Zimbabwe Salimba Estate

The farm is one of only a handful in the country exporting coffee, and it does adhere to organic growing practices and fair labor conditions, although it carries official certification for neither. The farm is also part of the "Zeri Mushroom Project" which is an program that teaches how to grow mushrooms on coffee pulp waste -- essentially turning waste into a side profit and environmentally-friendly practice.

These are washed process and are easy to roast. In general, Zimbabwe beans do well right at, or a few seconds into, the 2nd crack, giving you a nice rounded out body, sweet orange metallic flavor and medium acidity. This one can be roasted lighter, which brings out more of a sweet cherry taste and a lighter body. This is probably my favorite roast level, but for our customers we are roasting it pretty dark, like an Indonesian (Sumatra) coffee. The 2nd cracks tend to be late, but if you go 20 seconds in, then you can really bring out the dark deep spicy, clove, metallic notes (think copper pennies in the bottom of your coffee mug). The farm actually grows the revered SL-28 varietal that Kenya is famous for growing, as well as the more common Typica varietal, and they blend them together at the mill, and it makes for a nice mug of coffee with Zimbabwe character. There's nothing here that makes me think it is from Kenya.

This is a very similar Zimbabwe to what we've carried the past couple of years. It you liked it last year, you will still like it; and if you've never had a Zimbabwe, this is a decent example of one to try. 

US Arrival April 2020