Malawi PB – Roasted Coffee

Taste & Crema

Malawi PB coffee will delight anyone who enjoys mild to medium acidity, fruit, and chocolate with some herbs and a bit of spiciness in the finish. This 100% arabica smells pleasantly fruity and floral, and its crema is light but cohesive.

Origins

The coffee plants were reportedly brought to Malawi by Scottish missionaries, but a fungal disease destroyed all the bushes not long after. This was supposed to be the end of coffee in this small African country, but a researcher from Ethiopia tried to re-plant some coffee trees... And succeeded! His Gesha and Agaro coffee trees have taken hold. It happened in the early 20th century, and the Caturra, Catimor, Catuai, and other varieties later joined them. The first cooperative was formed in Malawi in 1946, called Mzuzu Coffee Planters Cooperative Union Limited. As you can see, coffee does not have a centuries-old history in Malawi, but on the other hand, the local harvest is becoming increasingly popular.

Farmers process the vast majority of the cherries by washing them, which helps the beans retain their clean, sweet flavor. The process starts with soaking the red coffee cherries in water and separating the unripe pieces. The cherries are then pressed through crushing plates to remove the leathery skin. That is followed by several days of fermentation in fermentation vats. During this process, the white, sweet pulp enveloping the beans is dissolved by a natural chemical process. Finally, the green coffee must be dried in a dryer or direct sunlight.

Malawi PB coffee is characterized by its atypically round beans. It is also called pearl coffee and is, with some exaggeration, similarly rare to river pearls. It gets its shape because there is only one seed in the coffee cherry instead of the usual two. Farmers separate such beans because they tend to be more aromatic and usually sweeter than normal beans. Besides, PB (peaberry) coffee looks very interesting.

In Malawi, coffee is harvested from April to September. In a country with a subtropical climate, the rainy season comes twice a year, from October to November and May to June. The high humidity is good for the coffee plants, but the fruit can only ripen if there are long, sunny days. Temperatures can vary considerably depending on the season and altitude. For example, it is common for the Nyika Plateau to freeze in July. As far as agriculture is concerned, it accounts for a large part of Malawi's export earnings. Tobacco, sugar, tea, and cotton are the main exports. As we mentioned, high-quality coffee has been added to the mix in recent years.

Coffee in Malawi is produced by a small network of coffee cooperatives and 5 larger companies located in the country's south. It is estimated that 3,000-4,000 smallholder farmers grow and process around 350-450 tonnes of coffee annually. Most of Malawi's plantations are at altitudes of 900-1,200m, but small farms plant coffee plants up to 2,500m. Coffee is grown unshaded. Finally, it is worth noting that several thousand poverty-stricken women work in the coffee industry in Malawi. Through cooperatives, they manage to negotiate fair coffee prices and improve the living conditions of their families.

Coffee packaging preview

Our quality aluminum packaging lacks any bold graphics, as we’d rather focus on the taste of our coffee. It always comes fresh thanks to degassing valve, which releases the gases that occur after roasting. Thanks to the hermetic seal, this container helps the contents further keep their freshness and protect them against humidity, light or foreign odors.