Origin Bulletin: September

As of 1st July 2024, we made the switch from compostable to recyclable coffee bags. This could be considered a controversial decision by some, and while compostable plastics sound like the perfect solution to the problem of single-use packaging, the infrastructure for such is still in its infancy. This means there are very few processing facilities in the UK equipped to handle compostable plastics, with next to non-available to the public.

From the outset of our journey 20 years ago, we’ve worked with the mindset to make conscious, considered choices that reduce the overall impact of our products; every decision made is with sustainability in mind. We decided to make the switch after finding out that the valve, an essential component of the coffee bag was proving too thick to home compost. With the required industrial composting facilities scarce, we didn’t feel it was right to distribute packaging that would be so difficult and complicated to dispose of, and risk them ending up in landfill.

This month we’ve put together a couple of activities you can try as a starting point to exploring and training your palate, a key skill mastered by our coffee and roasting teams to ensure that they can accurately identify positive qualities and defects in coffee.

Smell is an essential part of tasting coffee, and here’s an activity to prove it –   

• Get a bag of skittles or sweets.   
• Pinch your nose before putting the sweet into your mouth   
• Chew the sweet whilst holding your nose and think about what flavours and tastes you’re experiencing.   
• Un-pinch your nose and chew again, has your perception changed? What can you taste now?   

• Buy a variety of the same fruit, for example different types of apples. (Granny Smith, Galas, Pink Ladies, etc).
• Cut into slices and smell the flesh and skin of each apple. Think about what they smell like, and what you would assume the taste to be based on aroma alone.
• Bite into the apple and think about the texture, is it crunchy, chalky, soft, hard, juicy? If it was a shape, what would it be? Round, sharp, pointy?
• Eat slowly, noting down any familiar flavours, if they remind you of any similar foods or memories.
• Put them in order of acidity, sweetness and bitterness, and if you found any unpleasant or especially delicious.

Origin has enjoyed a Direct Trade relationship with Carlos Pola and his team since 2014. Carlos is renowned for experimental processing, and is dedicated to paying a great deal of consideration to every aspect of coffee production. We’ve been fortunate enough to work together on some incredible experimental methods over the years. For example, the cold fermentation, which involved picking ripe Pacamara cherries from their San Antonio farm and freezing them immediately for twenty-four hours. Cherries were then naturally dried for 17 days. The resulting coffee had bold sweetness and clarity, with flavours of raspberry and grapefruit – and featured in a winning recipe for Origin barista Dan Fellows at the Coffee in Good Spirits competition a few years back.

The meticulous level of detail can also be seen right down to the surfaces the coffee cherries are dried upon. Carlos has been experimenting with taking one of the most traditional methods of drying coffee, African raised beds, and integrating it with new technologies to enhance the drying process. These prototype beds have seen the addition of solar powered fans for enhanced control over drying and moreover, a combination of thermal cameras and hygrometers to measure the level of water vapour in the air, ultimately generating a comprehensive report of the drying curve.

This month we spoke with Oscar Escalante, the Head of QC for Carlos Pola’s farms, to ask him about his perspectives on processing, and what they've been working on.

Q: What’s your favourite processing method?

A: If we talk about what I personally like the most, it would be the honey process. I like the consistency, cleanliness also in my opinion, those delicate flavours are more complex to understand. And basically, it is a coffee that I could drink without getting bored.

Q: How do you seek out the calibration with your clients and trends?

A: I constantly seek to be at the highest level of calibration with our clients. Not only at the cupping level, but also in understanding their needs with respect to their customers, demand, trends, etc. We achieve this through visits to clients, group cuppings, analysis of their roasting curves, the preferences of their clients in their coffee shops, which wouldn’t be possible through a middle man. Oscar also shared with us two experimental processes they’ve been working on; Yeast inoculated: an anaerobic fermentation method using yeast strains that are treated to be compatible with those within coffee. These yeast strains interact with the sugars in the mucilage, creating a unique environment that enhances and sharpens flavours. Hydronatural: this process starts with an oxidation/dehydration process of the coffee cherry whilst it is under shade for 120 hours. It is then rehydrated in clean water and dried on an African bed for 25-30 days. Origin will be launching this coffee at Christmas.

Click here to read more on our relationship with Carlos Pola, and the exceptional coffees we source from him year after year.