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The Story:
Zimbabwe, formerly known as lower Rhodesia until independence
in 1980, has had a tumultuous history of coffee production.
Coffee was originally introduced to the country by members
of the Moodle Trek in the 1890s. It nearly died out in the
1920s when disease destroyed most of the small plantations,
then it made a resurgence in 1958 and became an established
cash crop in the 1960s. Lately, power-grabbing by the Mugabe
regime and supression of democratic media in Zimbabwe has
greatly reduced coffee offerings.
Leopard Forest is a unique in that it is a boutique, US
coffee roaster that features coffees from its own sustainably-operated
Zimbabwe farm. Ildi, the wife, operates the roasting facility
in Travelers Rest, SC, while her husband runs the farm in
Zimbabwe. Their coffee won the Taste of Harvest award at
the East African Fine Coffee Association 2007 competition
(the last year the competition was held).
Peaberries result when the coffee fruit develops only a
single, oval bean rather than the usual pair of flat-sided
beans. Peaberries produce a somewhat different cup than
normal beans from the same crop, from which they may or
may not be separated during grading. This peaberry, like
other Leopard Forest Zimbabwe coffees, is produced from
the admired SL 28 variety, the cultivar of arabica that
produces most of Kenya's finest coffees.
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The Coffee:
Aroma: low-toned, deep aroma with smoky chocolate
and cherry
Acidity: bright and lively
Flavor: tartly sweet, with cherryish fruit laced
with hints of chocolate and lemon
Body: medium
Notes: The cherry notes persist in the finish, fading
toward a slight astringency in the long. A quietly bright
breakfast cup with some pleasant aromatic complication.
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