Café Ziama Macenta

Ingredients

Coffee

• 60 gZiama Macenta robusta beans, from the forest highlands around the Ziama massif
• 800 mlwater, just off the boil
• Sugar, to taste; it is normally drunk sweet

Optional

• 2 tbspsweetened condensed milk
• 1small piece of fresh ginger, grated
• Small glasses or enamel cups

Directions

1. Growers pick the cherries by hand in the Guinée Forestière between November and February, from robusta bushes grown in the shade of forest trees on the slopes of the Ziama massif.
2. The cherries are dried whole in the sun on mats and raised beds for 2–3 weeks, turned several times a day, until the husk is brittle and the beans rattle. This natural process is what gives the coffee its heavy, fruity body.
3. The dried husk is removed by hand pounding in a wooden mortar or in a small hulling machine, and the beans are winnowed and sorted by eye.
4. Roast the green beans in a heavy pan or drum over a wood fire, stirring constantly, for 12–15 minutes. Guinean roasting goes dark, well past second crack, until the beans are oily and almost black.
5. Cool them fast, spread on a tray, and rest 12–24 hours before grinding so the carbon dioxide escapes.
6. Pound or grind the roasted beans coarsely, then bring the water to the boil in a pot, take it off the heat for 30 seconds and stir the grounds in.
7. Steep 4–5 minutes, stirring once, then pour through a cloth filter or a fine sieve into a jug. Robusta prepared this way is thick, dark and gives a heavy caffeine hit.
8. Sweeten generously in the cup, add condensed milk if you want it au lait, and serve in small glasses at a roadside kiosk or after a meal.
9. Store the remaining beans whole in a sealed tin away from light and grind them as you drink; ground coffee in a humid forest climate goes flat within days.

Technique

• Café Ziama Macenta was registered in 2013 as Guinea’s first protected geographical indication, and one of the first in West Africa, covering robusta grown in the Macenta prefecture around the Ziama biosphere reserve.
• The variety is robusta, not arabica: lower in acid, higher in caffeine, chocolatey and earthy. Judged as arabica it will always seem heavy; judged on its own terms it is full and long.
• Shade-growing under the forest canopy is the point of the appellation. It ties the coffee’s quality to keeping the Ziama forest standing rather than clearing it.
• Natural sun-drying is cheap but risky: if the cherries are not turned they ferment unevenly and the cup turns sour and mouldy.

Substitutions

• Cannot find Ziama Macenta beans: any washed or natural West African robusta, or an Ivorian or Ugandan robusta, gives a similar cup.
• No cloth filter: a French press at a coarse grind, steeped 4 minutes, is the closest modern equivalent.

Variations

• Black and heavily sugared, the standard kiosk serving.
• Café au lait with sweetened condensed milk, drunk at breakfast.
• Spiced with grated ginger or a little chilli, the way some Forestière households take it.

History

Grown around Macenta in the Ziama forest massif and registered as a geographical indication with the African intellectual property organisation OAPI in 2013.

Frequently asked questions

What is Café Ziama Macenta?

Café Ziama Macenta is a drink from Guinea: robusta coffee from the forest highlands, Guinea’s protected origin coffee. Grown around Macenta in the Ziama forest massif and registered as a geographical indication with the African intellectual property organisation OAPI in 2013.

How long does Café Ziama Macenta take to make?

Café Ziama Macenta takes 10 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 small glasses. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Café Ziama Macenta?

Yes, within limits. Cannot find Ziama Macenta beans: any washed or natural West African robusta, or an Ivorian or Ugandan robusta, gives a similar cup. No cloth filter: a French press at a coarse grind, steeped 4 minutes, is the closest modern equivalent.

What is the most important thing to get right in Café Ziama Macenta?

Shade-growing under the forest canopy is the point of the appellation. It ties the coffee’s quality to keeping the Ziama forest standing rather than clearing it.