in in 2004 and Nordic Approach have been buying from them since 2012. The farm itself is situated at around 1600 metres above sea level and have been extremely successful in producing quality coffees that have contributed to improving the reputation of Honduran coffee as a whole. This specific lot achieved a cupping score of 87. Warming mature fruit like red berries, black grape and plum flavors. Rich and dense mouthfeel, well-structured and intense. Complex and juicy finish. Various

KUDU Coffee was established in 2013 in Attica, Greece. Through their rich variety of coffees, KUDU promotes quality in taste. In particular, KUDU focuses on the collection, roasting and distillation of coffee beans, in order to bring out the unique taste and aroma of each coffee variety. This intense focus from origin to the cup is all aimed at providing KUDU coffee customers with an unparalleled tasting experience.

KUDU Coffees  |  Greece

Coffee Information Notes Packages
Decaf 100% Arabica coming soon Richly sweet, cocoa-toned. Cocoa powder, date, magnolia, molasses, oak. Satiny-smooth mouthfeel; resonant, chocolaty finish with notes of magnolia and oak. Decaf
Colombia Finca Camelia coming soon Grapes and citrus mix with chocolate, nut and cedar in aroma and cup, along with a distant hint of lavender. Perfectly balanced, sweet-toned and smooth acidity. Single Origin
Good Cup Espresso Blends coming soon Richly sweet, chocolate-toned. Magnolia, chocolate fudge, hazelnut, gently scorched cedar, banana. Velvety mouthfeel cocoa-toned, floral finish. Various
Habit Speciality Espresso Blend coming soon Deeply sweet, richly tart, pungent. Milk chocolate, peach, green tea, tangerine zest. Full and syrupy mouthfeel. The finish consolidates around quiet cocoa, caramel and citrus. Selected Mix

GUSTATORY (adjective): curating excellence in taste.

GUSTATORY Curation TeamMarch 28, 2020