Guiben Honey
Impressions: pistachio, mango, clementine, cane sugar, pine nut, tropical
Roast degree: 2/5
Region: Guiben (autonomous prefecture of Xishuangbanna)
Variety: catimor
Process: honey
One of the best relationships we have at origin is the one with Yunnan Coffee traders and the Guiben farmers. TianCai, the farm manager and overall genius behind the processing, farming and quality control of those coffees, aims to connect with buyers that share the same values as the farmer group, which is to develop long term commitment at fair prices.
Every coffee we buy in Yunnan comes from the Guiben farmers. Mutual respect is key to build trust, and that is what we have been building by working closely together for the last 5 years.
Even though they are doing some natural and washed processes, which we had in the past, the honey process is the one that’s been performing the best according to TianCai.
This ensures a better sweetness while creating a super clean and easy to drink coffee.
Guiben is a small farming community. Coffee is getting more and more popular in China, and multiple farmers in neighbouring areas started to use chemical fertilizers as a mean to grow their farms faster.
Despite this situation, TianCai is committed to organic practices to preserve their environment. They are in it for the long game, and a healthy soil is crucial.
This is more costly though, so partnering with buyers willing to pay more for coffee is key. It’s a no brainer to buy exclusively from them because in a blind tasting, Guiben coffees are consistently at the top when it comes to complexity, cleanliness and sweetness.
One of our best selling coffee from Yunnan is back!
The Guiben Honey was always one of our favorite, and we finally have some more bags to share with you!
This year's harvest is very sweet, complex and slightly tropical.
The mango notes hit your palate immediately. On espresso and longer filter brew, the mango impressions are very sweet, and on faster methods like flat bottom, we had hints of the less known green mango that is less sweet and more acidic.
The pistachio and pine nut impressions really make this coffee complex and interesting, as sweet and tropical coffee usually aren't nutty.
The acidity also reminded us of clementine, and the sweetness feels like biting in fresh cane sugar.
A truly wonderful coffee!
| Method | Dose | Ratio | Time |
| Espresso | 18 g | 2.2:1 | 30-34 sec |
| Espresso with milk | 18g | 2:1 | 32-36 sec |
| Americano | 18 g | 2.3:1 | 28-32 sec |
|
V60/Origami |
23 g | 16:1 | 3:30-4:00 min |
|
Chemex & Batch Brew |
40-60 g | 15.5:1 | 4:15-5:30 min |
|
French Press |
18-25 g | 15:1 | 4:00 min steep time |
Farmers: Guiben
Farm manager: TianCai
Exporter: Yunnan Coffee Traders
It's been quite challenging to get coffee from Yunnan in the last 2-3 harvests.
With trade tarifs being out of control between China and the USA, no US based importer wanted to take on the complicated and pricey risks of getting coffees from China last year.
Last year we had to go through IndoChina coffee in the UK, and this year, we found a partner in Pacifica Renew to receive those coffees in California.
Price paid by us to Pacifica Renew for the landed coffee at our roastery: 20,50CAD/kg
FOB price (prices paid to farmers + fees and transport from the farm to the port at origin): 15,20CAD/kg (not including financing partner fees)
Farmgate price: Based on our conversion from the local currency and on previous years, we'd say that the farmers received 11,25CAD/kg.