Zambia Anaerobic Natural Kateshi Estate

Zambia coffee is almost never found in the United States.  This is the same as the natural bean, but this one was put into an anaerobic fermentation tank which brings out more tang, acidity, and fruit.

This one is from the Kateshi Estate in the Mafinga Region in the northern part of the country up by Tanzania where the mountains and volcanoes are.  Zambia does not have a department of agriculture that certifies organic products, but Isanya does use organic farming methods and is Rain Forest Alliance certified. These are the largest beans from their harvest, which they have labeled as AAA size.

The weird thing about roasting these beans is that the end temperature is going to be 10 to 15 degrees hotter than you would expect with a natural processed coffee. You still let it out as soon as the 1st cracks are over (or even slightly before they are done!), but the cracks are late, and keep going for a long time! However, it still tastes like a natural processed light roast, so don't let it trick you. If you let it out when it's cracking, you're going to get underroasted vegetal flavors, so just let it do its thing.

Just out of the first cracks, you have a mug of coffee that tastes like peaches, elderflower, white wine, dry, crisp, clean, sophisticated. I find it to be quite enjoyable, especially for how inexpensive it is! And I appreciate how different it is from other coffee origins. It's recognizable as African, but very much has its own identity.

US Arrival May 2024