MALAWI
I'M NEVER EXACTLY SURE what to expect on my first visit to
a new coffee-producing origin and on my first Malawi visit, I was
even more uncertain of what I would encounter. In some origin countries,
like Central America and even South America, there are many similarities
when it comes to coffee production—many of the varietals
are the same, the process is fairly standard and the terrain, cultures
and bureaucratic roadblocks are somewhat manageable. But in Africa,
each country, each region, feels completely different. One must
wade through the thick, diverse cultural barriers and trade bureaucracies
before even getting the opportunity to potentially impact the quality.
I had little knowledge of Malawi before my visit, only what I had
researched.
 We arrived at Lilongwe around mid-day and embarked on a five-hour
journey north to coffee country and the town of Mzuzu. The change
in landscape along the way was fantastic as we progressed out of
arid Central Malawi into the greener northern provinces. Rocky
plateaus and tumbleweed quickly turned to verdant hills and lush,
tropical vegetation. We could feel coffee country upon us.
Malawi has a long history as a coffee origin—the first coffee
seedlings were introduced there by the British in 1891. Despite
being a land-locked country, Malawi has managed to create an agriculture-based
economy, with its main exports being tobacco, tea and, of course,
coffee. Part of the reason for its success in coffee is that it’s
one of the few African coffee-producing countries that is able
to trade its coffee directly, away from government-controlled auction
systems.
However, Malawi has traditionally only differentiated its coffee
quality as grade 1 or grade 2 without any importance given to cup
quality. This is, of course, traditional in our industry and will
likely change in Malawi as it has elsewhere. Already in recent
years, the Malawian coffee industry has adopted the more typical
African system of classifying coffee by bean size. AAA, AA and
AB are now the common grades found for differentiating coffee in
the country.
Malawi is an interesting origin in that production is comprised
primarily of two varietals: Ethiopian Gesha and catimor. The Gesha
varietal seeds were brought to Malawi several decades ago due to
its resistance to fusarium wilt, a disease which dries out the
main vertical, or orthtropic, stem.
SL28, a Kenyan Bourbon mutation developed by Scott Laboratories
decades ago, is also of outstanding quality and is being offered
to producers around the producing regions of the country. Production
of SL28 has yet to reach any significant levels though. Catimor,
a robusta/arabica hybrid is of inferior quality but very high yield.
Producers are now being monetarily encouraged to plant the higher
quality varietals of Gesha and SL28. Gesha and SL28 cherry receive
higher premiums at the washing stations as opposed to catimor seeds.
Unfortunately with a much higher yield, new catimor seedlings are
still being planted around Malawi.
Still, the future of the country likely lies in its Gesha varietal.
In fact, it was my interest in this varietal that landed me in
Khanga and the Mzuzu Hills. As we wound through the dusty hills
of Khanga, our guide stopped the pick-up truck and pointed us towards
some Gesha trees. I’m used to the tall, dangly armed Central
American varietals but what I was looking at was much shorter,
thicker and rounder. It was reminiscent of the Jember varietal
found in Indonesia. Closer inspection revealed excellent nodal
spacing on the branches, which is a good indication of top quality
producing varietals.
All Malawian coffee is traditionally fermented, meaning the mucilage
is removed, and then fully washed of any remaining solids that
would potentially create rot and, therefore, destroy the integrity
of the coffee. After being harvested, the coffee is depulped and
transported to fermentation tanks. The mucilage-laden coffee is
left in these tanks anywhere from 24 hours to several days, depending
on weather conditions, to allow bacteria to develop on the beans
which decomposes the mucilage from the beans. The coffee beans
are dried on raised beds and stored at the mill before being prepared
for shipment.
 In the future, varietal separation of ripe cherry at the siphon,
along with meticulous processing, will be crucial to Malawi differentiating
itself in the specialty coffee marketplace.
As always, we’ll have to wait to for truth to show itself
on the cupping table. Gauging expectations from the cupping table
in Mzuzu, I expect the top lots to be fairly reminiscent of washed
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffees with a floral fragrance, lemon-lime
acidity, some stone fruit flavor and clean, milk chocolate finish.
Aleco Chigounis is director of coffee for Stumptown Coffee Roasters
in Portland, Ore. His coffee career began as coffee packer and
route driver for his family’s coffee company in Philadelphia.
He later moved to Costa Rica to work hands-on with coffee producers,
millers and exporters for 4 years before moving to Portland.
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