We are delighted to welcome two new African coffees into the roastery from Nordic Approach. Here's an introduction from Tom on this year’s Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees:
"It’s an exciting time here at the roastery as we just landed our first pallets of fresh crop Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees. Over the years we have built incredibly strong relationships with most of the farms, cooperatives, exporters and importers that we work with - in Brazil with Daterra, Baixadão and Cocarive, in Colombia with El Fénix and Raw Material, in Mexico with Finca Chelín and the Zapoteco and Mazateca groups of producers represented by Red Beetle, in Costa Rica with Coope Dota, and in Rwanda with Muraho Trading Co representing Shyira and Vunga - but despite our best efforts, and for reasons outside of our control, we’ve struggled to replicate this in Ethiopia and Kenya.
This season we have bought our selection of Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees through Nordic Approach, and we are hopeful that it marks the start of a new chapter in our sourcing programme for these two special origins. Nordic Approach is a coffee importer based in Norway that has a reputation for importing some of the highest quality Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees around. They import green coffee for some of our roasting idols, like Copenhagen’s Coffee Collective, and Oslo’s Tim Wendelboe, who is also one of Nordic Approach’s founders.
This year I was determined to source some exceptional coffee from these origins, so I travelled to Oslo in April for their Spring Cupping. This was an open cupping of coffees from numerous origins that Nordic Approach operates in, but importantly it was the first open cupping of fresh crop coffees from Ethiopia and Kenya, and an opportunity to contract some of the best lots before they were all snapped up. From a table of around twenty different coffees from each origin, I selected three Ethiopians and four Kenyans, some of which were up there with the best I have ever tasted. In particular I was looking for classic expressions from each origin, and our first releases this weekend are stunning examples of this. The Kenyan Kiangoi is all deep blackcurrant and vine tomato, whilst the Ethiopian Buku Sayisa brings all the hallmark peachy, tea-like and floral notes.
The Spring Cupping was also an opportunity to meet the Nordic Approach team, all of whom were incredibly friendly and clearly experts in their respective fields. With such a team in place, and a history of consistently sourcing exceptional coffees from these origins, we’re hopeful that this marks the start of a long and fruitful relationship working together.
The next step, like with the other origins that we work in, will be to visit Ethiopia and Kenya with Nordic Approach, to learn more about the farms that they work with and how they operate, and to establish closer and more meaningful relationships with them. I’m already excited about sharing the stories that lie ahead."