Horsham Coffee Roaster: China, Lafu Lot 3, Washed

We love discovering new origins that we've never featured before. Coffee from China has been on our radar for several years now. We've cupped many samples and this year Bradley came across some amazing Chinese coffees while completing the SCA Level 1 Processing course. We decided to buy one of the coffees as it showed so much potential.

Lafu is named after the village in which the coffee is grown, located in Paliang, the largest coffee producing region in Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County, Yunnan.  A father and son, both called Li JiangRong own the farm and washing station, processing coffee grown by surrounding villages of smallholders and from their own land. Alongside coffee, the farm grows a variety of trees such as camphor tree (used as an essential oil), Tianzhugui (used in traditional Chinese medicine), with Huanghuali (a type of rosewood) grown to provide shade.

This father-son partnership has been growing and processing commercial grade coffee for over 20 years, typically selling to large buyers such as Nestle and Starbucks. The focus on specialty is very recent – in the last two years. Yet the commitment to quality combined with higher than average altitudes mean it is producing some excellent washed lots.

The family are very well respected in the local community, helping many villagers with education and healthcare which is hugely valued in this remote area.

Lot 3 was processed from carefully sorted, hand harvested cherry. After pulping, the beans were dry fermented for 12-24 hours, and then washed. Drying was done on patios for roughly 12-16 days.

The results are very clean with fruit notes and character very similar to many coffee from central american. You can expect dried fruit notes (raisin), grape like acidity and plenty of sweetness.