Notes: Cherry, Lemon & Plum
Process: Microorganism Fermentation Washed
Region: Copan
Producer: Katia Duke
Farm: San Isidro
Variety: Catuai
Altitude: 1300 meters
About the Farm:
Katia Duke’s San Isidro farm is found in a dry and dusty area only a fifteen minute drive from the town of Ruinas de Copán in Copán Department, Honduras. The farm has been in Katia’s family for generations, producing coffee in the traditional way and selling parchment to local intermediaries.
The rewards of farming never come without struggle though, and Katia has had to work hard to see her plan come to fruition. Her first hurdle was simply to earn respect as a farmer, simply for being a woman. On her first day as a producer only two people, both women, showed up to work the farm with her—everyone else refused to work for a woman. Now, after years of hard work, Katia has developed a strong team at San Isidro built around the principle of mutual respect among everyone.
Katia has not only been able to achieve goals as a coffee producer and develop relationships with roasters, she has also been able to grow into being a leader in her community. The growth of San Isidro and the surrounding area has come hand-in-hand, with flagship projects like building a school and creating and supplying a nutritional program locally.
About the coffee:
This lot of Catuai coffee underwent Microorganism Fermentation Washed processing. The process begins with taking the leftover liquid from a batch of anaerobically fermented coffee, called mossto, which is full of different yeasts and microbial cultures from the fermented coffee. This microorganism-rich mossto is used to fuel the fermentation of this lot of coffee. Freshly harvested cherries are depulped and fermented in ceramic lined tanks for 18–24 hours with the mossto added. The coffee is then washed with fresh spring water to remove the remaining mucilage. Washed coffee is dried on either raised beds or concrete patio, depending on weather conditions.
