We figured it’s about time to give you all a general update on incoming coffees and availability for the next 5 months.

The coming period can be a challenge for many roasters wanting to have fresh crop all year as they often run out of coffees from Centrals and Ethiopia/Kenya, and new arrivals from these regions won’t arrive until spring. This is why we have focused a lot now on other origins with great potential and opposite harvesting periods. Click here for our seasonal coffee calendar.

This means we have loads of great and interesting stuff that have just arrived or that are on the way:

Burundi

We have one shipment arriving next week, and two more to come in November. We have about 25 available lots of 20 -50 bags each. They are all separated by area (micro region) and are from daily pickings. We have some amounts of pre-shipment samples in stock, but are waiting for more. Let us know if you’re interested!

We have stepped up on volumes as we find these coffees very appealing with a great potential for roasters looking for different and unique coffees. They are somewhere in between the very intense coffees you can find in Ethiopia/Kenya and the softer and delicate coffees you can get from the Centrals. But they still have their own very distinctive attributes. We are mainly working in one region, Kayanza, in the north. These coffees are in general from very high altitudes (1900-2100m), with complex fruit and flavor attributes like currant, citrus, floral notes, and they can be rich and creamy.

Rwanda

2nd and 3rd containers are on the way, and will arrive by end of October. We have 6 different coffees available, with a good variety of flavors, lot sizes, and geographical origin. Pre-shipment samples are available for most of them.

We started to produce our own coffees at Motherland Farmers (sold as Kamiro) this year. We also started with some Peaberry mixed from a handful of producers in Nyamasheke, and some new coffees from Rugabo in the West. The Rugabo coffee is produced by a Cooperative called Cocanko Cooperative at the Nkora washing station. Both products are totally unique and different from anything else I have tasted in Rwanda so far.

Colombia (fall deliveries)

Two shipments are on their way, arriving early November, with a mix of new coffees from the later parts of the harvest in Tolima, Narino and Huila. There is 10 lots available varying from 5 – 50 bags in size.

All the Colombian coffees are from various small producers related to Cooperatives or Associations. They are from programs where they are part of a concept to improve quality at farm level. All the premiums we pay are going back to the smallholders. We have cupped through hundreds of small parchment deliveries to figure out what to keep separate by single producers, or what to blend based on flavour, lot size, and harvest time. In some cases the delivery of coffee from each farmers are too small to be sold as separate coffees and will have to be blended. The best coffee we tasted in Colombia this year was from a parchment delivery of 25 kg…!

We will aim for another chunk of coffees to be bought from other producers harvesting in November. Those coffees will mainly be from Huila and potentially some from Antioquia and Cauca. These coffees should be available from January.

Brazil

As for last year we will do some small amounts of different Brazils that we think are standing out with different flavors from what’s generally in the market. We aim at deliveries in December!

We will not have coffees from FAF this year, but are focusing more on some coffees from Bahia, Espirito Santo/Matas de Minas etc. Tim is currently in Brazil in Espirito Santo, where they are still harvesting, and we have already cupped some complex and unusual stuff that we try to get shipped by November. Flavor attributes been surprisingly complex with everything from florals, to mature dark fruit.

We should have pre-shipment samples of Brazils within a few weeks time.

Tanzania

We have been exploring Tanzania the last few years without buying any. Even if the coffees have been tasting good, with very interesting profiles and good potential, we haven’t really felt we had the total control and the right concept yet. This year we had some better luck and we will most likely try to start with a small consignment of coffee from some projects in Mbeya, the south of Tanzania. We will have some lots from a small washing station, as well as a lot that will be a mix from a few producers. We are looking in to using refrigerated containers for shipping, as there are some challenges with heat and humidity at the port in Dar es Salaam, and we hope this will preserve quality better.