TRIESTE (Italy) – At the Italian importer’s stand, visitors can sample a number of single origin coffees from Central America and Africa, along with some of Sandalj’s signature Blends.
Sandalj Trading Company, a founding member of the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe and leading Italian green coffee importer from Trieste, will be an exhibitor at this year’s World of Coffee.
The annual event, organized by the SCAE, will be hosted in the Irish capital this year. The company, a specialist in sourcing high quality coffees, will present a number of interesting lots from Central America and the African continent at stand A19.
The stand will feature Burundi Washed AA Bujumbura, a predominantly Bourbon-rich lot from the Kayanza, Bujumbura Rural and Gitega provinces, fully-washed and sun-grown at 1,700 metres above sea level.
“We have witnessed great comebacks during this crop year’s round of cupping”, reveals Edy Bieker, Head of Quality and Training at Sandalj, “these past years have seen a reduction in Burundian coffees that fit our quality standards, but from the first sample, this lot surprised us with its distinctive qualitative excellence”.
Its good body, medium-to-high acidity and characteristic notes of ripe lemon, mandarin and plums, make it excellent for consumption as a single origin.
“There have been similar difficulties when sourcing Kenya and Sidamo. Our main focus was finding samples that showcase the aromatic qualities both origins are celebrated for”, adds Bieker.
“This year’s lots of Kenya AA Top and Ethiopia Sidamo Gr.2 Top were certainly welcome surprises”. The former hails from Kiambu, has a strong citric acidity and distinctive notes of ripe lemon and rose petals. Its aftertaste is rich in nuances of orange-blossom honey, spices and citrus fruits.
The washed Sidamo is grown the SNNP Region, and made up exclusively of shade-grown heirloom varietals. Its strong acidity, borne of its intense citrus aromas, is enriched by pronounced notes of apricot. This coffee performs splendidly with various extraction methods.
Along with Vivaldi and Toscanini, two of the company’s bestselling 100% Arabica blends, visitors can also cup an incoming lot of the famed Cuba Altura Lavado. An exceptional Typica from the Sierra Maestra, its cherries, which are grown under the protective shade of leguminous trees, are handpicked when ripe and fully washed.
In espresso, it performs majestically, with excellent body that exudes scents of tobacco leaf, enveloped by notes of milk chocolate and toasted nuts. Its aftertaste is characterized by light tinges of rhum.
This year marks the company’s 70th, seventy years in which quality and traceability have always been paramount in sourcing green coffee from over 40 countries around the world.
Salvador Santa Adelaida, a lot imported through Sandalj’s Traceability Project, is also available for cupping at stand A19, along with Colombian national Cup of Excellence winner Finca Hebron.
The company
Sandalj Trading Company was founded in 1946 in the port of Trieste. A forerunner in the specialty industry, 2016 marks seventy years of commitment to quality, research and involvement in the coffee value chain.
The quality and training facilities housed at the company headquarters are background to the thirty-five thousand cups of espresso, and thousands of samples roasted and evaluated every year.
