Assembly Coffee Decaf
Assembly are the quality and customer focused coffee roaster based in Brixton, London.
They are one of the few coffee roasters in the UK that are pushing the boundaries of each aspect of their business.
The Assembly roastery is housed in a 19th century fire station in the heart of London.
The Loring roaster alongside a state of the art coffee sensory lab and a couple of event spaces to hold cuppings is a testament to how serious these guys take specialty coffee.
Launched in 2015 during the annual London coffee festival, Assembly are now showcasing their coffee on a global scale.
Their sister company Volcano coffee works formed the foundation of what Assembly coffee is today, enabling the founders to really dig deep into cafe owners' needs and create a concept that was different to what was already on offer.
One of the most obvious differences in their retail coffee especially is the packaging. Not only is the bag a really unique organic rice paper material but the stunning artwork represents the flavours the development team tastes in the coffee.
I love the concept of imagery and colour representing taste. It gives you an idea of the profile without suggesting specific flavours and highlights the differences in each of our perceptions of taste.
Secondly, the coffee is of the highest standard. There is no compromise in quality and the meticulous quality control that these guys have as a standard is why they are dropping some of the best speciality coffees on the market today.
The biggest difference in how Assembly operates for me is their collaborations. When talking to their business manager, Ed, he explained how the team is in constant conversation with their customers, whether it’s a retail customer purchasing a 250g bag every other week or a wholesale cafe that orders dozens of kilos per week.
We sip and slurp coffee from all over the world. Discover which of these were our teams favourite.
This conversation enables Assembly not only to build strong long lasting relationships and understand their customers wants and needs but also keeps their finger on the pulse of the specialty coffee industry.
Overall, I have been super impressed with both the coffee that Assembly are producing and the culture that they have created.
The Origin
The Assembly Decaf from Assembly Coffee Roasters originates from the South Kivu region of D.R. Congo.
After gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, the DRC’s arabica coffee industry fell into decline and collapsed altogether in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and subsequent Congo civil wars.
Founded in 2009, the Cooperative Agricole Muungano (CAM) was founded as a farmers’ initiative to re-establish the production of high quality arabica for export out of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Located on the slopes near the shores of Lake Kivu, today the number of smallholder farmers operating within the co-op totals close to 5,000.
Initially Muungano rented a washing station dating from the colonial period – Mukwidja - on the lake shore. In 2013, they built their first new washing station at Kiniezere and have since added six others across their catchment areas in Kalehe (South Kivu) and Masisi (North Kivu).
And Muungano’s impact isn’t limited to coffee. The history of women in Eastern D.R.Congo is one of marginalisation and abuse, and the co-op has worked tirelessly to address the deeply-rooted gender inequalities within the communities that the co-op supports.
Almost 50% of members are women and three women feature on Muungano’s board – notable statistics given the broad lack of female representation in decision-making roles within coffee across the world’s growing regions.
A significant amount of the co-op’s female members own their own coffee plants, working completely independently of their husbands. Since 2016, coffees from these producers have been sold by Muungano as stand-alone products, distinct from all other crop grown within the co-op.
This is one of those coffees. Grown in South Kivu, processed with a natural sugarcane decaffeination method, and roasted by us in London. This is the best decaf coffee we’ve ever tasted and has reconfigured our understanding of the flavour potential of decaffeinated beans. Extraordinary.
What To Expect
Here’s an idea of what to expect from this fantastic decaf coffee from Assembly coffee roasters.
Team Batch brew method of choice - Pour Over.
If you loved this coffee and want it to have it in your life again order directly from Assembly Coffee Roasters now.
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