Raising the standard of coffee!

Sea Island’s Hawaii Kona Greenwell Estate coffee is grown on just 60 hectares of the most productive land in the Hawaiian district of Kona. The mineral-rich volcanic soil and gentle climate of the Kona district impart their own characteristics, in a similar way to the "terroir" aspects of wine. Therefore, a combination of soil, climate and altitude will affect the quality of the beans and resultant flavour of the coffee. Moreover, the base of porous rock provides excellent water retention and drainage ability and together with the combination of morning sunshine and afternoon showers, this makes the Kona region an excellent area for growing coffee.

The nose offers a fragrant, fruity and spicy aroma with gentle hints of cloves, cinnamon, redcurrants, tobacco and vanilla. On the palate, there are notes of grapes, white pepper and spice with a refined smooth finish ironing out the light acidity. Hints of tropical fruit also appear on the finish. I found this coffee worked best as an espresso, when the complex notes really came to the fore.

The success of events, such as Caffè Culture and the London Coffee Festival are testament to consumers’ growing interest in quality coffee. Key to this trend is the variety on offer and the two beautiful, yet contrasting and differently-priced products featured here are good examples of styles which will appeal to many coffee lovers.

In the coffee trade, the name 'Bourbon' has come to be associated with a variety of coffee plant originating in Yemen which spread into South America via the French Caribbean. Louis XV already had some flourishing in his greenhouse at Versailles. He was particularly passionate about them, tending to them personally, and harvesting, processing, roasting, and brewing them himself. He had Madame du Barry portrayed as a Sultana, coffee cup in hand.

The plants found on St Helena are 'Bourbon' and these, as we know, were directly imported from Yemen.

Given the early involvement of the English in the coffee trade in the Arabian Sea, it might seem surprising that the East India Company was relatively slow off the mark when it came to establishing its own colonial plantations. However, St Helena was, in effect, its only secure colony with the appropriate growing conditions for coffee, and, unlike the Dutch Java and the French Ile de Bourbon, its size dictated that there would be no possibility of large scale cultivation of coffee.

Employing subterfuge, as the Yemenis at the time had prohibited the export of seedlings, an English agent, following in the equally clandestine steps of the French, finally secured some coffee trees for St.Helena in 1733.

Shortly after his arrival, Hanys advised Dickinson that there might be a good opportunity to buy cheaply during the coming 'Hodge'  (Haj) feast, when there would be no competition from the Muslim merchants, and indeed he and 'the French Second' would have the field to themselves. Although they occasionally colluded, by and large the French merchants were seen as unwelcome competitors, and any fresh intelligence concerning the whereabouts of French ships bound for Mocha was covertly circulated.

It was during the enlightened rule of Governor Byfield that the idea of coffee cultivation was first mooted. He wrote to the Court of Directors in London: 'We believe that coffee would grow well here ... we remember that there was once a coffee tree which grew very well in the worst part of the country.'  This mystery coffee tree had never been previously recorded, and its mention may have been simply part of Hyfield's general strategy to get the support of the Company to encourage the island's agriculture; his possible white lie certainly had the desired effect, for the Directors responded to his report by ordering the procurement of seeds from Mocha.

It was his successor, Isaac Pyke (who had already served as Governor, and was heartily detested), who witnessed the arrival of the first coffee plants on the island. The Houghton, out of Mocha, arrived at St Helena on 10 February 1733. The Council Proceedings noted: 'The Super Cargoes told us that they could not get us any Coffee plants but brought us a good quantity of the berries for seed which we will plant as fast as the season will permit us.' Remarkably, after all the trouble that had been taken to procure the seeds, coffee disappears off the record until shortly before Napoleon's exile to the island. Despite Byfield's suggestion, there seems to have been no concerted effort to cultivate coffee as a cash crop. This may, have been because coffee can quite happily, if erratically, grow in the wild, which nicely coincided with the St Helenian farmer's natural temperament. In contrast to the success of the Dutch and the French in Java and Reunion, the East India Company's introduction of coffee to St Helena was a damp squib. It was not until 1814 that coffee plants were spotted at Bamboo Grove in Sandy Nay on the south side of the island by the distinguished botanist, William Roxburgh, formerly superintendent of the Company's Botanical Gardens in Calcutta: 'some of the finest coffee trees I ever saw ... in every stage from the blossom to the ripe berry'.

Coffee was not the only crop that had been brought to the island. Captain Bligh, late of the infamous Bounty, called by in 1792 with some Tahitian visitors on his way back from the South Seas, leaving ten breadfruit plants from the supplies that he was 'taking to Jamaica as well as seeds of mountain rice and sago.’ The Council wrote to him before he left, describing 'the inexpressible degree of wonder and delight to contemplate a floating garden transported in luxuriance from one extremity of the world to the other'. Bligh's visit took place at the start in earnest of the era of worldwide economic botany, promoted chiefly by Sir Joseph Banks, an adviser to the East India Company.

St Helena's own botanical garden was but one of many such spread strategically around the burgeoning British Empire. The aim was scientific to the extent that research into plants and the ability to adapt to strange environments was partly scientific; but the underlying raison d'etre was to encourage the growth of potentially valuable crops in British territories.  Coffee was amongst the earliest plants to be treated thus, and everything from cinchona (the plant from which quinine is derived) to tea was to be evaluated for its potential commercial benefits. The process of globalizing the regional produce of a particular area was an essential tool of the Company's, and later the Empire's  economic dominance.

To purchase Antony Wild’s book which details St Helena Coffee, ‘Coffee:  A Dark History’, please visit Amazon.

So, we are delighted to hear that Noma voted the best restaurant in the world, has launched a new coffee program with a world champion barista who uses a Japanese drip system to produce a brew that looks like red wine and smells of red berries.

The Copenhagen restaurant, named the best in the world for three years running by Restaurant magazine, said “ after months of planning and preparations,” the eatery has started to offer a special coffee menu which uses a special blend of lightly roasted coffee developed by world champion barista Tim Wendelboe of Norway.

Coffee is brewed through a V60 System, designed by Japanese company Hario, a manual ceramic dripper which optimizes extraction by filtering the coffee through a brewing cone and into the cup.

Coffee is also served in custom-made glassware, designed by a local Dutch glass blower to enhance the flavor experience.

Regretfully, the UK market is dominated by by instant coffee at around 75% of coffee consumption, but this is declining. It is failing to resonate with young 25-34-year-old adults in the same way as better-quality alternatives such as ground coffee and coffee pods.  Fresh ground coffee accounted for about 18% of total in-home coffee value sales. Coffee pods account for 5%, but this is rising quickly as a result of brands like Nespresso.

However, we often get feedback that Nespresso begun our customer’s interest in coffee, but they eventually got bored of its uniform flavour and came to Sea Island Coffee as a result. Very often, Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is what these ex-Nespresso users try first and then get converted to Sea Island Coffee’s high quality single origin coffees.

And that leads us to Sea Island Coffee. Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee continues to be our number one favourite coffee. We believe the reason why the public enjoys it so much is that it is so balanced and smooth. It has a little bit of everything and the after-taste stays on the palate like a fine wine or cognac. It also makes a great present as the quintessential luxury rare coffee. As a result, it has contributed to Sea Island Coffee's best year ever in 2012. We continue to expand our range of rare and exotic coffees and we are very lucky to have many loyal customers who share the same passion as us.

The price of coffee beans has risen considerably since 2005 as the populations of wealthy developing economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China develop a taste for coffee. Prices were particularly high in 2009 causing retail sales prices to rise sharply. From 2010 to 2012, commodity prices rose exponentially again, but have since fallen considerably. In any case, there is increasing demand for better-quality coffee, particularly among the younger generation. One only needs to visit events like Caffe Culture, the SCAE World of Coffee and the London Coffee Festival to see how the coffee world has changed and that is great news indeed.

However, years of cheap coffee prices mean that the majority of UK consumers still view it as a commoditised product. Also, with the financial crisis continuing to bite, massive growth is still unlikely. That said, many people are staying at home more and want to enjoy higher quality coffees, like Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, as a little affordable luxury, so we can live and hope for some good news for the UK coffee market in 2013.

Still, the UK coffee market has changed so dramatically in the past ten years. It is now a beacon of high quality coffee in Europe, along with our Northern European neighbours in Benelux, Germany and Scandinavia. The UK "third wave" coffee sector is also forming alliances with other enthusiasts across the world. The Speciality Coffee Association of Europe annual trade show grows every year and the World Barista Championship is staggeringly large and well attended. There are so many young, micro-roasters starting up and spreading the word about good, freshly roasted coffee. That said, they are not very influential in the scheme of things. They are great talking points for the coffee press, but their market share is still quite small and niche, but very encouraging for the future of the vibrant UK coffee market.

It was a great success for both companies and the hard work is ahead: following up leads, sending out samples and making things happen. It was a four day show and quite exhausting, but well worth it.

WHAT’S IN THE COFFEE POT? GEISHA COSTA RICAN COFFEE

Introducing: Geisha Coffee

by LO on Mar 18, 2013 • 11:03 amNo Comments

Overall: 93% | Taste: 9 | Aroma: 8 | Value: 3 | Packaging: 9

Today I am reviewing Hawaii Kona – it sounds exotic, but how did it do?

I’ll start by saying it’s packaging is great, as are all sea island coffees. The aroma is really nice and gives a hint as to how nice this brew should taste.

The taste really is quite exotic! It has a nice sweetens to it and a huge kick of subtle character. plenty of different flavors and I think this might have made it’s way into my top 10.

I have tried hundreds of coffees in the past, and it has been extremely rare for a coffee to tick all the boxes but this one almost has.

Definitely recommend you try it from Sea Island Coffee!

1)   Daily Shot of Coffee Blog

This Geisha greeted me with a rich, sweet and spicy aroma. The kind of aroma that told me that this was a coffee to enjoy and experience. There hints varied from woody to melons to a mix of sugar and spices.

The coffee was smooth, with a thin body but was full of flavor and acidity.

A sweet syrup flavor flowed over my tasted buds, followed by a spicy, nutty flavor in back. There were hints of honey. It didn’t have the most flavors or hints, but the way everything worked together it was one of the most delicious sips that I’ve had in a while.

A half pound of Sea Island Coffee’s Geisha is £12.98 or about $20. It’s not cheap, but I have seen this variety fetching higher prices so if you want to try a Geisha, this is one to check out.

2)   Beans Ahoy Coffee Blog

Typically Geisha. Strong tones of honeysuckle, and lavender, with that element of “Geisha-ness”, that full mouth taste and aroma. After taste is a little short, and the flavours don’t quite develop in the mouth as much as some other Geishas. The taste profile remains static through the mouthful. These elements don’t really change as the cup cools, but they do intensify. A great cup and well worth it. Deficiencies will not change your enjoyment of this coffee. 9.2/10.0

3)   Pure Coffee Blog

Subject: Sea Island Coffee

Mugged: Geisha, Costa Rica

Rating: 4/5

One such variety that has gotten an excessive amount of publicity is the geisha variety, primarily for the hefty price it fetched in some Cup of Excellence auctions. Having had the pleasure of sampling some that fabled expensive coffee, I was impressed with it then and since, I've welcomed opportunities to try similar varieties. My most recent encounter with a geisha is from Sea Island Coffee with their Geisha, Costa Rica, the second of the two coffees sent out for review. I sampled it via drip, french press and siphon.

The drip relayed notes of honey graham cracker, wheat, strawberry, a bit of cocoa, anise and some peppercorn amidst a medium body. A delicious coffee though the peppercorn proved not an attractive facet. The french press issued a brew with more graham cracker and wheat, strawberry and a little peppercorn and cocoa within a medium body. Also good minus peppercorn. The siphon was my favorite of this coffee, demonstrating notes of honey, a bit of nuttiness, strawberry, cocoa and hay.

Encapsulated, I can't say I'd pay as high a price as the CoE geishas fetched, but Sea Island still roasts a goodgeisha. Especially if you're on the right side of the Atlantic, give Sea Island's Costa Rica Geisha a swirl.

4)   Snob Coffery Blog

“OH MY GOD IT SMELLS LIKE EVERYTHING!” That’s literally the first thing I think when smelling this cup. Cocoa, cinnamon, lemon/lime, all of these scents come flowing out of the cup. The next time I picked up pomegranate, vanilla, and some light brown sugar or caramelly sweetness. It smells awesome.

I take a sip. It’s so crisp and clean. It’s a little oaky with a clear cherry flavor. A little bit of cocoa sweetness complements nicely and creates a very balanced cup. There’s an acidity that reminds me of golden delicious apples, and it finishes just like it started: crisp and clean.

OQ Coffee say:

Flavor: floral, lavendar, tea. Body: smooth, round, delicate. Acidity: vibrant, crisp, citrus. Finish: jasmine, elegant, bright, medium.

Geshas have a bit of a reputation nowadays. And frankly, I’m a little burned out on that rep. I’ve had some really amazing Geshas. But I’ve also had some that were just good. I find it both very interesting and a bit refreshing that OQ has decided not to plaster GESHA all over the front of the bag. Instead, the varietal is listed in plain terms on the bag, drawing more attention to the farm that produced it – Coffea Diversa written in large print all up in your face. It may seem subtle, but I find that it really does bring your interest to the farm rather than the varietal, and this carries through to tasting. You tend to think of this in simple “just coffee” terms, helping to prevent a subconscious tendency to enjoy it knowing it’s a Gesha. At the very least, I admire and appreciate that it’s been packaged in such a way, whether or not it actually worked on me.

5)   Coffee Judge Blog

Both times we've made this, it's foamed up in the pot to the point where you could shave with it. But over the 3.5 minutes stewing the foam totally disappears and when it's poured it's completely flat and, let's face it, unappetising. But don't let it's bland appearance fool you this is a really well flavoured cup - from the first initial sip through to the lingering aftertaste. Even when it's gone, you still feel like you're drinking it. And enjoying it. When I started this one I tried not to think of the cost and vowed not to mention it. I've failed again - it's 13 quid a pack. Would have been an 8, but drops one for cost to a 7/10.