(5 = Extraordinary to 1= Satisfactory)

ACIDITY 4 BODY 4 AROMA 4 COMPLEXITY 4 BALANCE 4 SPICEY CHOCOLATEY - CARMELLY NUTTY - BUTTERY - FRUITY FLOWERY WINEY - EARTHY -

<== Look at that..... straight 4's!

Zambian coffees are recent to the Specialty trade and perhaps yet to emerge from the long shadow cast by the East African powerhouse, Kenya. But like their cousins from Zimbabwe they can be uniquely endowed with a full body, mild acidity, balance, sweetness and interesting wild notes emerging in the aromatics and aftertaste.

Zambian mild washed Arabica is high grown with many estates and individual farms to choose from, each with their own individual and unique characteristics. Grading and export presentation is usually in AA, AA/AB, AB, PB and smaller grades. The Zambia Coffee Growers Association monitors and controls the quality produced by each farmer. No shipments leave Zambia without a ZCGA quality certificate. This is self-discipline of the highest degree: the growers themselves impose the standards each one must adhere to!

This Zambia is fun to experiment with as it has a nice range of taste profiles within the various roast spectrums.

Roast: This coffee can take darker roasts which will help tame some of the wild notes and will turn towards a bittersweet pungency. Some do like it at a lighter City stage and rested for 24 hours, where the aftertaste comes as a surprise in a balanced and somewhat sweet caramelly cup. But there is more balance and softness as the coffee nears 2nd crack.

Every purchase helps: Coffee is of huge importance to Africa. Out of the one million tons plus (over 17 million bags) produced annually, perhaps as little as five percent originates from Estates. All the rest is grown by individual smallholders with many owning as little as a few hundred trees only… Imagine the toil and sweat that goes into African coffee production, a crop that often represents the only cash income individual smallholders may see a year!

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