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spanish

LOT OR MICROLOT? That is the question.

9/21/2017

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​Microlot, direct trade, single origin, origin trip, nanolot, among others; are terms that are being repeatedly used in the specialty coffee industry today.
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​A microlot is a term that designates not only a small volume of coffee production, but also designates a selectively hand-picked coffee, from a particular cultivar, in a specific farm or micro-region, within a certain altitude range and processed separately; or at least a combination of some of the above. In summary, it's the result of some concerted effort to separate and carefully prepare a quantity of coffee that will have special characteristics.
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​It also implies some experimenting or research contribution by the producer, importer/roaster or all of them working together. In addition, it requires the control, the cupping and the qualitative selection of the best lots, in a proactive relationship between the producer and the buyer.

Many coffees today are promoted as "Microlots" and they do not meet any of the standards mentioned above; and end up being abused just as cheap marketing words, or as an easy way to sell more expensive.
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The history of coffee in Indonesia

9/13/2017

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Indonesia was the third country in the world to grow coffee for commercial purposes after Ethiopia and Yemen.
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​The history of coffee in Indonesia, as in many others producing countries around the world, begins with tales of colonialism, slavery, monopoly and multinational corporations (Yes! The first ones of modern history were set in the early 17th century).

In the year 1602 the Dutch government established the “Dutch East India Company” (VOC; Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie) as a chartered company and granted it a 21-year monopoly on the Dutch spice trade. This was the first model of what we consider today a multinational corporation.
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​In the year 1616 the Dutch East India Company started with coffee trading in Mocha (Yemen), and during the first half of the 17th century, they only traded coffee in the Arab world and Asia, because there was no demand for coffee in Europe at that time.

During the late 17th century, coffeehouses spread all over Europe and the Dutch, English and French started to trade coffee from different Arab ports. The Arabs had forbidden the trade coffee in fertile beans or plants, of course, they wanted to keep their monopoly, but when coffee became very popular in Europe around the 1690, and political problems in the Arab countries threatened coffee imports, different European countries tried to get coffee plants or seedlings for trading purposes.
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​The race to make off with some live coffee trees or beans was eventually won by the Dutch. They obtained the coffee plants most likely in Malabar (India), where the Dutch East India Company ruled.

The coffee plants were introduced in Batavia (today Jakarta) Indonesia in 1696. In 1711 the first coffee exports were shipped from Java to Europe. The first coffee shipment was around 450 kg. Ten years later the export had already grown to 60.000 kg.

Originally coffee was cultivated only in Java, but in 1870, the Dutch expanded growing areas of Arabica to Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi and Timor. In northern Sumatra, coffee was first cultivated near Lake Toba in 1888; and then in the Mountains of Gayo, near lake Tawar, by 1924.
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Roasting and cupping Burundi Samples

9/4/2017

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​Each year we are receiving more and more samples from producers and cooperatives in many origins around the world. This is very exciting, but also represents a challenge in terms of time and resources we need to dedicate to analyze and evaluate each of them fairly and effectively.
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This year from Burundi only, we received 51 samples from 4 different cooperatives we had the chance to visit last June.


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​Knowing that the majority of these samples are from the same micro-region, altitude, varietal and process; it is extremely important to use a sample roaster that allows us to consistently replicate the selected profile over and over again, as small differences in the roasting degree could "artificially" influence our purchasing decision in one direction or another.

​After several trial and error tests (or in this case, roasting and cupping tests), we have designed a roasting profile to evaluate coffees from Rwanda and Burundi, with enough development to allow us to appreciate the potential of each sample, but without hiding the good or bad characteristics with the flavour of the roast.
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​This is key in origins such as Rwanda and Burundi, where we have the "unpopular" potato defect. Although, it is possible to minimize its probability through a strict hand sorting process when the parchment is still wet, right after finishing the washing and just before beginning the drying (watch video); although, this is not 100% effective and there is always the small chance that we can get a bean with potato that will contaminate the whole cup.

​Finally, evaluation through blind cupping allows us to judge the potential, identify the defects and select the best samples. It is the most influential tool when deciding which coffees will be travelling to our warehouse and going into your roasters very soon.

Enjoy your Burundi coffee!
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  • Home
  • Inicio
  • What we Do
  • Que Hacemos
  • Green Coffee
    • Rwanda >
      • Rwanda Rugali Lot 2
      • Rwanda Gisheke Lot 1
      • Rwanda Shyira Lot 1A
      • Rwanda Vunga Lot 3A
      • Rwanda Kilimbi Honey
      • Rwanda Kilimbi Natural
      • Rwanda Rugali Natural
    • Burundi >
      • Burundi Nemba
      • Burundi Masha
      • Burundi Nkaka
      • Burundi Ngogomo Honey
      • Burundi Gakenke Natural
      • Burundi Gahahe Natural
    • Indonesia >
      • Sumatra Bies Awan
      • Sumatra Atu Lintang
  • Café Verde
    • Ruanda >
      • Ruanda Rugali Lot 2
      • Ruanda Gisheke Lot 1
      • Ruanda Shyira Lot 1A
      • Ruanda Vunga Lot 3A
      • Ruanda Kilimbi Honey
      • Ruanda Kilimbi Natural
      • Ruanda Rugali Natural
    • Burundi >
      • Burundi Nemba
      • Burundi Masha
      • Burundi Nkaka
      • Burundi Ngogomo Honey
      • Burundi Gakenke Natural
      • Burundi Gahahe Natural
    • Indonesia >
      • Sumatra Bies Awan
      • Sumatra Atu Lintang
  • Education
  • Educación
  • Contact
  • Contacto