JUNE DISCOVERY
Zimbabwe
CREAMY, CHOCOLATE, KEY LIME PIE
ESPRESSO ROAST
Farm Name | Pezeru AA/AB
Region | Eastern Highlands
Process | Washed, sun-dried
Variety | Catimor & Caturra
Altitude | 1100 to 1300 masl
The Pezuru Estate
The Pezuru Estate totals 294 hectares, with a quarter of the farm still under natural forest. It is a multipurpose estate with only 45 hectares growing coffee, the first seedlings being planted in 1962. Its location adjacent to the Chiremba Dam, which is fed by small streams and acts as a general catchment area from the surrounding hills, provides support for the irrigation of coffee during the long May to October dry season and also provides bass and bream fishing for the local community.
The Pezuru Estate possesses sandy and loamy soil and is located at an altitude of 1,100 to 1,300 masl. While not high by many origin standards, the relatively extreme degree of longitude (32.5 degrees south) provides a climate equivalent to 1,600 masl.
This coffee is a mixture of Catimor and Caturra varieties, from which the harvested coffee is blended to provide a uniform quality. The quality of farm management leads to meticulous standards for ripe cherry-picking and processing, ensuring quality of cup. The hand-picking and wet processing of the coffee occurs at the farm’s onsite pulpery, with sun drying on trellis platforms. The dry milling, grading, and preparation for export are all done on the farm as well.
History of Coffee in Zimbabwe
In 2000, Mugabe’s land reform program forcibly reclaimed more than 6,000 farms owned by 4,500 white Zimbabwean farmers and companies. Incredibly, the total coffee production for the whole of Zimbabwe in 2016 was only 414 tonnes of green bean. But times are changing – helped by government initiatives, private buyers, and leaders in the Zimbabwean community.
