The Roaster
Garage Coffee are the hosts of the Kent coffee festival and are proudly based in Hoath, a village outside Canterbury. Initially starting roasting in their garage (hence the name) Luke and his team are still roasting in small batches of 12kg for the optimum quality. They also pride themselves on ensuring their coffee is fully traceable from Producer to bag. Check out Garage (and us too) at Kent Coffee Fest every November in Margate.
Coffee Name
The Maypole
The Coffee
This "Maypole" coffee comes two distinct regions. One of which being Uganda, and our coffee partners based in the Rwenzori Mountains in Western Uganda - Agri Evolve (who are really the most incredibleAgricultural innovation company - more on them below). The other part of the blend is from Finca Guadalupe Zaju, Mexico. This farmer occupies 310 hectares right on Chiapas, Mexico’s famed ‘Ruta de Cafe’. This ‘Route of Coffee’ rides along the Guatemalan border, north from the border town of Tapachula, through Mexico’s famed Soconusco region. The route flows past some of Mexico’s most famous farms – including the Fincas Hamburgo and Irlanda. This coffee has been expertly blended and roasted to make an exceptional espresso.
Origin:
Mexico & Uganda
Altitude:
900-2000 MASL
Process:
Washed
Tasting notes:
Peach, Dark Chocolate and Hazlenut
Why we like it
This blend has been really well put together, leaving a very well balanced coffee that makes the perfect Espresso or Espresso based drink.
More information the Ugandan Element of this coffee and Agri Evolve:
The Ugandan beans for this coffee is brought to Garage Coffee by Omwani coffee and Agri Evolve, and their longstanding efforts to support and uplift the Ugandan coffee market. Starting in 2016 Agri Evolve originally opened as a collection point for both Dried Ugandan Arabica (DRUGAR) and cherries. Typically drying cherries on tarpaulin in the sun. Sourcing this DRUGAR was considerably easier in the beginning than trying to purchase ripe cherries, it turns out old habits do die hard!
Following investment in processing equipment, demonstration farms and hiring experienced staff. The second-year harvest was a drastic improvement in terms of sourcing unprocessed ripe cherries.
After this first season, processing facilities improved considerably and new equipment introduced, including; a washer separator, mechanical dryers, Hulling machine and green-houses - all introduced to the station.
The interest in Agri Evolve grew amongst the farming community as they were seen as a stable, reliable place to sell coffee, consistently paying good prices and always paid on time, which - as basic as it is - made a huge difference for farmers.
By the end of the second season Agri Evolve was given some outstanding reviews from a Japanese importer who thought the African Moon coffee was fantastic and "full of potential", which in turn kickstarted the interest in sourcing and processing high-quality Rwenzori Coffee.
Over the course of the next 5-years Agri Evolve rapidly expanded to become the largest employer in the Kisinga Region bringing new economic stability and job opportunities to the community. This growth was driven by an ever-increasing reputation for high-quality coffee from the Rwenzori Mountains.
With a focus on staff empowerment and education, Jonny managed to build the team to over 50 skilled individuals sourcing and processing coffee from thousands of farmers across the Rwenzori mountains. The focus in recent years has shifted to building a new station in Bugoye.
Introducing Buying Centres in strategic locations across the Rwenzori has been one of the catalysts for growth. Creating a constant physical presence encourages farmers that Agri Evolve is going to be there come the harvest, The convenient locations for farmers also drastically reduce the effort required to travel to market
