I think Pacamara (Pacas x Maragogype) is a more rare variety than Gesha these days. We are heading towards the end of our coffees from Ngila for this season. There are always more ways to look at any coffee and with this Pacamara I like to frame the question which is about terroir and our expectations from that
Farm: Ngila Estate.
Producer: Vera Stücker
Area: Arusha, Northern Tanzania
Process: Fully washed (and shade-grown)
Varietal: Pacamara (Pacas x Maragogype)
Altitude: 1560-1640 Meters above sea level
Roast: Filter
The Ngila Estate is based on the slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater and they have been growing coffee for over 100 years. There is a set aside of 80 hectares of preserved rainforest that reaches 1800 meters above sea level. And Ngila is certified by the Rainforest Alliance and uses natural insecticides, like Neem extract, and mineral fertilisers.
Ngila determines the trees that they are going to pick using a Brix meter; picking is selective, and sorting is very intensive. Many of the workforce at Ngila are migrants. For some, it is a break from stone crushing, which is another local manual labour.
Tanzania has a growing population of over 60 million people. The population has grown by a million a year for the last 50 years. Yes, that is a population growth of 5 fold in 50 years.
Want to keep up to date? You can follow Ngila Estate on Instagram here
|Aromatics: Bright and Fruity |Body: Light, creamy on cooling | Acidity: Juicy, bright like champagne|
On opening, this is white winey, a little spicey (quite expected with Pacamara), crisp and long. On cooling it is a little green and herbal.
I have been drinking this for the last 4 days, almost exclusively. This is simple and tasty in a batch brew. It has been like brewing a secret coffee that no one really cares about, in one respect. This probably the best way to please a crowd? In a cupping bowl, the acidity is sophisticated, linea, crisp and clean. All of these are based on a very standard 60g a litre.
