Apricot nectar, black tea and baking spices.

Washing Station: Bukeye
Organisation: Long Miles Coffee Project
Region: Muramvya
Country: Burundi
Processing: Washed
Elevation: 1,700 - 2,100m above sea level
Variety: Heirloom Bourbon
Sourced Through: Upstream Coffee Imports

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We have been roasting coffee from Long Miles since 2014 - when our head roaster Adam visited them in person in the beautiful hills of Burundi. We had heard amazing things about what they were accomplishing in terms of both quality and the prices paid to the growers - it was all true - and then some. They are truly re-inventing both what Burundian coffee can be and what a transparent, premium based and sustainable coffee chain means. From Adam, in regards to one of his career highlights:

"It’d be from my first origin trip, walking down a dirt road into the Long Miles Coffee Project Bukeye washing station in the hills of Kayanza, Burundi. It was the end of a long day and the air was thick with the aromas of cherry pulp, fermentation and coffee flowers. Unforgettable."

About this lot:

Gaharo holds a special place in the heart of Long Miles Coffee.
This is not just one of the hills in their story, it is the hill where the journey began. The first washing station built by Long Miles rests at the feet of Gaharo hill, on a piece of land that seemed to be long forgotten by everyone else. Every inch of it was cleared by Gaharo farmers and bricks were made from clay found in the valley below. The same farmers who helped to build Bukeye from scratch now deliver their cherries to it. To the Long Miles family, Gaharo farmers have become their neighbors and co-workers. They have grown, worked and developed as a community “twese hamwe”; together. What sets this hill apart from others in the region is the number of blacksmiths hand-crafting metal into knives and farming tools.


About the processing:

Bukeye Washing Station has its own borehole water source and a granite
filtered well. During the fully washed process freshly harvested cherries are delivered by coffee farmers to the Long Miles Coffee Washing Station, then floated and hand-sorted for ripeness upon arrival. The cherries are pulped and undergo a single fermentation process. Parchment spends around twelve hours dry fermenting. The parchment is sometimes ‘footed’ after fermentation. A team will agitate and dance on the slippery coffee parchment by foot, helping to loosen any remaining mucilage clinging to it. It is then rinsed in fresh water, graded by density and left to soak for another four to six hours in the final rinse tank. The parchment is carried to covered drying tables where it spends between six and forty-eight hours pre-drying. During this time, it is hand-picked for under-ripeness, over-ripeness, insect damage and visual defects. It is then moved to traditional African raised tables where it spends between sixteen to twenty days slow drying (depending on the weather) until it reaches the desired 10.5% moisture level.


About the Coffee Scouts:

Emery, Suavis and Peter are three Coffee Scouts working alongside coffee farming families on Gaharo hill. Together, they have been empowering farmers with sustainable farming practices, helping them to plant shade trees and green manures, mulch their land and seasonally prune their coffee trees. During coffee harvest, the Coffee Scouts stand side by side with farmers, guiding them through the cherry picking process. They have also taught farmers how to spot and catch antestia bugs,the colorful bugs thought to be linked to the potato taste defect, that can be found in the coffee trees.


About Long Miles Coffee Project:

"We are a small American family living in Burundi, which is smack dab in the heart of east Africa. We are passionate about producing amazing coffee and caring for the well-being of the coffee farmers who grow it. We weren’t always coffee producers. First, we were a family with a dream.

Our dream was that one day we could facilitate direct and meaningful relationships between coffee roasters and coffee growers by producing great coffee and telling the story of the farmers who grow it. If we could do that, then the local farming community would thrive and the world would gain the gift of great Burundi coffee.

After some time sourcing coffee in Burundi, we realized that the only way we could see our dream come true was to build a washing station. That way, we could control the coffee quality and the price the farmers were given for their coffee. In our first season, with the help of our friends and devoted blog readers, we sold all the coffee before it even hit the drying tables. This overwhelming support allowed us to pay our farmers months before any other washing station in our area, and we quickly became established as a vital part of the community.

Living as a family in this part of Africa isn’t always easy, and sometimes we share the raw and honest truth about what that’s like on our blog. We rattle on about our Faith, raising boys in Africa and the expat life. We also share the stories of our coffee farmers, what it’s like at our washing stations and how we brew our morning coffee. So, if you want the real deal about life, hit that blog button.

If you are a roaster and would like to contact us about building a relationship with our family that works for both you and our farmers, please hit the contact button. If you are a lover of coffee or Africa or travel or adventure and you just want to connect with us, we’d love to hear from you too.

'Murakoze cane' (thank you very much)"

- The Carlson Family (Ben, Kristy, Myles, Neo, and Ariana)


About Burundi:

Located in the Great Rift Valley on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Burundi is a small landlocked nation bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After being colonized first by the Germans and then by the Belgians, Burundi gained independence in 1962 when it became a monarchy. Violence followed, and then Burundi became a single party state in 1966. A bloody history of ethnic cleansing in the 1970’s and then again in the 1990’s have left Burundi’s economy little time to thrive, making its people some of the poorest in the world. Burundi remains a predominatly agrarian society, with just 13.4% of it’s population dwelling in cities.

Coffee and tea are Burundi’s top exports, accounting for 90% of its foreign trade. Approximately 80% of Burundians live below the poverty line. In 2018’s World Happiness Report, Burundians were rated as the least happy population on earth.
Burundi coffee is the Cinderella of the coffee world; often subject to deep misfortunes despite deserving better. Coffee came to Burundi under colonial rule through the Belgains after WWI in the 1920’s. The Belgians began to force every farmer to cultivate at least fifty coffee trees in 1933. Many of the trees farmed in Burundi today are original to the this era of forced farming. After colonial rule ended in 1962, coffee production was privatized, but rarely was anything besisdes commodity coffee produced. Since then, the sector went back under governemnt control only to re-emerge into the private sector in 1991. For the last sixty years Burundi’s rich and unique coffees have often been lost in a sea of instant and grocery store blends. But now, grown and crafted with care, Burundi coffee is emerging to find its place in the specialty limelight.

From far off, the Burundian countryside is a vast expanse of green carpeted rolling hills. Each hill is a distinct geopolitical unit with its own farming tapestry; a patchwork of banana trees, cassava coffee, tea and corn. There are no typical looking coffee estates in Burundi, instead every hill is home to between sixty and 140 smallholding coffee farming families. For most coffee farmers in Burundi, coffee is their family’s only cash crop. The average farmer who works with us has 115 coffee trees. Each coffee producing hill in Burundi has an individual micro-climate, soil structure and altitude. LMCP trace micro-lots by tracking every farming family on every hill, and documenting each day that they deliver. Every farmer has a story- and they do their best to capture not only data about coffee production, but family and home life as well.

Producing coffee in this part of Africa isn’t always easy. Harvest season often means navigating challenges like countrywide fuel shortages, water shortages, political insabilities, constantly changing government regulations or export delays. Despite all of these challenges, we’ve found Burundi coffees to be well worth the effort, and we are hopeful that you will too.

Photos taken by LMCP <3

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Mixed berry jam, dark chocolate and walnut.

Farm: Long Miles Coffee Project
Region: Kayanza
Country: Burundi
Processing: Natural
Elevation: 1,960m
Variety: Heirloom Bourbon
Sourced Through: Upstream Coffee Imports

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We have been roasting coffee from Long Miles since 2014 - when our head roaster Adam visited them in person in the beautiful hills of Burundi. We had heard amazing things about what they were accomplishing in terms of both quality and the prices paid to the growers - it was all true - and then some. They are truly re-inventing both what Burundian coffee can be and what a transparent, premium based and sustainable coffee chain means. From Adam, in regards to one of his career highlights:

"It’d be from my first origin trip, walking down a dirt road into the Long Miles Coffee Project Bukeye washing station in the hills of Kayanza, Burundi. It was the end of a long day and the air was thick with the aromas of cherry pulp, fermentation and coffee flowers. Unforgettable."

This lot comes from Long Miles Coffee Project's own farm! The farm is situated above their Heza washing station. A little similar to the LMCP Scout’s 'farmer field schools' in that it also serves as a demonstration farm for local growers - showcasing best practices, from planting indigenous shade trees, inter-cropping, mulching and pruning and much more!


About Long Miles Coffee Project:

"We are a small American family living in Burundi, which is smack dab in the heart of east Africa. We are passionate about producing amazing coffee and caring for the well-being of the coffee farmers who grow it. We weren’t always coffee producers. First, we were a family with a dream.

Our dream was that one day we could facilitate direct and meaningful relationships between coffee roasters and coffee growers by producing great coffee and telling the story of the farmers who grow it. If we could do that, then the local farming community would thrive and the world would gain the gift of great Burundi coffee.

After some time sourcing coffee in Burundi, we realized that the only way we could see our dream come true was to build a washing station. That way, we could control the coffee quality and the price the farmers were given for their coffee. In our first season, with the help of our friends and devoted blog readers, we sold all the coffee before it even hit the drying tables. This overwhelming support allowed us to pay our farmers months before any other washing station in our area, and we quickly became established as a vital part of the community.

Living as a family in this part of Africa isn’t always easy, and sometimes we share the raw and honest truth about what that’s like on our blog. We rattle on about our Faith, raising boys in Africa and the expat life. We also share the stories of our coffee farmers, what it’s like at our washing stations and how we brew our morning coffee. So, if you want the real deal about life, hit that blog button.

If you are a roaster and would like to contact us about building a relationship with our family that works for both you and our farmers, please hit the contact button. If you are a lover of coffee or Africa or travel or adventure and you just want to connect with us, we’d love to hear from you too.

'Murakoze cane' (thank you very much)"

- The Carlson Family (Ben, Kristy, Myles, Neo, and Ariana)


About Burundi:

Located in the Great Rift Valley on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Burundi is a small landlocked nation bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After being colonized first by the Germans and then by the Belgians, Burundi gained independence in 1962 when it became a monarchy. Violence followed, and then Burundi became a single party state in 1966. A bloody history of ethnic cleansing in the 1970’s and then again in the 1990’s have left Burundi’s economy little time to thrive, making its people some of the poorest in the world. Burundi remains a predominatly agrarian society, with just 13.4% of it’s population dwelling in cities.

Coffee and tea are Burundi’s top exports, accounting for 90% of its foreign trade. Approximately 80% of Burundians live below the poverty line. In 2018’s World Happiness Report, Burundians were rated as the least happy population on earth.
Burundi coffee is the Cinderella of the coffee world; often subject to deep misfortunes despite deserving better. Coffee came to Burundi under colonial rule through the Belgains after WWI in the 1920’s. The Belgians began to force every farmer to cultivate at least fifty coffee trees in 1933. Many of the trees farmed in Burundi today are original to the this era of forced farming. After colonial rule ended in 1962, coffee production was privatized, but rarely was anything besisdes commodity coffee produced. Since then, the sector went back under governemnt control only to re-emerge into the private sector in 1991. For the last sixty years Burundi’s rich and unique coffees have often been lost in a sea of instant and grocery store blends. But now, grown and crafted with care, Burundi coffee is emerging to find its place in the specialty limelight.

From far off, the Burundian countryside is a vast expanse of green carpeted rolling hills. Each hill is a distinct geopolitical unit with its own farming tapestry; a patchwork of banana trees, cassava coffee, tea and corn. There are no typical looking coffee estates in Burundi, instead every hill is home to between sixty and 140 smallholding coffee farming families. For most coffee farmers in Burundi, coffee is their family’s only cash crop. The average farmer who works with us has 115 coffee trees. Each coffee producing hill in Burundi has an individual micro-climate, soil structure and altitude. LMCP trace micro-lots by tracking every farming family on every hill, and documenting each day that they deliver. Every farmer has a story- and they do their best to capture not only data about coffee production, but family and home life as well.

Producing coffee in this part of Africa isn’t always easy. Harvest season often means navigating challenges like countrywide fuel shortages, water shortages, political insabilities, constantly changing government regulations or export delays. Despite all of these challenges, we’ve found Burundi coffees to be well worth the effort, and we are hopeful that you will too.

Photos taken by LMCP <3

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Almonds, rum & raisin and milk chocolate.

Country: Brazil
Region: Cerrado Mineiro
Farm: Fazenda Chapadao
Altitude: 1,170m above sea level
Variety: Arara
Processing: Natural
Sourced Through: Southland Merchants

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For many years Osmar Pereira Nunes, the patriarch of this family, took care of the herd of cattle without imagining that the most valuable fruit of this region was still to be cultivated. In 1984, precisely on November 24, Osmar Junior planted 10 hectares of Arabica coffee in the soil of Cerrado Mineiro. Although his story began with his father's cattle, his passion for agriculture spoke louder, intensified by the influence of immigrants who came to invest in coffee in the lands of the state of Minas Gerais. For Junior, "Coffee is no longer a commodity, but a spice, a product valued and appreciated worldwide."

Fazenda Chapadao, part of Nunes Coffee, has now the dedication and the same passion for coffee from the third generation, Junior's son Gabriel - an agronomist graduated by the renowned University of Viçosa. Gabriel applies his knowledge to carry on and bring a trade vision to the family's business.

The coffees harvested from the Nunes Coffee farms are rated as some of the best in the world. They are winners of national and international awards, and it is the recognition of daily work, dedication and the use of innovative processes and advanced technologies. Following the father's leadership, Gabriel understands that the Nunes Coffee brand has much more to offer, and he believes that specialty coffees still have a lot of market to be attracted in Brazil and around the world. Nunes Coffee prepares for this future with hard work, family union and the certainty that it is onthe road to success.

The Cerrado Mineiro Region, located in northwest of Minas Gerais State is a world-recognized, high-quality coffee producing origin and is the first “Protected Geographical Indication- PGI” in Brazil. A strong characteristic of this region is its well-defined seasons—a hot, wet summer followed by a pleasantly dry winter. The coffee plantations are cultivated in areas with altitudes varying between 800 and 1,300 meters and are known for consistently producing high-quality coffees with a unique identity. The coffees are “Origin and Quality Certified” by the Cerrado Mineiro Region - PGI - Regulatory Board.

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Toffee, macadamias and mulberries.

Department: Nueva Segovia
Municipality: Dipilto
Country: Nicaragua
Processing: Washed
Elevation: 1,500 - 1,700m
Variety: Maracaturra
Sourced Through: Caravela Coffee Australia

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Curiously the volcano that this blend is named after is not really a volcano. Looking at it you could be fooled though, and this is how the area, surrounding the mountain that appears to be a volcano, was named "El Volean". This is a special coffee growing region beca use of the high altitude, the mild climate and shade found covering the coffee tree on the farms. Here the vegetation is green and plentiful, a healthy ecosystem where the coffee trees flourish. Farmers here take advantage of the special environment by not just growing amazing coffees but also by planting vegeta ble gardens to sustain themselves and their families, with fresh produce.

Farmers mainly grow traditional varieties here and they process their coffees to highest possible standard. Picked coffee cherries are de-pulped immediately and then left to ferment for between 24-36 hours depending on the altitude and specific climatic conditions of the farm.

You can learn more about Caravela's work here.

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Brown sugar, guava & blackberries.

State: Tolima
Municipality: Ibagué
Country: Colombia
Processing: Washed (Extended)
Elevation: 1,900m
Variety: Caturra, Colombia & Castillo
Sourced Through: Melbourne Coffee Merchants

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This micro-lot was produced by Juan Carlos Diaz and his father Carlos Julio Diaz on their 12-hectare farm, El Naranjal (meaning “the orange” in Spanish) located near the small community of Laureles, in the municipality of Ibagué, in Colombia’s Tolima state.

El Naranjal is situated in the high hills to the South West of Tolima’s capital city, Ibagué. There are no roads that access the farm, so visitors must climb a steep and slippery path from 1750 meters to 1900 meters above sea level, across rugged terrain. The double story farmhouse sits on the peak of a hill, surrounded by high mountains and coffee trees. The highest points of the farm are over 2000 meters above sea level and can only be reached on foot or by mule.

Carlos Julio purchased El Naranjal in 1994 and today co-manages the farm with Juan Carlos. The farm is 12 hectares large, 8 hectares of which are planted with coffee trees of the Caturra, Colombia and Castillo varieties. The family also farms plantain, beans and oranges (for which the farm is named). Juan Carlos and his wife, Eliana, live at his parent’s farmhouse with their two children, Juan Julio (8yrs) and Renata (2yrs) and are saving to eventually purchase their own property.

About Laureles

Historically the area around the small town of Laureles has been known for cattle, sugarcane and vegetables. Coffee is a relatively new crop for the region, having only been planted in the last 30-40 years. Most coffee farmers purchased land in the area because it was more affordable than traditional coffee farming areas like Planadas and Chaparral, in Tolima’s south. Higher elevation areas were considered less prosperous than lower areas because they typically achieve lower yields. However, this region has since gained acclaim for the high cup quality, sweetness and complexity of the coffees produced here.

Most farms in the region are planted with the Caturra variety, which was the most popular variety during the 1970s and 1980s when the farms were established. Coffee in Laureles is farmed with traditional techniques. Fertilisation occurs around three times a year, usually after manual weeding, and pesticides are rarely used. The coffee is selectively hand-harvested, with most labour being provided by the farmers and their families.

About Tolima

Coffee from Tolima has historically been very difficult to access due to the region’s isolation and instability. For many years this part of Colombia was under the control of Colombia’s notorious rebel group, the FARC, and as a result, it was unsafe and violent. Since 2012, safe access to this region has been possible as a result of peace talks between the Colombian government and the rebels. Since this time some stunning coffees from small producers have become accessible to the international market.

The word ‘Tolima’ comes from the local indigenous language and means a “river of snow or cloud”. The region sits on the Cordillera Central, in the middle of the three mountain ranges that provide a range of microclimates well-suited to high-quality coffee production. Coffee is the leading agricultural activity in the region, followed by beans and cattle.

The most well-known regions in Tolima for specialty coffee are Planadas and Chaparral in the south. This coffee comes from the areas surrounding Ibagué, which is further north in the state. The city is also known as the “Ciudad del Abanico” or the “city of the folding fan” because when you look at it from the sky the rivers running from the mountains split up the crops of rice and cotton, and it looks like a beautiful handmade folding fan.

How This Coffee Was Sourced

The coffee is sourced by MCM's export partners, Pergamino, who purchase coffee from about 40 independent coffee growers in the region of Ibagué. This is the second year that Juan Carlos and Carlos Julio have sold coffee to Pergamino. During a visit to his farm, Carlos Julio recounted the story of the first time they sold a coffee lot to them when the coffee only achieved a cup score of 80 from the QC team. Following the advice of Pergamino’s co-founder and agronomist, Léonardo Henao Triana, Carlos Julio began fermenting his coffee to remove the sticky fruit of the coffee cherry from the seed, rather than using a mechanical demucilager. The result was a significantly higher cup score, which could be sold with a higher premium. With Pergamino’s assistance, Juan Carlos and Carlo Julio’s goal is to have a consistent cup score of 86 or higher, which will secure the best premiums. They intend to add a second fermentation tank to his ‘micro-beneficio’ (mill) so that he has the space to ferment all of his coffee, even during peak harvest.

During harvest, the Diaz family deliver small lots (around 100-150kg) of dried parchment to Pergamino’s Ibagué warehouse every 1-2 weeks. Mules are used to transport the coffee down from the highest parts of El Naranjal to Laureles, where it is transferred into small trucks to complete the journey to Ibagué. Only recently a bridge was built over the river that runs through Laureles, Rio Luisa – previously mules had to carry to coffee through the river and many drowned as a result. The new bridge is an incredible point of progress for the small community.

The warehouse in Ibagué is operated and overseen by manager Gonzales, who has a long history of working with Pergamino – in fact, he was Léo’s first boss in coffee! Upon delivery, a sample of the dried parchment is milled and assessed for physical attributes, including uniformity of size, presence of defects, moisture content and seed to hull ratio. If the coffee passes the physical assessment it is accepted and the farmer receives their first payment for the coffee, calculated by the weight delivered and a base rate related to the physical quality of the parchment.

The coffee is then cupped and assessed for sensory attributes. After being accepted by the team in Ibagué the coffees are transported to Pergamino’s QC lab in Medellin, Antioquia, where they are further assessed by an expert team of cuppers. Each lot is carefully evaluated and, based on the cup score and profile, the coffee is sorted into different grades of quality and combined into exportable sized lots. Feedback on each lot is relayed back to the producer and after it has sold a second payment is made to the producer according to premium the coffee attracted.

Each season the team at Pergamino cups through hundreds of small lots from independent farmers, looking for coffees that exhibit excellent cup characteristics and showcase the region where they were produced. This year, Carlos Julio’s and Juan Carlos’ coffee was selected to be processed separately as a micro-lot for its distinct character and high cup quality.

Pergamino has done a lot to help promote commercialisation of specialty coffee throughout Tolima and have actively been working to source and support coffee producers in regions where there is a high potential for quality, but historically have not had access to specialty buyers. Read more about their work here.

How This Coffee Was Processed

This lot was selectively hand-harvested, with most labour being provided by the family. During peak harvest, the family hires about 10 local labourers to help harvest the coffee cherry, who are paid on a daily rate. Juan Carlos and Carlos Julio prefer to work with the same pickers every year as they have taught them how to select only the ripest cherry for processing. To ensure pickers come and work for them they pay a 15%-20% premium on the local daily rate and provides workers with three meals a day.

The coffee was fermented for 24hrs in the cherry, before being processed using the washed method at El Naranjal’s ‘micro-benficio’ (wet mill). The coffee was floated in the mill’s plastic hopper and then pulped using a small electric pulper. The coffee is then fermented for a further 36hrs in bags, before being finished in the tank for another 12hrs. This is a space saving method, which will change once new tanks are added to the mill.

The coffee was carefully dried on raised beds over 20-30 days.
Following fermentation, the coffee was washed using clean water from the Rio Luisa. It was then carefully dried (over 20-30 days) on parabolic beds, which are constructed a bit like a ‘hoop house’ greenhouse, and act to protect the coffee from the rain and prevent condensation dripping back onto the drying beans. The greenhouse is constructed out of plastic sheets and have adjustable walls to help with airflow, and temperature control to ensure the coffee can dry slowly and evenly.

Once dry, the coffee was delivered to Pergamino’s warehouse, where it was cupped and graded, and then rested in parchment until it was ready for export.

Read more about MCM's Colombian export partner Pergamino here.

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Chardonnay. Mango. Strawberry compote.

Farmer: Prakashan Balaraman
Estate: Riverdale
Region: Yercaud
Country: India
Processing: Natural (Champagne)
Elevation: 1,450 - 1,700 masl
Variety: SL9 and SL5B
Sourced Through: FTA Coffee

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Since 1920, Riverdale Estate has been a family owned business where three generations have worked to improve the quality of their coffee plants. The Farm is located in Eastern Ghat Mountains in Yercaud – South India. Prakashan Balaraman is a young and passionate coffee farmer who is challenging traditional coffee growing practices and processing in India.

In the last 10 years Riverdale Estate has been transformed with new modern farming practices like a state of art cupping lab, energy efficient pulping station(wet mill), drip irrigation for the plants, African style raised beds to dry all our coffee and temperature controlled storage room to store coffee beans post harvest The plantation sits at an altitude of 1450 meter above sea level where we grow Green tip Gesha, brown tip Gesha, SL9 and SL5B arabica varieties.

The Loam soil in these mountain ranges have a perfect mixture of clay, silt and sand to grow coffee and other crops like oranges, jackfruit & peppercorn. The estate has a natural water stream which flows throughout the year making it a very interesting place to cultivate coffee.

Only selective ripe cherries are hand picked by our trained pickers at Riverdale Estate. Quality picking = quality green beans this is in our DNA . Training our hand picker team on an ongoing basis and having quality control measure is the key to ensure coffee are picked at the optimum ripeness for different process.

Fruit development is a lengthly process understanding the maturation of the bean development on a weekly basis provides us the roadmap, the work starts from early on the seed development of the endosperm – how the seeds store protein and sucrose within its walls.

Coffee fruit ripen at different stages so our field manager starts the day by choosing which section of the farm is ready to be picked they do that by measuring the sugar content of the cherries with the help of brix meter, once they select the area in the farm we send the pickers to pick the cherries in the field.
We invite our roasters community to visit our farm during harvest season (November – January) to experience first hand how the cherries are picked, processed and dried in the raised beds.

We sun dry the coffees in African style raised bed as it helps us to remove the excess water quickly and creates good air circulation for the coffee beans to dry evenly. Any defective or broken bean in the bed gets cleaned along the way. Every few hours coffee gets turned around by hand so all beans are exposed to the sun evenly. Part of the quality control we monitor the moisture loss every day with the help of the moisture meter and record all the data’s so we can maintain the consistency of every lot produced.

For naturals, honey, carbonic and anaerobic lots extra care is needed while drying in the bed. For the first 4 to 6 days coffees are dried in full sun and cherries are spread out evenly into thin layer so cherries dry evenly and the outer layer of the cherries are sealed properly. Coffees cherries are then moved into a part shade drying beds to slow the drying process for 20-25 days depending the process.
Once the beans reaches between 10-13 % moisture we store the beans into a purpose build storage space where the humidity and temperature are monitored daily. All the lots processed are stored separately with the name tag where we record all the necessary information like when it was picked, drying conditions, lot size and processing information.

We sun dry the coffees in African style raised bed as it helps us to remove the excess water quickly and creates good air circulation for the coffee beans to dry evenly. Any defective or broken bean in the bed gets cleaned along the way. Every few hours coffee gets turned around by hand so all beans are exposed to the sun evenly. Part of the quality control we monitor the moisture loss every day with the help of the moisture meter and record all the data’s so we can maintain the consistency of every lot produced.

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Muesli, peach and raspberries.

Washing Station: Bugimotwa
Region: Mt Elgon, Kapchorwa
Country: Uganda
Processing: Washed & Natural
Elevation: 1,700 - 2,100m
Variety: SL-14, SL-28 & Nyasaland
Sourced Through: Intersection Traders

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Unique coffee, produced ethically, traded transparently.

This coffee is the result of a research project and public-private sector partnership in Uganda aimed at improving the food security of coffee growers and their families through increasing the quality of their coffee and creating access to high value export markets. Our head roaster Adam was privileged enough to be part of the project team and with two other Adelaidians he met 'on the ground' - Eddy and Daniel - (and the immeasurable support of many more) went on to co-found Intersection Traders in order to bring the amazing coffee that has resulted to Australia. In doing so he's had the opportunity to take what he has learned working in specialty coffee over the years and, working with researchers and farmers on the ground - excuse the pun - 'practise what we preach'.

The coffee was grown on the slopes of Mt Elgon - a dormant volcano located in Kapchorwa in the east of Uganda. Literally translated from the local dialect as ‘Home of Friends’, Kapchorwa has a long history of arabica coffee production and is linked directly to coffee producers in Kenya - located on a smaller portion of the very same Mt Elgon and producing some of the highest quality coffee on the market. With strong diurnal temperature variation and two rainy seasons the region possesses optimal conditions for slow coffee development and an amazing environment of waterfalls and lush vegetation. Despite this ability to grow incredibly high quality coffee, exports of Ugandan coffee have previously only been to the commodity market - due mostly to a lack of access to specialty markets, knowledge or pre-financing and a decentralised post-harvest supply chain. All of which we are working to overcome.

Intersection Traders approached the development of a new specialty coffee program in Uganda with an explicit focus on ensuring that everybody engaged in the value chain would receive substantial improvements in income. Working with researchers at universities in Australia, Uganda and the Netherlands, they’ve trialled and implemented a novel contracting approach that allows coffee pickers and growers to be involved in a transparent and higher-paying harvesting program based around picking quality. From the outset they have explicitly sought to work primarily with youth and women in order to provide more opportunities to disadvantaged groups; furthermore in 2019, working with the local growers’ society they developed the community owned Bugimotwa washing station - giving producers access to the infrastructure and scale required to substantially increase volumes, with an aim to establish more stations in future years along with training in agronomy.

After passing our quality assessment stage (which occurs within eight hours of cherries being picked) the coffee is floated and then for the washed lots it is pulped (using well maintained and clean equiptment) and then fermented submerged for thirty six hours, after which the coffee is washed twice then laid on raised drying beds. The naturals are placed on the drying beds in thin layers diretly after floating with layers being built-up as the coffee dries. The coffee is dried slowly with meticulous stirring for two to four weeks until it reaches eleven percent moisture, after which it is stored in GrainPro until dry milling.

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Christmas cake, dried fruit and marzipan.

Monastery Coffee is now available in pod form! For all you convenience loving folks out there ;)

These pods contain our delicious and dependable, ethically traded Seasonal Blend (more info can be found here) and are the Dark roast variant (to make sure your milk drinks remain balanced in flavour).

We are in the process of swapping capsule manufacturers/suppliers and we have sold out of our previous capsules. Our new (and improved!) capsules will be available around October this year. Until then we have a limited quantity of a 'trial run' from our new supplier. Despite being the test run we feel these are better than our previous capsules! However we're still selling them at a discounted price as they aren't from a full production run/the final product.

They are still Nespresso compatible but are in recyclable - not biodegradable - packaging for the trial (back to bio/compsotable for the full production run later in the year).

Free shipping on orders greater than 5 packs of 20 pods <3

6 Month Subscription (Gift/Pre-paid).

Ethically traded, freshly roasted coffee delivered to your (or a friend's!) door every month? Couldn't be easier! Simply select if you'd like single origins or the seasonal blend and then the grind (if needed).

If you choose Single Origin and we'll keep you (or the lucky friend) supplied with a rotating selection of our unique and delicious single origins (good for filter coffee drinkers). Or choose Seasonal Blend for a regular supply of our steadfast and crowd-pleasing blend (good for espresso drinkers).

Don't forget to also let us know if you need the coffee ground.

This is for one 250g bag delivered every month for 6 months (with no additional shipping costs).