Moon Roast Coffee

Espresso Recipe:

Dose 18 grams

Yield 40 ml

Time 26 - 29 secs

Filter Recipe:

Dose 15 grams

Water 260 ml

Time 2:30 - 3:00

More details:

Once again, we have worked with James of Omwani Coffee Co. He sources some of the best East African coffees to the UK and aims to build long term relationships with producers, aiding them with market information, improved prices for better quality, and advice on how they can improve their primary processing techniques to improve the coffees cup score.

This is the second time we have bought this coffee, and for those who remember the '19-'20 harvest, you have every reason to be as excited as last time.

 The Rwenzoris are famously known as the ‘Mountains of the Moon’ and they stretch for 230km along the Western Uganda border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The producers harvest their coffees by hand, carefully selecting the ripest cherries. These are then pre-sorted before being placed in a tank of water; those that float are removed, leaving only the best cherries to continue in the process. The cherries are then sun-dried on raised tables inside purpose built poly-tunnels.

Producers carefully turn the cherries throughout the day, ensuring uniform drying. Once dried to the required moisture content, the coffee is sorted and processed via the wet mill in Kisinga Town.

After processing, the coffee beans then undergo a final check to remove any black beans or defects. The coffee is then bagged and transported to a dry mill in Numanve on the outskirts of Kampala, here it is prepared for export through Mombasa.

Many producers choose to sell the fresh cherries after they have been sorted and floated, often with the assistance of the field team based out of Kisinga. This enables them to access quick payment for coffee and takes away the risk of processing coffee at their farm, many of whom are not well equipped to dry coffee. The cherries are delivered to the wet mill in Kisinga Town where a team of trained workers are able to carry out the whole process to a high standard.

Cup Profile: A medium bodied with high sweetness. We've experienced flavour notes of golden raisin, orange and black tea.

How We Drink: We love this coffee as a black pour-over. We use 15g and pour 50g of 100° water every 30 seconds, until a total of 250g water. The whole brew usually takes around 3:00.

Also as espresso at 18g dose, 40ml yield, 29-31 seconds

It also brews fantastically in a cafetiere. We follow our brew guide, available here.

More Details:

The Bwishaza Washing Station is a larger co-operative made up of 500 members with the majority being small holder farmers with plots ranging from 1600 to 2000 meters above sea level. Farmers process coffee using the same traditional washed method as is common across most washing stations in Rwanda. During the harvest, coffee is delivered by farmers daily and the cherry is processed in the evenings.

More details: 
This Decaf coffee is from our import partner Leon at Freeman Trading. He imports coffee from Peru and for his decaf options, every three or four months he sends a lot to a decaffeination facility in Germany.

It's a fascinating process which involves liquefying C02 placed under huge pressure for 48-72 hours. With the soaked beans soft and open the C02 locks onto the caffeine molecule, this is then rinses off, processed and sold on to the likes of red bull. The C02 process is perceived to not draw out any flavour profile in fact the caffeine is very bitter. 

Farm Information: 

Cocla with its 21 cooperatives is located 5 hours from the city of Cusco, the natural and cultural region of the Inca empire.

It’s location is reached by passing thru the Sacred Valley which is known as the largest pantry for the cultivation of giant white corn. Sacred Valley is the only place in the world for the production and conservation of Andean grains, it has its warehouses in the rocks of 1800 meters above sea level and can reach snow-capped peaks of up to more than 4 thousand meters above sea level.