Merry & Bright - Christmas Blend 2023

Tis the season to be caffeinated, which can only mean one thing...our Christmas Blend is back! This Noël we've blended a bright natural from Burundi with our merry House Brazil. Businde brings a tart raspberry acidity to the Christmas table, whilst the Brazil cuddles up close with indulgent dark chocolate and roasted nuts.

Omni roasted, this blend is great both black and with milk. Sure to be a real crowd pleaser, we hope both your Nescafé-Drinking-Granny and your Coffee-Nerd-Cousin can enjoy a lovely mug of Christmas with us this year!

BUSINDE, BURUNDI - RAW MATERIAL

One of the fantastic partners we work with in Burundi is Zuberi Matsitsi, owner of Matraco Coffee. One of his stations, Businde, is located in the northern province of Kayanza, close to the Rwandan border. This is a station with a wide reach to local coffee farmers, processing the cherries of up to 1200 local farming families. As a washing station, it is important to consider the payment of workers who process the cherry as well as the price received by those who cultivated them. Businde’s producers received a premium that was 20% above the local market rate this season, by working with the station. 

As a station, Businde pays its staff almost 60% above the rate for casual labour in Burundi. To assist with the dispersing of coffee pulp, Matraco distributes this compost as fertiliser to help the farmers nearby. Alongside this, they assist with the yields of local farmers by donating seedlings to their farms. Higher profits accompanied by the potential of more cherries to sell. We are excited to share these coffees with you for their profile as much for the benefits they provide those who produced them. The station processes around 550 metric tons of cherry each year, dried across 126 raised beds. The station’s 6 full-time staff are managed by manager Floris Nahimana, with 120 seasonal staff hired during the peak season. 

SUL DE MINAS, BRAZIL - VOLCAFE

Sul de Minas is the southern part of Minas Gerais, the largest coffee-growing region in Brazil. Sul de Minas is mainly known for the production of speciality coffee. The region lies at an average altitude of 950 m and has a mild annual temperature of about 22 degrees Celsius. About 30 % of the country’s coffee is grown here, mostly on small farms of 10 to 100 hectares. The main varieties are Catuaí, Mundo Novo, Icatu, Obatã and Catuaí Rubi.

Established in 1956, Volcafe Brazil works with over 600 farmers, each with an average of 8 hectares of land producing 1.3 million bags of coffee per year. These farmers send their coffees to be warehoused to mitigate risk ahead of sending samples to the Volcafe Lab in Patrocinio. The lab in Patrocinio employs 5 Q-graders who receive the samples, evaluate them and purchase the lots from the farmers, the lots are then sent to the Volcafe warehouse situated in the heart of Sul de Minas, Varginha within 7 days of purchase. The warehouse sorts the lots by screen size and removes defects ahead of the coffee being prepared for export either to the dry port in Varginha or to the port in Santos. There’s a constant supply of coffee coming to the Varginha warehouse throughout the season which can store up to 80 thousand bags of coffee. These farmers are a part of Volcafe Way, a unique, responsible sourcing strategy focused on generating profitable sustainability to farmers, support on social and environmental challenges and a focus on data and best practices for measurable results that clients can monitor and verify.

To get the best from your coffee please take a look at our brew guides HERE