From cherry to cup
The complete overview: the stages that carry coffee from ripe fruit through processing, roasting and evaluation.
Read complete guideField Notes
Read the coffee journey.
Eleven practical guides on Kilimanjaro origin, coffee processing, roast profiles, cupping, green coffee, brewing and keeping coffee fresh.
Browse the guide
Coffee guide
Explore from farm to cup.
What altitude does to a coffee bean
Why slower ripening at 1,500–2,000 metres builds a denser bean, and what that does to acidity and sweetness.
Read field noteWhat “washed” actually means
Pulping, fermentation, washing, drying — and the difference between washed, natural and honey coffee.
Read field note
Choosing your roast
Light, Medium, Medium-Dark or Dark — what separates them, and one question that usually settles it.
Read field note
Inside a cupping
Why samples are lined up identically, what tasters score, and how to run a simplified version at home.
Read field note
Grind, ratio, temperature
Three dials, starting numbers for five brewers, and how to fix a cup that came out sour or bitter.
Read field note
Keeping coffee fresh in the heat
The four enemies of a roasted bean, why the fridge is the worst place for it, and when freezing works.
Read field note
Reading the bag
Eight or ten facts on a bag. Three of them predict the cup; here is how to tell which.
Read field noteWhen Kilimanjaro coffee is picked
Flowering, ripening, picking and milling — the Kilimanjaro coffee year, and why the month matters.
Read field note
Buying green coffee
Moisture, water activity, screen size, defect count, crop year — the questions to ask before you commit.
Read field noteWhat “variety” means on a coffee bag
Species, variety, cultivar — plus the varieties associated with Kilimanjaro, and why peaberry is not one.
Read field noteYour questions
What should we explain next?
Suggest a field note about Rocky Coffee, Kilimanjaro origin, processing, roasting or brewing.