Roast Archive

Heirloom varieties from Wate Gogogu, Guji Zone. Named to the village, which isn't common for Ethiopian lots. Classic washed: fruit stripped before drying, so those florals came through clean. Jasmine, passion fruit, hibiscus. Let it speak for itself.

A collective of small producers in Pitalito, Huila, farming up to 2,000m. The lot included Pink Bourbon. Finicky to harvest, but worth it. Classic washed process.

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.