Episodes
Saturday Jan 27, 2018
Episode 481 on Monday the 29th of January, 2018. Guatemala El Limon Washed Pache
Saturday Jan 27, 2018
Saturday Jan 27, 2018
I first discovered El Limon on my trip to Guatemala in early 2013. At the time we'd never bought coffee directly from Guatemala, but since then this has become one of our strongest and most amazing relationships.
My friend Raul (whom you may remember as the World Barista Champion of 2012!) in Guatemala had been buying coffee from these guys for a couple of years, and he was very keen for me to go and meet them. Located around an hour's drive to the east of Guatemala City in the small town of Palencia, this farm sits at an altitude of between 1,600 and 1,800 metres above sea level. It's owned by Guadalupe Alberto Reyes, who's also just known as Beto. He used to be the Mayor of Palencia and helped to build and develop the town.
Palencia is not part of the eight regions of coffee as defined by Anacafé, but you can see a lot of development in the zone, and this farm is a perfect example of that development. I like being in places that are working to be hot and up-and-coming, as well as those that are established players.
One of the main reasons I love El Limon is the desire to experiment; the farm mostly produces Bourbon and Caturra, but also plays around with a few other varietals. The experimentation comes from Beto's motivation; he has really focused on the farm over the last couple of years. He wanted to take more care in every step they take – from picking to processing, to shipping – and also take more care in the agronomy of the farm. This is very much a family affair: his wife and son also work on the farm, along with Beto's siblings. In fact, his son is studying agronomy at the local college for the benefit of the farm.
Pache is a dwarf mutation of Typica. It's high-yielding, and it grows well between 900 and 1,800 metres above sea level. It was first seen in Guatemala and has since been crossed with some other varietals because of its high yield, and its resistance to pests and disease.
The dedication and care devoted to each step of production is reflected in the fact that the family has built a new wet mill so that they can separate different lots and have control over the quality of the coffee. Previously the mill could process only one lot; now they are able to process many lots, and keep separate days' pickings and varietals in their own parcels. With this wet mill came another opportunity, which was for neighbours and people within the region of Palencia to bring their coffees to the mill where they could get them processed. Again, another sign that this is a hot spot for Guatemalan coffee.
As time moves on, Beto doesn't want to stand still and is continuing to invest in the farm. He showed me lots of new planting during my recent visit, and a lot of building work around the wet mill. He is also building a QC lab and new accommodation for people working on the farm. It was a real hive of activity.
Beto and his family have always been the perfect hosts whenever I visited the farm. They are such welcoming people and take great pride in showing me around their farm. One of the kindest things they've done for me is to welcome me into their home when I am visiting, and they always prepare the most amazing meals! When you travel as much as I do, mid-trip you find yourself longing for something big, home-cooked, and not from a restaurant or roadside pop-up cafe. Traditional Guatemalan meals are just the ticket, and I always look forward to the food – but mainly I look forward to the company.
In the cup this reminds me of Greek yoghurt and lemon rind but the finish does a right turn into dark chocolate and delicate allspice.
- Country: Guatemala
- Region: Palencia
- Farm: El Limon
- Farmer: Guadalupe Alberto Reyes a.k.a. 'Beto'
- Altitude: 1,600 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: Pache
- Processing method: Washed
Saturday Jan 20, 2018
Saturday Jan 20, 2018
Hi there folks, listen up! This is 1 of those coffees that has quite a long name that contains quite a bit of information, and there's even more that I didn't put in there as I wanted to make it a little bit shorter too! So - let me explain all the bits...
'Costa Rica' (I'm guessing you worked this out!) is the country it's from.
'Don Mayo' is the name of the micro mill where the coffee is milled and processed.
'Finca La Loma' is the farm that the coffee was grown on.
'Yellow Honey' is the processing method (if you want to learn a little more about processing, be sure to check out our processing videos).
I've left the varietal information out of the total name as this is a mix of Villa Sarchi & Caturra, you can find more information about them both in our varietal archive.
See, I told you it was all important stuff!
Finca La Loma is located at an altitude of 1,850–1,900 metres above sea level in the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica, and it's owned by Hector Bonilla and his family. We first had a chance to enjoy coffee from this awesome farm/mill combo in 2014, and I'm delighted to see it back for another year. I came across it on my trip to Costa Rica in January 2013, because we were already working with the Bonilla family and their coffee from the neighbouring Finca Bella Vista.
The Don Mayo mill is somewhat of a celebrity in the world of coffee mills, winning a beautiful selection of awards for its coffees which are bought by many top buyers from around the world, and I am (of course) very pleased to be one of them.
In the cup this unique coffee hits you with peach and sharp nectarine, a white wine like acidity and finishes on fresh raspberry juice.
- Country: Costa Rica
- Region: Tarrazú
- City: Llano Bonito de León Cortes
- Farm: Finca La Loma
- Farmer: Hector Bonilla
- Micro mill: Don Mayo
- Altitude: 1,850–1,900 m.a.s.l.
- Variety: Villa Sarchi & Caturra
- Processing system: Yellow honey and sun dried
Saturday Jan 13, 2018
Saturday Jan 13, 2018
This is a brand new farm to us from the department of Jinotega, in the community of Lipululu. Although brand new, it comes from people who we know well and have worked with for over ten years. The family Mierisch (who you may recognise from such farms as Limoncillo, Mama Mina, Escondida and Milligros) have worked with us over that time to bring us delicious coffee.
Much of that deliciousness is thanks to their amazing processing, and Eleane is in charge of that. She works in the family business but has never owned her own farm – until last year, when she acquired Las Delicias.
The farm is located in the region of Jinotega at an average altitude of 1,450 metres above sea leve. It is located next to another Mierisch farm, which you might have heard of; it's called San José.
Eleane knows the area very well, and knows the land and what it's capable of producing. Add to this her passion for coffee, and you can start to understand why she wanted to produce coffee on a farm of her own.
The Longberry varietal is the fruit of some of the amazing experimental work that's taking place at Limoncello, another Mierisch farm. To explain a little bit of the story behind it, I'll hand over to another Mierisch that I just so happen to know. Oh hi there, Erwin!
Here my 'story' begins back in mid-2001. I sound like a grandfather ...
My father and I were coming back from visiting some top farms in Nicaragua, as we sometimes did – and do – in order to learn from our neighbours. If we discover anything worthwhile we then implement those things to improve efficiency and quality on our own farms.
As we drove past the UNICAFE experiment station Juanetillo, which had gone under, a man on the side of the road flagged us down and explained to us how the experiment station had closed down and that his 'severance' was tools and coffee seeds since they did not have the cash to pay him. He asked if we would be interested in helping him out by purchasing these items off of him. In all honesty, I was not very happy that my father forced me to stop to see what this man wanted; therefore, I was not very receptive to his offer, but I purchased a bag of seeds and old beaten up shovels. I gave no immediate thought to the 20 lb bag of coffee seeds that was labelled as JAVA.
My father later showed these seeds to our then-supervising agronomist Ing. Patricia Contreras, who had worked at that research station, and she was ecstatic. She told us about how great this coffee was, but also that it was not very productive nor resistant to disease, as she recalled from running this study at Juanetillo back in the '80s. She also said that the real name for it is Longberry and that it has its roots in Ethiopia.
We began to run some more experiments – various altitudes and processing methods – and have been learning how to manage it since.
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As far as we can tell the Longberry varietal is a Typica-type coffee because of its bean shape, as is the Geisha. Its physical appearance is a uniform seed that is elongated and has been described by several of our customers as an 'Ethiopian Long Berry type'.
In the cup there are lemons and lychees with a milk chocolate sweetness. It has a complex and super interesting finish.
- Country: Nicaragua
- Municipality: Lipululu
- Region: Jinotenga
- Farm name: Las Delicias
- Farmer: Eleane Mierisch
- Farm size: 20 manzanas (hectares)
- Coffee growing area: 20 hectares
- Harvest months: December–February
- Altitude: 1,450 m.a.s.l.
- Varietal: Longberry
- Processing method: Washed
- Diurnal temperature cycle: average high: 28°C; average low: 20°C
Saturday Jan 06, 2018
Saturday Jan 06, 2018
The Vieira Ferreira family has specialised in coffee production for three generations and is now headed by Adolfo Vieira Ferreira, whose attention to detail and commitment to producing top-class specialty coffee is second to none.
The farm employs a high number of skilled workers to carry out most of the production process by hand, in order to guarantee quality. They do everything, from soil preparation for planting to hand-picking the ripe cherries. In return, the farm looks after its workers. Permanent workers and their families live on-site and are provided with schooling for their children, professional training and environmental education.
The farm also takes environmental sustainability seriously and abides by all Brazilian environmental protection laws. Its native forests are set aside as protected reserves and are often visited by tourists, school children and ecologists. The farm also regularly plants new trees, particularly around its water sources, in order to maintain the local ecosystem.
Passeio’s coffee is picked by hand only when the cherries reach an advanced stage of ripeness, to avoid processing green beans. Pulped natural lots such as this one are pulped and then, rather than being soaked and washed, they are immediately transferred to the patios for drying, with the bean’s sticky outer mucilage still attached. The coffee is then kept in wooden resting bins for a minimum of 60 days before the final dry milling, and is sorted immediately prior to export.
The farm cultivates several different varietals: this Rubi lot, a hybrid of Mundo Novo, and Catuaí. This single-varietal lot was harvested and processed separately from other lots to maintain its own distinct characteristics.
In the cup expect delicious creamy milk chocolate with caramel and Brazil nut and a finish of apricot jam.
- Country: Brazil
- Region: Minas Gerais
- City: Alfenas
- Farm: Fazenda Passeio
- Owner: Adolfo Henrique Vieira Ferreira
- Varietal: Rubi
- Processing: Pulped Natural
- Drying method: Sun dried on patios
- Altitude: 1,100–1,200 m.a.s.l.