Latitude Espresso

Latitude Espresso

Latitude Espresso

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Our Latitude Espresso is defined by our use of African coffees in the blend. This gives it a bright character often with floral and fruity tones.

We are currently using two coffees in this blend, a washed coffee from Rwanda and a natural coffee from Brazil. You can expect delicate floral notes in the cup followed by tones of orange zest and hazelnut in the cup.

We just love the fact that the Rwandan farms average less than a quarter of a hectare while Rio Brilhante is in excess of 2,000 hectares. Two completely different approaches are required to farm and manage the processing of the coffees in this blend.

 

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Latitude Espresso

Our seasonal espressos each come with their own story, which is part of what makes them so special. Here we take a closer look at the producers behind this coffee.

The Farms

The Musasa Dukunde Kawa cooperative has four washing stations lying high in Rwanda’s rugged northwest. Ruli – the cooperative’s first washing station - was built by the co-op in 2003. The washing station sources coffee from around 2,000 small producers.

Inacio first arrived in Minas Gerais in 1976 with the dream of producing great coffee via sustainable and innovative practices. After acquiring his own farm in Cerrado Mineiro in 1984, Rio Brilhante has grown to become one of the biggest farms in the region, as well as one of the largest in the country; spanning over 2000 hectares.

The Facts

Ruli
Varietals: 100% Red Bourbon
Processing: Fully washed & dried on raised beds
Altitude: 1,700 – 2,000 metres

Rio Brilhante
Varietals: 100% Catuai
Processing: Natural
Altitude: 1,050 metres

Harvesting & Processing at Ruli

Cherries are hand-picked only when fully ripe and then pulped that same evening using a mechanical pulper that divides the beans into three grades by weight. After pulping, the coffee is fermented overnight (for around 12 hours) and then graded again using flotation channels that sort the coffee by weight (the heaviest – or A1 – usually being the best). The wet parchment is then soaked in water for between 18 and 24 hours to stabilise moisture content.

Washed beans are moved from the wet fermentation tanks onto the pre-drying tables, where they are intensively sorted under shade for around six hours. The idea is that greens (unripes) are still visible when the beans are damp, while the roofs over the tables protect the beans from the direct sunlight. Next, the beans are moved onto the washing station’s extensive drying tables for around 14 days (depending on the weather), where they are sorted again for defects, turned regularly, and protected from rain and the midday sun by covers, ensuring both even drying and the removal of any damaged or ‘funny looking’ beans. After reaching 11% humidity, the coffee is then stored in parchment in Ruli’s purpose-built warehouse prior to final dry-milling and hand-sorting at the Cooperative’s brand-new dry mill in Kigali.

Harvesting & Processing at Rio Brilhante

A wide selection of varieties common to Brazil can be found at Rio Brilhante. These include Bourbon, Topazio, and Catucai, amongst others. As part of their core drive to always innovate, new varieties such as Arara and Paraiso are also being introduced. These varieties have been chosen not only for their great cup attributes but also for their pathogen resistant characteristics that help deter diseases such as leaf rust. This, in turn, increases the productivity of the tree and also reduces the quantity of fungicide application needed. This particular lot from Rio Brilhante is 100% handpicked Catuai. Cherries are picked and sorted, before being fermented in 1000kg bags for roughly 24 hours. The sacks are kept in dry conditions and away from sun light, limiting negative effects on the ferment. Once the 24 hours are finished, beans are placed on raised beds to dry until they reach the desired moisture of below 12% or less.

Social and Environmental Responsibility

Ruli Washing Station

In addition to the great work that the cooperative does with quality improvement and assurance, they also have various social programs that greatly contribute to the livelihoods of their members. School fees and medical insurance are provided along with training in quality and productivity in cultivation of coffee. The cooperative also gives cows as bonus payment for quality cherry. These cows not only produce milk for cheese, which helps improve diets and provides supplementary income for farmers, they also provide fertiliser for coffee! The cooperative has also invested in a fleet of tailor-made bikes that help smallholders deliver their cherry to the cooperative's washing stations. This not only reduces the labour required for producers but also means that it is easier to deliver cherry on the same day as picking, which helps ensure greater quality. 

Rio Brilhante

Rio Brilhante takes part in a number of social projects; their main being ‘Seeds of Change’. ‘Seeds of Change’ is a program focused on helping Rio Brilhante staff to learn skills such as reading, writing and calculating in everyday life. The driving force behind this scheme is that staff are constantly being faced with new challenges, both at work and home, in our modern world. ‘Seeds of Change’ helps to give staff the tools they need, to be able to thrive under such circumstances. Members of staff who take part receive a professional qualification, to help further their career. Rio Brilhante also offers this project to staff member’s relatives, highlighting the importance of the family as one of their core values. As well as Seeds of Change, other education initiatives such as ‘Escolinha Tia Edna’, a disability school for 85 pupils aged 2-6, and ‘Ponto do Livro’, a project aimed at opening local open-air libraries, are also funded by Rio Brilhante. 

sourcing coffee

Our Coffee Broker

For over ten years we have worked closely with Mercanta. They pay a fair price for coffee, empowering the growers they work with. Such is our faith in their commitment to supporting farmers that we now purchase 100% of our coffee through Mercanta.
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