Moon Roast Coffee

More details:

Finca La Bolsa was bought by Jorge Vides, a distinguished medical professional, in 1958. Prior to this the land wasn’t used for coffee production. Jorge won a number of awards for coffee production and for services to the region of Huehuetenango, and had the main hospital in the coffee growing community named after him. La Bolsa competed in the 2002 Cup Of Excellence competition and placed second, scoring 94.98. La Bolsa sits between two mountains, which provide a very stable, humid microclimate. This combined with the limestone rich soils give the coffee a very unique profile, with a rich syrupy body and plenty of malic and citric acidity. Coffee is fermented for between 18 and 24 hours, and is then cleaned of mucilage, graded in channels and soaked overnight.

La Bolsa is RFA certified & follows C.A.F.E practices guidelines. Coffee Care funded the construction of a school and nursery at the farm, with fully trained, full time teachers. All of the temporary and permanent staff have access to schooling for their children, and they are incentivised to leave their children at school or nursery through food donations. When a child attends school or nursery for 5 consecutive days they receive a weekly supply of rice, beans and corn. Prior to this food ration scheme it was very difficult to get people to leave their children in the care of others, and schooling wasn’t necessarily valued as there is a greater pressure on earning more money to feed the family. As a result there are no children working in the farm, and the school and nursery classes are full. Accommodation is provided for permanent and temporary workers, with separate facilities for men and women and families, bathrooms and kitchens. Sections of the farm are reserved areas, to promote biodiversity, reduce exposure to winds and soil erosion. Inga trees are used as a shade trees, and to fix nitrogen in the soil which is essential for plant and cherry growth. Renardo has an expansive composting operation to make use of waste products, using redworms.

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.