Read our definitions and commentaries on independent certification schemes applicable to our coffees.
The purest coffee experience is an unblended single origin, with the ultimate being a single estate in which all the beans are harvested from one farm or small producer group. Each bean must be of outstanding quality.
Estate coffees carry the name of the farm or grower association. While a coffee may be designated as coming from one country or region, only this type comes precisely from the defined farm or village carrying the single estate 'appellation' like wine. Indeed, micro-climate, soil type, quality, elevation, amount of sunshine, rainfall and tree varietal creates the 'terroir' and produces beans with distinctive flavours, aromas, acidity and body.
Let your customers traverse this intriguing journey through our collection from exclusive family farms and smallholder co-operatives. From Central to South America to East Africa and the Pacific, we've travelled to the remotest regions to bring you the flavours and aromas to really captivate.
All these coffees are available in 1kg wholebean formats, and are designed for wholebean retail sales. Each is purchased individually by the kilo, making orders up to either 5 or 10kg case quantities. For more information about stocking our coffees, please contact us.
From the Zamorana farm, San Isidro, Alajuela Province, Sierra Volcanica.
Situated in San Isidro, in the central high volcanic province of Alajuela, the family of Diego Zamora Alfaro has farmed coffee for many generations but until Union, never sold their crop direct to a coffee roaster. Sadly, the Zamora's exceptional coffee was always lost in the anonymous, untraceable national export system, where its harvest was blended with that of other farms. We were stunned by the quality of their coffee when first tasting it and now exclusive to Union Hand-Roasted we offer the outstanding Finca Zamorana in its pure form. The flavour is outstandingly bright, delightfully sweet with a clean, lemon zest purity and milk chocolate aftertaste.
From the farmers of Cooperonaranjo.
The Cooperonaranjo co-operative started in the early 60’ s and is dedicated to the production of coffee for the benefit of smallholder farmers from the Western region of Costa Rica’s Central Valley. The Co-operative has a defined Quality, Environmental and Human Welfare policy.
We source the Peaberry (or Caricolino) bean which is an intriguing round-shape packed with a symphony of elegant flavours. It’s bright, zesty qualities perfectly suit this coffee for that mid-morning lift.
La Reforma & El Cerro farms
Our El Salvador selection comes from the La Reforma & El Cerro farms, and is milled at the exceptional El Borbollon mill - internationally recognised by the Cup of Excellence programme as producing coffees of true speciality grade. This is a delicious coffee, giving an extremely balanced cup with low notes of chocolate undertones and subtle spice, overlayed by a crisp acidity with a flavour reminiscent of sweet grapes.
From the Santa Ana la Huerta farm, Sierra de Minas.
Grown by Rony Asensio and Luis Pedro Zelaya on their family-owned farm, Santa Ana la Huerta is located in Sierra de Las Minas about three hours north-east of Guatemala City. We have committed to purchase from Rony at a sustainable price so he and his family can continue to live their dream of producing high quality coffee while improving the living and working conditions for their farm workers.
Santa Ana La Huerta is exclusive to Union Hand-Roasted and reveals all that is great about exceptional Guatemala coffee. The cup is medium-bodied, with lively flavour tones of honey, chocolate and spice complemented by red fruit notes and faintly smoky overtones.
Doña Maria Nieves Paguaga Castellanos farm
Doña Maria inherited her farm which she manages alone. It’s a big challenge for a woman, especially as all of her land is devoted to coffee production. She first started growing coffee using credit from a bank loan and the expert advice of her brother Don Moncho, also a coffee farmer. But when hurricane Mitch destroyed much of her land and devastated her crop in 1998, she was unable to repay the debt and found herself in a bad situation.
However, with the expertise of her brother, Doña Maria has been able to rebuild her farm and reinstate coffee production. This exemplary effort and determination has paid off, ass this year she celebrates the fact her coffee has been selected by the Cup of Excellence programme on the basis of its exceptional quality. Not only does the high premium dramatically improve her situation, she now feels really motivated as her hard work and efforts have been internationally recognised.
From the ISMAM co-operative.
Grown and harvested by the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Madre of Motozintla, a co-operative of native Mayan farmers in the highlands of Chiapas. The Co-op is organised on egalitarian democratic ideals that stress responsibility to the co-op, hard work and high standards; their programmes help the communities in many positive ways.
The environmentally sound agricultural practices produce a delicate, sweet coffee with a light to medium body and a bright fruity flavour that sparkles through the cup. Certified Fairtrade and Organic.
From the Rainha Farm, Poços de Caldas.
We have sourced this coffee because it is harvested from a particular tree species - the Arabica Bourbon. This heritage varietal is always close to our hearts, but we were especially delighted to source this Yellow Bourbon from an origin noted for exceptional sweetness from quality farms.
Selected from Fazenda Rainha, owned by the Carvalho Dias family who have more than 100 years of family growing tradition, this farm has exemplary environmental conservation as well, with 25% of the farm populated by indigenous tree species to maintain natural wildlife habitats. This fully washed coffee is bright and sparkling, soft and rounded on the palate and sugar sweet.
From the Lambari Farm, Poços de Caldas.
Owned by the Rebetez Mariani family and located in the south of Minas Gerais state near the city of Pocos de Caldas (Hot Springs), this farm produces coffee that is a consistent finalist in the National ‘Cup of Excellence’ competition.
Lambari is a 'model farm' with exemplary commitment to social and environmental programmes having its own school for 360 children which also takes pupils from other local farms. All farm workers receive salaries substantially above Brazil's minimum wage plus weekly food baskets, free dental clinic, employment insurance and pensions. The coffee is harvested using the ‘natural process’, where a small amount of the cherry fruit is left on the bean so the sugars are absorbed during drying. This produces an incredibly sweet, rounded cup with tones of cocoa and almonds, yielding a flavoursome wake-up call and is delicious all through the day but particularly mid-morning with a sweet pastry.
From the Timaná co-operative, Huila.
In recent years the quality of Colombia coffee had deteriorated - until now! Small producers have emerged from under the wing of the National Coffee Federation to offer exceptional coffees.
Timaná was formed in 2001 when families of coffee producers in Huila joined forces to create a co-operative, to improve the quality of their coffee and work towards the principles of environmental sustainability. The coffee is “shade-grown” in forest-like plantations providing a habitat for indigenous and migratory birds as well as preventing soil erosion and improving water conservation. The coffee is extremely well balanced and clean with a leading edge of citrus zest and a sweet chocolate rounded body. Timaná also has a gentle red wine after-note, so lacking in much of today’s Colombian coffees. Smooth and elegant for all day easy drinking or after dinner relaxing.
From the Santa Terezinha farm.
Paulo Sérgio do Almeida’s family have owned this farm in Paraisopolis, in the southern uplands of Minas Gerais state, for many years. As a member of the Brazil Organic Agriculture Association and an associate of the Rural Development Biodynamic Institute, Paulo has developed new natural fertilising methods and is committed to producing truly fine coffees in harmony with the land and people who occupy it.
The cup is sweet and very rounded, clean and with a delicious nutty-caramel aroma that will have you reaching for that second cup. Certified Organic.
From the Rianjagi Farmers Co-operative
Once a producer of legendary coffees, Kenya has slipped from its pedestal over recent years as a result of repeated droughts and a plundering of the agricultural co-operative system by the former government.
From the Bibi Plantations, Sunticoppa province.
Exposure to the monsoon winds after harvest and milling produces coffee considered a delicacy by many. Our Monsooned Malabar, from southern India, has a deep mouth-feel with complex and powerful spice-like aromas and very little acidity. Notes of cinnamon and coconut crème permeat through the cup's sweet finish.
The farm, in Sunticoppa, Karnataka State, provides excellent subsidised supplies for the workers along with dwellings, electricity and health care, as well as transport to local villages.
From smallholder farmers of Bench Maji.
In the real birthplace of coffee, a wild forest species continues to grow today. The Bonga area of Bench Maji is part of the upland Rain Forest vegetation that lies between 1,500 to 2,200 meters above sea level.
The coffee in this region is self-sown and grows in a complex, four-layer ecosystem in full coverage of the natural forest system. In this, its natural uncultivated state, the coffee plant slowly matures, typically reaching over four to five metres high. The area can only be reached on foot and families living in the surrounding areas have the right to collect the wild coffee. The unusual beans yield a delicate chocolate aroma and lemon citrus note in the cup. Fuller bodied, yet softer and more rounded than our selection from Yirgacheffe. Certified Organic.
From the Konga co-operative.
Our selection from the Yirgacheffe district is grown on family plots and smallholdings. Each producer takes their coffee cherry harvest to a central co-operative owned milling station within one of the farming zones for pulping, washing, drying and sorting.
This unusual coffee possesses great depth of flavour and an intriguing floral lemon-pepper aroma, unlike any other coffee. The cup is distinctive, wild and exotic. It is medium bodied and perfectly complements a wide range of foods - especially those which are spicy, or strong flavoured. Certified Fairtrade and Organic.
From the Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa co-operative.
This clean, fruity and deeply smooth coffee comes from an amazing group of smallholder farmers in the beautiful Maraba district of southwest Rwanda and is the country's first-ever sold as a single origin. We have been working alongside the Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa co-operative for more than five years now and have made many personal visits to help them develop the quality of their coffee and improve quality of life in their community.
Our efforts have seen a remarkable transformation in the local environment - yet none of it would be possible without the total quality produced by the farmers themselves. The cup has notes of bright citrus and sweet oranges, overlaying delicious creamy milk chocolate tones. Certified Fairtrade.
From smallholder farmers of Bani Matar.
Located on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula on the Red Sea opposite Ethiopia, the Mattari district of Yemen produces an exceedingly rare coffee with an almost wild flavour which is definitely worth chasing.
Recognised as the birthplace of coffee, most of today’s crops owe their heritage to this small rugged country, a goatherd and intrepid ancient nomadic traders who first exported the seeds to Ethiopia. Intensely aromatic, with the sensation of bittersweet chocolate that caresses the palate the cup also has a pronounced and intriguing, winey, almost gamey, tone.
From the Chisoba farm.
The Chisoba farm is located at an altitude of 4,000ft, near a tributary of the Kafue river, in the south of Zambia. Farm owner Charles Siddle is passionate about quality and environmental sustainability. The coffee is hand-picked, sorted and washed clean at the farm’s own wet mill, with no chemical fertilisers used throughout the entire production process. Charles also recognises the need for social development, and has developed education programmes including school loans for worker’s children, and an HIV/AIDs programme for permanent workers.
The coffee has bright citrus notes of limes which are underscored by intriguing hints of fresh green apple, almost reminiscent of gooseberries. Soft chocolate undertones give a delicious rounded finish.
From the Blawan and Jampit farms
One of the most challenging countries to source consistently high quality Arabica beans from, Union Hand-Roasted is continually examining opportunities to build long-term relationships with independent producer groups.
Currently our estate Java is selected from two of the country's main government-run farms. It is rich and creamy bodied, with a deeply fragrant, complex aroma alongside subtle hints of delicious bittersweet chocolate.
From the Kud Sane co-operative.
An unusual coffee with rare depth and complexity. Grown in the Toraja district of South Sulawesi, this coffee is full bodied with rich flavour tones of caramelised butterscotch and a wisp of toasted almonds.
A gentle sparkle lifts this cup onto its rightful pedestal as the definitive coffee for the serious coffee lover. Compare this coffee with our Kenya AA to really taste the difference between acidity and body and you will never say that all coffees taste the same.
From the Gayo Mountain co-operative.
With relatively low acidity, but just enough to keep the cup vibrant, our Sumatra Extra Fancy is an exceptional example from the most highly-prized of the Indonesia region's origins. High demand and a glut of low quality beans means premium Arabicas from here are especially hard to come by. Yet rising to the challenge, we are delighted to offer this selection from the Gayo Mountain Co-operative, high in the cool, isolated but richly fertile uplands of the Aceh province. We’ve named it Extra Fancy because this is a specially selected pick of the crop which is painstakingly triple hand-sorted.
This intensely fragrant cup is unusually concentrated and delivers a deep, rich and very smooth experience, with hints of herbal chocolate, peat, spice and fresh green oak.