Roast Archive

Marcelo Nogueira Assis and Flávio Marcio Silva spent a decade learning the land before they planted a single commercial crop. The result is 229 hectares of deliberately managed, data-driven specialty farming in Cerrado Mineiro -- cover crops, custom soil nutrition, organic fertilizers made on-site. Their motto is "coffee for a better future."

A privately run site in the heart of Uraga, pushing past 2,200m in some plots. Last year they added small-batch honey process to their usual washed program -- and this is one of those first lots. Small batch, first year running it. We grabbed it.

Maria Cuchimba and Robinson Sancho farm small plots climbing up to 2,000m on a high peak in El Tabor, Inzá. Classic washed process: pulped at home, fermented, then dried in parabolic greenhouses that shelter the coffee from the rain. A clean, classic cup that cuts through the noise.

Zambia is not a country you'll see much coffee from. Kateshi Estate sits near Misambo town in the Northern Province, part of a small cluster of farms at 1,300-1,500m. Anaerobic natural -- usually wild and funky. This one surprised us.