EXPLORER Espresso (May 2023)

A Lel Chuang is rich, warming, and delicious with notes of red cherries, sweet spices, caramel, and a liqueur-like booziness.

CULTIVAR: Red Catuai
PREPARATION: Natural
LOCATION: Ywangan, Southern Shan State
ALTITUDE: 1,282 masl

Our EXPLORER is a range of super fruity coffees exclusive to FCB that aims to explore different regions and processes.

Due to the political situation in Myanmar, it wasn't possible for us to purchase from Shwe Taung Thu farmers group last year. Thankfully, this year sees the return of this stellar coffee which for us, truly marks the festive season.

A Lel Chuang is named after the village in which this coffee is grown, which is comprised of 180 households. The production is managed by a core group of around 25 members and this is the sixth year they have produced specialty coffee. A significant portion of the profits from their coffee has been used to improve community services, such as the village healthcare system and education. They aim to allocate around 10% of profits for community improvement.

Ripe cherries are picked and delivered to a central collection point in the village. This is then hand sorted by villagers, retaining the best cherry and removing under and over ripe fruits. The cherries are then spread out to dry on raised beds and dried for around 17 days, under cover at the hottest part of the day This provides enough time for flavour development and improves the longevity. This lot is an exceptionally clean and bright natural processed coffee, which really reflects the meticulous attention to detail.