Mt. Oku Cameroon
This has been a nonstop week for my family, as we had an activity every day in addition to our normal school and work requirements. Last Sunday my boy turned eight, and we celebrated all day long–I don’t think that you could have had a better eight year old birthday than he did. Tomorrow we have our last baseball game and we’re hosting a party for the team at our house. Today is my birthday. That might be why, despite the busy days and the extreme heat, I’ve had a wonderful week.
Growing up, birthdays were a big event in my family. You got to choose what food you wanted to eat and what you wanted to do. As a small child each birthday meant we had a new “privilege:” the ability to answer the phone, or be allowed to cross the street without a grown up. That is probably why I love birthdays in particular and hot June days in general. Both remind me of those wonderful childhood moments and the joy of feeling special–like Jack did on his birthday.
This week we have a unique offering for you. We have a limited amount of this coffee, although we are hoping to figure out how to obtain more. Chris Jackson, who resides in Cameroon, brought us this high-grown Arabica directly from the growers. For those of you not up on your African geography, Cameroon is on the west coast of Africa (I can remember Chris describing it one time as the armpit of Africa, right where the coastline curves). Mount Oku is in the northwest corner of Cameroon, and coffee is grown on the slopes there.
Chris shared his pictures of the processing plant with us. In the header photo you can see the coffee being sorted and graded by size. In the picture to the right, you can see another part of what I think is part of the drying process (but feel free to correct me with an e-mail here if I’m wrong). The coffee that we received is beautifully processed, meaning that it is visually without defect and very clean and consistent in the green bean. Trace roasted it light, and we all sampled it yesterday.
This Mt. Oku Cameroon coffee has great flavor in the cup. There are a lot of berry and chocolate tones as you sip, paired with a snappy acidity. It would be delicious paired with a dark chocolate bar. If you love bright African coffees, or if Yemen or another Arabian bean is a favorite, you will enjoy this coffee from Cameroon. We have never been offered beans from Cameroon before, so come and try it right away if you are interested. Until we can figure out how to import more, when it is gone, it’s gone.
As usual you can try the Cameroon coffee by using the code above (hint: it’s hot June days). I hope that you all feel special this week, and celebrated, whether it is your birthday or not. I am so lucky to be surrounded by people who cherish me: my staff all sang to me as I walked in this morning, which was completely embarrassing, and my desk was covered with gifts and flowers. If you do not have the same type of work environment, take a moment and celebrate yourself this week. And enjoy your June–in my opinion it’s the best month!
–Holly Fike 