Blood Orange, Golden Raisins, Pomegranate
From the edge of a cloud forest above Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, Ngila Estate is a red honey-processed filter coffee with real character - blood orange, pomegranate and golden raisin, with a syrupy body that holds it all together. Vera Stücker runs the farm with wildlife and sustainability at its centre, and the coffee in the cup makes a strong case for both.
Bright, crater-grown filter coffee sings
Ngila Estate sits on the slopes above Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, at the edge of a cloud forest where elephants, leopards and antelope move through an 8-hectare wildlife corridor that runs right through the farm. It's a striking setting, and the coffee reflects the care that goes into it. Vera Stücker - an electrical engineer turned coffee producer - runs the estate with a focus on reforestation and a plot-leasing scheme that brings local farmers into the fold.
The coffee is 100% Kent variety, processed using a red honey method, which preserves some of the fruit's natural sweetness during drying. The result is bright and juicy - blood orange and pomegranate give it a lively, fruit-forward character, with golden raisins adding a warmer, slightly jammy depth underneath. The body is syrupy without being heavy, the kind of cup that rewards a slower brew and a bit of time to open up.
If you tend to enjoy filter coffees with fruit and sweetness rather than roast-forward depth, this is well worth your attention.
About the Roaster
Redemption Roasters was founded in 2016 when Ted and Max were approached by the Ministry of Justice to set up a roastery inside a prison - the idea being to train coffee skills to help reduce reoffending. Eight years on, they run barista academies across four prisons, employ prison leavers at their roastery and shops, and source specialty coffee with the same care and transparency they bring to everything else: direct relationships and honest sourcing.
