We’re excited to share this special lot from our friends at The Coffee Gardens, a project that started in 2017 with a big mission: to produce specialty coffee in an ethical way while creating a direct link between farmers and consumers. The goal is simple—make sure you know exactly where your coffee comes from and who’s behind it.
When it comes to our microlots, we’ve blended coffee from different day-lots (beans processed on the same day) that share similar taste profiles. So, even though you might see multiple farmers contributing to a microlot, they’re all adding their part to create that unique flavor.
We’ve been working with the farmers behind this microlot for five years now, and we know each one of them personally. This particular decaf lot is named after two villages—Gombe and Zebigi—where many of the farmers live. Last year, with the help of roasters like you, we were able to train these farmers on growing coffee under shade trees, improving agricultural practices, and refining their harvesting techniques. We also distributed over 8,300 seedlings for shade, fruit, and fast-growing trees. This year, we’re keeping the momentum going with more training, and we’re even building toilet blocks for three local primary schools, including Zebugu-Busi Primary.
Two of the farmers, Mr. Zesiro Micheal from Gombe and Mr. Woniala Moses from Zebigi, were big contributors to this lot. Zesiro brought in 967kg of red, ripe cherries, while Woniala contributed 349kg. Once the cherries are picked, a dedicated team of over 160 local “runners” (mostly women and men from the community) carry them in 50kg bags to our processing station.
The coffee goes through a detailed process. First, it’s pulped, then it undergoes a signature fermentation method that includes a pre-wash, a long soak in cold mountain spring water, and a 40-hour fermentation period before the final wash. After that, it’s sorted—12 times, to be exact—to ensure the highest quality before export.
And for the decaf lovers out there, this coffee is decaffeinated using the Sparkling Water Decaffeination Process, which is both organic and natural, keeping the flavors intact while removing the caffeine.
