Zambia Isanya Estate – Natural Processed Gold

Description

A tasty and unique coffee. Pulls both tones from traditional African coffee as well as sweeter citric and red fruit tones from the natural processing.

Zambia’s Northern Province is home to the country’s highlands, where ancient volcanic soils and natural processing help produce the complex flavor and heavy body. Although wet milling was introduced to the small holder coffee farmers thirty years ago, natural processing has been common throughout the region since the 1950’s, when commercial coffee production began in Zambia, home to the smoke that thunders.

Long before Dr. Livingston arrived to name Victoria Falls after the queen, the people who had lived around this wonder of the natural world for generations had already named it more appropriately, “the smoke that thunders.” The falls thunder into the Zambesi River, which flows east toward Mozambique. But before the river crosses the border, take a left and head north up the Luangwa River. You’ll move through land rich in biodiversity, including the world’s largest concentration of hippos. As the river meanders and the altitude rises you will reach Mafinga plateau and Zambia’s largest coffee growing region which stretches all the way to the border with Tanzania.

Tasting Notes:
A fuller bodied cup with higher acidity and strong very fruit forward tones.  Bakers chocolate and spice with all sorts of wild fruity notes (citric and red) popping out. Very dependent on roast level. A fun cup to play with in with in the roaster. Light roasts have strong citric acidity upfront that fades into just a hint of that lovely natural processed red fruit tone, a bit potent with an herbal/veg contrast.  Exotic and fun to try lighter roasted. Medium roasts are where we thought it shined; better body, still plenty of acidity/floral/fruit tones balanced with a more pronounced chocolaty undertone. Darker roasts get smoky and strong with low acidity, more reminiscent of the washed processed but with a little hints of the natural processing as the cup cools.

Roasting Notes:
To see it shine as a natural, stick with light to medium roasts. Too light can get a little herbal note, but doesn’t take much development past first crack to build them into a more chocolaty taste. Darker roasts work decent as well, more fruit in the aromatics than in the cup but robust and stout like. Because this cup has a little more potent acidity and tones, letting it setup for 3-4 days before drinking can make a big difference. The sharper you like the coffee, the sooner you can drink it.