Tasting Notes: November 2022 Coffees
A Matter Of Conrete is specialty coffee roastery based in the Van Nelle Factory located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, making a lot of noise in the coffee industry at the moment - for very good reason. The Van Nelle Factory once used to be the biggest coffee roastery in the country, quite rare to find a pre-WWII building in Rotterdam, let alone it being a coffee roastery, let alone one that is a listed UNESCO World Heritage monument. Competing in many coffee competitions, founder Rob Clarijs has been on the winner’s podium of quite a handful, with the crowning achievement of winning Coffee Masters London 2019.
Innovation and sustainability are what make today good and tomorrow better. Direct trading with suppliers, developing long-lasting products while giving attention to circularity, waste-reduction and inspire others to do so too. Roasted on a Loring S35 Kestrel, one of the most energy efficient coffee roasters around.
A Matter Of Concrete Coffees | Netherlands
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 013 Rosado, Colombia | Lizardo is a 2nd generation coffee producer, he is now in his mid 40s, Earlier in his life he got into coffee through his dad, who was a minor coffee producer, but mostly a big compost producer in the area with a a thing for organic farming. This gave Lizardo a different understanding of the land and farming itself and interestingly enough Lizardo’s main interest is beekeeping. He is even a professional beekeeper! His farm, called El Recuerdo, has Rosado, Tabi, Colombia and Castillo varieties and everything is separated by varietal and cupped individually. His right hand (and Director of Quality at the farm) is Jensen, his nephew. This team makes an incredible cup, we can tell you that. Also, Lizardo has been part of LaREB for 5 seasons already. LaREB is a small foundation of farmers that we work 100% directly with through our good friend Herbert. We met Herbert, one of the initiators of LaREB together with his girlfriend Ana, at the Danish Coffee Festival early 2020 and we became instant buddies. After our first meeting in Denmark we planned on meeting again soon, either in Colombia or the Netherlands. Unfortunately COVID spoiled the party but we’ve been facetiming and talking coffee almost weekly for almost 2 years now. Last May however, Herbert finally was able to visit the roastery. Next stop is to visit him in Colombia later this year and visit Lizardo too! This coffee is such a beauty. Delicate, complex and so sweet. Depending on the recipe you’ll either find a delicate, silky, chamomile forward brew with subtle juiciness to it or a sweet af brew with clear sticky mouthfeel and tones of marmelade, plum and apricot. |
Delicate, chamomile, floral, plum and apricot Altitude: 1630 masl, Process: fed-batch washed |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light |
| 008 Enat Buna, Ethiopia | Anyone working in coffee probably has had a Natural Ethiopian coffee one day and was blown away by it. You rarely hear someone not liking the sweet winey clean taste of Natural processed Ethiopian coffee when they tried it for the first time. The Guji region of southern Ethiopia is a remote place, beautifully forested and – in many ways – an untouched area of the country.In general, coffees from this region offer a balanced and pleasingly complex cup profile –perfect for both filter and espresso. However, the Guji landscape is diverse and some areas are higher than others, others are more forested than others, and there are quite a few microclimates in the region. All this means that coffee grown in the Guji region can have very different flavour profiles if it comes from different farms or areas, even within the same region. Around 30km from the nearest town Shakiso, the farm and station Duba is located . This beautiful 200 hectare farm and processing station is located in the village Mekadu on an altitude of 1800-2100 MASL. Every year in November and December 600+ workers handpick these organic produced red cherries. Gash Duba is the main chief of the team at the farm and station. He is loved by the local community. With a heart for the future of our next generation, the quality of coffee ,Gash Duba believes in the systematic approach of our Partner Bette Buna: Fair wages and circumstances for all of our workers, free agricultural trainings for the co-farmers in the area and encouraging entrepreneurship for youth to increase the alternative incomes in the region. Expect classic Guji Natural processed coffee notes, but clean and complex. |
Strawberry, juicy, winey, floral and lavender Altitude: 1800 - 2100 masl, Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light |
| 001 Catuai, Brazil | We’ve worked with Patricia for a few years on previous projects, when this time we decided we wanted to offer this coffee as a single origin classic Brazilian coffee. Patrícia is actually a lawyer and business administrator who worked in the financial market for a few years until the birth of her first daughter. Her husband is a business administrator and has worked for an investment bank for many years. The couple always wanted to acquire a rural property, in order to have a second type of activity and investment for their future. The opportunity arose in 2016, when a coffee farm in São Sebastião da Gramma was offered for sale and they started working there. As Patricia says: “It was difficult to understand the dynamics of the coffee cycle. It seems to be very simple, but I can say with conviction that it is not. It has been four years of hard work: changing employees, getting the trust of the partners. In the small town, you are always seen as an outsider, even more so when you are from São Paulo. But there were so many challenges, that each one we overcame gave us the certainty of being able to do better. Hard work, respect for our employees, for our partners in the city and especially for nature. I am sure that the love and respect for the coffee plantation and the surrounding nature would give us great joy. Proof of this is now being able to be here telling our story. The coffee flower is simply beautiful, charming.” This coffee has a classic profile of Brazilian Pulped Natural coffee with great balance, notes of chocolate and a variety of nuts. |
Balanced, chocolate and nuts Altitude: 1100 - 1350 masl, Process: pulped natural |
Plus 87, Single / Light, Selected Mix |
| 002 Caturra, Colombia | We met Shady and Elias Bayter late 2021 in Milan at a coffee show. They were visiting Europe with their mother and wanted to plan some ‘business’ visits as well. We started talking at the show when there was an immediate click, we all just loved the product coffee and are always improving to find the boundaries of what’s possible. Elias and his mother (Shady had other obligations) were one of the first people to visit our roastery when we were still under construction. Their farm El Vergel was mainly an avocado farm before to they started growing coffee. Around ten years ago Elias came in touch with specialty coffee, apparently their farm had perfect conditions to grow some amazing coffee, so they took a chance and switched a part of their farm to growing coffee. Almost a decade later Shady and Elias pioneer in what flavours come out of their unique varieties and high quality processing. Also, they are very involved on growing the coffee in a sustainable way, therefore, they have left 60 hectares of their farm for a natural forest, which is aim to become one of the biggest ecological forests of the region. This Natural processed Caturra, that was processed by Elias, blew us away on the cupping table. Notes of passion fruit and other tropical juices with a beautiful balanced body and mouthfeel. Very sweet with a medium acidity. For this coffee we use the same roast for both filter and espresso. Don’t call it omniroast, but let’s just say the filter roast is soluble enough to brew a great espresso too. |
Peachy, tropical and very sweet Altitude: 1550 masl, Process: natural |
Plus 87 |
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 | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anona, Costa Rica | Anona is cultivated in a hidden zone under Cerro del Dragón, in the subregion of Tarrazú, Costa Rica. The coffee cherries are hand picked at their high point and taken to the micro mill of Agropecuaria Hellen, a wet mill specialized in the processing of naturals, that produces fruity and complex flavours. | Cherry and caramelized orange Altitude: 1750 masl, Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light |
| Luz Helena, Colombia | This coffee has been grown by Luz Helena Salazar at the Maracay farm. This batch has been exposed to a 30 hour dry aerobic fermentation. Then it is placed on raised beds until reaching 20% moisture content, and also placed in GrainPro bags for 80 hours, at this stage fermentation is driven by natural yeast. Afterwards, the coffee is rested on raised beds until ideal moisture is achieved.This micro-batch is 100% Castillo and was developed by the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros. | Caramel, apple and banana Altitude: 1400 - 1450 masl, Process: white wine fermentation |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light |
| Chelbesa, Ethiopia | Coming soon | Apricot, bergamot and orange Altitude: 1950 - 2200 masl, Process: washed |
Selected Mix, Plus 87 |
| Caldas, Colombia | This coffee collected in the Caldas region (Colombia) has been decaffeinated with a sugar cane distillate, ethyl acetate, a selective solvent that is present in nature and serves to trap caffeine when green coffee is soaked in. With this process, more than 97% of the caffeine is extracted without using chemicals. | Cane sugar and walnuts Altitude: 1700 - 1900 masl, Process: Sugar cane decaf |
Decaf |
| Do Salto, Brazil | Fazenda Do Salto is a modern company based on tradition. With solid, well-organized structures, experiences are passed on from generation to generation and combined with innovation and technology to produce specialty coffee of the highest quality. Great importance is attached to sustainability. The producer has had UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certificates for over 15 years There are numerous native forests and springs on the farm. The water used for coffee processing is purified and filtered so that it can be reused in the ecosystem. Pest control is only carried out to a very limited extent, with consideration for the environment and nature. Otavio Reis is the name of the youngest member of the owner’s family. He experiments with enthusiasm and uses, for example, new processing methods to produce outstanding coffee. His coffees are always well represented in regional and national competitions (e.g. at the Cup of Excellence) and often reach the finals. This lot was processed as a natural, which contributed a lot to the sweetness of this coffee and the light orange note. |
Cocoa butter and almonds Altitude: 1050 masl, Process: natural |
Blend / Darker |
| Incahuasi, Peru | Coming soon | Caramel and melon Altitude: 1850 - 2050 masl, Process: washed |
Plus 87 |
Fjord is a Berlin based specialty roastery founded to provide exceptional coffee for you to brew better coffee at home and for cafés wanting to offer their customers memorable coffee drinking experiences. The goal of their roasting process is to draw out the naturally sweet and vibrant taste of the high quality beans that they source, while also showcasing a variety of regions, processing methods and seasonal specialties. Fjord offer their coffee in a range of quantities so there’s really something for everyone.
Fjord Coffees | Germany
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okoluu, Ethiopia | This is our fourth year working with the natural process, certified organic Okoluu from the Sookoo group in Guji, southern Ethiopia. During harvest season, the farmers in the Sookoo group selectively pick ripe, red cherries (known as Grade 1 or Grade A). After sorting the cherries by floating them in water, they are laid out on raised drying beds in layers 2 to 4cm thick. Over the course of 14-28 days, the cherries are turned 5 to 6 times per day to maintain an even drying. During rainy periods and overnight, the drying cherries are covered to avoid re-humidification. The coffee is grown by a small collection of local farmers which form part of the Sookoo Group managed by Ture Waji, who is a local expert in agronomy and permaculture. The Sookoo Group grow their coffee trees in Semi-Forest plantations allowing for shaded plantations and a rich ecosystem. Sookoo Group members also receive training and information on soil preparation, planting weeding and harvesting - the farmers are then able to command a higher price for their coffees and for this particular lot received approximately double per kg than the price for grade A cherries. In September 2022, Sookoo Coffee was awarded Best Specialty Coffee Supplier and Exporter in Ethiopia, receiving the award from Her Excellency President Sahle-Work Zewde at a ceremony in Addis Ababa. |
White peach, candied orange and bergamot Altitude: 2000 - 2150 masl, Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World, Single / Light |
| La Borbonera, El Salvador | Rodolfo Ruffatti Batlle may have never met his grandfather, but maintains a connection to his family and their land through traditional coffee production. Planted by his grandfather more than fifty years ago, the Red Bourbon trees that make up 'La Borbonera' continue to produce coffee to this day. To create this lot, Rodolfo created a specific plot on his farm to maintain the trees that were more than fifty years old. Named 'La Borbonera', this plot produces coffees that often cup better than the younger, newer trees across the farm and in surrounding areas. The trees have survived over the decades due to consistent pruning and the nutrient-rich soil of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range. After picking and hand sorting cherries from the trees of the La Borbonera plot, Rodolfo transfers the cherries straight to raised beds for drying. The drying process takes about 2 weeks, utilising frequent turning in order to promote a clean cup profile and even drying throughout the cherries. The result of this non-macerated method is a coffee that is complex, sweet and fruit-forward, with notes of cranberry, blueberry and a slight hint of cashew on the finish. |
Blueberry, cashew and cranberry Altitude: 1500 - 1640 masl, Process: natural |
Plus 87, Rest of World |
| San Jose, Peru | Peru is known for its diverse landscape, rich history and unique culture. However, certain areas of the South American country and quickly becoming renowned for their specialty coffee, created by a combination of excellent terroir and community collaboration. Puno is a region best known for its high and cold lands, it's great mountains, its folklore and for the world's highest freshwater lake, Lake Titicaca (3812 masl). However, in recent years this region has also stood out for the quality of its coffees; the combination of landscapes from cold, mountainous areas, rainforests and tropical valleys create a unique climate that is ideal for specialty coffee to grow. In the Alto Inambari district in particular, families from the San Jose sector are mainly dedicated to coffee cultivation. In this area, most of the people are Quechua speakers and to this day they preserve the traditions of the Andean culture. 'Ayni' is one of the best preserved activities today, it is an act of reciprocity and mutual help in the community and is practiced especially in the coffee harvest season. When Ayni takes place, one of the families gets help from the rest of the families in the community to make the fieldwork lighter, so they don’t need to hire laborers. We selected this washed Caturra/Bourbon lot not only for its delicious and clean profile, which includes red fruit and stone fruit notes, but also for its rarity as a specialty grade coffee in an area in which specialty coffee is still developing. We look forward to working further with producers in the Puno region, continuing to improve and develop their coffees to create even better quality in the future. |
Red currant, yellow plum, red grape Process: washed |
Selected Mix |
| Fazenda Serrinha, Brazil | This lot from Minas Gerais, Brazil is lot from Fazenda Serrinha owned by Jose Maria de Oliveira. This specific lot comes from a project on the farm called 'Para Ela' (For Her) that aims to financially empower woman - this lot is sorted and selected by a team of women who receive a 50% higher wage than the region average which contrasts the usual gender pay gap. | Yellow fruits, milk chocolate and praline Altitude: 1250 masl, Process: natural |
Selected Mix |
| House Espresso, Brazil | Our House Blend is a complex, sweet and clean espresso blend made up of two excellent quality coffees from our Brazil partners at Fazenda Serrinha and an Ethiopia natural process Heirloom variety from Okoluu. Very tasty and interesting as an espresso, but also with the body to carry through milk well and create an excellent tasting experience. This blend carries both chocolatey tones and a fruity highlights and is suitable as an all rounder espresso blend. |
Cocoa, mandarin and nougat Altitude: various, Process: washed |
Blend / Darker |
| Shiferaw Jigso, Ethiopia | After several years of relentless effort Shiferaw Jigso built his own mini washing station in Bonk Bosa village to process his own coffee. At a relatively young age he has become one of the few farmers in the region to establish a washing station and is a great example to other farmers aspiring to do so. Shiferaw’s washing station is one of the highest in the Kochere region and the cherries are harvested from his 3 farms all above 2000 masl. The high altitude and precise processing make this a brilliant example of Kochere’s potential. Shiferaw Jigso owns and manages a total of 6.8 hectares of coffee farms distributed over three different villages or kebeles; Bonk Busa, Debo and Wote, all within the Kochere district/woreda. The washing station in Bonk Busa is positioned at one of the highest points of these three farms which provides a slow cooler drying time and stabilizes the long but clean fermentation process. Shiferaw’s farms are best described as Garden style farming, interweaving coffee trees with food crops such as Enset and Taro, which is the norm in the Gedeo Zone due to its high population. Therefore it is important to be Active Organic, fertilizing with Organic compost in the off season and carefully pruning trees to make most of the active nutrients. Shiferaw and his family have always farmed using traditional methods such as composting organically and never using pesticides or chemical fertilizers. He selects successful local varieties from his best trees which mutate from the basic 3 varieties of the region; Kurume, Dega and Walichu, as well as the Jimma varieties 74110 and 74112 |
Lime, peach and honeydew melon Altitude: 2100 masl, Process: washed |
Plus 87 |
| Tsegaye Tekebo, Ethiopia (Special Edition) | Tsegaye Tekebo owns a moderate sized washing station next to his farm on the outskirts of the Biloya village. His farm is approximately 3 times that of the average sized garden coffee farm in the area and from that he produces 150 bags of coffee. His washing station uses a locally made coffee pulping machine called an Agard, and from that he prepares other washed lots from coffee farmers in the surrounding area. All coffee produced at his washing station is documented and traceable. This year was his first to experiment with Honey and Anaerobic processes. Tsegaye Tekebo is a well established coffee producer in the Biloya kebele. His traditional coffee management skills are accompanied by the modern day specialty approach taught by Getu Bekele of G Broad and the Jabanto Group. He replants coffee varieties that are high yield, high quality, drought tolerant, and disease and pest resistant. These varieties are selected out of locally adapted landraces like Dega and Walichu, and the successful JARC varieties. Garden coffee production system with well-maintained agro forestry practice best describes the ecology of Tsegaye’s farm and surrounding farms in the Biloya kebele. Throughout his farm the coffee trees grow under a light shade from perennial shade trees and food crops such as Enset (false banana). Most farmers in the region grow coffee with food crops intertwined which is great for permaculture as they are a great source of compost as well as providing yearly financial support. Organic compost is the only source of nutrient that is used to fertilize both coffee trees and the other food crops in the Jabanto group. Due to the well-maintained agroforestry system and soil/water conservation practice, the level of soil erosion on the farm of Tsgaye has been low. As a result, the top soil in that area is rich with organic matter. Immediately after the end of harvest, Tsegaye focuses on coffee tree pruning, re-planting, land preparation and compost fertilization, weed control and disease management. |
Elderflower, yoghurt and jasmine Altitude: 1780 masl, Process: anaerobic washed |
Selected Mix |
Founded in 2017, Redemption were born from the belief that reoffending within the UK could be reduced through the production of specialty coffee. Reoffending is a significant social issue in the UK so Redemption’s core purpose has been to add value and help tackle this problem. The way they have sought to do this is through setting up a series of barista training courses in prisons across England, as well as offering concrete routes into employment to the inmates that graduate from their courses. We’re honoured to be working with them and proud to support the work they do.
Redemption Coffees | UK
| Coffee | Story | Notes & Essentials | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raimutin, Timor Leste | A swig of silky honey and baked pear are rounded out with the subtle sweetness of vanilla and milk chocolate. Our Raimutin Washed coffee will have you desperate for a refill. We believe great coffee can come from people and places you’d least expect. With our sourcing we empower people otherwise disadvantaged or disenfranchised, and we choose sourcing partners with the same values. This single origin is from Timor-Leste in South East Asia, one of the world’s youngest countries, and it’s sourced by our partner, Raw Material, who reinvest 100% of profits back into developing the communities that they source from. The coffee cherries are collected daily by local farmers in the small village of Raimutin. At dawn, the steep and luscious landscape is dotted with coffee farmers, who rise early everyday to beat the heat. |
Milk chocolate, honey and pear Process: washed |
Selected Mix |
| El Diste, Mexico | Coming soon | Peach tea and jasmine Process: natural |
Selected Mix, Single / Light, Plus 87 |
| Tumbaga, Colombia | This delicious decaf coffee has smooth, sweet caramel notes balanced out by juicy apricot and a mild orange acidity. Perfect with or without milk. Decaf coffee has landed itself a bad reputation. Often the oldest, lowest quality beans will be sent for decaffeination, to avoid degrading the profiles of higher quality coffees. At Redemption, we don’t believe that skipping the caffeine should mean losing out on taste. The sugarcane decaffeination process of Tumbaga involves soaking the harvested coffee in a natural compound derived from sugarcane. This process preserves and even enhances the flavour profile of the original crop. We believe great coffee can come from people and places you’d least expect. With our sourcing we want to create opportunities for people otherwise disadvantaged or disenfranchised, and we choose sourcing partners with the same values. ‘Tumbaga’ is the name of an alloy used throughout Colombia to make small, sacred objects. It symbolically blended the opposing energies of sun (gold) and moon (silver). If decaffeination and coffee seem like opposing energies, one sip of Tumbaga will change your mind. |
Apricot syrup, caramel and pecan Altitude: 1400 - 2100 masl, Process: sugarcane |
Decaf |
| The Block, S Americas | With a chocolatey base and sweet top notes of fudge and baked apple, The Block is low on acidity and works perfectly with milk. It’s the ideal entry point to the world of speciality coffee. We believe great coffee can come from people and places you’d least expect. With our sourcing we want to create opportunities for people otherwise disadvantaged or disenfranchised, and we choose sourcing partners with the same values. | Cocoa, fudge and baked apple Altitude: various, Process: natural and washed |
Blend / Darker, Percent |
| The Wing, S Americas | Buttery smooth with notes of cocoa and caramel, rounded out with a kick of zesty mandarin, The Wing will have your day off to a flying start. We believe great coffee can come from people and places you’d least expect. With our sourcing we aim to create opportunities for people otherwise disadvantaged or disenfranchised, and we choose sourcing partners with the same values. Narino, Colombia - The base component of The Wing is a Colombian washed coffee produced by the indigenous Inga community of Aponte. Tucked away high in the mountains, the Ingas spent years being exploited by drug traffickers and forced to grow poppies for heroin production. Now a safe zone, farmers have formed this coffee-producing cooperative, allowing the community to thrive with steady, sustainable livelihoods. Sidamo, Ethiopia - The second component is from the Bulessa Washing Station, run by Tizita Bizuneh and her team of 15 full time female workers. Tizita started this project with the goal of empowering women working in coffee, who are underrepresented in the industry, from production to management of the station. The coffee itself is grown and harvested by local female smallholders. We’re building an ongoing relationship with Bulessa to support their mission and impact. |
Cocoa, caramel and mandarin Altitude: various, Process: washed |
Blend / Darker, Percent |
| La Conserva, Guatemala | A fiesta of vibrant flavour notes, treat your taste palette to a tropical pop of peach and ripe mango, with lingering top-notes of sweet vanilla. The decadent taste profile of La Conserva conjures up a nostalgia for sweet pavlova and panna cotta. We believe great coffee can come from people and places you’d least expect. With our sourcing we want to create opportunities for people otherwise disadvantaged or disenfranchised. Introducing innovative coffee producers, Aurora Villatora and David Mendez, from Guatemala. La Conserva was born from their desire to push the boundaries within the coffee fermentation process, resulting in a coffee of outstanding quality and complexity. Wondering about the art on the front? We’ve partnered with Community Arts Project UK to showcase artwork created by prison residents. |
Peach, mango and vanilla Process: washed |
Selected Mix |
GUSTATORY (adjective): curating excellence in taste.