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T Tea
Where are coffee tea leaves grown? Can any variety
of coffee tree become a tea or only specific ones?
They can be grown in all the different coffee regions, with
the different coffee varieties yielding difference in taste
and profile. The leaves are harvested in the coffee off-sea-
son, running from April to end of year. Currently, we
source the leaves from the Matagalpa area in Nicaragua.
What are the main issues in growing coffee tea leaf?
Does la roya (coffee rust) affect the tea quality?
La roya doesn’t affect our operations, being in an isolated
coffee region and being very thorough at preventing any
fungus spread thanks to our biodynamic cultivation tech-
niques. It can however affect the yield of coffee producing
regions and destroy unprotected crops.
How does it taste?
The dry aroma is of honeysuckle, tobacco, toast and a hint
Max Rivest
of earthiness. The steep gives a full bodied cup, with a
Coffee leaves have smooth, round flavor, honey notes, some layers of earth,
grass and tobacco. Mineral and honey notes lingers after
the potential to help drinking. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have any astringency or
bitterness, even after being steeped for several hours, thus
farmers and their removing the need for sweeteners and dairy. It also makes
a refreshing iced tea without any sugars needed.
families during off- What is effect of coffee tea leaf? Are there any
season. health benefits?
The coffee leaves have been studied in the past few years
and shown high concentration of polyphenols, including
Coffee Leaf & Tea mangiferin and chlorogenic acids, with antioxidants high-
er than green tea and the potential to reduce inflammation
There is an historical use of the coffee leaf in the and high blood pressure. They also contain some caffeine,
Harari region in Ethiopia, where the infusion from coffee similar to a light green tea, providing clarity and focus
leaves has been traditionally consumed, as well as in without crash.
Sumatra, Indonesia. Those were reported by British jour-
nal in the 19th century, and even by the New York Times The Farmers
back then. They discovered that coffee communities
traditionally used sun-dried Arabica leaves, to be then The coffee plant does not produce any coffee beans
infused and consumed with milk and spices. before it reaches three years of age, and can only be har-
vested for a period ranging between 3 and 4 months each
Can you introduce us what’s the Coffee Leaf Tea? year, depending on the geographic and climatic condi-
The name is quite confusing. tions. Moreover, diseases, pests and climatic conditions
are additional factors that can impact the quality and the
It is an infusion made from Arabica coffee leaves. It yield of the coffee bean. Coffee farmers looking to gen-
doesn’t mean the coffee beans or tea leaves, it refers to erate new revenue from their coffee crop and tap into a
just coffee leaves made into tea. growing market.
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