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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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