September Coffee | White Honey Geisha - Colombia

September Coffee Co is the lovechild of one of our favourite coffee Youtubers Kyle Roswell. Kyle with his wife Natasha embody what we love about this industry. A transparent coffee company dedicated to bringing innovative and modern coffee flavours to the world. With an enduring work ethos, Kyle and Natasha run one of the most exciting roasters in Canada. Happy to be the first to carry September Coffee Co in Toronto. 

In their words:

We exist to highlight.

"we are a micro roastery in Canada's capital, Ottawa. we believe coffee is more than a caffeine fix. it's highlighting farmers, producers, processing methods, terroir, and variety that all work together to produce a quality result. our goal is to share coffees we love while highlighting this foundation"

Our approach.

"Our core mission at September is to share coffee we love. we are careful to source coffees that are not only delicious but source them direct or from importers that we believe live within the ethics of our values.

for our shower series we roast to highlight the work of producers while aiming for just enough development to allow a coffee to shine. this is how the larger majority of our menu is designed.

We also realize that not everyone is a fan of this style of coffee and we're not here to judge. In fact we believe many coffees benefit from a different roasting profile. We have our storm series for those who prefer coffees with added development for increased texture, colour and solubility while still highlighting a modern and delicate approach to coffee with great balance".†

We aim to offer all our coffees as soon as they arrive ensuring you receive them as close to their roast date as possible. However, September coffees shine 10 - 14 days after roast and keep up to 2 months. Best enjoyed slowly and thoughtfully.

Unreal coffee!

This is our second year working with Sebastian Ramirez and El Placer. This White Honey lot is bold and beautiful, with intense florals and a deep sweetness reminiscent of honey and Froot Loops. This geisha is incredibly aromatic and memorable.

We get a sweet, floral and aromatic cup that reminds us of froot loops, and florals of lavender and jasmine. We get deep sweetness of honey and white grape. It has a long finish with a silky body.

Producer

Sebastian Ramirez, a native of Quindio, Colombia—a region renowned for its rich coffee culture—is a fourth-generation coffee grower. Six years ago, Sebastian transitioned from studying law to taking over his father’s farm, El Placer, located in the Buenos Aires de Calarcá village. The farm, spanning 14 hectares and situated at an altitude of 1,650-2,000 meters above sea level, is shaded by native trees, fostering ideal coffee-growing conditions.

Process 

The Geisha White Honey CM coffee beans are processed with great care and attention to detail. The cherries are collected and sorted to ensure that 95% of them are ripe and 5% are semi-ripe. The beans then undergo anaerobic fermentation in 200-liter tanks at a constant temperature of 18°C, with CO2 injection and submersion in water with an oxygen pump for 48 hours. After fermentation, the beans undergo a two-phase drying process, which is carefully controlled and slowed down using shade netting. Finally, the beans are packaged in Grain-Pro bags and stabilized for 15 days.

Variety

This variety was originally collected from coffee forests in Ethiopia in the 1930s. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungu research station in Tanzania, and then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in the 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. It was distributed throughout Panama via CATIE in the 1960s after it had been recognized for tolerance to coffee leaf rust. However, the plant's branches were brittle and not favored by farmers so it was not widely planted. The coffee came to prominence in 2005 when the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered it into the "Best of Panama" competition and auction. It received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20/pound.There is significant confusion about Geisha because there are multiple genetically distinct plant types that have been referred to as Geisha, many of which share similar geographic origins in Ethiopia. Recent genetic diversity analyses conducted by World Coffee Research confirm that Panamanian Geisha descendent from T2722 is distinct and uniform. It is associated with extremely high cup quality when the plants are managed well at high altitude, and is known for its delicate floral, jasmine, and peach-like aromas.