IN BLOOM: Ethiopia + Guatemala
Tastes Like: COTTON CANDY, BUBBLE GUM + MILK CHOCOLATE
Medium Roast: 340g & 5LB BAGS
ETHIOPIA 50%
Region: Limu
Farm: Tega and Tula
Varietal: Organic Heirloom Ethiopian varieties
Altitude: 1830 - 1890 m.a.s.l
Processing: Natural
GUATEMALA 50%
Region: La Libertad
Farm: Finca Bromelias
Varietal: Bourbon, Caturra, Catimor, Maragogype + Pache
Altitude: 1700 m.a.s.l
Processing: Washed
In Bloom is a blend for the experimental coffee fan with a sweet tooth. In Bloom is a 50/50 blend of coffees that highlights the best of what’s in season. We source fruit-forward coffees from smaller farms and roast them to highlight their unique character.
This blend changes with the seasons and will always surprise you.
ETHIOPIA: TEGA AND TULATega & Tula Specialty Coffee Farm, purchased in the year 2015 by Ahadu Woubshet. It is one of the oldest large operations in Ethiopia. It was originally established in 2000 and had a great reputation for the first decade or so, before quality began to decline and the original owners encountered financial troubles. Ahadu knew of the potential for excellent coffee due to the perfect conditions for coffee and decided to purchase it to bring it back to it's roots. Tega & Tula are actually two adjacent farms, named after the two nearby villages of Tega and Tula, found in the woreda, or district, of Gibo, in Kaffa, Ethiopia. The total farm area is nearly 500 hectares in size, with roughly 400 hectares planted in coffee. It is surrounded by protected UNESCO forests and absolutely stunning.
The farms have both flat and hilly components and have a healthy natural water source running through the entire properties, which allowed Ahadu to build infrastructure like washing stations in new areas that were optimal for efficient coffee flow from the trees. Ahadu also built a paved road connecting the two farms which not only allows easy transport for staff, but also ensures vital safety components like ambulances are able to get to where they need to go quickly. Ahadu also built a school on the property that currently educates over 80 children in grades 1-8. He Also fully electrified the Tega and Tula villages which has been a huge advancement for the community. Ahadu also pays the staff at these farms on average 20% higher than other farms. He plans to do one large project based on community input each year. This all feeds into a system he likes to call “Fair Chain” - a lifting up of the entire supply chain to find a better life working in coffee. Ahadu has said to us many times “Without a community, you can't have a farm.”.
The farm is certified organic and produces both Washed and Natural coffees, and it not only has a wonderful flavor profile but also full traceability down to the producer—and nowadays down to the "block," or subplot. Each block has its own farm manager and agronomist which Ahadu believes is helping to contribute to the operational excellence he hopes to achieve. Ahadu is an entrepreneur who was a founding member of the executive team at the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, who left the ECX and decided to invest in a farm himself in order to produce entirely specialty coffee. He truly found the perfect spot in the famous Kaffa Zone, which is considered the absolute birthplace of Arabica coffee, and decided to restart up the operation with a keen focus on preserving the natural beauty of the area, support the local community, and of course produce fantastic coffees.
Our precision medium roasting technique allows us to bring out the naturally sweet chocolate, watermelon and raspberry flavour inherent in the heirloom varietals.
ABOUT THE REGION
Limu
Limu is in the western highlands of Ethiopia, a rugged but high-altitude area that experiences relatively temperate weather during the day, but cool nights. The mountains catch the precipitation of the monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean, resulting in a rainy season that lasts from June until mid-September. The washed coffees from Limu are distinctive and famous for being an example of the best that Ethiopia has to offer.
GUATEMALA: DON ARTURO
Arturo Gabriel Lopez owns Cipresada and Finca Bromelias. He has 4 ha of farmland with around 15,000 coffee trees. Don Arturo's washed processed coffees pre-ferment for 36 hours and up to 12 hours in a tank. The washed coffee then dries for 15 days on patios.
Microlot
Smallholder farmers make up the vast majority of Guatemala's coffee sector, and our green buyers are constantly searching for exceptional small lots of farm-specific coffees to purchase. These are differentiated on our offerings list as having both the highest quality and achieving the producers the highest prices.
Huehuetenango
Huehuetenango is located in Western Guatemala bordering Mexico. It is extremely diverse and known for producing some of the best coffees in Latin America due to its climate, altitude, water sources, and traditional varieties. A range of offerings come out of Huehuetenango, including chocolatey volume offerings and fruit-forward microlots.
WATCH OUR FRIEND MANIFEST A WARMER WEATHER WITH IN-BLOOM ESPRESSO
ABOUT ETHIOPIAN COFFEE
Unlike most coffee-growing countries, the coffee plant originated here, not introduced through settlement. Instead, growing, processing, and drinking coffee is part of everyday life and has been for centuries.
There is 99% more genetic material in Ethiopia’s coffee alone than in the rest of the world; the result is a coffee lover’s dream. No coffees are spoken of with the reverence or romance that Ethiopian coffees are.
Coffee is still commonly enjoyed as part of a ceremonial preparation, gathering family and friends. The senior-most woman of the household will roast the coffee in a pan and grind it fresh before brewing. The process takes about an hour from start to finish and is considered a regular show of hospitality.
ABOUT GUATEMALAN COFFEE
Coffee came to Guatemala in the late 18th century. European immigrants were encouraged by the Guatemalan government to establish plantations. The government distributed seeds and young coffee plants, and by the late 1800s Guatemala was exporting nearly 300 million pounds of coffee annually.
A large percentage of Guatemala’s population identifies with one of more than 20 officially recognized indigenous groups. Most farmers are smallholders who are either working independently of one another or formally working in cooperative associations.
In 1960, coffee growers developed a union, which has since become the national coffee institute Anacafé, a research centre and financial organization that provides loans and supports growers throughout the various regions.
Starting in 2012 and lasting for several years, an outbreak of coffee-leaf rust proved a tremendous obstacle for coffee production in the country, reducing yields by as much as 25% and causing the government to declare a state of emergency. Anacafé has been working closely with World Coffee Research on various trials and research that will hopefully result in future protection and prevention of similar outbreaks and provide more productive harvests for smallholder farmers.
