Hey Coffee Lovers!
We took a break in our regular Roast of the Month programming, but we’re here for our first entry of 2021! This month we’re featuring the delicious Women’s Producers Coffee from Spyhouse Coffee Roasters. Check out our video chat about this coffee below and read on for the article!
Highlighting Women Producers
It’s reported that as much as 70 percent of the work done on coffee farms is done by women. Unfortunately, this disproportionate amount of labor has resulted in only 5-20 percent of coffee producers being owned by women.
Spyhouse Coffee Roasters has begun offering a year-round roast that features different producer groups with prominent women-owned producers and leadership.
The current roast uses coffee from Fundación Agraria y Ambiental Para el Desarrollo Sostentible (FUDAM). FUDAM is a 300 member association of growers that carries an organic and Rainforest Alliance certification. With most members residing in the small town of La Unión in Nariño, the farms in the association are unique for Colombia. Most of the growers reside at high altitude, and the farms themselves are at a lower altitude. This is in contrast to the low lying towns where most growers in Colombia reside, with farms at higher altitudes.
FUDAM’s leader, Raquel Lasso, established a subgroup specifically for women producers called Manos de Mujeres. The group is focused on gender-equality in leadership and payment, and works on projects that empower women in the coffee community. This roast features Manos de Mujeres coffee.
The Coffee
Women Producers Coffee is a unique Colombian that features notes of marmalade, red grape, and fudge brownie. The marmalade and brownie flavors may sound overwhelming, but they’re pleasantly balanced. Instead of an ultra-rich chocolate flavor, which you might expect from a Colombian coffee, this roast is very smooth and balanced. The red grape note is present, but quite muted in a pour over, but it provides a pleasant branch of sweetness off of the more rich notes. With a medium body, this coffee is a smooth sipper that you could easily enjoy every day.
As far as brew methods are concerned, this roast is quite adaptable. Due to its true medium nature, we really like it as a drip brew and in a superauto. These methods produce delightful notes, particularly when effectively dialed into your grinder. Women Producers Coffee makes a good press brew as well, and might be a great choice for your semi-automatic espresso. We recommend it to semi-auto fans who are ready for something a tad trickier than a basic espresso roast, but not quite as hard to dial in as a traditional single origin.
No matter how you brew it, Women Producers Coffee is a delicious roast with a great story. Grab a bag today!
