We’re thrilled to bring you the newest addition to our Captain’s Reserve line-up from Africa and another journey into the land of Anaerobic fermentation! This is the Zambia Kateshi Estate RFA Anaerobic Natural.

About the Farm:

Kateshi Coffee Estate, as one of the first coffee estates in Zambia, was established in 1972 close to Kateshi village. Back then, its wet processing facilities represented the heart of coffee production in northern Zambia having been the central mill for all coffee produced in the region. It is also award-winning; its natural and honey placing both 1st and 2nd in Zambia's annual Taste of Harvest competition.

Local Community is at the heart of the estate's vision. Coffee exports in the area provides access to safe drinking water to over 20,000 locals and supports 3 schools that provide 1,500+ students with primary and secondary education. Also on site is a health clinic, the only such facility for 30km. Complete with a pharmacy and delivery room, the clinic provides free basic healthcare to over 4,000 community members and sees an average of 95 visitors per day.

Kateshi has been recognized for boldly challenging gender stereotypes in Zambia, being the first and only coffee estate to employ women for traditionally male-dominated roles such as driving tractors, bull-dozers and road graders.

About THE PROCESSING + Fermentation METHOD:

This Zambian coffee is a natural processed, anaerobic fermentation as well as “R.F.A” certified. Let’s break that down:

• Natural Process: Coffee is traditionally processed in three ways: washed, natural, and honey. Most specialty coffees are processed using the ‘washed’ method as it fully removes the bean (seed) from the coffee cherry which allows no additional sugars or flavors to be imparted on the bean in the drying phase - this helps produce a ‘clean’ cup and allows the consumer to only taste the varietal and the growing region and it’s conditions (soil, nutrients, climate, etc). The Natural process (also known as ‘dry process’) is a processing method where the coffee cherries are left in tact and set to dry in the sun - allowing the natural sugars and fruity flavors of the coffee cherry to soak into the bean. This helps produce noticeably fruity or “pulpy” flavors, usually described as “winey” - but it can also have strong nutty or chocolate characteristics, and usually has a heavier or more viscous body compared to a washed coffee.

• Anaerobic Fermentation: Once the coffee cherries have been harvested, sorted and dried—they are placed in airtight, steel tanks to ferment. Once the coffee enters the steel chamber, it’s kept here anywhere between 40-60 hours, with the intent to remove all oxygen from its tank. When oxygen is introduced to a coffee, it can age the coffee, speeding up the fermentation timeline. Conversely, when oxygen is removed, the coffee is allowed to ferment slowly. It’s given space and time to develop a more complex flavor profile, resulting in a punchy explosion of fruity flavors. Though in order to remove the oxygen from these massive steel tanks, something new must be introduced. This something else is Co2, and when pumped into the tanks, it presses the oxygen up and out.

• Rain Forest Alliance Certified (R.F.A.): RFA certified coffees are grown on farms that specifically go out of their way not to harm the forests and ecosystems around them. Many R.F.A. coffees are grown in places with incredible biodiversity, near plants and animals that exist nowhere else on Earth except for right where they are.

Tasting Notes:

Once again helping us prove that Africa includes many great coffee producing countries outside of Ethiopia; this Zambian coffee provides your cup with a medium bodied, smooth brew whose mouthfeel reminds us of yogurt with blueberry acidity. We tasted tropical fruit, milk chocolate, cherries, blueberries, and Greek yogurt.

Please Note:

This coffee is a premium offering and, as a result, comes in an 8 ounce bag. Due to it’s limited availability we cannot offer it in a larger bag size.