We're back, baby! Fresh in from Malawi and Kenya: coffee grown and roasted in Africa.
Farm - Ol’ochoy
Elevation - 1950 - 2200 MASL
Varieties - Batian, Ruiru, SL28
Process - Washed
Meet Lyson Msiska.
He grew every bean in this bag on his family's farm in the hills of Nkhota, overlooking Lake Malawi.
At 1,500–1,600 metres, he grows this mostly Geisha blend (70% Geisha, 30% Catimor) himself then processes it at the MF washing station just down the road.
This is a honey process coffee, which sits somewhere between a washed and a natural. Washed coffees have all the fruit stripped off before drying, giving a clean, bright cup, while naturals dry inside the whole cherry for a fruitier, funkier one. With honey, Lyson removes the skin but leaves some of the sticky fruit layer on the bean as it dries, so you get the clarity of a washed coffee with extra sweetness and a fuller, rounder body.
From Lyson's farm, this coffee made the journey north to Kenya, where it was lightly roasted on an ultra-precise Loring at African Coffee Roasters, just outside Nairobi. Roasting in Africa keeps more of the value, and the skilled jobs, on the continent where coffee is grown.
Straight after roasting, each bag is nitrogen flushed and sealed, so the coffee stays at its peak for up to six months.
Whole bean only.
MF stands for Manchewe Falls — Malawi’s highest waterfall, and where our coffee journey began.
We’re a small group of friends in Malawi, Kenya and the UK, working together to rethink how coffee moves from farm to cup.
Our goal for over a decade has been to make the coffee supply chain shorter, fairer, and more connected.
Coffee is grown in Africa but usually roasted somewhere else. Not ours! We work with African Coffee Roasters in Nairobi to roast every batch in Kenya. That keeps more of the value, and skilled jobs close to origin.
Join us in building a new way to enjoy coffee.
Meet Noel Nyirenda.
For over two decades he's been farming in Junju, northern Malawi, on a small farm he looks after with his family. At 1,500–1,600 metres, Noel grows Gesha, SL28 and Catimor 129, and this lot is a blend of 80% Catimor and 20% Gesha.
This is a natural process coffee. After harvest, the whole cherries are laid out on raised drying beds, and the beans dry inside the fruit. As they dry together, the sweetness of the cherry seeps into the bean, giving the cup a funky, fruity character.
From Junju, the coffee travelled north to Kenya, where it was lightly roasted at African Coffee Roasters, just outside Nairobi, then nitrogen flushed and sealed so it stays at its peak for up to six months.
Whole bean only.