Category: Malawi
Fresh from the Farm!
Launching Usingini Farm Coffee!
From September 2018 we will be roasting a newly arrived coffee- from the Nkhata Bay district of Malawi. Bright in acidity & a smooth creamy body makes an ideal pour-over or French press coffee.
The Usingini Farm is the latest project from the Mzuzu Co-op from whom we source our hand-picked, honest to goodness coffees. Bright & fruity- what a way to start your day and knowing you’re doing some real good gives this coffee just the kick you need to enliven your day!
The Home of Tea in Africa
Malawi was the 1st country in Africa to grow tea on a commercial scale- which began as an alternative crop to coffee. The majority of the tea grown in Malawi today is exported to the UK & South Africa. Isolated in geographical and market terms, landlocked and far from the nearest port Malawi has had no choice but to innovate and in recent years tea producers are putting more efforts into producing speciality teas. Malawi’s tea industry is also one of the largest employers of women, with over 51% of the workforce female.The Warm Hearts Coffee Club has chosen to work with the most innovative tea producer- Satemwa Estate to provide our membership with quality speciality teas!
Satemwa is a family-owned estate in Malawi established in 1923. Satemwa has been making unique artisanal teas while also prioritising the standard of living for their employees and their families. Satemwa is also Fair Trade, UTZ & Rain Forest Alliance Certified.
Malawi’s Coffee Growers
Malawi is a small nation but rich in natural resources, with lush forests and the famous World Heritage Site of Lake Malawi that makes up almost one-third of the country. Malawi also however faces problems with deforestation and improper land management with almost 90% of the population engaged in agriculture. The cultivation of tea & coffee as a cash crop provides an economic boost through direct employment and through foreign exchange earnings.
Growing coffee is incredibly hard work but for the coffee growers in Malawi it is rewarding work. Before the green beans are bagged for shipment, roasting, grinding and brewing the coffee growers have to plant and nurse coffee seedlings. The coffee plants then have to be pruned, watered and harvested and carried down the mountains of Northern Malawi. Those that grow the coffee live in an area without many of the comforts we take for granted. The Warm Hearts Coffee Club source their coffee from a Fair Trade certified co-operative with over 3,000 members- the Mzuzu Coffee Planters Association.
