Coffee has taken on a whole new meaning. Is that possible you ask?
Let me explain.
The new addition to the family - Splash, 9 week old 1.58kg (as of yesterday when we took her to the vet for a checkup) labradoodle, wakes between 5am - 6am each morning. With a small dog comes a small bladder and other down there bits. So she needs to pee.
At 5am, with my desperate need for caffeine, I have a moments hesitancy as I bring the grinder to life, at 6am I’m like, ‘no worries everyone, the day is underway’.
Freshly roasted, freshly ground, freshly brewed nectar this early is like plugging your body in to a beautiful stream of light (roast) and energy.
And those beans right now: Brazilian, from a growers collective called Women in Coffee.
Grown on farms in the Sul de Minas region of Minas Gerais in southern Brazil, at 900 metres above sea level (translate good elevation for coffee) these beans are transforming under my watchful eye (and ears - remember the crack!) in the roaster - almost on a daily basis. The 5am starts require an exponential increase in daily intake.
Here's a pic of two of these farmers:
According to my bean importer, referring to their beans: ‘In an era where women are increasingly present in coffee growing and taking over production on farms, this special blend reflects Brazilian women’s strength and personality’.
On average across the world 15% of coffee is grown by women-owned farms. In Brazil it’s half that, so they probably need a certain amount of strength and personality to survive.
Intriguing. This merits further investigation.
How cool would it be to take a trip to Brazil (post COVID) to meet these growers, and see their operation first hand. I know the Doc would be keen. As long as we stop off in Cuba. He tells me he has been to a very remote coffee growing region in the mountains where everything is done old school. And I mean old school: Horse drawn machinery, the whole nine yards.
I’d be a little nervous to go by myself, so I’m glad the Doc is a), keen, b), 6’2” and c), looks like someone you don’t want to mess with. Plus, he speaks Portuguese and Spanish.
Always good to know the source of your product.
Look out folks, here we come.
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