Ineffable coffee roasters | Ngogomo | Burundi
Ineffable coffee roasters are an exciting speciality coffee roaster that are based in Seville, Spain. Although we usually review coffee that has been roasted in the UK rather than in Europe after speaking to the guys at Ineffable I could tell that they were up to something special and didn’t want to deprive people of their story.
Ineffable coffee is made up of Omar, Jose and Alejandro, they have all returned to Seville after experiencing life in other cultures and now are trying to create a more speciality coffee culture in Spain.
Spain’s coffee culture is an interesting one and different in every region of the country. While they don’t consume the quantities of coffee that many of its European neighbours do, they certainly do have coffee etched into their rituals and routines. Traditional coffee in Spain is much of the time torrefacto coffee, this means the coffee has been roasted with sugar. Although one would assume that this would make the coffee sweet it actually has the opposite effect as the sugar burns and coats the beans creating a bitter-tasting coffee. This dates back to the Spanish Civil war to preserve the coffee and add volume. Although there has been a couple of waves in the coffee industry since torrefacto coffee was new on the scene it still plays a role in the way Spaniards like their coffee and their appreciation for the more bitter-tasting coffee.
Ineffable coffee are here to convey a new and unique and coffee experience. The coffee that they roast is always fairtrade and the relationships that they build from the farmer to the end consumer are long-lasting and transparent. Like any other fruit, coffee has seasons and harvests so the range of coffees that are available at any one time in constantly interchanging. Ineffable conveys this with their roasts, which regularly change.
This is something that is bitter-sweet in the speciality coffee industry, as upsetting as it can be to find your favourite coffee from a particular roaster has finished it also makes it interesting and keeps the coffee menu fresh with new offerings. It also plays an important role in improving the quality of the coffee roaster as each green coffee has a unique roast profile.
The Coffee
The Ngogomo, Burundian coffee from Ineffable coffee roasters originated from a washing station of the same name in the province of Muyinga. It was constructed in 1992 and today serves more than 1,800 farmers on 18 hills. It boasts 10 fermentation tanks, 3 soaking tanks, 258 drying tables, 4 selection tables and 10 floating tanks the station can process up to 1,500 metric tonnes of cherry each season. The processing season runs from April to June. During the harvest season, all coffee is selectively hand-picked.
Most families only have 200 to 250 trees, and harvesting is done almost entirely by the family.
Bugestal knows that even small distances can be time-consuming and expensive to travel for smallholder farmers, and they know that receiving cherry immediately after harvest is crucial to quality.
Therefore, smallholders can bring their cherries either directly to a central washing station (CWS) or to one of the 10-15 collection sites situated throughout growing areas.
Farmers are paid the same for their quality cherry regardless of where they bring their cherries. In this way, farmers are not disadvantaged due to their location, and Bugestal bears the cost of transport to CWS’s.
Washing stations are a relatively new thing in Burundi. Until 2008 all the coffee that left the country did so through the same washing systems making it very hard to trace the origin. Since then the coffee-growing industry has gained traction in the country and is now thriving with Burundian coffee highly sought after in the speciality coffee scene.
The Review
The Ngogomo from Ineffable was a coffee I couldn’t wait to get stuck into. The coffee, first of all, came beautifully presented in the sharp and minimalistic packaging that seems to resonate throughout all of ineffable coffee’s branding, very much like many of the leading roasters in Australia and Germany. I am also extremely partial to any African coffees.
The fragrance of plum when opening the bag was wonderful it had a sweet tone and reminded me of the intensity of plum sauce.
The brewed coffee is fruit-forward, it perches on the front of your palate with notes of the fragrant plum alongside fizzy cola bottles. The coffee becomes layered with a pleasant acidity then almost tastes tangy towards the back of your mouth. It has a medium body and mouthfeel, the coffee ends smooth and leaves a slight chocolaty finish.
As the coffee cools right down it does evolve slightly and the lychee comes through that is noted on the bag.
A magnificent example of a Burundian coffee that has been expertly executed by ineffable coffee. A coffee that was enjoyed right to the last sip and its complexities changed throughout.
Brewed as a pour-over, Aeropress and stovetop. Worked really well across the board but favoured as an Aeropress, the delicate fruits shone through while maintaining its body.