African Espresso Blend — Kenya, Tanzania & Ethiopia

Roast: Medium/Dark  |  Origins: Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia

Three of the great African coffee countries in one cup, roasted medium-dark for espresso.

Each brings something the others don't. Kenya supplies the brightness — cherry and grapefruit acidity from 1,600 metres in Embu County. Tanzania adds the complexity, with cardamom and brown sugar over a tea-like body. And Ethiopia brings the florals and berry from Sidama, where the plant was found in the first place.

Blended and taken darker than we'd roast any of them alone, because espresso needs body and sweetness that a light roast won't give you. What survives is the character — this doesn't taste like a generic dark roast, it tastes like Africa pushed through nine bars of pressure.

Every component comes from a named cooperative we can tell you about. Meet the growers here.

Brew it: espresso, obviously. But it's excellent in a moka pot, and a coarse grind makes a serious cold brew.

Pairs with: an early start and something you need to concentrate on.