This year for the holidays, we have a lot to celebrate. In 2021, our commitment to female coffee producers saw us source over one third of our coffee from female-run farms. Additionally, through our partnership with 1% for the Planet, we’ve supported charities such as Project Waterfall which work to protect the environment and the livelihoods of those most vulnerable to climate change – including and in particular, coffee farmers.

As with all of our blends, we chose only the most fresh and in-season coffees in order to highlight their natural flavours in their peak form. This year’s festive blend comes from two very different origin countries – Colombia and Indonesia. Each country has a long tradition of growing coffee, albeit with very different methods and environmental conditions.

The blend’s Colombian component was grown by the Risaralda Women’s Group, a small collection of female coffee producers organized by our partners, Raw Material, with the expressed goal of collectively selling coffee to Caravan as part of our Female Producer Program. Through this program, not only do we highlight the work of women in coffee growing countries, but we also provide an additional price premium on 10p per kilo to offset the additional costs faced by women in agriculture. This season’s lot brings forward the sweet pastry and citrus notes of the blend, with a balanced acidity and zesty finish.

In the Aceh region of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, the traditional processing method is often referred to as ‘wet-hulling’ and is known for producing earthy, dark fruit flavours. Instead of this method, however, the two Sumatran lots chosen for this blend were both processed in experimental styles – honey and anaerobic natural - which created cleaner, clearer flavours that still retained the fruit and spice notes the region is known for. The first lot from Sumatra was grown by the Wanita Gayo Women’s Cooperative, a group we’ve been working with for two years, who supply coffee for our Daily Blend as well as specialty microlots such as this one. The second lot comes from the Pegasing Farm, who have invested in washed and experimental processing in an area where such methods are extremely uncommon. This coffee was processed in the anaerobic natural style, which increases the body and intensity of the cup, bringing a subtle booziness to the blend which feels very seasonal indeed.

  Caravan Coffee Roasters are proud members of 1% for the Planet. For more information please visit https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org

BREWING GUIDE 

Christmas Special, our festive blend, is roasted for easy extraction across many brew methods – including espresso! For filter, we recommend a ration of 60g coffee to 1 litre of fresh, filtered water, adjusted for size. For espresso, try 18g of coffee to 40g of liquid, pulled over 30-32 seconds. For more brewing ideas visit our Brew Guides page.