This Sparkling water decaf blend is a mix of Yemeni lots from Harazi and a Rwanda natural. The details of these coffees are as below:

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Yemen – Harazi blend

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Coffee is grown in Yemen in mountainous areas up high on plateau’s and in valleys that are between 1600 – 2100 masl in altitude. It is known for being the first place to cultivate coffee after it was brought to the region in the 15th Century by Sufi Monks from here it grew with coffee being exported it the 16th Century from the port of Al-Makha which gave birth to the name of the Mocha drink known around the world today. In the 19th Century exports of coffee reached more than 57,000 MT at its peak which is a very different story to today with less than 20,000 MT. The coffee is produced on small, terraced farms in high mountains in very simple ways. All coffee is hand-picked, grown with the use of natural organic fertilizers and dried and dried on raised beds or roof tops. 

These coffees have been sourced through Mocha Mill one of the first specialty coffee exporters in Yemen. Mocha Mill embarked on its journey into Specialty coffee in Yemen in 2014 when they decided to do a feasibility studies in producing and exporting specialty coffee. They were able to get coffees out to the USA in the first season to be cupped and graded to help them understand the quality they had. Unfortunately, at this time the country broke out into civil war in 2014 but this did not stop them continuing their journey and over the years has led them to establish supply chains in 6 different regions in Yemen. Within this time, they have also built a dry mill in 2017 in Samat where they also have invested in a colour sorter as well and state of the art milling equipment and building warehouses for drying experimental coffees. In 2021 they have produced and exported in total about 10 containers of 80 + Specialty coffee around the World to Japan, Australia, Middle East, UK And Europe.

Mocha Mill have focused on working with farmers throughout Yemen making them the focus of their work. They have been educating them on best agricultural practices to improve the yield and quality of the coffee produced from their trees. A key part of their strategy is to empower the farmers and especially the women as they make up about 75% of the farmers in Yemen. They work with full transparency with their farmers to build long lasting relationships. The farmers are paid on delivery of the cherry to the buying point in each of the regions that Mocha Mill have established.

This incorporates striving to implement the highest coffee quality control standards, specifications and protocols to improve the lives of all Yemenis involved in the coffee supply chain.

Traditionally farmers in Yemen they work on small plots from 60 – 70 trees to 400 – 500 trees. The variety mainly is Jaadi /Udhini which is a large tree known for its good production. On average famers will produce around 1500kg of cherry which equates to about 3 bags of 60kg exportable coffee. Across all the farmers the average price paid for cherry was $2.47/kg of cherry for those who work with Mocha Mill. Famers mainly earn income from coffee but some also grow Qat (Khat) which as a strong legal internal market within Yemen. It is also chewed daily by 90% of the population.

As part of their focus they are placing sustainability at the center of their business practises. Yemen is a country facing drought and water shortages. Mocha Mill are implementing innovative irrigation and dry processing techniques to address water scarcity and reduce impact on the communities and their access to such a precious source.

The 11 lots we have sourced this season come from Ismaili, Harazi and Howari located in the central or south west of the country. Mocha Mill highlighted one area called Wadhi Almaa in the Harazi district for experimental processing. Here they worked directly with farmers buying cherry for experimental anaerobic lots where their team in the harvest worked alongside the famers implementing a harvest plan. These lots were fermented in barrels for 120 hours before then being slow dried for nearly 50 days.

All the coffees once stable are then taken to the Mocha Mill warehouse in Sana’a where they are stored in ecotact and then cupped and assorted according to quality. From here they are then milled, colour sorted and then hand-picked before being bagged in 30kgs in preparation for export.

Harazi coffee:

In the districts of Sana'a governorate, located to the southwest of the governorate, the total area is about 1276 square kilometers. The population is estimated at 100,000 people. The area consists of high mountains, plateaus and valleys, that reach an altitude of about 1700-2100 m above sea level. There are a variety of crops, and the cultivation of coffee beans is the most famous of these. In total there are about 2000 farmers in this region.

There are 9 collection stations in this region and approximately farmers will deliver coffees every 3 – 4 days in the season. Mocha Mill have been working here for 4 years and the same farmers building relationships who they have trained on how to produce high quality coffee.

Here the in the harvest all the coffee is hand picked and dried on roof tops in the sun for approximately 6-12 days

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Rwanda – Gitega Natural

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Gitega Hills

Just 12km from neighbouring Bwenda in the Cyanika sector and slightly higher up, adjacent to a disused quartz quarry, sits Gitega Hills. Slightly larger than Bwenda, Gitega covers an area of around 6 hectares and is nearby the small town of Miko. Gitega is the name of the surrounding land cell. A cell being a smaller area within a larger sector, within a larger region or province. Established by RTC in 2016, the station has been managed since then by Alex. Everyone who works at Gitega is from the local community and Alex feels that the station plays a valuable and positive role in the area for the work it provides. Good rainfall the area experienced during the harvest pointed to great quality for the 2022 season’s yields. Gitega employs 150 people including 11 permanently, with the rest being seasonal workers. 90% are women. 1040 farmers contribute cherry to Gitega’s annual production and in 2016 they processed 400 tons of cherry. At the time of our visit they had aready hit 500 tons with the expectation to hit 700 before they stopped processing for the season. The farms all lie between 0.5km and 7km away and are serviced by 33 different cherry collection points. On average the contributing farms grow just 400 trees (1 hectare). Additionally, the station provides farmers with organic EM2 compost which consists of recycled cherry pulp from the station with some animal manure. All 1040 farmers using Gitega have completed or are current participants in the ATP.

Read more about RTC's farmer training program

https://www.falconcoffees.com/agronomy-training-program-in-rwanda/

THE SPARKLING WATER DECAFFEINATION PROCESS:

This process was first discovered by a scientist called Kurt Zosel at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in 1967 as he was looking at new ways of separating mixtures of substances. In 1988, a German decaffeination company called CR3 developed this process for decaffeination whereby natural carbon dioxide (which comes from prehistoric underground lakes) is combined with water to create ‘sub-critical’ conditions which creates a highly solvent substance for caffeine in coffee. It is a gentle, natural and organically certified process and the good caffeine selectivity of the carbon dioxide guarantees a high retention level of other coffee components which contribute to taste and aroma.

The process is outlined below:

The green beans enter a ‘pre-treatment’ vessel where they are cleaned and moistened with water before being brought into contact with pressurised liquid carbon dioxide. When the green coffee beans absorb the water, they expand and the pores are opened resulting in the caffeine molecules becoming mobile.

After the water has been added, the beans are then brought into contact with the pressurised liquid carbon dioxide which combines with the water to essentially form sparkling water. The carbon dioxide circulates through the beans and acts like a magnet, drawing out the mobile caffeine molecules.

The sparkling water then enters an evaporator which precipitates the caffeine rich carbon dioxide out of the water. The now caffeine free water is pumped back into the vessel for a new cycle.

This cycle is repeated until the required residual caffeine level is reached. Once this has happened, the circulation of carbon dioxide is stopped and the green beans are discharged into a drier.

The decaffeinated coffee is then gently dried until it reaches its original moisture content, after which it is ready for roasting.

There are several benefits to using this process for decaffeination:

The agent used for extracting the caffeine is entirely natural and the process can be classified as ‘organic’ due to the complete lack of chemicals used throughout. There is also no health risk by consuming coffee that has been decaffeinated in this way.

The way the process works means the other compounds in the green bean are left untouched, meaning decaffeination has no effect on the flavour and aroma of the finished product. The carbon dioxide is very selective and doesn’t extract the carbohydrates and proteins in the green bean which contribute to flavour and smell.

The cell structure of the green bean and the finished roasted bean is unchanged which is of great advantage when working with speciality coffees.

The by-products are 100% natural and recyclable.

Details provided by Falcon Speciality