Coffee by Tate

In October 2011 following months of planning, research and a large dose of caffeine I took delivery of our shiny new 12kg roaster. Tate Roastery was born! It was fired up and the first seasonal blend was produced, using beans from Guatemala and El Salvador.

We work closely with small importers and estates paying a premium for the finest coffees. This ensures that growers are paid a fair price for their beans. Seasonality is of huge importance, different regions come into crop throughout the year and our blend reflects this. Central America makes up the mainstay throughout the summer months with Brazil arriving at Christmas, while Africa adds distinct flavours throughout the year.

As I come across exciting, unique coffees from single origins these will be made available in limited quantities.

Coffee by Tate can now be enjoyed in all the galleries apart from St Ives.

The Blends

#1 Seasonal Blend – as served throughout the galleries

Chocolate, nuts and red fruits

Made up of equal amounts of two beans: Finca La Fany, El Salvador and La Esperanza, Guatemala each coffee is roasted separately to ensure the natural characteristics of each bean remains in the final cup.

Finca La Fany is a family-run farm that has a heritage stretching back to 1870 and is still run by the same family today. The farm’s 27 hectares hold only the Bourbon varietal coffee trees and sits within the Apaneca Ilamatepec mountains at around 1400 metres above sea level, the crops sheltered from the harsh winds by native trees which support the large population of indigenous birds.

La Esperanza is situated in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala. This is the highest and driest area of the country under cultivation due mainly to the dry, hot winds that blow into the mountains fromMexico’s Tehuantepec plain, protecting the plantations from frost. The extreme remoteness of Huehuetenango means many producers process their own coffee. La Esperanza utilises its own wet mill on site to produce the fully washed bourbon and caturra varieties that make up this particular lot. The coffee goes through a rigorous process of selection, which starts with picking only ripe cherries. The farm enjoys perfect sunlight/rain combination, yielding a rich coffee with chocolate undertones and complex characteristics. This is a medium size farm which has been in the same family for four generations.

Buy Tate Seasonal Blend coffee

#2 Finca La Fany, El Salvador – Single origin

Chocolate and caramel sweetness with hints of orange and grapefruit. Long finish

This family-run farm has been producing coffee since 1870 and has been passed from generation to generation. La Fany sits at around 1,400 metres in the wind-swept Apaneca Ilamatepec mountains. All 27 hectares of the farm are planted out with Bourbon varietal coffee trees. These are sheltered from the sun and wind by numerous native trees, which support a huge population of indigenous birds.

The Silvas are committed to protecting their local environment and have accumulated a vast collection of earthworms, which they use to produce completely organic fertiliser from the leftover coffee pulp. Their coffee is hand picked, sun-dried and hand selected to guarantee quality, a process which provides work for some 24 local families.

#4 Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza, Brazil

Toffee, red fruits and plum

Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF) has been a coffee plantation since 1850 and has been owned and run by the Barretto family since the early 1900s. Since 2002, Silvia Barretto and her husband, Marcos Croce, have been working on transforming the farm into a model of sustainable organic agriculture, or, demonstrating how agriculture in Brazil can be productive and profitable while providing a happier living environment through the proper use of the land’s natural resources.

The principal crop at FAF is certified organic coffee, and although their altitude is not the highest the coffees still have great character and sweetness. This is due to the delicate drying process where the coffee cherries are picked at a very uniform ripening stage and all unripe coffees are sorted out by hand during drying.

Ben Presland

Twitter: @BenjaminPres
benjamin.presland@tate.org.uk