Sourced from:
Brazil - Andre Sanchez Estate + Colombia - San Lorenzo

Tastes like:
Dark Chocolate / Dried Fruit / Nougat

Suitable for:
All Espresso and Filter incl those who like it milky

Roast:
Espresso

Did we mention? We’re from Walthamstow. And there’s a little bit (OK, a lot) of our home in everything we do. With that in mind, it makes sense that we’d put a bit of home in our hero coffee. Meet our Forest Blend – named after London’s best borough, Waltham Forest.

To make this signature specialty brew, we seasonally source top grade beans and roast them with a little Walthamstow love, to create a coffee that works any way, with milk or without. Tasting notes, quality and consistency remain the same, meaning a cup of Forest Blend always tastes like a warm welcome home.

More Info from the farm:

Location: Brazil - Andre Sanchez Estate

Altitude: 9720-1200 MASL

Process: Natural

Variety: Catuai + Mundo Novo

Located in the in the unique volcanic terroir of Poços de Caldas, the Andre Sanchez Estate farms is perfectly situated to grow coffee in this mountainous region with altitudes ranging from 970 – 1250 masl. The farm sits on the periphery of the volcanic caldera (large old crater) which has a diameter of 31km and has a terroir and climate suited for producing specialty coffee with distinct profiles.

Andre Sanchez first came to the region in 1968 from Mogiana with a knowledge in crop production and acquired an abandoned coffee plantation named Boa Vista and set about in the renovation and rejuvenation of the farm. Now the Estate is managed and run by his grandsons André and João Paulo wo set up Volcano Origin Coffee to help promote the unique coffees from this region. The Estate is set over 250 Ha steep terroir where 400 people work and rely on the estate for an income. On the estate there is also a health centre, school & community school. Along with the rich knowledge of coffee production there is also a strong social and environmental awareness within the family.

During Harvest the coffee is manually collected when the cherry reaches maturation. Once picked, the coffee is then laid out on patio’s and turned regularly until the coffee is dried down to 11%. The process lasts usually between 10 – 14 days. Once dried, it is then stored in wooden hoppers for 20 days to rest and equalise before being hulled and bagged ready for shipment

Location: Colombia - San Lorenzo

Altitude: 1600-2200 MASL

Process: Washed

Variety: Caturra, Castillo, Colombia

This producer group is part of the Cooperativa de Caficultores de Alto Occidente de Caldas which was established in 1964. The San Lorenzo indigenous group are based in the Rio Sucio municipality of Caldas where there are 11,500 inhabitants with 1,150 farmers producing coffee within 21 communities. Until recently, this region was heavily inhabited by the FARC, ELN, Paramilitary groups and guerrillas, who looked to control this central corridor in Colombia. This region has not been known for specialty production but as the local tensions ease and access has improved, it is now possible to demonstrate the quality of the coffees available.

The indigenous inhabitants believe in the Pacha Mama, where they see the land as a living being. To them it is their duty to protect the natural environment and have as little impact as possible from their farming of coffee and to leave it as it has always been. Each farmer has approximately 0.5 hectares of land in which they have about 2500 coffee trees. In this lot there is in total 179 producers coffee, who have each delivered small amounts of parchment that has been assessed and categorised as specialty coffee. There is good recording of each farmer contributions and receipts, giving full traceability about the construction of this lot.

During the harvest season, families will work with their neighbours to select ripe cherry before depulping in micro-beneficios where they will then de-pulp and ferment the coffee in water for 16 -24 hours, depending on the weather. The coffee is then washed and put out to dry on small drying patios on the roofs of the houses it for between 8 – 14 days. They then deliver it to the Cooperative where, it is assessed and categorised, allowed to rest and then milled for shipment.