We are so excited about this year's A Shot in the Dark coffee roasting competition and by now, the roasters have recived their competition coffees and will be starting to experiment with these coffees, looking to tease out the best, most delicious flavour profiles from them.
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These are the coffees for this year's competition:
Cupping Coffee : Kenya Highlands AA:
This lot is procured from a multitude of smallholder producers from over 20 Farmer Co-operative societies who grow their coffee around the Central Highlands region. This area stretches down from the southern slopes of Mount Kenya and the foothills of the Aberdare Mountain Range to the northern outskirts of the capital, Nairobi. This lot encompasses 5 of Kenya's highly coveted coffee producing districts, namely: Nyeri, Kiambu, Murang'a, Kirinyaga, and Embu.
During the harvest season, farmers from the Highlands register with a nearby washing station associated to a Farmer Cooperative Society and deliver ripe cherries daily. Often travelling on foot, by motorcycle, or with the help of donkeys or other pack animals, they arrive at the station where their cherries are hand-sorted under the watchful eye and supervision of a skilled washing station manager. They are then weighed and recorded, before being de-pulped, fermented, washed and sun- dried on raised beds.
This cooperative system, owned by the farmers and run for the benefit of the farmers, provides smallholder farmer members with access to international markets they wouldn’t otherwise reach due to their limited production volumes. By working collectively, they can earn better prices and benefit from the cooperative’s expertise in processing, technical support, seedling nurseries, and other services.
Details of the lot:
Process: Fully washed and dried on raised beds.
Varietals: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, Batian
Altitude: 1700 - 2200 masl
Region: Central Highlands
Producer: Various small holder producers from over 20 Farmer Cooperative Societies.
Exporter: Covoya Specialty
Harvest Period: October to December 2024
Grade: AA FAQ
Screen size spread on arrival sample: Screen 16: 1%; Screen 18: 44%; Screen 19: 42%;
Screen 20: 13%
Blending Coffee 1: BRAZIL, Moka Amora Cerrado PB | Natura
Mundo Novo is the result of a natural cross between the Bourbon and Typica varieties found in Mineiros do Tiete, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Seeds of the original coffee plants were planted in the municipality of Novo Mundo, today called Urupês, where selection gave rise to the variety Mundo Novo. The variety was discovered in 1943.
Red Catuai, cultivated by IAC, is a compact plant with high yielding potential of standard quality in Central America. It has a very high susceptibility to coffee leaf rust. The cultivar was created in 1949 from a crossing of yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, and initially called H-2077.
Coffee was first cultivated in Cerrado Mineiro in the 1970s by farmers from Paraná and São Paulo. Through a technique that corrects soil acidity (liming) and irrigation, large-scale cultivation has become possible. The region has around 4,500 farmers cultivating a combined area of 210,000ha.
The Cerrado Mineiro presents a dry climate during the harvest period, which causes the coffee to suffer less from humidity after harvesting, allowing for a consistent drying process. The region, which covers 55 municipalities in total, achieved the Denomination of Origin in 2013 and was the first region in the country to receive this recognition.
Varietal- Catuai, Mundo Novo.
Processing- Sundried Natural.
Altitude- 800- 1200 masl.
Producer- Single Estates by Olam Specialty Brazil.
Region- Cerrado Mineiro, Brazil.
Harvest period- December- April
Blending Coffee 2: COSTA RICA , LA PASTORA SHB EP
Catuai is a compact Arabica variety with high yielding potential of standard quality in Central America. It has a high susceptibility to coffee leaf rust. It’s lineage is that it is a cross between two other Arabica varieties – Mundo Novo and Caturra.
Caturra has similar characteristics to the Catuai, although it is originally a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety.
CoopeTarrazú is a Costa Rican cooperative of over 3,500 members dedicated to sustainability, community welfare, and high-quality coffee production. Located in the Tarrazú region, which produces 22% of Costa Rica’s coffee, their farms sit between 1,200 and 1,900 meters in elevation. Harvested during the dry season, their coffees benefit from ideal conditions for sun-drying and exceptional uniformity.
Tarrazú Costa Rica has been long recognized as a region that produces high quality coffee. So much so that in 2019 Tarrazú received a Denomination of Origin (DOE) certification, a legal distinction that, like Champagne in France, can only be applied to coffees from the area.
Varietal- Catuai, Caturra.
Processing- Fully Washed & Sun Dried.
Altitude- 1200- 1900 masl.
Producer- 4000+ Smallholder farmers supplying to CoopeTarrazú.
Region- Tarrazu, Costa Rica.
Harvest period- December- March.
A huge thank you to Green Coffee Supply and Zuka Green Coffee for supplying this year's competition coffees!
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