see below

Rwanda Inzovu

Altitude - 1400 - 1600

Process - Washed

Location - Inzovu, Southern and Western Rwanda

Varietal - Red Bourbon

Inzovu is a mixture of coffees from the Western and southern areas of Rwanda generally grown on mid-high altitude of the many hills that compose the landscape in the country.

Rwanda is blessed with ideal coffee growing conditions that include high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils with good organic structure and an abundance of Bourbon.

The vast majority of Rwandan coffee is produced by smallholders of which there are thought to be around half a million with parcels of land often not much larger than just one hectare per family.

Rwandan smallholders organise themselves into cooperatives and share the services of centralised wet-mills or washing stations as they are known locally. Flowering takes place between September and October and the harvest runs from March to July, with shipments starting in August through December

La Bendicion

Altitude - 1900-2100

Process - Washed

Location - Sansare, El Progreso

Varietal - Caturra, Bourbon & Catuai

Once the coffee cherries have arrived at the La Esperanza processing facility, they are run through depulpers, a crib and then into fermentation tanks. Fermentation generally takes between 12 and 36 hours depending on the density of the cherry, amount of coffee in the tank and, of course, the coffee itself. Beneficio La Esperanza is equipped with 12 tanks and the building is temperature controlled to ensure a consistent environment.

Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is washed and moved in water channels to the pre-dryers. These do an initial wicking away of moisture from the coffee and aid in the consistency of the drying phase. The coffee is then moved to one of the two large concrete drying patios.

Drying takes between 10 and 21 days, depending on the coffee and its intended purpose. Parchment is continuously moved on the patio to ensure even drying, and adjustments are made based on the coffee and the weather conditions. When it reaches the designated moisture percentage, it is moved to mechanical dryers to be finished. Here the moisture levels are fine tuned and the coffee is usually in the dryers for no more than three hours.

Peru Veronika Mego Zamora

Altitude - 1950

Process - Washed

Location - Santo Tomas, Cutervo

Varietal - Catuai, Bourbon, Catimor

In 2020, Veronica took over managing the administrative operations of the family farm business from her father. She handles coordination and planning while her father continues overseeing cultivation.

Since taking on this role, Veronica has continued growing a range of varietals including pacamara, bourbon, catimor and caturra on the thriving farm that was first planted in 2007. As one of our top 10 suppliers by volume, Veronica runs the administrative side of the farm operation with her family and has already demonstrated great skill for the coffee business.

For this lot, the washed coffee is fermented for 2 days in bags, then sun dried for 15 days due to the cooler micro climate.

Peru Griselda Rioja

Altitude - 1978

Process - Washed

Location - Perlamayo

Varietal - Caturra

Griselda Nimia Rioja Tarrillo is a coffee producer living in Perlamayo, located in the Huabal District of Jaén Province, Cajamarca Region. She manages two farms:

El Barejon: Located in Perlamayo at an altitude of 1978 metres above sea level, this plot has 2 hectares of coffee in production, mainly growing Caturra and Costa Rica varieties.

La Piedra: Also in Perlamayo, this plot is situated at an altitude of 1850 metres above sea level and has 2 hectares of coffee in production, focusing on Bourbon and Caturra varieties. Additionally, Griselda has set aside another 3 hectares for future coffee planting in a different area.

Griselda's coffee processing method involves letting the cherries rest for 24 to 40 hours after harvesting, followed by pulping the cherries and fermenting the beans for approximately 24 hours in bags. After fermentation stops, the beans are washed twice and then dried on beds and tarpaulins for around 30 days.

Lala Salama - Uganda

Process - Natural - Sparkling Water Decaf Process which is organic. The by-products are 100% natural and recyclable.

Locations: Lala Salama

Varietal - SL14, SL28 & Nyasaland

Sources From Falcon Specialty Coffee:

The Coffee Gardens have been working with the farmers who produced this microlot for the past five years. They know each and every farming family in their area. This decaf lot is named after the villages of Gombe and Zebigi, where many of the farmers live.

Last year, with the support of roasters, we trained these farmers on growing coffee amongst shade trees, good agricultural practices, and of course, better harvesting techniques. In July, we distributed over 8300 shade, fruit and fast growing tree seedlings. This year, training has continued with the building of toilet blocks for the three primary schools in the area, including Zebugu-Busi Primary School.

Mr Zesiro Micheal from Gombe was one of the biggest contributors of red ripe coffee cherries to this microlot with 967kg, and Mr Woniala Moses from Zebigi contributed 349kg. The coffee cherries are carried down to our station in 50 kg bags by “runners” - a team of over 160 women and men employed from the local community. This coffee is pulped before undergoing signature fermentation method involving a pre-wash, a long soak in cold mountain spring water, and then a long fermentation lasting forty hours before a final wash. This coffee is meticulously sorted at 12 different stages before export.

The process:

The green beans enter a tank where they are mixed with water. When the green coffee beans absorb the water, they expand and the pores are opened resulting in the caffeine molecules becoming mobile.

Then, the beans are then brought into contact with the pressurised carbon dioxide which combines with the water to essentially form sparkling water. The carbon dioxide acts like a magnet and attracts all the caffeine molecules that became movable.

When the caffeine is captured by the carbon dioxide, the water is removed and the cycle is repeated until the caffeine level is reached. Once this has happened, the circulation of carbon dioxide is stopped and the green beans are discharged to dry.

Benefits of this method

• Effective caffeine extraction without the use of chemicals.
• The byproducts are natural and a 100% recyclable.
• Flavour of coffee is kept intact