[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][tabbed_section style=”default” tab_change_animation=”fade” alignment=”left” spacing=”default” tab_color=”Accent-Color” vs_content_animation=”fade” vs_link_animation=”opacity” vs_navigation_alignment=”left” vs_navigation_width_2=”25%” vs_navigation_func=”default” vs_navigation_width=”regular” vs_navigation_spacing=”15px” vs_navigation_mobile_display=”visible” vs_tab_spacing=”5%”][tab icon_family=”none” title=”The Coffee” id=”1684938121911-7″ tab_id=”1684938121911-10″][vc_column_text]A little bit more on the dark side of things compared to the Keepin’ Me Happy blend.

50% Brazil Samba
50% Colombia Excelso

Here’s something to get you going on a Monday morning. To cure the hangover from Friday night. To go well with your pain au chocolate you’re about to treat yourself too.

There’s no wrong time of day to be drinking this coffee. Is comforting, rich, chocolately, syrupy, indulgent.

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Brazil Samba

An array of soils, climates, and temperatures in Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Cerrado regions contribute to this coffee

Brazil is the largest producer of coffee in the world. With such diversity, the range of coffee that it produces is vast – from small holder farms to huge estates. Soils, regional climate and temperatures make great growing conditions.

Brazil has worked hard in recent years to promote itself as a sustainable producer, and has laws that require a minimum of 20% of any farm to be protected habitat for the flora and fauna that calls Brazil home. Much of the coffee comes from Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo or Cerrado regions. Varietals lean towards a mix of the traditional mundo novo, Bourbon and Catuai to the newer improved versions such as Arara, Catucai or IAC125.

Cherry is collected and processed in Brazil at farm level, including dry milling. Beans are then stored in large wooden silos to allow the moisture to homogenise through the lot. Once this stage is completed the beans are cupped, scored, and sent to the warehouse facility for SMC. Here the is stored in RFID tagged lots, which disable the forklift if the designated lot is not scheduled to be moved, guaranteeing the quality received is the quality chosen.

The coffee undergoes a further cleaning and colour/laser sorting before being bagged for export.

Colombia Excelso

Colombia is a country of great diversity, both geographically, culturally, and linguistically – it boasts over 68 ethnic languages as well as Spanish and even English in one of the archipelagos. Its land stretches from the Amazon Rainforest to the highlands of the Andes mountains, and was once the worlds largest producer of washed coffees, from three main geographical areas trisected by the Andes mountain range.

Rust, a fungal disease appearing as yellow spots on the leaves disrupting photosynthesis, decimated the production back in 2009. The country has seen a rise in resistant varietals since then as production has slowly regrown. Typica was gradually replaced in the 1970’s with the introduction of Caturra, with its higher productivity and more compact growth allowing for increased crop density. The Colombia variety was released in 1982, a cross between Caturra and the Timor hybrid that delivered better rust resistance, and Castillo
in 2005 bringing further improvements on both productivity, rust resistance and cup quality.

When ripe, the coffee cherries are picked and go through an initial flotation sorting to remove underripes, sticks, and general debris before passing through a pulping machine and working their way down the washing channels to the fermentation tanks. Here, they will sit for typically 8-14 hours, before moving to the drying patios or guardiolas for controlled drying down to 10-12% moisture. The coffee is stored in parchment until ready for export, then it is processed at the dry mills and bagged for shipping. Bean sizes 15-16 are graded as Excelso.

These Colombian beans are exported by Racafe.

Racafe, one of Colombia’s leading exporters of specialty coffee, began life in Cundinamarca in 1929 when the Espinosa brothers started their first business initiative renting bicycles – by 1953 the attention had turned to coffee, and the company rapidly grew to have milling operations in 9 cities across Colombia. Today it remains a family business, albeit a substantial one – representing over 5,000 individual producers and 45 producer groups.

They have not sat back as they have grown, in 2018 they milled their first coffee using a solar energy powered thresher in their facility in Huila. They have further created CRECER, their internal sustainability program to further push progression across the industry and amongst their farmers.

Their commitment to quality coffee is matched only by their solidarity with producers in the regions they work to create a truly sustainable marketing approach. In their words “We believe in building a better country through leading by example, respecting the law and transmitting to our families the importance of being a good citizen. We promote environmental management and building community by means of open and respectful communications.”

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