Fight those February blues and enjoy the roast skills of Berlin-based, Fjord!
First-time feature for us and we hope you enjoy. As ever, we have checked in with the team there and got a few words from them on their operation.
- Interview by Kris Thurbin -
What kind of feedback means a lot to you from the business partners you work with or from your customers?
We are honestly open to and welcome all feedback from our wholesale partners - we can only learn and grow together if we communicate, not only when things are good but also when things go wrong. It’s a really important part of our mission to continue to improve on every aspect of the roastery operation!
What do you have planned for 2020?
We are currently preparing for Roast Masters at Amsterdam Coffee Festival - we’re very excited to take part and we’ll be represented by our roaster Michal Sowinski & Production Assistant Cameron Milne.
We also have some beautiful coffees coming out in the next months as special editions, so that’s really exciting but you’ll have to keep an eye on our instagram for the details of those coffees.
How do you recommend our subscribers get the best from your coffee this month?
We try not to give specific recipes for coffee brewing due to the huge number of variables that are outside a brewing recipe. Having said that, we tend to look to grind finer and brew faster than many of the recipes out there!
Coffee Lineup in February. If you don't want to miss out on our upcoming coffee box, make sure to subscribe here.
Kirigu AB - Kenya
This is a lot from the relatively small collective of members that comprise the quality-driven Gakuyu FCS. Managed by Esther Waitheka, this collective is looking to improve their education available to members with a view to improving farming processes and therefore raise the quality.
Flavour Notes: Currant, Gooseberry, Lemon, Nectarine
Origin: Nyeri, Kenya
Farm/Washing Station: Kirigu Factory
Processing: Washed
Variety: SL28 / SL34
Altitude: 1550 - 1600m
Wolichu Wachu - Ethiopia, Guji
As a new washing station, having begun operation in 2017 Wolichu Wachu was built with the latest insights into efficiency and quality in mind. Its construction also gives smallholder farmers from the Harso Haru Mude cooperative better access to an integral part of the supply chain. A classic and beautiful example of washed coffees from the Guji region.
Flavour Notes: Honeydew, Jasmine,
Lemon
Origin: Guji
Farm/Washing Station: Smallholder Farmers / Wolichu Wachu
Processing: Washed
Variety: Heirloom
Altitude: 1900 - 2210m
Nensebo, Ethiopia
A dense natural processed coffee from West Arsi in Ethiopia means that we need to attack it with a lot of heat energy early on in the roast to ensure that the center of each dense bean gets cooked enough by the end of the roasting process. Like most natural processed coffees, we ensure that the temperature of the coffee doesn’t get too hot at the end of the roasting process, as this would lead to the residual sugar on, and in, the coffee caramelizing resulting in flavors we don’t want. Our short and intense roasting approach to this particular Ethiopian coffee lends itself to an intensely expressive cup profile – full of strawberries and blueberries.
Region: West Arsi
Varietal: Heirloom
Processing: Natural
Altitude: 1900m