Naturally Trippy - Robusta
After selling out in 48h it's back!
Impressions: cane sugar, dried mango, lychee, almond flakes
Roast degree: light-medium (2/5)
Country: Ecuador
Province: Santa Elena
Region: San Rafael
Farm: Hacienda Legrand
Farmer: Denise Bustamente, aka ''the Queen of Robusta''
Altitude: 40 mass
Variety: EcuRobusta
Process: natural
This is our fourth year having robusta on the menu. Which is pretty crazy considering our industry wants nothing to do with this variety!
But this is our first time getting a limited lot, naturally processed and absolutely mind boggling robusta!
We like to introduce you to something different and unusual every chance we get.
We love to bring you this coffee because it represents something symbolic as well. With climate change affecting coffee farmers everywhere, we have to give robusta a chance because it does present some upsides for the farmers.
Compared to arabica, robusta is more disease resistant, grows at lower altitude (in this case ,a whopping 40masl!) and has better a yield per tree. These are all factors that could help farmers thrive.
How can robusta become tastier if we don't support the efforts of those dedicating their land to it?
Hacienda Legrand is part of a family-run agricultural company founded in Guayaquil more than 40 years ago. Dedicated to the production, investigation, commercialization, and exportation of various products, a big part of their history lies specifically within the genetic improvements of the Robusta species of Coffee.
The variety that they produce is called Ecurobusta, a polyclonal hybrid, developed and studied by them for more than 7 years, as part of a genetic improvement program in Ecuador.
Robusta require cross-pollination between different plants. Because of this, their investigation, developed on the Coast of Ecuador, consists of more than 30 criteria to select these clones, and they analyzed everything from productivity to organoleptic properties.
The results have been achieving scores higher than 80 points on an ARABICA tasting grid.
Denise Bustamente didn’t earn the name the “Queen of Robusta” by chance; her passion and dedication to this species is something special.
Ecurobusta was used for the first time in the National Barista Championships in 2019 and for the first time in the Brewers Cup Championships, where they received 1st Place!
We don't know how to say it differently so we will say it like it is: you aren't ready for this coffee! And you can't be ready. We for sure weren't!!
First of all, it's robusta. It roasts differently, looks differently, and for sure tastes different.
This natural lot is the most interesting robusta we ever tasted.
It feels like you are drinking the juice at the bottom of the fruit salad. It's tropical, think mango and lychee (and maybe 7 other fruits).
The sweetness is all about fresh cane sugar.
What is particular about it as well is that there is a hint of classic notes, something we don't get often in those experimental processes. We had almond flakes and deep brown sugar in the finish as well.
A truly unique coffee that is worth tasting, even if only once!
| Method | Dose | Ratio | Time |
| Espresso | 16-20 g | 2.1:1 | 28-32 sec |
| Espresso with milk | 16-20 g | 1.8:1 | 26-30 sec |
| Americano | 16-20 g | 2:1 | 26-30 sec |
|
V60/Origami |
18-32 g | 14:1 | 2:45-3:30 min |
|
Chemex & Batch Brew |
40-60 g | 14:1 | 4:45-5:30 min |
|
French Press |
18-25 g | 13:1 | 3:15 min steep time |
Farmer & exporter: Denise Bustamente
Farm: Hacienda Legrand
Importer: The Coffee Quest
Price we paid for the landed coffee at our roastery: 44CAD/kg
*Airfreight cost for second round of this naturally trippy 10$/kg
Farmgate (and FOB) price: 27CAD/kg
Since the farmer and exporter are the same in this scenario, it means that they control the price from farm all the way until the coffee is safely on board. This gives more power to farmers and we are all for it!
Breakdown of extra cost to explain the difference between price paid and FOB:
- In country transport and logistics: 1,20CAD/kg
- Financing and warehousing: 0,50CAD/kg
- Importer fees: 1CAD/kg
- Shipping form the USA + customs: 1,30CAD/kg