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Our EXCEPTIONAL SELECTION COFFEEs
Organically Grown Micro Lots from: Costa Rica, Honduras, & Indonesia
COSTA RICA - La Estica microlot
- Country: Costa Rica
- Region: San Marcos de Tarrazu, San Jose
- Producer: Coope Tarrazu R.L.
- Farm: La Estica
- Varietal: Catuai, Caturra
- Altitude: 1450 - 1600m MASL
- Processing Method: Natural
COOPE TARRAZU RL
Coope Tarrazu RL was founded way back in 1960 and today count 4600 associates. The board of directors is still made up of farmers, and 58% of members have 2 hectares or below as the average size of their farms. Only 6% have more than 10 Hectares.
During the last 15 years, the number of partners has increased by 50% and production by 70%. Its comprehensive partner service package includes credit, preferential price payment, technical assistance, measured support and more. Coope Tarrazu also act as exporter for around 40 micromills and 5 other cooperatives across the country.
In 2012, they successfully launched the ‘Café de Comunidades’ program, which offers micro-zone coffee and distributes a prize invested in communal works. Over 10 years later we are still sourcing under this program.
Tarrazu is the only region in Costa Rica where coffee production is actually growing. The area itself accounts for 38% of the national coffee production. Around 19,000 pickers come to the area during harvest time, of which 10,000 will pick for the coop.
The co-operative provides nurseries, agronomy support and training and a whole host of services. Coffee pulp is converted into organic fertiliser, coffee trees are given to farmers to maintain crop health, and power for the office is generated from solar panels. The businesses that the coop also owns to maintain these activities – gas stations and supermarkets -also generates a reward to the cooperative members at the end of the year.
La Estica
La Estica is 99 hectares and was bought by Coope Tarrazú in 2013 as a farm for the cooperative.
The farm is run as a place for research and development, as well as producing specific microlots.
The coffee cherries are harvested 100% ripe, then left to dry in the sun on patios with the pulp until ready. This can take between 15 and 22 days, depending on precise weather conditions
About Costa Rica
Costa Rica – the surfer’s paradise of Central America is a fairly small tropical rainforest nation bordered to the east and west by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans respectively. To the north lies Nicaragua, and to the South the Isthmus of Panama. Costa Rica, unlike some of it’s Latin American neighbours, has enjoyed a relatively peaceful and stable transition from Colonial Spanish rule to successful independent nation. Tourism features highly on its foreign exchange earners index, as do banana and coffee exports. It is also recognised as one of the most Environmentally Sustainable countries in the world.
Flavour notes of : Rum, Orange, Toffee, Spices.
SINGLE ORIGIN - HONDURAS (Aruco - Micro Lot)
- Country: Honduras
- Region: Corquin, Copan
- Farm: Aruco Co- Op
- Varietal: IHCAFE 90
- 1200 - 1500 MASL
- Processing Method: Natural
The Aruco Cooperative, founded in 2006 by 14 producers, is located in Corquín, Copán Department, near the Guatemalan border. It was established to achieve fairer prices for their high-quality coffees, taking its name from Río Aruco, which originates in the Celaque National Park. The cooperative now supports over 200 producers, cultivating at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 1,600 masl and growing varieties like Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, IHCAFE 90, and Geisha. Aruco offers technical assistance, quality improvement, financial support, and promotes sustainable farming, being organic-certified. Currently, it produces 16,000 69kg bags of coffee annually, exporting worldwide and to the internal Honduran market.
This coffee is a blend from various producers participating in Aruco's micro-lot program, initiated during the 2016/17 harvest in collaboration with Falcon. In total, 34 producers contributed to this program. The blend consists of naturally processed coffee from varietals such as Parainema, Lempira, IHCAFE 90, and Red Catuai. Producers receive up to 70% of the final FOB for micro-lots they produce.
All micro lot coffees are processed at the Aruco Mill, to centralise and have greater control over the process; ensuring consistent procedures. The mill is situated 800 metres above sea level (MASL), giving a drier more stable environment/climate in which to dry the coffee; a much better alternative to the higher altitude farms where the weather can be less predictable.
On arrival at the mill the coffee cherries are assessed ( Brix reading taken - a measure of the amount of dissolved sugar ) and a decision is taken on the process for the coffees depending on space and what the producer has done already. The cherries are cleaned, washed and then floated to remove any that are unripe .
This coffee is then taken to the drying beds where it is dried for 15 - 20 days and turned hourly.
Flavour notes of : plum, raisin, toffee, fig, dark chocolate.
Honduras - General
No one knows for sure exactly when coffee first reached Honduras, but it is believed that seeds arrived from Costa Rica between 1799 & 1804, amongst the goods brought by travelling merchants.
Today, Honduras is the largest coffee producer in Central America & the industry plays an important role within the national economy.
Despite the huge scale of its annual coffee production & great potential for both growth & quality development, Honduras is rarely found center stage in the Central American coffee hall of fame – a mantle more likely coveted by its neighbours, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador; & yet on paper the reputation of Honduras should be up there with those countries, since it has the same conditions to produce very good coffees.
The high average annual rainfall, which reaches 240cm in the North of the country, can also complicate the process of drying coffee once it has been harvested, prior to export.
More...
Honduran speciality coffees are classified using a system categorized by the height at which the coffee was grown.
Strictly High Grown (SHG), applies to coffees grown above 1200 masl, &High Grown (HG) above 1000 masl.
ALTITUDE RANGE - 1000 - 1600 MASL
AREAS SOURCED FROM- Copan, Montecillos, Agalta, Opalaca, El Paraiso, Comayagua
NUMBER OF COFFEE FARMING FAMILIES - 110,000
Flores Island, Indonesia
- Country: Indonesia
- Region: Ruteng, Manggarai region, Flores Island
- Farm: Flores - Mbohang Lot 4
- Variety: Yellow Caturra, Typica, Kartika
- Altitude: 1500 masl
- Processing Method: Anaerobic 'Palm Juice Culture' Natural
Ruteng, Manggarai region
Tuang Coffee comes from Ruteng in the Manggarai region, Flores Island, and Nusa Tenggara in Timur, Indonesia. It started in 2014 when Andre Tuang decided to leave his job in Jakarta and head to Flores to work with farmers in Flores Manggarai. Before then it was rare to find coffee in that area that was not mixed with coffee from other regions like Sumatra, Java, or Toraja. Coffee was exported as commodity grade while farmers were under appreciated. They suffered from limited market access and unfair payment systems. Also few people cared about specialty coffee processing. By 2023, the organisation has more than 2000 members gathered in 12 farmer groups. Farmers are trained every season on when and how to pick their cherries for maximum quality. Tools are provided such as grass cutters, that encourage farmers not to use any herbicides, and pruning scissors and gloves. Financial support is also provided with a pre-harvest deposit or a bonus after the season. They grow yellow caturra, typica and kartika.
Coffee grows here in very healthy conditions. Trees are well spaced from one another. Farmers use dried grass, leaves, and pulped cherry skins as organic fertilizer. Pruning is carried out only when needed and shade trees are grown around the coffee areas. Cherries are picked by farmers in the Mbohang Village, then sent for processing in Ruteng.
Prefinancing is available to farmers every season. On the cherry price, the group offers one transparent price for every farmer and a fee rate for farmers’ group leaders who assist in procurement and quality collection.
Social and Environmental projects associated with this group and their coffee production are: funding the electricity infrastructure in Mbohang area; scholarships for employees and farmers children to pursue higher education; loans with zero interest rate for farmers and employees.
Anaerobic 'Palm Juice Culture' Natural
Flavour Notes: Wild strawberry and mango with jasmine, dark chocolate and tamarind
*Great News *
The long awaited Costa Rican Coffee is finally here. Rich, complex & boozy.
Now available to order.