CRU Kafe has partnered with the Galapagos Conservation Trust to introduce its new limited edition San Cristobal Coffee—the finest coffee ever to be packaged in a pod. The single origin coffee is produced on the plantation of San Cristobal and is organically certified, bird friendly, and grown under the shade of a forest pavilion at Hacienda El Cafetal. Ten percent of the proceeds will go towards the Galapagos Conservation Trust, an organisation dedicated to creating a sustainable Galapagos through science, education and culture.
CRU Kafe uses only the best high altitude, organic and fair-trade coffee, resulting in a blend unlike any other. The unique grounds are then packaged inside eco-friendly Nespresso compatible pods and delivered direct to customers’ doors. CRU Kafe works only with specialised producers and farmers. All partners employ traditional, certified organic farming methods, harvesting and processing the beans in an eco-friendly fashion. They share CRU’s belief that a love of coffee and a respect for the planet need not be mutually exclusive. As a result, all of CRU’s coffee is 100% natural and free from any chemicals or fertilisers.
CRU’s San Cristobal Coffee has an intense, floral flavour, best suited for a medium to light roast. When ripe, the fruits are handpicked and washed naturally and ecologically in pure water. A unique climate, tropical rain and fertile volcanic soil gives this Ecuadorian vintage a rich and slightly acidic aroma – an excellent example of the balance between full-bodied flavour and relative acidity. Regulated by local law, there are only 5,000 bags allowed for worldwide exportation each year.
Originally planted in 1875, the coffee plantation of San Cristobal is unlike any other. Due to a large and sustained shift in the coffee industry, the estate was abandoned in the early 20th century; where the plants were left to grow wild amongst an indigenous forest of guava, avocado and orange. Resurrected in 1990, the extraordinary characteristics of the plantation were soon realised, and the coffee of Hacienda El Cafetal has quickly become regarded as one of the best in existence.
The Island of San Cristóbal is one of the largest of the Archipelago, and the only one that enjoys an abundance of fresh spring-water. The trickling streams of ‘El Junco’ (a volcanic crater lake which lies at the island’s uppermost peak) flow down the rocky slopes of the sun-drenched southern side to support the fertile volcanic soils of the island where, in the shade of the forest, the coffee can flourish. In fact, the elements are so perfectly balanced that the coffee itself blooms twice a year, when the cold winds and nutrient-rich waters borne by the Humboldt Current mix with the fierce equatorial sun to create an almost subtropical microclimate.
The San Cristobel blend now available to pre-order through the CRU Kafe website and is priced at £25 for 24 pods – stock up for a caffeine kick with heart.
