MONTHLY SPECIAL - Malawi, Phoka Hills A/B, Rumphi District
RED APPLE ~ BLACKCURRANT ~ crème brûlée
Every month, our resident Q Grader and third-generation Wogan, James, searches the world to find a coffee that is ‘weird and wonderful’, and truly excites. A micro-lot, a great back-story, an impressive cooperative, or a particularly unusual taste; once it's gone, it's gone.
We keep the prices of these extraordinary coffees down, so that you have the chance to try something that you might not be able to get your hands on otherwise.
The farm
This coffee thrives in the Phoka Hills of Northern Malawi, around 150 kilometres from the bustling Mzuzu at elevations ranging from 1300 to 2500 masl.
The climate is temperate, with mean annual temperatures ranging from 16 to 19 degrees celsius.
Phoka Coffee is divided in to 26 business centres across 13 zones within the Phoka Hills region. Each zone has a director, and these directors sit on the board.
The origins of the Phoka Cooperative are tied to the history of coffee production in Malawi. In 1971, the Smallholder Coffee Authority was formed in Malawi as a means to provide farmers with loans and marketing for their cherries. It was replaced in 1999 by the Smallholder Coffee Farmer’s Trust, which has better cooperation, and involved farmers in management and operations. Coffee farmers still gain access to credit, training and advice thanks to this Trust. Also in 1999, the Mzuzu Coffee Association was established as a collective of six coffee growing cooperatives, one of which was Phoka Hills. However, In 2019, the farmers of Phoka Hills established Phoka Coffee Cooperative as an independent association.
Nowadays, both new and established farmers receive ongoing training with a focus on regenerative agriculture.
The coffee
Once the coffee parchment undergoes treatment at the washing station, it is then transported to Satemwa where the beans then undergo hulling, grading and sample testing. Following sample analysis, the coffee is sorted and packed in to grain pro bags, ready for export.
Why Wogan?
Ethical
We work closely with farms worldwide to make sure that coffee farmers are paid a fair price, through Fairtrade and our own Direct Trade certifications. Working hard with coffee farmers to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
Sustainable
We maintain long term relationships with our carefully selected coffee farms, to provide the stability they need to plan for the future. The added bonus? Coffee that improves with every single crop, as their farming practices and equipment improves.
LDPE4 Recyclable
Helping you to do your bit. Our bags are LDPE4 recyclable, meaning they can be recycled in supermarkets. Alternatively, you can check with your Local Authority to see if they will collect it for you. Green lights include mentions of; bread bags, frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, bubble wrap, and carrier bags.
Carbon Pledge
We've pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030, and we're already well on the way. Our warehouses are now powered by solar panels, with the extra juice fuelling our fleet of electric vehicles.
Sustainable and ethical
We've made it this generation's mission to put sustainability at the forefront. We’ve pledged to be Carbon Neutral by 2030 and are well on our way to getting there. LDPE4 recyclable bags, a Roastery powered entirely by solar energy, and a hell of a lot more.
our story
We, at Wogan Coffee, have been lovingly hand-roasting speciality, ethical, sustainable and traceable coffees since 1970. In our third generation, and a wholly independent family company, you can find us rooted in Bristol; the same city as when Mr Wogan established the business over fifty years ago. Laura and James, grandchildren of the bowler hatted gentleman, now have the ropes firmly in their grasp; James as our resident Q Grader in the Bristol Roastery Headquarters, and Laura in London.
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