Zingerman's Coffee Company

Ethiopia Guji

Ethiopia is one of the most distinctive and fascinating coffee growing regions of the world. Industry veteran Kenneth Davids has called it “A feast for aficionados.”

There is a stunning amount of flavor variety found in coffees from Ethiopia. Various combinations of plant genetics, micro-climate, and processing methods produce cup profiles that range from citrusy, floral, bright, and elegant, to rustic, spicy, and deeply fruity.

This coffee from the Guji area is a fully washed lot from the Birbirsa Cooperative.

We found it to be an overall wonderfully balanced cup. Notes of blueberry and milk chocolate hit us first, and the coffee finishes with a subtle, sweet citrus brightness.

Uganda Rwenzori Natural

This delicious, unique coffee came down from the Mountains of the Moon, the glacier-capped Rwenzori range stretching between Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the western Ugandan border. The snow-capped peaks and the glaciers produce many rivers. High altitude, fertile soils and plentiful rainfall provide ideal conditions for growing speciality coffee. Rwenzori Arabica is grown under the shade of banana trees.

Known as “drugar” – which stands for Dried Ugandan Arabica – these beans are Uganda’s version of natural process coffee. The processing method for this coffee is unique as well. The coffee cherries are collected as daily lots, handpicked, and then floated before set out to dry on mesh racks housed in a greenhouse where they are turned, leveled and checked daily over a 18-20 day drying period. This specialty treatment is very new to the region – less than 1% of coffee originating from the Rwenzoris will be processed in this way.

This coffee is fruity (think peach, nectarine) and bright with a rich, syrupy body.

Burundi Kibingo Natural

The Kibingo washing station is in the commune of Kayanza in northern Burundi. The station itself sits 1893 meters above sea level. The altitude of the farms in the neighboring hills that supply the washing station varies from 1700 to 1900 meters above sea level.

Kibingo serves 1739 registered coffee growers spread over 18 hills in the area. The producers here are organized in groups of 30 people, headed by a farm leader. This leader acts as a spokesperson to facilitate communication and organization with the washing station. The washing station is equipped with ten fermentation tanks, two soaking tanks and a drying field with four pre drying tables and 165 drying tables. Kibingo can process 1.5 million pounds of cherry per day!

Despite the ubiquity of coffee growing in Burundi, each smallholder produces a relatively small harvest. The average farmer has approximately 250 trees, normally in their backyards. Each tree yields an average of just over three pounds of cherry so the average producer sells about 400 to 650 pounds of cherry annually.

At the washing station, farmers can obtain organic fertilizer from composted coffee pulp. To promote farm renovation, producers can get low-cost, subsidized coffee seedlings at the washing station. Each station has its own nursery for this purpose. The washing station participates in a number of farmer outreach and support projects including a livestock rearing project and a range of Farmer Hub projects centered on strengthening cooperatives and improving yields.

Costa Rica Hacienda Miramonte Natural

We are excited to introduce a single-estate, natural process coffee from Costa Rica’s Hacienda Miramonte. Most beans from Costa Rica are processed using a “washed” method that uses water to remove the coffee fruit from the bean inside. Our lot is naturally processed coffee, meaning the beans were dried out with the fruit still attached. These coffees are known for having amazing sweetness and a rich, velvety body. We found this coffee to be wonderfully balanced and caramelly with honey-like sweetness.

Reserved exclusively for Zingerman’s Coffee Company, our lot is the result of many years of collaboration between Zingerman’s Coffee Company and the farm. Managing Partner Steve Mangigian works closely with the folks at the farm to bring this coffee to market and oversees processing, milling, and final sorting.

Hacienda Miramonte was started in 1917 by the matriarch of the Gurdian family, Lucila Duval de Morales, and is now operated by her great-grandson Ricardo. Generation after generation, the Gurdians have reaffirmed their commitment to growing quality coffee while serving as stewards of the environment and their local community. This is the fifth season we have worked with the Gurdians and we are proud to be their partners.

Costa Rica Hacienda Miramonte Honey

We are excited to introduce a single-estate honey process coffee from Costa Rica’s Hacienda Miramonte. Reserved exclusively for Zingerman’s Coffee Company, this lot is the result of many years of collaboration between Zingerman’s Coffee Company and the farm. Managing Partner Steve Mangigian works closely with the folks at the farm to bring this coffee to market and oversees processing, milling, and final sorting.

This lot is a pulped-natural or miel (“honey”) processed coffee — meaning that after harvest, some sticky fruit (often called mucilage) is left on the bean while it dries. Honey-process coffees are known for having beautiful complexity and good natural sweetness. We think this year’s harvest has a nice caramelly character with a soft citrus brightness that makes every sip dance on your tongue.

Tree Town Blend

This time of year in Ann Arbor, the leaves of the trees change to show beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. We were inspired to create a coffee blend that sparkles with complexity and an ever-changing panorama of flavor. This coffee is a blend of beans from Brazil, Guatemala, and Burundi, thoughtfully combined to bring out Fall flavors. Tasting notes: caramel, stone fruit, and cocoa. Complex and juicy!

Guatemala

This coffee comes to us from small producers near Huehuetenango, located in Northwest Guatemala – the last stop on the Pan American Highway before the border with Mexico. The region’s high elevations and warm winds create an ideal environment for growing specialty coffee beans.

This coffee is a true crowd pleaser. It has a balanced, crisp profile with unmistakable notes of milk chocolate. Its silky smooth texture makes it an enjoyable sip any time of day.

Cold Brew Blend

Our Cold Brew Blend includes carefully sourced coffees from our friends at the Daterra Estate in Brazil as well as coffee from the Apo and Angra coffee cooperative in Papua New Guinea. We believe these are some of the finest coffees the world has to offer! Both coffees stand on their own as outstanding single origin coffees, and make for terrific hot brewed coffee. We use these beans for our cold brew because of the body, finish, and flavor they bring to the final product. Cold brewing produces an exceptionally sweet brew with a rich body and virtually no acidity.

Mexico Chiapas

This lot is traceable to 877 small producers near the town of La Concordia in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Formed on November 18th, 2015, this group was formed to get around the many intermediaries that separated these central Chiapas farmers from national markets. They organized quickly, getting 925 hectares under cultivation and certification as Fair-Trade Organic.

Seventy percent of Mexico’s crop comes from larger estates, concentrated around Veracruz, with the remaining thirty percent coming from 2 million small – holders, spread around the country but mostly

in the Southern States of Chiapas and Oaxaca.

This coffee has the kind of balanced and clean profile that we love in Mexican coffee. Along with a lighter body, we tasted hints of citrus and an herbal note that gave the cup a nice complexity while still being super approachable. It’s the kind of coffee you can drink cup after cup, day after day.

Papua New Guinea Apo & Angra Cooperatives

About 85% of coffee from Papua New Guinea is grown by smallholder farmers whose plots are scattered over demanding and sometimes treacherous terrain. Most smallholders grow around 1,700 trees, but some grow as few as 20 along with a number of other crops. Sourcing a substantial volume of coffee from these smallholders in remote areas can be difficult.

That’s why we were thrilled to find this selection from the Apo and Angra Cooperatives. Last year, this coffee was imported as a blend from three cooperatives. This year, volume from the cooperatives increased, and it could be imported as a blend of two. As the individual cooperatives grow, more separations can be made — further bringing into focus the distinctive characteristics each has to offer.