Island Blend

We're grateful to 2 farmer/owners for the beans that make up HICS Island Blend:

Caixa Da Fruta - Brazil

Suukala Asorcafe - Colombia

900 - 1100 MASL Brazil

1500 - 2100 MASL Colombia

(MASL = metre above sea-level)

Caixa Da Fruta - Brazil

Caixa Da Fruta comes from Cocatrel Direct Trade, which is a branch of Cocatrel Cooperative, founded in 1961 in Tres Pontas. There are over 6000 members who are part of the cooperative and they have 11 different buying points across the region. All the coffee is electronically tagged and recorded on delivery with a unique QR code giving full traceability on all the coffees for the growers to know exactly where their coffee is. Over 50% of the members of the cooperative grow coffee on land that is less than 10 Ha in size.

 

The coffee is dried in static boxes. These are 1 m deep boxes with a capacity for 15,000 liters volume of cherry which equates to 25-30 bags of green coffee. The boxes have a vented grill at the bottom to allow for air to be circulated from below up through the drying coffee. There are two thermometers at different depths to ensure a safe temperature always below 40 degrees Celsius. They are referred to as static due to the coffee remaining still in the boxes and not being turned or rotated during drying. After it is dried, the coffee is then left to rest for approximately 1-2 weeks before being milled. This method has allowed the production of more fruity and prominent profiles from the usual profile we associate with Brazil natural coffee. 

 

Suukala Asorcafe - Colombia

he Municipality of Inza in Cauca is an area of land that sits high on a Colombian plateau called the Macizo Colombiano. This area is perfect for growing specialty coffee as altitudes reach over 2000masl. Inzá is mostly known for its indigenous history and coffee. Its history goes back to 1577 where a Spaniard, Sancho García de Espino, established camp where Inzá is today.

Asorcafe was founded on July 11, 2003 in the town of Pedegral in Inza and currently has 290 members. The association was set up to help these producers become organised to sell their coffees as specialty, but also to provide a structure to further their education and to improve economic and social conditions for themselves, their families and their community.

These small producers work on plots of land between 1.8 and 2ha and farm coffee up to altitudes of 2100masl. The farms are planted with caturra, typica, bourbon, tabi, castillo and some pink bourbon. Traditionally the coffee is fully washed. Once harvested, the coffee is pulped and fermented for between 20 to 40 hours depending on the local environment. After this the coffee is washed and any immatures removed and then it is dried for between 8 and 15 days in parabolic driers.

Asorcafe deliver samples up the supply chain where they are cupped and assessed for their cup quality and making sure the physical specifications meet our standards for moisture, yield and cup quality.