Christmas Calendar

24 Cups of coffee

Welcome to your Christmas Calendar! This December, you are embarking on a coffee journey each morning, together with over 800 others spread across the world.

On the first day you enjoy a coffee, you can test your coffee skills by answering questions about aspects of the coffee you are drinking. On day two, we’ll reveal more about the coffee’s story and how its flavour profile was created, before giving all of the details on day three. We encourage you to taste and discuss each day, guess what the coffee might be, what process was used, what country it was grown in; continually tasting with curiosity and intent.

Enjoy!

coffees & gifts

Christmas Calendar

24 Cups of coffee

coffees & gifts

1st of December

Fresh herbals and crisp citrus

This coffee was grown in a rural region in Central America. Can you guess which country?

a) Honduras
b) Guatemala
c) El Salvador
d) Costa Rica

This coffee is processed using the washed method on a very small farm, where the processing equipment is moved around the farm often, following the pickers as they harvest cherry.

Guatemala

Marta Dominguez

This lot, a mix of Bourbon and Caturra, was picked and processed by Marta and her family. They have no fixed wet mill, so often move their plastic tanks and hand cranked de-pulper around the farm to follow the harvest. After de-pulping, the coffee is fermented in these small plastic tanks for around 30 hours, before being washed and dried on patios near the house. The coffee is turned often, to ensure an even drying in rather cool conditions at over 1600 masl. This approach to fermentation creates a soft yet fresh cup, with fresh herbal aromatics and a crisp citrus acidity.

Rich natural lot, shaped by volcanic soil

This coffee is grown in volcanic soil, and processed using a natural method to create a rich and sweet flavour profile. Can you guess the varietal used?

a) Caturra
b) Catuai
c) Bourbon
d) Typica

This coffee is processed with advice from renowned producer Aida Batlle, the first ever female winner of the Cup of Excellence.

EL SALVADOR

Santa Ana

This coffee was grown by Claudia Mathies Rank at her farm Finca El Paraiso, which lies further down the slopes of the Santa Ana volcano, not far from the town of Santa Ana itself. The volcanic soils of Santa Ana are very fertile, leading to excellent yields as well as quality. Cherries are then transported to the Batlle family mill, Beneficio Las Tres Puertas, for processing. As with all Batlle family coffee, expectations are high, only the ripest red cherries are used, fermentation protocols are followed to the letter, and coffee is stored and dry-milled under exacting conditions.

This lot is 100% Bourbon from Claudia’s farm, processed using the natural method, giving a rich chocolate and nut experience, punctuated by some soft ripe fruit, like a sweetened cherry.

Floral and fresh Pink Bourbon

This coffee is a Pink Bourbon varietal, grown in the Huila region of Colombia. Can you guess which processing method was used?

a) Washed
b) Honey
c) Natural
d) Anaerobic

This coffee was processed using protocols designed by the team at Cofinet, in Armenia, capital of the Quindio region. This creates a fresh and floral profile based on the Pink Bourbon varietal.

COLOMBIA

Linarco Rodriguez

Linarco Rodriguez grows coffee near the town of Palestina in southern Huila, one of the most renowned growing regions in Colombia. Huila’s volcanic soils, undisturbed by the intensive agriculture seen further north, are full of nutrition, and alongside high altitude, lead to excellent conditions for producing high quality coffees. We also see a great number of driven and agile small farmers here, many of whom have family history in coffee, but haven’t necessarily been working on the same large industrialised farms for generations, like we see in more established coffee regions. This leads to a willingness to experiment, to innovate, and create lots that fulfil ever changing needs in the speciality coffee market. One example of this is Pink Bourbon, said to be a natural mutation discovered in Huila, an exotic varietal that exhibits crisp and clean aromatic character, often with floral and tropical elements.

Sweet soft fruit and crisp acidity

This coffee was grown and processed by a renowned producer based in Colombia’s Cauca Valley. Can you guess who?

a) La Real Expedicion Botanica
b) La Palma y El Tucan
c) Café Granja La Esperanza
d) Cofinet

This coffee was processed with a very long fermentation in tanks. This leads to the unusual, wild and richly sweet profile.

Colombia

Potosí

This is the fifth year we have purchased this particular lot from Cafe Granja, a coffee that illustrates Granja’s continuing commitment to set a new standard for flavour enhancement through post-harvest processing. This lot of the San Juan varietal is grown on the original Granja farm, Finca Potosí. The team at Fincas Potosí and Las Margaritas, both of which lie just outside the town of Caicedonia in northern Valle del Cauca, are constant innovators, even creating their own hybrid varietals through manual cross pollination of trees. San Juan is an example of this, a cross between Granja’s Bourbon and Pacamara plant stock.

In the mountains above Caicedonia, traditional natural processing is very difficult to control due to high average humidity of over 70%, and frequent rains during harvest. For this process, CGLE have used a very long in-cherry fermentation of around 50 hours in open temperature-controlled tanks. After the fermentation, the cherries are transferred to drying silos for a slow and controlled mechanical drying, making a full natural process possible in this humid and damp climate. Their meticulous production process has resulted in a coffee that creates a balance between primary terroir flavours, and secondary process-driven flavours. In this cup, this means fresh and bright acidity from the high altitude Cauca Valley terroir, combined with soft ripe fruit and a heavy rich sweetness, like we’d expect from a great natural.

Rich and ripe fruit expression

This coffee was grown and processed on an estate in eastern Africa, in a country dominated by a system in which smallholder farmers deliver cherry to central processing stations. Can you guess which country?

a) Ethiopia
b) Rwanda
c) Kenya
d) Burundi

enter quiz

The coffee was grown on the Peerless Estate, owned by the Kiguta family for three generations. Their careful natural processing leads to this rich and ripe fruit-filled cup.

KENYA

Muringato

This lot was grown at the Peerless Estate, located just north of the town of Nyeri, in the heart of the famed Nyeri coffee region. Peerless was originally founded by British settlers in the 1920’s, but ownership was handed to the Kiguta family when Kenya gained its independence in 1963. The third generation of Kigutas are now running the Estate, one of the largest remaining in Kenya. Over the past few years, estates have had the advantage of experimentation over the traditional large scale cooperative system in Kenya. Instead of risking the work of several thousand smallholders by experimenting with processing, an estate can take a calculated risk with their own production on a smaller scale, using novel fermentation methods to create new expressions of the traditional Kenyan profile.

This lot is one such method, utilising a full natural process to create a rich and soft expression of Kenya, almost like stewing the traditional ripe red berry notes. The cherries are dried on the same raised beds used for the traditional Kenyan washed process, taking about 20 days under the intense African sun. The very ripe, almost stewed fruit notes are reminiscent of the traditional blackcurrant and plum, while being joined by interesting violet-like floral top notes.

Deep blackcurrant jam and chocolate

This coffee was grown in Kenya, by farmers surrounding the town of Karatina in Nyeri, Kenya. Can you guess which varietal is most prominent here?

a) Caturra
b) Ruiru 11
c) Bourbon
d) SL28

This coffee is processed using a washed protocol that is typical for Kenya, including several floating stages to sort for low density unripe or defective coffee, and a final soak t equalise moisture content throughout the lot. This leads to the rich, ripe and clean berry notes in the cup.

KENYA

Ndaroini

Ndaroini is one of three stations owned by the Gikanda Farmers Cooperative Society, alongside Gichathaini and Kangocho. Gikanda is based in the area around the town of Karatina, lying on the border between the Nyeri and Kirinyaga regions, a major centre for coffee in the Mount Kenya region. There are several dry mills in the area, and coffee is often transported along this road back to Nairobi, or directly to port in Mombasa. Driving through Karatina on our trip in January this year, we were stunned by the beauty of this region. On certain turns in the road, the looming silhouette of Mt. Kenya reveals itself from behind forests of lush green, contrasting with the iconic dusty red volcanic soil. These soils, alongside mostly dry and warm conditions during harvest, are some of the keys behind Kenya’s incredible coffee quality potential. The Gikanda cooperative’s reputation for capitalising on this potential precedes them, and this washed AA lot from Ndaroini is no different. The traditional Kenyan washed process, with a second soak after washing, has resulted in an excellent example of the washed Kenya profile, with a deep intensity reminiscent of blackcurrant jam and dark chocolate.

Delicate oolong and crisp citrus

This coffee was processed at a processing station in Ethiopia’s Limu region. The dry and warm conditions in Ethiopia are perfect for a wide range of processing methods. Can you tell which was used here?

a) Washed
b) Honey
c) Natural
d) Semi-Carbonic Maceration

The processing station is owned by Mike Mamo, an Ethiopian-American who was raised in Addis Ababa. He grew up with a father who worked in coffee, running his own milling business since the late 1950’s. The cherries for this lot were selected from farms around the town of Yukro.

ETHIOPIA

Telila

Mike Mamo has only been running the Telila washing station since 2019, encouraged by the liberalisation of the Ethiopian coffee industry in 2017. The opening of regulations allowed much smaller lots to be exported, and more traceability to be maintained, allowing the building of relationships down to the farm level. Mike, an Ethiopian American born and raised in Addis, has recently taken over the milling and exporting company his father started 65 years ago.

Mike’s lifetime of experience in the industry meant that he saw the opportunity to create greater value for roasters and producers alike. The Telila mill, located in the Limu region, processes coffees separated into day lots from small villages surrounding the mill, aiding in traceability and quality control. They also work with several larger farms, who produce enough coffee to export as a single lot. We have tasted several delicious coffees from the Telila mill, but this lot comprised of cherries from the village of Yukro, was a highlight for us. Crisp florals and a delicate oolong tea character are highlighted by crisp citrus, a perfect illustration of the character of washed Ethiopian lots.

Floral and wild experimental process

This coffee is exclusive to the calendar, only 60 kg was produced this year. It was processed using an experimental Semi-Carbonic Maceration process, with advice from our Brazilian partners at Daterra in Brazil. But what country do you think this coffee was grown in?

a) Panama
b) Colombia
c) Costa Rica
d) Ethiopia

The floral notes in this coffee come from the raw material, and are well connected with the varietal and terroir. The excellent processing work means they are still present alongside the wild and ripe fruit notes enhanced by the process.

Bensa Logita SCM

In order to create this lot, the very ripest cherries, on the edge of overripe, are selected before being sealed in stainless steel tanks and fermented in an anaerobic environment for 60 hours. This long fermentation causes the cherries to turn a dark purple colour, before they are dried with the cherry still attached for around 12 days. This has allowed a wild and juicy interpretation of Ethiopian terroir to develop. The fact that this terroir driven character is still able to be appreciated is testament to the expert processing carried out by Moplaco. Bensa carries a wild take on the heavy Sidamo profile, driven by tropical fruit, with crisp red apple and some interesting spice notes in the finish.