A lot of new coffees arrived on the counter over the last month or so and we have at least a handful more coming in the next few weeks. We are especially enjoying our new arrival from Peru – Vindaloo Indian Curry Paste – as described in last month’s newsletter. The coffee is tasting super and we are making plans to source a similar profile when the next harvest begins. In the meantime, we expect to have Amaybamba available until late July.
Also new to us and the counter are Tikka Masala Indian Curry Paste, from Tolima (Colombia) and Spinach Dhal Side Order from Carmo de Minas (Brazil). We found San Pedro with the help of our friends at the Colombian Coffee Federation, and Dois Irmãos with the help of our friends at Carmo Coffees. Unfortunately, we haven’t yet been able to visit the new farms we have been working with in Colombia, but we are planning farm visits in Brazil this month. Dois Irmãos and Fazenda Irmãos Piazza Leite (which will arrive on our counter soon) are both farms which deliver their coffee to the Carmo Coffees mill in Pedralva – Benefício Pedra Branca.
The summer is always busy for the green coffee team at Monmouth with shipments arriving from Central America, and in South America we are planning our buying in Nariño (Colombia) and Bolivia. We will begin to see the very first coffees of the Nariño crop coming off the trees this month. These early-harvest coffees will give us a good indication of the size and quality of the crop. Later in summer we are expecting to taste and buy coffee from 25 farmers – the first of these coffees should ship to us in time for Christmas.
Bolivia has a similar crop schedule to Nariño and picking will also be starting there this month, with the peak of the harvest in July and August. The Rodríguez family did a lot of work before the crop, extending their drying capacity by increasing the number of raised platforms used to dry traditional-washed-process coffee. The harvest is the busiest time of the year in coffee farming and any equipment maintenance or building works must be completed outside of this time.
And lastly, this month we are thrilled to be welcoming José Guillermo Alvarez Prunera (Epe) from Finca Malacara A (El Salvador) to our roastery. We first met Epe over a decade ago at our Borough Market shop when he introduced himself and asked if we would be interested in taking a look at his coffee. Epe’s coffee has become an integral feature of our counter over the last fifteen years, and it will be lovely to talk through all things Malacara A with him. The new crop has been harvested and processed and is on its way – it will be available in September.
Monmouth x
