Schot in August's coffee box

Schot Coffee Roasters, located in the historic Diepeveen building in Rotterdam, are back in the subscription box. Schot focus on long-term relationships with farmers and suppliers, and are looking for layered, complex and clean coffees that show the characteristics of the region and variety.

Sakami

La Alianza (only in our 2x250g and Tasting box)

La Aldea (only in our Tasting box)

SAKAMI

Origin: Kenya
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1800 masl
Producer: Sakami Estate
Varieties: Batian
Tasting notes: Marzipan, Blueberry & Dark chocolate

Kenyan entrepreneur Gloria and her Finnish husband Jarmo run Sakami Coffee, one of the most environmentally sustainable farms in the country, with a wet mill fully powered by solar panels. They grow SL28, Ruiru 11, Batian and K7 varieties according to permaculture principles and help surrounding farmers obtain better prices and processing knowledge. Following the lead of Gloria and Jarmo to a more sustainable coffee world, both financially and environmentally.

LA ALIANZA

Origin: Peru
Process: Natural
Varieties: Catimor
Tasting notes: Blueberry, Hazelnut & Hibiscus

La Alianza, run by Saulo Díaz and his family, is located at 1930 meters above sea level in the north of Peru in Huabal in the well-known Cajamarca region. The processing of this Catimor lot involved drying the coffee for approximately 20 days in the shade on raised beds made with Guayaquil wood and reeds. Before the drying process, the coffee was fermented for 50 hours in sealed tanks (timbres) and enclosed rooms with controlled temperatures.

LA ALDEA

Origin: Colombia
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1850 masl
Varieties: Pink bourbon
Tasting notes: Grapefruit, caramel & mandarin

Wilson, who runs the La Aldea farm, began his life as a coffee farmer 8 years ago when he returned to the region after advancing his studies in agricultural education and specialty coffee crops. This Pink Bourbon lot underwent a double fermentation; first a 48-hour pre-fermentation in cherry and then after pulping a 60-hour fermentation in tanks. The result is a clean and balanced coffee with flavours of grapefruit, caramel, and mandarin and some floral notes.

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Parlor Coffee Roasters

For our first box of 2024, we’re off to Belgium. We’re welcoming Parlor coffee roasters with some stellar coffee. In January’s box, you’ll find a complex and fruity Ethiopian coffee, an elegant Peruvian coffee, and a delicate Indonesian coffee (our first coffee from Indonesia!). We think there’s no better way to start the new year.

HALO

Origin: Ethiopia
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1900 - 2100 masl
Producer: smallholder farmers
Varieties: Welisho and Dega
Tasting notes: red apple, rosehip, brown sugar, dark florals

Halo washing station is situated in Halo Beriti, within the Gedeo zone in Ethiopia. This facility caters to 170 farms, which typically span 1-2 hectares each. These farms benefit from rich, fertile, red soils and high altitudes. This coffee, from the Welisho and Dega varieties, is a washed processed coffee that is complex and fruity. It has notes of red apple, rosehip, brown sugar and dark florals.

EL LIMON

Origin: Peru
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1500 - 2000 masl
Producer: Olmedo Córdova Neira
Varieties: Caturra, Typica, Pache
Tasting notes: mandarin, hazelnut milk chocolate, red apple

Olmedo Córdova Neira’s farm, ‘El Limon’, is home to bourbon, pache and pacmara, from Peru’s region of San Ignacio. Located in the Tabaconas district, his farm sits at 1550 masl and holds 2 ha of planted coffee. The farm’s location is truly special, as its altitude, tropical climate and top-quality varieties have formed excellent conditions for the production of specialty coffee. With an entrepreneurial spirit, Mr. Córdova highlights the importance of his family’s efforts in achieving the highest coffee quality, which we are lucky to be able to taste from his farm.

FRINSA SARAPAN

Origin: Indonesia
Process: extended fermentation washed
Altitude: 1400 masl
Producer: Wildan Mustofa, Atieq Mustikaningtyas
Varieties: Sigarar Utang
Tasting notes: dried stone fruit, milk chocolate, fig

The coffee processing occurs at Frinsa Estate, with their wet mill situated at 1400 masl. Lactobacillus, a probiotic bacterium used to refine fermentation, is added to the coffee after pulping. It is dry fermented for 12-14 hours, and then dried on the ground or parabolic dryers as a dry-hulled lot. Due to the wet, humid climate, most of their coffees are also pre-dried in their greenhouse, a groundbreaking shift for the Indonesian market. This has resulted in more uniform drying, and therefore more consistent outcomes.

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CleverCoffee

We’re heading over to one of our Danish favourites, CleverCoffee. South of Aarhus, CleverCoffee (a certified B-Corp) roast their coffee with a focus on high quality, transparency, and the environment. Let’s hear what they say about this month’s coffee.

MISIONES CASTILLO

Included in all boxes

Origin: Colombia
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1700 masl
Varieties: Castillo
Tasting notes: Fruity and complex with notes of dried cranberries, gooseberries, Amarena cherries and creamy toffee

From CleverCoffee: We are pleased to present a "CleverCoffee classic" of sorts, the excellent washed Castillo from Hacienda Misiones in Colombia. This coffee was the first coffee we bought directly from a producer. This year's harvest has a slightly different flavour profile than previous years, but if possible, it is now even more delicious! When cupping this coffee, it presented itself with intense sweetness and complexity, and it is one of those coffees that changes significantly from the first sip to the last.

TOP MUTITU

Included in our Tasting box and 2x250g box

Origin: Kenya
Process: Double washed
Altitude: 1420 masl
Washing station: Mutitu Coffee Factory
Varieties: SL28, SL34, Batian, Ruiru 11
Tasting notes: Mango, blackcurrants and a hint of lime

From CleverCoffee: This coffee is called Top Mutitu simply because it is the best coffee from the washing station Mutitu Coffee Factory. Mutitu was created out of a need for local cooperation, where the small coffee farmers in the nearby area stand together to ensure proper payments, without the risk of being short-changed by middlemen. Mutitu Coffee Factory is located in the Kirinyaga area at the southern foot of Mount Kenya. The washing station was built in 1963 and is thus one of the oldest in the area.

LA HIGUERA

Only in our Tasting box

Origin: Peru
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1800 - 2200 masl
Varieties: Farmer’s mix
Tasting notes: Sweet and velvety with notes of yellow plum, cranberries, honey and milk chocolate

From CleverCoffee: This coffee comes from 10-15 producers around the village La Higuera in the district called Colasay. The area is interesting for its flavour profiles and potential. We believe La Higuera is a great example of what an organic coffee from Peru can be and we are excited to share it with you! La Higuera is a deliciously sweet coffee with a velvety smooth texture. It is clean and has a soft milk chocolate flavor, but with fruit notes of cranberries and yellow plums it also manages to stand out. 

Christmas is around the corner. Get your next box before Christmas!

Shokunin

Say hello to Shokunin, the vibrant and delightful coffee roastery from Rotterdam, the Netherlands! We're delighted to welcome them back to April’s box, sharing their dedication to sustainability and transparency with you. Get ready for some extraordinary coffees in this month’s box. Enjoy!

Churupampa, washed coffee from Peru

Intango, washed coffee from Rwanda

Katana, washed coffee from DR Congo

CHURUPAMPA

Included in all boxes

Origin: Peru
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,600 – 1,900 m.a.s.l.
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Pache
Tasting notes: Rich sweetness like caramelized apple. Heavy body like dark chocolate.

Churupampa is not just a farm, it is a social business model which the Tocto family is expanding around the town of Chirinos, Peru. It already includes over 30 farms and every lot is cupped; last year this included over 4,000 samples. With a communal mindset and organic and Fair Trade certifications, this approach fits perfectly within the Shokunin mindset. Their innovative processing and independent quality control lab ensure the high quality that the specialty market is seeking.

INTANGO

Included in our 2x250g and Tasting box

Origin: Rwanda
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,500 – 2,000 m.a.s.l.
Varieties: Red Bourbon
Tasting notes: Juicy sweetness like pineapple and strawberries. Silky body like hazelnut and black tea.

Intango is a small washing station on the edge of Lake Kivu, Rwanda. Once part of a cooperative that won the 2014 Rwanda Cup of Excellence, it became run down as the cooperative dissolved. However, in 2018, Gilbert Gatali and his best friend Gervais decided to fulfill their dreams by taking over Intango and running their own specialty coffee washing station. Gilbert is on the board of directors of the Africa Fine Coffee Association and won the Most Notable Producer Sprudgee award in 2012.

And exclusively for our Tasting box subscribers we also sent…

KATANA

Origin: DR Congo
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,400 – 1,800 m.a.s.l.
Varieties: Typica, Bourbon
Tasting notes: Juicy sweetness like lemon and grapefruit. Medium body like black tea.

At the heart of Katana, DR Congo, lies the innovative RAEK cooperative that has transformed coffee production with cutting-edge washing stations and eco-friendly practices. Despite the challenges of operating in eastern Congo, RAEK's dedication to quality and ethical practices has attracted a growing number of farmers. Guided by the passion of lifelong coffee farmer and agronomist Désiré Zagabe, RAEK's washed coffees exhibit beautifully bright flavors of tropical and stone fruits in a light body, providing a truly exceptional cup.

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Neues Schwarz

From Dortmund, Germany, we’re happy to share some excellent coffee from Neues Schwarz. For this month we’re shipping sweet coffees from Latin America.

EL CEDRAL

Origin: Costa Rica
Process:  Black honey
Altitude: 1700 masl
Varieties: Caturra & Red catuai
Tasting notes: Mandarin, Walnut, Dark Caramel

”In Costa Rica, we look for coffees that stand out with their sweetness. With El Cedral, we found a coffee in the province of San José that delivers what we were looking for. The processing plays an important role for the cup profile in this coffee. The cherries are depulped and then dried in the sun with a relatively large amount of pulp still adhering to them. With this harvest, this process leads to a balanced interplay between clear acidity and concise sweetness.”

EDWIN & LUZ

Origin: Peru
Process:  Washed
Altitude: 2000 - 2200 masl
Varieties:  Typica
Tasting notes: Honeydew melon, Almond & Cocoa

”Edwin & Luz, grown at an altitude of 2000-2200 meters, convinces with unusual fruity properties and an intense sweetness. The harvests of the last few years have also delivered these complex flavour profiles. Such constant results are evidence of the steady routines they have when processing the coffee. Sufficient hours of sunshine and little rainfall during the drying period after harvest are also important factors for such a compelling result.”

LA PILA & NEIGHBOURS

Origin: Guatemala
Process:  Washed
Altitude: 1700 - 1750 masl
Varieties:  Catuai, Bourbon, Pache
Tasting notes: Plum, Cane Sugar & Cocoa

”Rodolfo Gracia, the owner of the farm, runs his finca with great passion and is constantly striving to improve the quality of his coffee through soil analysis and innovation. Together with his neighbours Antonio and Fredy, and his family, the ripe coffee cherries are hand-picked every year and brought to the El Hato farm, where the washed processing takes place.”

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