Introducing the NEW Espresso Blend

Introducing the NEW Espresso Blend.

Originally a three-origin blend, we’ve now thrown a fourth coffee into the mix. It’s still the best of our coffees from Latin America, but now with an extra injection of juicy African character.

The line-up?
Colombia, Brazil, Uganda — and now Zambia.

Why Zambia? We’re glad you asked.

Last year, through our good friends and partners at Omwani Coffee, we tasted a coffee from Zambia that really stopped us in our tracks. We loved what was in the cup, but we also wanted to understand the story behind it. So, in November, Steff travelled out to see it firsthand.

The coffee comes from Mount Sunzu Coffee Ltd, a specialty coffee producer operating in northern Zambia near the country’s highest mountain, Mount Sunzu. Founded in 2018, the company is focused on transforming coffee production through sustainable, climate-smart farming, modern processing technology, and a deep commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

Mount Sunzu has been on our radar at Poblado for a while. It drew our attention for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, the bean varietal - Starmaya is a new variety of coffee plant that is a hybrid from a Nicaraguan and Indonesian plant, perfectly adapted for the unique growing conditions of Mount Sunzu in Zambia, a unique and innovative step.

Secondly, the taste - the bean has a beautiful depth and sweetness to it, but without ever becoming bitter or burnt, it really challenged the way we thought about a 'dark roast'. It offered potential to add loads of depth, body, and sweetness to our espresso blend but without adding any bitterness or ashy'ness. We're always striving to improve and perfect our offering, and this seemed to really elevate our espresso blend into a more rounded, sweeter and fuller coffee. 

Thirdly, the thing that attracted us was the style of the trade. Mount Sunzu is a brand new farm, with our current crop being only their second harvest ever. We believed in their vision to create the infrastructure for a profitable coffee trade in the region and huge employment opportunities in an area where there was little to none available. This presented the opportunity for us to create a truly direct trade investment, and one that operates outside of the fluctuations of the global commodities market, meaning farmers can guarantee their income year-on-year, rather than have it dictated by the strength of the global market (something that is more volatile than time can explain). We have chosen to support Mount Sunzu for a guaranteed 3 years, meaning that they can rely on our stable income for 3 full years, allowing them to plan and develop properly, rather than plan according to market strength. This style of trade is hard and rare to achieve in the coffee chain, and one that we couldn't help but partake in. It achieves the vision that we have always strived for here at Poblado Coffi, to trade in a way that achieves complete sustainability towards a better and fairer future for farmers, and one that truly recognises and rewards their efforts.

In choosing to back Mount Sunzu, we are backing a future vision for Zambia, and a vision for how coffee trading can look.