If you haven’t heard already, (where you been?) we’ve just released our first ever coffee from the incredible Cata Café Export. We launched the coffee, an anaerobic bourbon sidra produced by Nestor Lasso, at Slurp Club. Head Roaster, George, gives a run down on the evening:
Cat (one of the founders of Cata) was over from Colombia so we got her along to host the evening. It was another buzzing Slurp Club, with people coming from all over London to try Cat’s coffees. She split the blind cupping over two tables- one with more ‘classical’ Colombian flavour profiles, and the other showcasing experimental processing and rare varietals (guess which one our El Diviso was on ;) ). There was even a decaf that we were encouraged to try and find.
We have always been blown away with the quality, sweetness and clean tasting coffees at Cata and the ones on the table were no exception. There was good discussion over the ‘wilder’ tasting coffees, which often split opinion (none more so than in the wake of this year’s World Barista Championships).
Whilst some ‘big’ names in the coffee world seem to be ‘washed coffees or die’, Cata shows there is a place for meticulous, well controlled processing that doesn’t lead to over fermentation or undesirable flavours in the cup. A boozy, floral coffee may not be to everyone’s taste, but they certainly have a place in the coffee landscape.
Cat talked us through each coffee’s story, and it was great to hear about the personal relationships she has with the producers they buy coffee from. None more so than Nestor Lasso, who produced El Diviso. He is at the forefront of pioneering processing in Colombian, if not world, coffee, and hearing about his dedication and passion for producing great coffees was inspiring. It left me feeling very lucky that we’re able to roast some of his coffee at Wood St.
Cat explained that coffee farming in Colombia is very much a poor persons game, with little financial reward for gruelling work. Yet by experimenting with processing, Nestor is able to sell his coffee for more. With the help of Cata, producers are coming together and sharing knowledge. Their livelihoods are becoming more sustainable.
We’ve loved working with Cata on the El Diviso, and look forward to our partnership growing over the years.
You can buy El Diviso here.
