Cravens Blog
Tanzania Mondul Estate Peaberry: NEW COFFEE for the NEW YEAR!
It is my job to source tremendous coffee for you, working with coffee farmers dedicated to excellence in their craft. In true Cravens fashion, we bring you a series titled, "From Farmer to Roaster to You" which represents ever changing, rare and limited release coffees — highly sought after from our direct farm visits.
2012 "From Farmer to Roaster to You" Featured Coffee
Single Origin: Tanzania Mondul Estate Peaberry
Farmer: Alex Rechsteiner
Coffee Quality Control: Edwin Agasso
Flavor Profile: unique, tangy, juicy, syrupy, depth, exclusive.
Roast: Northern European
Story:
When we first met, long time Cravens friend Alex Rechsteiner of Burka Estates near Mt Kilimanjaro, acquired an old-growth farm 1,200 feet further up the mountain. Upon hearing of this rare East African high-altitude coffee, with deep volcanic soil and potential for booming flavor, we were determined to track it’s progress and development. Patiently waiting these past years has paid off as the current crop has exceeded expectations resulting in the Cravens exclusive purchase of this year’s entire Peaberry lot.
Mondul Estate sits at over 5,500 feet, an ideal elevation for East African coffee, providing conditions for a denser, harder bean. A land of ridges and valleys, this farm benefits from sunlight effect and soil drainage. Chilly weather at night slows the bean development resulting in the accentuation of sugars for a juicier, heavier bodied coffee – like the old style Kenya’s. Steve, our long-time roaster, said: "…remember how Kenya coffee used to taste, 15 years ago?…" He nailed it!
The coffee is shade-grown and sun-dried in no less than 15 days, which accentuates the coffee’s sweetness and finish. Our first full roasts reveal a coffee with incredible depth to its structure, rarely found these days in East African coffee. Truly special.
40 bags of this Peaberry were harvested and Cravens purchased them all! Craft roasted and packaged with care please find this fine coffee at area grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants serving Cravens Coffee.
Thank you for choosing Cravens Coffee,
From a Fan:
"I can’t thank you enough for sharing the Tanzanian Peaberry. My son Jake and I were in Coffee Nirvana for a couple of weeks there. You’d asked for my thoughts; though I’m but a humble wordsmith rather than a trained professional, I hereby humbly submit them:
Earthy, almost peppery aroma; a medium- to full-bodied coffee that suggests milk chocolate, roasted nuts, and the barest hint of citrus—bitter orange, perhaps?—yet lacks the overly bright tones of Central American beans. In the mouth it’s creamy and smooth, like a caramel milkshake, which belies the intensity of flavor that takes a moment or two to build. There’s a great deal of complexity in this coffee; it just doesn’t feel the need to brag about it. In other words, if it were a symphony, it’d be written by Bruckner."
~ A.B.