Blend
Tasting Notes
Caramel, Summer Fruits, Clementine
What’s the story?
It’s back!!
We’ve hit a few obstacles putting version 8 of Highroad together, but we’ve made it. It’s giving easy fruit sweetness and smiles (we gotcha GenZ)
New season coffees landing in March finally gave us some suitable options to work through, and after much cupping, trial roasting and espresso shot pulling, we’ve nailed it.
Fruit notes of clementine, redcurrant, lemon and banana, on a bed of caramel and buttery brioche. Through milk those flavours turn to banoffee, custard, brioche, caramel, dried mango and vanilla
Blending two components in Highroad lets us roast a base of sweetness that can be developed for ease of extraction and consistency, then allowing fruit forward flavours to be highlighted in creating a super silky and satisfying espresso.
The base component is from the 5 hectare farm of Samuel Tunisisa in the beautiful Bona Zuria Woreda, right in the heart of Sidama Ethiopia.
Grown at an extraordinary altitude of 2380 metres above sea level this natural process has a beautifully balanced profile of strawberry, ripe tropical fruit, and citrus, complemented by a lingering milk chocolate finish.
Samuel Tunisisa embraces the principles of regenerative farming. Using agroforestry techniques, he cultivates both food and cash crops, creating a diverse and thriving ecosystem. The natural shade from intercropped plants fosters an ideal microclimate for his coffee trees. He grows a mixture of local landrace varieties—historically referred to as Ethiopian heirloom—ensuring genetic diversity and resilience. This holistic approach not only enriches the soil but also enhances biodiversity, benefiting the entire farm.
By cultivating shade-grown coffee and producing his own compost, Samuel eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers, ensuring a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to farming.
Samuel and his family carefully handpick only the ripest, red cherry. Cherries are sorted and then dried on raised beds, turning them frequently to ensure even drying. This meticulous process takes approximately 25 to 28 days, preserving the coffee’s vibrant flavors and complexity.
It’s a phenomenal ingredient: a natural process from the very heart of Sidama and we were sooo happy to find that the smooth milk chocolate and balanced citrus flavours pair beautifully with the more extravagantly fruity yeast inoculated washed coffee from Quebraditas in Colombia.
It’s the best of coffee’s history combined with the innovation driving its future. You can find out more about that coffee here.
