Macondo coffee | Pacamara/ Maragogype | Panama
Macondo coffee is a Sussex based nano roastery. Headed by Josh who’s coffee journey started in the hills of Juayua, El Salvador.
After a meaningful discussion while brewing an Aeropress about what coffee brings to the local area he decided to embark on a coffee farm adventure visiting farms throughout Central and South America.
"The name Macondo is the fictional setting of the influential 60’s Colombian Novel ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’. The aim is to draw on references from the book to help construct the stories and sensory notes of future coffees."
Above anything else, Macondo coffee are here to deliver super high-quality coffee while not only sharing the stories of the coffee producing countries but also provoking activism through coffee.
With strong values and ethics backed with a high-quality product that tells the story from the grower to the consumer, these guys are certainly one to keep an eye on.
The Coffee
The Pacamara/Maragogype from Finca Hartmann is a pretty special coffee. The two varietals are prized for their large Elephant beans.
Maragogype was discovered in the late 19th century and has always been valued for the extreme flavour profiles of the coffee. It is a fairly porous bean which means that the soil plays a big role in the end cup.
Although the Maragogype tree is large it is low yielding - This coupled with the fact that the farmer has to display a high-quality soil means that they are often discouraged to plant Maragogype. Thus making it fairly rare and sought after.
Its half brother Pacamara was created in 50s El Salvador when a Pacas was crossed with a Maragogype varietal. The short and robust Pacas trees were hardy and could withstand harsh weather and disease. These attributes were inherited by the Pacamara alongside the brilliant flavours of the Maragogype tree.
Although the two varietals are highly prized in the speciality coffee world. It takes an incredibly knowledgeable coffee producer to really squeeze the best out of these beans.
Finca Hartmann are at the forefront of coffee production and are considered pioneers in speciality coffee.
They are a family-run farm that began in 1940 and has since become leaders not only in Panamanian coffee but the coffee industry as a whole. Coffee is the Hartmann family’s way of life and their values of working together with nature is one of the reasons their coffee fetches a high price.
Their two farms are located between 1300 and 2000 masl, bordering nearly 100 hectares of forest reserves. Their coffee is certified shade-grown, the way that it has always been.
Their dedication to replanting trees that are indigenous to the local area creating healthy soil and fauna is one of the reasons they are able to produce varietals such as Maragogype which requires such high quality of the soil.
This coffee, in particular, is an example of the processes that Finca Hartmann are pioneering at the moment.
The fermentation took place in black bags that are left in a darkened room with a controlled temperature, this is right on the forefront of speciality coffee processing and is the reason why they have been famed for the highest quality green coffee.
The Review
The Pacamara/Maragogype from Macondo was one coffee I literally couldn’t wait to try - so much so I had to try it as soon as it was delivered even though it was 6 pm (I know - we’re a mad bunch here).
It’s a coffee that you will try once and go back to a couple of days later to find it’s completely changed.
The fragrance of the ground coffee particularly sweet and almost smells good enough to pour straight into your mouth. I opted for brewing the coffee instead where the aromas were also a wonderful sensory experience, a pop of mandarin layered with stone fruit.
The first sips of the coffee are a sure sign that this is a world-class coffee. Notes of juicy nectarines remind me of school packed lunches these are shortly followed by layers of the fragrant mandarin that unify the coffee into a delicious fruit punch.
The coffee is complex and moves swiftly through the fruit bowl of flavours while maintaining its balance on the middle of your palate. Acidity is medium and comes through towards the end of the sip sticking around for a while afterwards.
The coffee cools and evolves into a lighter more acidic cup that is accompanied with delicate notes of grapefruit.
An absolute worldy of a coffee that seems to brew a different coffee every time which is for me an amazing attribute that sets this coffee apart from the rest.
Its fruit-forward complex flavour profile is testament to the hard work put in at the farm and processing level and the years of experience and knowledge that Finca Hartman possesses all the way through to the expertise of Macondo coffee creating a perfect roast profile to showcase the wonderful notes.
A coffee for any time and all the time. Brewed here at Batch in a V60, Aeropress, Stovetop and cupped. As always with the complex cups, I’d recommend trying as many techniques as possible. My preference on this one, however, was a pour-over, the superb fruit bomb of flavours were really able to express themselves when filtered through paper.
