Laos - Kinoy (Espresso)

LAOS - KINOY Espresso Roast ___________________________ A BIT ABOUT THIS COFFEE Kinoy lives in Houay Way Village, a small, remote community tucked away in the Bolaven Plateau and home to a number of smallholder farmers. Here, Kinoy grows Yellow Caturra, Typica and Catimor on the outskirts of the village. Sitting at the foot of an extinct volcano, the area benefits from rich volcanic soils, producing coffees with a distinct sugary sweetness. ___________________________ WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT Smooth, sweet and easy-drinking, this is the kind of coffee you'll happily reach for every day. Expect notes of sugar cookie with hints of caramel and chocolate, balanced by a pleasant stone fruit acidity. It also makes a fantastic cold brew. ___________________________ HOW TO BREW 20g dose 47g yield 25-27 seconds ___________________________ THE STORY Yellow-fruited varieties such as this Caturra are a natural mutation, giving the cherries a beautiful golden-yellow colour as they ripen. Not only do they look beautiful, but they also develop a slightly different flavour profile that is highly sought after. Yellow Caturra (along with Yellow Catuai and Yellow Bourbon) can be found in certain villages across the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos. In some areas these varieties thrive, while in others they require a little more care and management compared with other cultivars. Kinoy lives in Houay Way Village, a small, remote community tucked away in the Bolaven Plateau and home to a number of smallholder farmers. Here, Kinoy grows Yellow Caturra, Typica and Catimor on the outskirts of the village. Sitting at the foot of an extinct volcano, the area benefits from rich volcanic soils, producing coffees with a distinct sugary sweetness. Although we have been buying coffee from Kinoy for a few years now, most of his lovely coffee has been destined for our Village Blend. This year, we are happy to set aside one of his crowd-pleasing microlots and share it as a single producer release. We meet with each of our farming partners before, during and after harvest. Agreements are made based on how much they can and want to produce, as well as our quality requirements. In most cases, we buy everything produced by each family at a price set by them, aligning as closely as we can with our volume requirements. We purchase coffee from each farmer as parchment—meaning it has gone through wet processing and drying, but not dry processing—so once collected, we personally handle the milling, sorting, grading, bagging and export to Australia. This means farmers do not have to worry about dry milling and the complexities associated with export. By setting their own parchment price, farmers can better account for their total costs. It is considerably more work and involvement for us, but it is a model we are proud to say is the most mutually beneficial approach we have found here.