Guiben Washed
Impressions: almond, rosehip, apricot, caramel, cherry, slightly tropical (coconut, lychee)
Roast degree: 2.5/5
Country: China
Region: Guiben (autonomous prefecture of Xishuangbanna)
Variety: catimor
Process: washed
One of the best relationships we have at origin, the one with Yunnan Coffee traders and the Guiben farmers, just got deeper this year.
The Guiben farm is the only one we bought from in Yunnan this year, and we are the first ones to be able to offer their washed coffee internationally.
Indo China coffee was kind enough to arrange this for us, and we are very grateful because we can now offer all 3 processes this year as we have some honey and naturally processed coffees on the way!
TianCai, the farm manager in Guiben and overall genius behind the processing, aims to connect with buyers that share the same values as the farmer group, which is to develop long term commitment at fair prices. We have no plans to go anywhere and will keep buying their coffees for as long as possible.
Mutual respect is key to build trust, and that is what we have been building by working closely together for the last 4 years.
Guiben is a small farming community. Coffee is getting more and more popular in China, and multiple farmers in neighbouring areas started to use chemical fertilizers as a mean to grow their farms faster.
Despite this situation, TianCai is committed to organic practices to preserve their environment. They are in it for the long game, and a healthy soil is crucial.
This is more costly though, so partnering with buyers willing to pay more for coffee is key.
It’s a no brainer to buy exclusively from them because in a blind tasting, Guiben coffees are consistently at the top when it comes to complexity, cleanliness and sweetness.
Stay tuned because we have two more coffee from them coming to the menu soon, and we have so much in the works for future harvests!
Our first washed coffee from Yunnan in a long time is a treat! It is such a versatile that can be brewed in so manny different ways!
The coffee starts in a classic way with notes of almonds and hints of cacao. The dried apricot notes makes it super balanced and approachable.
But this is what we absolutely love with Yunnan coffees and emerging origins in general: the coffees can feel classic, but with a twist!
As soon as you are passed those familiar notes, the coffee can feel like you are eating fresh rosehip. It can be hard to find but it's mostly coming form the texture and mouthfeel.
The sweetness is all caramel and cooked honey.
The coffee can also feel a little tropical and we had some notes of coconut and lychee as well.
If you brew it to drink it with milk (for both filter and espresso), don't be afraid to grind finer and infuse for longer.
If you want to focus on the classic notes as a filter, use hotter water (96C) and the brews we had at 90C were super interesting and wild.
Have fun brewing!
| Method | Dose | Ratio | Time |
| Espresso | 16-20 g | 2.3:1 | 32-34 sec |
| Espresso with milk | 16-20 g | 2.1:1 | 32-36 sec |
| Americano | 16-20 g | 2.4:1 | 26-30 sec |
|
V60/Origami |
18-32 g | 16:1 | 3:30-4:00 min |
|
Chemex & Batch Brew |
40-60 g | 16:1 | 5:00-5:45 min |
|
French Press |
18-25 g | 15:1 | 4:45 min steep time |
Farmer: Tian Cai
Farm: Guiben
Exporter: Yunnan Coffee Trader
Importer: Indo China Coffee
It's been a joy to work with Indo China Coffee (ICC) for the first time. They did a fantastic job to make our life easy and frankly, without them, we would have had no way to bring you our classic Yunnan roasts this year.
With trade tarifs being out of control between China and the USA, no US based importer wanted to take on the complicated and pricey risks of getting coffees from China. On top of all the regular tarifs already in place, there is a 7,5% import fee to import any good from China to the US, and this ads up quickly when you are on thin margins.
So we had to connect with people on the other side of the Atlantic as ICC is based in London UK. The process took longer and was a little more expensive, but surprisingly smooth overall.
Price we paid ICC for the landed coffee in our Montreal warehouse: 5.02USD/lb (= a couple of hundred dollars with currency conversation and wire transfer fees, you know, the good stuff ;/) This included ICC fees for sourcing and logistics (0,57USD/lbs)
Shipping cost, door to door from the Vollers warehouse in the UK to our roastery: 0.91USD/lb +0,10USD/lb for warehousing fees.
FOB price (prices paid to farmers + fees and transport from the farm to the port at origin): 3,83USD (not including financing partner fees)
Farmgate price: Based on our conversion from the local currency and on previous years, we'd say that the farmers received in the high 2$ (2,70-2,90USD/lb). Our export and import partner are doing the work as we speak to have a better USD estimate at the time they bought the coffee a couple of months ago.