It's our Birthday and we deserved some deliciousness!

After the launching of crowd favourite Anniversary blend and the return of the prodigal son, or coffee in this case, from Panama Finca Santa Teresa as espresso option, we conceptualised a range of super-filter-licious fruit-bomb coffee as filter option stacked with layers of diversity and quality. Have you ever had a Anaerobic Natural processed Kenyan coffee? It's a first for us! What about a Carbonic Maceration Laos? Yes, you read it correctly! A Laotian coffee which is another first for us too.

What is Anaerobic Processed Coffees?

Anaerobic Natural is a process where coffee cherries are prepared using fermentation cans. In this process, ripe cherries are placed in sealed cans that are pressurized from CO2 buildup, and then remaining pressure and oxygen are let out using release valves. This additional pressure forces the juices and sugars into the bean. The cherries are then dried to the desired level (11%) in about 30 days in mini ‘Greenhouses’ raised beds or directly under the sun.

Through this process, we purchased two African lots from Kenya and Ethiopia and what sensational coffees they are!

Kisii Masimba has a myriad of flavours that is palate teasing, overtones of blackcurrants pastilles when hot which turns into peaches and sweet lime when cooled and well balanced, it will definitely not be the last you see us having this available again in our roastery.

Worka is our first Ethiopian coffee processed via the anaerobic natural processed and by the taste of it, this won't be our last. Packed with loads of overripe fruit sweetness, unique combination of langsat (or lanzones) fruit with an interesting finish of nashi pear and sencha tea and definitely one of the sweetest ever that we have purchased and roasted.

What is Carbonic Maceration Processed Coffees?

In carbonic maceration, cherries are fermented anaerobically for up to 48 hours. During this stage, intra-cellular fermentation takes place in insulated stainless steel containers in which CO2 is pumped in. Tannins present in the outer layer of the coffee cherry skin referentially migrates into the fermenting coffee cherries inner layer, adding new dimension of flavours often found in great wines. The cherries are then spread out to dry in a special green-house, dried to achieve a 12% moisture level which usually takes between 20-25 days, depending on the weather and raked daily to achieve an even drying.

The Boloven Plateau in Soth Laos is the most favourable region for coffee cultivation in the country. The region boasts high elevations (up to 1,350 masl), rich volcanic soils, and a moderate climate with plentiful sunshine, rainfall and a low risk of frost. The gentle slopes of the plateau negate many of the farming challenges posed by more mountainous and varied terrain. This is not only our first purchase of coffees that is process through the carbonic maceration method but also our first origin purchase from Laos.