THE FESTIVE SELECTION BOX | 5 x 1kg Mixed Origins & Processes

Ethiopia, Beshasha

Process: Washed

Cup score: 86

Cup profile: Elderflower, peach, black tea, vanilla, milk choc

Roasting notes:

A classic washed Ethiopia from our guy Mustefa Abekeno. The character of this coffee is its delicate florals, acidity and tea-like body. So you want a hot fast roast and to race it through crack. These are small, dense beans grown at high altitude and they'll hold a lot of thermal energy so be ready at crack or it will run off. If you want to go a bit longer, keep the heat down and you’ll be rewarded with a deep chocolate mouthfeel.

Colombia, Robinson Rivera

Process: Natural

Cup Score: 87

Cup profile: Booze! Orange, cloves, strawberry, well-rounded with balanced acidity and juicy body.

Roasting notes:

A big mug of boozey fruit. It’s sweet, it’s rich, it’s in your face, it’s indulgent. Stewed blackberry and spices with a long malic finish. As far as naturals go, don’t be too scared to take it hot in the roast. It’s a bourbon with excellent structure and a lot of resilience. The flavours are so abundant you’ll have to be trying really hard to get this one wrong.

Yemen, Wadi Almaa

Process: Anaerobic Natural

Cup Score: 86

Cup Profile: Mango and red wine with clove, tamarind and dark chocolate

Roasting notes:

Very much the holiday Wild Card, this is a bit of a marmite coffee but worth experiencing if you’ve never had a Yemeni coffee before. It’s a bib of wine after a hearty lunch - the flavours are incredibly unique, earthy, spicey and rich, as is the origin and Yemen’s coffee history, culture and geopolitics.

Kenya, Kaguya AB

Process: washed

Cup Score: 87.5

Cup Profile: Rhubarb, kumquat, cinnamon chocolate with buttery mouthfeel

Roasting notes:

This coffee is made up of the classic Kenya varieties SL28 and SL34 grown in Kirinyaga County, high up on the volcanic slopes of the majestic Mount Kenya. It’s incredibly bright and juicy with a sticky and tart rhubarb mouthfeel. The beans are dense, so a hot and fast roast is required to accent the famous sparkling acidity Kenya coffee is famous for.

Uganda, Norman’s Natural Peaberry

Process: Natural

Cup Score: 86.5

Cup Profile: Velvety milk choc, strawberry, butterscotch, lime

Roasting notes:

Peaberries are just a joy to roast. The little, hard, round beans take on heat and move around the roasting drum with a uniformity that other varieties don’t benefit from. This creates incredibly well-balanced flavours with high acidity, since peaberries are a natural mutation that occurs inside the cherry where two opposing seeds form to make one. This is a coffee to have fun with, and in milk tastes like a strawberry milkshake!