The total area under coffee cultivation in Ngada Distict is around 6000 hectares, of which 90% is Arabica. Arabica coffee is grown at altitudes ranging from 1,200 m to 1.600 m above sea level. The varietals grown on Flores are S 795 (dominant), Typica, Catimor, and some Timor Hybrids. S 795 is an Indian selection which was introduced to Java in the mid 1950’s.
Fertilizers have almost never been applied by the farmers, other than organic manure and composting. Traditionally farmers handpick only the mature (red) cherries,hand sorting to remove under-ripes. The outer skin of the red cherries is removed by a pulping machine in the afternoon on the day they are harvested. The pulped coffee, still covered in sticky mucilage, is then put into fermentation tanks for 36 hours. After washing, the clean parchment is fully sun-dried on raised tables. Final hand sorting is typically done by the exporter. Under normal climate conditions the coffee harvesting period begins in May or early June, and usually wrapped up by September or early October.
Until 2005, all the coffee in Flores was dry-processed, blended and sold to exporters as Flores DP (still readily available, still awful). In reality, the cherries were simply dried on the ground and the farmer would only receive 30 or 40 cents per pound for the stuff. Without any financial incentive, the quality of this coffee was extremely low. In 2005, however, two farmer groups (Fa Masa and Suka Maju) began processing the coffee using the fully-washed method described above. This year, 5 more farmer groups (Ateriji, Papataki, Papawiu, Mezamogo, and Wongawali) have decided to undertake wet-processing and all seven groups are now certified organic, reciving prices which amounted to a 140% increase in farmer revenue.
Lempira is home to the majority of the country’s native ”Lenca” population (the indigenous Indians of Honduras) and boasts of some of the most temperate and fertile land in Central America. The average daily temperature is between 76-87 degrees Fahrenheit, with nightly averages of 60-67 degrees. The climate and rainfall is lush and tropical, ideal for coffee, as well as an assortment of papaya, coconut, avocado, mango, lime, guava and other productive trees.
Lempira is rugged, and it is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The highest mountain peak in Honduras, Cerro las Minas, is in Lempira. Due to these conditions, as well as the agrarian lifestyle of the Lencas, Lempira produces some of the world’s finest high altitude cloud forest coffee. The area is picturesque with abundant pristine mountain water and air, with breath-taking cloud forest views.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused such massive and widespread loss that former Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores claimed that fifty years of progress in the country were reversed. Mitch obliterated about 70% of the crops and an estimated 70-80% of the transportation infrastructure, including nearly all bridges and secondary roads. This rare micro-lot Honduras Organic Marcala is the second coffee from the region to arrive in my shop in 11 years. This is a very unusual coffee - in the cup there is an aroma of very strong sassafras root with mild cherry. Brewed, a very powerful cup with unusual body and character. I highly recommend you try this for yourself!
Sumatran coffees are processed in a unique way. From the point the coffee is picked and the cherry skin pulped off, the process follows the way it is done for most washed coffees produced around the world. As with these other washed coffees, fermentation is complete when the mucilage or fruit surrounding the parchment (or pergamino) has dissolved and the fruit-free parchment rinsed off. At this point, the bean within the parchment still has very high moisture content.
In almost all washed coffee origins throughout the world, before the parchment is hulled, it is dried, either in the sun or in machine dryers, until the moisture content is down to around 15-13% at this point the coffee is ready to ship, store and roast.
So herein lies the difference; in most places, the bean is dried in the parchment and the parchment or pergamino is milled off the beans when they are dry… not in Sumatra.
In Sumatra, the bean is still very wet when the parchment is hulled. The bean comes out of the parchment quite soft, white, and spongy. These wet soft beans are then sundried. Typically, the drying conditions in Sumatra include on-and-off sessions of fierce tropical sun, interrupted regularly by torrential thunder showers. This slow inconsistent drying is in large part what provides the essence of a Sumatra Mandheling, both in flavor and appearance.
This is a natural coffee, another way of saying dry-process. This means whole ripe coffee cherries are picked from the tree and laid out to dry on raised screens (sometimes called African Bed drying). This prolonged contact between the ripe fruit and the seed imparts a fruitier, more complex and wine-like coffee flavor. Then the whole husk and parchment is removed in one step, and all defective coffee seeds are removed by visual sorting. With Ethiopian coffees, where there is no wet-mill equipment to sort coffee, it is all done with the hand and eye.
The results are fantastic. this coffee is so floral and incredibly lively, from start to finish. The acidity is amazingly well-defined, with lemony brightness. The body is very light, yet thrilling. The aroma has strong, pulpy fruitiness, and a lemon-blossom sweetness, with dried peach fruit and lemon rind scents. The rindy citrus quality comes through in the cup, as well as an intense spice accent of ginger and a bit of clove, with a winey accent to the fruit in the aftertaste, as well as drying cocoa powder finish. As it cools, the chocolate shifts, and the aftertaste is more intense, like baker's chocolate. It's a joy to cup this coffee.
Santa Adelaida (pronounced ad-a-LAY-da) co-op began in 1980 , high on the Bálsamo mountain range, 30 kilometres south of San Salvador, collectively owns about 860 hectares of land, and grows coffee on 650 of them. Their organic coffee is grown without chemical inputs of any kind, and is monitored strictly by independent specialist organizations that certify, every year, that the coffee beans are in compliance with the standards required by organic produce markets.
Santa Adelaida cooperative is dedicated to protecting the environment by producing coffee without agrochemicals, while increasing income and consolidating social programs for its members, who have historically been marginalized, have little education and are stunted by poverty. It's a perfect undertaking, an ideal match with their cooperative vision. Today the co-op maintains three schools, a medical facility and housing for their 250 members' families.
The co-op members of St. Adelaida grow their Bourbon variety coffee organically under a dense forest of shade trees, consistently producing one of the best organic coffees in all of The Americas. This balanced coffee offers smooth body and pleasing brightness with undertones of sweet juicy raisins and dark chocolate, caramel, and fruity overtones. Santa Adelaida's aromatic coffee is "highly sought after" internationally, not only because it is organic, but also because of its excellent quality.
Today I have the pleasure of introducing an outstanding, high-grown (1,500 meters plus) certified organic, Fair Trade coffee from the UDEPOM Co-op. Unión de Ejidos Profesor Otilio Montaño, Mexico (UDEPOM) Co-op is a collective of 608 individual family farmers, each tending a small coffee farm of between 1 – 10 hectares (2 – 20 acres) of ridiculously steep rainforest in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost State which shares a border with Guatemala.
Chiapas is a region that has traditionally suffered from poor infrastructure, unemployment, high illiteracy rates, and low life expectancy. Local coffee farmers from diverse ethnic groups formed UDEPOM to combat these problems by seeking stable, fair prices for their coffee by directly accessing the US market. The co-op pioneered organic agriculture in the area, and the indigenous Mayan co-op members use traditional knowledge as the basis for their organic farming methods.
The coffee is distinctly different from the Oaxaca Pluma we roasted earlier this year, this is brighter, sweeter, and bear some resemblance to the Huehuetenango coffees of Guatemala. A fresh hot cup of this coffee is wonderfully light and bright with stunning medium-body, distinct sweet sharp caramel flavors and a touch of sweet almond and dark bittersweet chocolate.
The Costa Rican coffee from CoopePalmares is a fully pulped natural sun dried coffee. The project to produce an African natural style coffee involved 12 growing districts, approximately 20 coffee growing families per district. Additionally 20 international coffee roasters were invited to Costa Rica to witness the process, cup the coffees, and critique the results.
I have received the last container of coffees from the CoopePalmares pulped natural project. While in Costa Rica cupping the coffee was a fairly straightforward process. Although there were many coffees to cup, I had no control of the roasting and considered it to be somewhat inconsistent. Here in the shop the differences in character between the two coffees becomes fully apparent. Our first container, "San Rafael" I found somewhat lighter than expected, just a touch thin.
Palmares Especial is a thicker, chewier, more robust Costa Rica coffee. In my excitement I called my importer and purchased every available pound of this coffee left in North America. This amounted to an additional 21 sacks of Palmares Especial, enough to last through the end of the year.
This is an incredibly clean coffee, clear with the flavor of chocolate malt and deep sweet cherry. When hot the coffee seems deceptively sweet, as it cools the flavor develops a more round and robust character. A strong sharp distinct taste of ripe coffee cherry pervades the entire cup. The aroma is particularly fresh sweet cherry, imagine sniffing a freshly opened cherry coke cola and biting a chocolate malt-ball, and you have an idea of what I'm talking about!
Peru is a land of contrast: high mountains, dense jungles, and barren deserts all within close proximity. Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. Northern Peru is primo coffee growing country, the weather is characterized by high temperatures all year long and heavy rains from October through March.
Peruvian Organic coffees are revered for their delicate acidity and sweet round cup. The finest organically grown coffees are exquisite, especially those from small farms and co-ops. 2009 Peruvian harvest is just beginning to land in the states, and I've passed up some first crop offerings while waiting for the more mature mid-harvest green. This is by far the best to date.
Our Peruvian Fair Trade CEPICAFE is Certified Organic by Bio Latina. This is a beautifully balanced organic cup, bright and clean with the essence of dark chocolate, Pinion, oak and forest herbs. There is a Smooth solid character with subtle cherry notes, milky chocolate, and a surprising a dry almond finish.
