Cultivation

 

Doi Chaang Coffee is naturally cultivated and processed. Rich fertile soil, high elevations and ample rainfall make Doi Chang Village one of the premium coffee growing regions of the world. We naturally cultivate a variety of Arabica plants under a canopy of plum, peach, pear, and macadamia nut trees in altitudes between 1200 and 1600 meters above sea level. The fallen leaves from various fruit and nut trees create nutritious mulch for the coffee plants, providing a subtle fruit and nutty taste to the coffee cherries, creating a more complex, dense and intensely flavoured bean.

 

At no time are chemicals or pesticides used on the coffee plants, or on the ground in which they are cultivated. By protecting the rich fertile soil, Doi Chaang Coffee will be sustainable for both the present and future generations of Doi Chang farmers.

 

Harvesting

 

The cherry flowers begin to bloom in February and the beans are ready for harvesting from November to March. Selectively hand picking only our ripe cherries ensures minimal damage to our plants and that only our best cherries are processed.

 

Fully Wet-Method Processing

 

This labour intensive traditional processing method washes and flushes the bean from its fruit. Although time consuming, the wet-method helps maintain inherent qualities of our beans.

 

Extraction

 

First we pre-wash the cherries in a tank of fresh spring water where all the ripe cherries will sink to the bottom and any unripe cherries will float to the top and be removed. Second, we remove the skin and pulp by putting the cherries through a pulping machine. Third, our beans are fermented in water for 48 hours to remove the mucilage layer and allow a series of chemical reactions to occur which enhance our coffee’s aromatic and flavour qualities. Finally, we thoroughly hand wash the beans with spring water to remove all traces of the mucilage and prepare the beans for drying. All the mucilage and fermented byproducts will be recycled as fertilizer for the coffee plants.

 

Drying

 

We evenly spread the parchment-covered beans on patios to naturally sun dry over the next three to four days. During this time the beans are hand raked and re-spread to ensure they fully dry. In the evenings we pile up and cover the beans to protect them from moisture. The beans are warehoused when they reach an 11% moisture level.

 

Hulling and Sorting

 

Just prior to roasting, the coffee beans are removed from the final parchment layer with the use of a hulling machine. The coffee beans are initially sorted and graded by shaking the beans through different sized sieves and then hand selected to ensure only the finest grade beans are roasted.

 

Green coffee beans are sent directly from Doi Chang Village to Vancouver, British Columbia.  The complex and flavourful profile of the beans provides a wide spectrum of taste and allows the beans to be roasted on different levels and then combined to produce a variety of distinctive roasts. The beans are freshly roasted in Richmond BC, and then packaged and sealed in high grade valve bags, guaranteeing its freshness.