Hits: 10
Beans: Zimbabwe Pezuru AA, Catimor, Caturra, Washed, Eastern Highlands, Zimbabwe.
Shop: Symposium Coffee Roasters, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Symposium Coffee Roasters: Background information.
Symposium Coffee Roasters is a fairly new coffee roaster that originates out of London as a slot roaster. Stephen, the owner of Symposium who was studying Philosophy in London at the time, wanted to expand the business and started to roast out of Norwich.
The business motto is one that I wholeheartedly support: using a sustainable coffee sourcing model that improves the income of farmers, using eco-friendly packaging and roasting on a Giessen W6E which is a more clean roaster than those using gas.
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.
Zimbabwe Pezuru AA: The packaging.
Symposium works with Dutch Coffee Pack and provides packaging that is eco-friendly. The black package has the logo on the front and some information on the back. The information consists out of the name of the coffee, the region, process, variety, altitude and some information on the body and acidity. Unfortunately there are no tasting notes on the package.
When opening the package you will find a uniform roasted coffee. The beans all look good and there is a sweet, wholegrain cookie aroma coming out of the package when you open it. there is also a soft undertone of chocolate/caramel. When grinding the coffee, a sweet dark chocolate aroma appears together with a faint red fruit aroma. Let’s brew!
The tasting.
I will be reviewing this coffee on my Giotto Evo R using my Eureka Atom grinder. I also reviewed this coffee as a latte based drink.
The Zimbabwe Pezuru AA has a deep brown marbled color as it flows into your cup. The spots on the espresso look great and the aroma coming off of the brew is that of red fruit, cookies and a hint of chocolate.
The first thing that you will notice when taking a sip is the acidity of the coffee. It reminds me of citric kiwi acidity that gradually will change into a winey acidty. There is a cocoa and chocolate flavour that will dominate the coffee and it feels very balanced. The is no bitterness and when the coffee cools down there is a hint of red fruit that pops up.
The aftertaste will start to become stronger after you swallow your first sip. This perhaps the most beautiful part about this coffee. The aftertaste lingers for quite a long time and will give you notes of caramel, chocolate and wholegrain cookies.
The mouthfeel on this coffee is exactly what you’d want: thick, creamy and a beautiful satin like feel.
The acidity is a citric orange and kiwi that changes into a winey acidity.
As a latte based drink, the Zimbabwe Pezuru AA does a great job. The caramel and chocolate notes give the coffee a sweet character in combination with the milk. The acidity blends easily with the thick milk and doesn’t make the latte based drink sour at all.
Zimbabwe Pezuru AA: The verdict.
Symposium Coffee Roasters might be a fairly new roaster, they have done a marvelous job on the Zimbabwe Pezuru AA coffee. This espresso is thick, creamy and has a beautifu satin-like feel. The chocolate and caramel notes blend perfectly with the orange/kiwi acidity. The hint of red fruit is faint but does give an extra edge to the espresso. When the acidity changes into a winey acidity, the coffee feels even more balanced.
As a latte based drink, the Pezuru AA is good as well. The tasting notes go very well with the froth, making this coffee an all-rounder!
Great job Symposium.
As a courtesy to Symposium, I’ve added a link to their website for you to visit. This is a non-paid link so I will not earn any money by you clicking on the link.