Foundation coffee roasters are an independent roastery and equipment supplier based in St Ives, Cornwall. The co-founders Marco and Jack, are friends, passionate surfers and adventurers who love where they live. Their delicious coffee is roasted on their impressive 15kg Giesen roaster. 

They began their coffee journey with a mission to create quality and high-grade speciality coffee while at the same time using the best possible ethical practices that have a minimal impact on the environment. This transcends from the sustainable relationships they build at source all the way through to the omnidegradable and home compostable coffee bags that they showcase their coffee. 

They focus on honesty and transparency throughout their business - two things that we hold extremely important too. Their involvement at origin stems from these two ethics as they prefer to deal with coffee farms and mills directly. It is a super important step that more and more roasters across the world are making. Although it is hard and requires time and money, there is no substituting the value that is gained when you can see exactly where the coffee is coming from, speak to the people that grow it and nurture sustainable long-lasting relationships. All of this knowledge can then be passed onto the consumers to better educate them on the issues in coffee-growing regions of the world.

The work that is put into their sustainable sourcing of coffee is carried into their local community in St Ives where they participate in the community orchard - donating the chaff (a byproduct of coffee roasting) to help mulch the fledgeling apple trees. They also send coffee grounds to the New yard restaurant to use in their walled garden.

The birthplace of coffee, or at least the country that first consumed it. Ethiopia is a country so synonymous with coffee that the word coffee originated from Kaffa, a region in the south west of the country. Coffee is deeply entwined into their culture with over 12 million people working in or around coffee. Some of the best coffee’s in the world have been grown in this country, the various heirloom varieties that are only found in Ethiopia make each coffee even more special and unique.

In the Guji Zone of the Shakiso District, Kayon Mountain Farm rises from 1,900 to 2,200 meters. The farm grows heirloom Typica trees under organic, EU NOP & JAS, and Café Practice certifications. They are also working toward certification in Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance.

The most distinctive flavour notes found in all Sidamo coffees are lemon and citrus, with bright crisp acidity. Ethiopia is the world’s 7th largest producer of coffee and Africa’s top producer. Half of the coffee is consumed by Ethiopians, and the country leads the continent in domestic consumption.

The method of producing coffee in Ethiopia has not changed much since the 10th century, with nearly all work, cultivating and drying, still done by hand.

The Bufla Kilenso coffee from foundation is a fantastic example of a Sidamo coffee. The complex notes, light body and citric acidity make this a classic. 

The fragrance of the brewing coffee was almost as enjoyable as drinking it. You know when you’re in for a treat when you open certain bags of coffee and this one was certainly one of those coffees. The ground coffee has a really sweet-toned fragrance that initially reminded me of candy floss but then subsided into a more nutty flavour. 

Brewing the coffee is another flavour experience, the sweetness of the candyfloss is replaced by a more cherry sort of sweetness and the coffee already flaunts its complexities.

The first sensation that I felt with the initial few sips of the coffee was the wonderfully light mouthfeel that the coffee possesses as it perches on the top of your palate. The flavours are also immediately there, sweet and tangy like in the fragrance but don’t give up their exact identity until the coffee cools slightly. 

The coffee is magnificently complex the flavours layer together beautifully and each sip is slightly different from the last. Cherry, brown sugar and blueberry are the more noticeable notes that I experienced.

The notes are light and enjoyable, they work as a team to let the more subtle and delicate flavours become pronounced and each has a small role to play in this melody. 

As the coffee cools almost to room temp the flavours start at the front of the mouth and stick around for a little longer. A slight grapefruit acidity starts to become present and adds to the subtleties of the coffee. 

A great coffee. One for the coffee lovers and one to be enjoyed all the way through the cup. It was a coffee that was exciting to come back to each time. The light body and delicate flavour profile make it a perfect brew for those alfresco mid-morning summer coffees that accompany a bowl of muesli fruit and yoghurt or something like that. 

Brewed as Aeropress, V60 and cupped this time. I found the subtleties really shined as a pour-over V60, the paper filter creates an even cleaner cup that you almost need sunglasses to look at it’s that bright.