Coffee

Traditional Washed, SL28/SL-34/Ruiru 11/Batian, Lightest Roaster Influence - Best for Filter/Pourover/Turbo Espresso
3 key notes: [Blackcurrant, Poached Rhubarb, Violet

Traditional Washed: Selectively picked cherries are delivered by smallholders to Gakuyu-ini Factory, where they are sorted at intake, then pulped in the afternoon with the parchment fermented overnight. The parchment is then washed with density sorting, with the top grades sent for a secondary soak in fresh water of around 16 hrs, before moving to raised beds to dry over 8 - 14 days, weather dependent.

We're tasting:
Really classic Kenyan aromatics - blackcurrant & apple cordial, some floral black tea like darjeeling. In the cup it's like hot vimto - all the purple fruits, with a hint of baking spice and pomegranate molasses, alongside lemon verbena and a floral note that reminds us of parma violets. As it cools, the acidity resolves to a really juicy malic note like poached rhubarb. Emblematic of type

Traditional Honey, Sidra, Lightest Roaster Influence - Best brewed with Filter (excellent batch brew or pourover option). Work as a great spro with rest
3 key notes: [Grape Jelly, Melon, Passionfruit Curd]

We got the opportunity to return to the esteemed Finca Maputo, who have successfully seen some podium finishes in the Taza Dorada (Best of Ecuador competition) as well as placing in the Cup of Excellence. Run by two retired Medicines San Frontières doctors (Henry is from Ecuador, his wife Verena is from Switzerland - but they met during their time working as rural doctors in Burundi, showing that coffee and the lands it grows in can facilitate connections in pretty magical ways), Maputo specialises in excellent honey processed lots, with plots growing H9, Sidra, Mejorado, and SL-28. Having released the SL-28 as an LCF exclusive, we're dropping the other lot we purchased from them - a super fun Sidra honey. Really unique flavours - all the big purple jammy notes we might expect from a funky natty, but none of the acetic acid we'd expect with the funk. Purple and clean?? Wild 

We're tasting:
Big passionfruit, bubblegum and grape aromatics. In the cup it's super sweet - we're getting purple grape juice, a white sugar sweetness (together, it reminds us a little of shloer), with supporting notes of nectarine, honeydew melon, and blackcurrant, alongside lemon/lime soda. Super bright and sweet, as it cools becoming a little more textural and less acidity driven- we're finding passionfruit curd & the grape note becomes more like grape jelly. Everything about it screams like it should be funky, but it's elegant, clean and delightful

Anoxic Natural, Gesha, Lightest Roaster Influence - Best for Filter. Turbo-espresso or pourover
3 key notes: [Blueberry Jam, Tropical, Lavender]

We welcome Yoiner to the offer after he took over his Aunt Marisela's Rosado plot, and with it we swiftly became fans of his work. While Colombia harvests biannually, Yoiners Gesha tends to only produce an exportable crop once a year - and this lot absolutely jumped off the table at us tasting like an old-school natty eth. We're thinking of 2018 Banko Gotiti natural as a particularly specific reference

All the berry, tropical, floral notes we expect from the concept of a natty Eth, yet distinctly also a Colo Gesha. Banger

We're tasting:
Raspberry jam aromatics alongside lavender and honeysuckle. In the cup it's straight blueberry jam, with tropical notes of soursop, papaya and ripe guava, alongside lemon zest and a hint of coriander seed, super juicy and long. As it cools the florals become more defined, and the blueberry note persists hot to cold.