TRADITIONAL
Nº 218 Papua New Guinea Lamari
Country: Papua New Guinea
Process: Washed
Grown / Region: Obura - Wonenara District, Eastern Highlands
Altitude: 1700m - 2000m
Varietals: Arusha, Blue Mountain, Bourbon & Typica
Producers: Lamari River Valley Coffee Gardens Co-op
Tasting Notes: Treacle, Malt & Dark Chocolate
Roast Level: Dark 5/5
Named for the Lamari river valley that runs through this region. The smallholder group produces coffee in some of the most remote coffee growing regions. Unlike many other speciality co-ops, each smallholder processes and dries their own coffee before being delivered to a centralised dry mill for final hulling. These variations between processing methods could lead to inconsistency in the coffee - but each lot is meticulously cupped to match quality and flavour to create the final regional blend.
DISCOVERY
Nº 231 Rwanda Gito
Country: Nyamasheke District
Process: Washed
Grown / Region: Nyamasheke
Altitude: 1600m - 1650m
Varietals: Red Bourbon
Producers: Smallholders
Tasting Notes: Cherry, Maple Syrup & Black Tea
Roast Level: Medium 3/5
FARM NOTES:
The Gito coffee cherries are hand sorted before being submerged under water, forcing the low density fruit to float and be skimmed. The cherries are then de-pulped and washed through a large serpentine grading channel, being continuously agitated to remove any residual fruit mucilage. Once separated into grades, it is given a final post-wash rinse and then moved to a pre-drying area where the parchment (the name for green coffee, before milling) is hand-sorted removing any insect-damaged, discoloured or chipped coffee. The parchment is laid out to dry and turned on a regular basis throughout the day for 30 days.
Sourced from three washing stations (Kilimbi, Rugali and Gisheke), this coffee is a classic but wonderful representation of Rwandan washed coffee. The word Gito translates as "tiny" in Kinyarwanda, and one look at the coffee before grinding will show you why. This is referred to as having a small "screen size". These tiny beans can be tricky to roast, but because the size is uniform the intense natural sweetness is the same, cup after cup!