Mixed emotions … We are sad to say Goodbye to our Presidential Roast GESHA beans. But we are very excited to introduce you to our newest Presidential Selection from Nepal!

If you missed your chance to try our GESHA bean product from Colombia, then you missed a very special experience.  As you know, we continuously source the highest end coffee we can find and its only available in very small batches.

 

INTRODUCING our next PRESIDENTIAL ROAST

Don’t miss this coffee. We estimate that we will only have it on hand for the next 60 days.

Nepal – Lekali Estate

Located on the slopes of Bhirkune Village in Nuwakot district, Lekali coffee estate brings you the taste of single estate, 100 % organically grown Arabica coffee. Nestled in the foothills of the Ganesh Mountain range, Lekali coffee estate is located 40 km north from the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Elite Single Estate Grown Arabica Coffee.
Organically Grown.

History

In 1938, a hermit named Hira Giri bought some coffee seeds from Sindhu Province of Myanmar and planted them in Aapchour of Gulmi District for the first time in Nepal. Then it spread from one farmer to another as a peculiar ornamental plant for the next four decades. It was only in the 1980s that coffee was finally considered to be a cash crop. The mid hills region is great for organic coffee production as it has got suitable climate, topography, soil, relative humidity, temperature and rainfall for Arabica coffee.

Plantation

Lekali Coffee Estate has planted more than 20,000 of well adopted coffee varieties of “Coffee Arabica” especially recommended for altitudes ranging above 900 meters. All their coffees were germinated in their own nursery to make sure they get the best coffee beans. Prior to the plantation phase in the estate, they prepared 20 by 20 inch of pits with the necessary fertilizers required for the coffee plants. Subsequently all the rocks and harmful weed were also removed from the pits prior to the plantation.

It has been a very adventure filled project contributing to reforestation, soil conversation, and wildlife preservation especially in connection with proving shelter to both migratory and non migratory birds.

Picking Coffee

Coffee quality is a product of altitude and processing. One of the truisms of coffee growers is that the bean is at its finest the moment the ripe cherry is picked from the tree. The only thing the grower can do from then on is to diminish the quality – he can in no way improve on it. This means that as growers their responsibility is to pick only the ripest most perfect fruits and process them as perfectly as possible to bring out the full taste that nature put into them.

At Lekali they start by carefully instructing those who hand pick the fruit, to only pick the completely ripe, red fruits. They are paid a premium for this. Every day, as the coffee is received in our processing plant, each harvester’s production for the day is weighed and inspected for defects or green beans.

The coffee is then depulped within a few hours of being picked, preliminarily sorted, and the mucilage coat removed. They use both modern pulping machines and hand pulper to pulp those exocarp of the coffee cherries. Lekali processes their coffees fully washed, and ferment those mucilage coated beans in their special fermentation tanks to break down the mucilage. The coffee is then ‘pre-dried’ to remove surface water either in the sun or by machine. Final drying to 12% moisture is then done slowly using concrete patio and raised beds. When finished, the green bean is dried to export standards and still covered with a thin paper like covering called parchment. Lekali stores the parchment in burlap bags, labeling each with a lot number and store the coffee in their warehouse where temperature and humidity is monitored.

 

Tasting Notes

  • Apricot
  • Cream
  • Very Sweet
  • Red Pepper
  • Tomato
  • Unique