Our current Red Brick blend highlights two groups of high-mountain coffee producers from opposite sides of the world. Lake Atitlán’s Chacayá combines with Sironko’s The Coffee Gardens in this vibrant version celebrating well-crafted community lots.

We’ve seen progression from the Chacayá farmer group as they’ve worked with exporter Los Volcanes to build their own wet mill. The number of area farmers selling their coffee cherry to the mill has grown exponentially. Most farmers hike their cherries from their mountain parcels down to a collection point using a traditional mecapal _(a strap that wraps over the forehead and around the weight over their back)._Happily, LVC and Chacayá have maintained and even improved the quality while managing this growth, giving this year’s lot extra clarity.

The Coffee Gardens from Uganda’s Sironko District is new to this year’s Red Brick, but has been a Square Mile partner since 2021. Central to their operation are the ‘Bukyabo runners’, people from the community employed to carry farmers’ cherries from an up-mountain buying point down to the washing station itself. Samuel Kisolo, TCG’s Senior Field Officer, manages this critical team of several hundred runners.

RECIPE:

We recommend the following recipe as a starting point:

Dose: 19 grams

Brew temperature: 201ºF-202ºF/94ºC-94.5ºC

Brew time: 28-32 sec

Brew Ratio: 1:2

Brew weight: 38 grams

This profile and recipe was developed on a Victoria Arduino VA388 Black Eagle with VST 20g baskets – so should be taken as a starting point, and not an absolute as different machines extract in different ways.

The recommended baskets for this espresso recipe are the VST 20g.