Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/59523
Fresh Cup I t was a late February afternoon when I called with the good news. "Congr atul a t ions, Toñito," I said over the crackly phone connec- tion from La Unión to San Carlos. The commo- tion of the harvest was almost all I could hear on the other end. "Thank you," replied Toñito. "What for?" "We cupped the first two coffees of yours today, and they are both on their way to San Pedro Sula tomorrow," I said. "They want to put them in front of a national panel of judges for qualification into the SCAA's Coffees of the Year competition." Five hours earlier, The weather finally cleared up after that rough week, and Toñito started bringing cof- fee to the beneficio. He brought as much cof- fee as he could pick: 750 pounds of Lempira varietal cherry each of the first two days, 500 pounds of Yellow Catuai on the third day and another 500 pounds of Lempira on the fourth day. The cherries from the DRYING TIMES MAY VARY: Toñito's coffee, finally harvested after weather-related delays, undergoes the moisture-reduction stage. regional IHCAFE cupping director Ramon Reyes blind cupped 20 coffee samples and, upon cupping the sample from Toñito's farm in San Carlos, remarked that he had never tasted anything like it before and selected it as one of two coffees from the region (one of six in Honduras) to compete for the chance to represent the country. BUMPS IN THE ROAD Although this development represented the beginning of a new opportunity for Toñito's coffee, his path recently hit a few bumps in the road. Only one month ago, the beneficio was prepared to start receiving coffee from Toñito's field when light rains began to fall. For one week, Toñito would call us each day to say he would harvest his beans the next if weather cooper- ated, and that we should be ready to receive it. However, each day we received a phone call saying that the rains were too heavy and he was unable to pick. first three days were some of the most amaz- ingly picked coffees we've seen. However, the week- long delay from rain did some damage. Parts of Toñito's field had begun to over-ripen and, by the fourth day, the only cof- fee that was left to pick was past its prime. After a difficult discussion, we decided that it would be best to wait until his third and final picking—scheduled for early March—before recommencing processing of coffee from his field. Still, the haul from the first three days was substantial; once the coffee is prepared for export, it will be a total of 275 pounds of Lempira coffee and 225 pounds of Yellow Catuai. The coffee from the fourth day will be sold to a local intermediary at a much lower price. BIG PLANS, BIGGER RESULTS Once the coffee was harvested, Toñito's work was done and ours began. With a coffee as well picked as what Toñito brought us, we knew there was great potential, but we also felt a heavy responsibility. If any step during processing went less than perfectly, his year's work would be negated, and his hopes to export his coffee would be dashed. And with this on our minds, we began the 15-day process of depulping, fermenting, and continued on page 60 freshcup.com April 2012 59 "Small F o the specialty mark armer Ant Hondur f ganization Unión Micr an f armer, Big Plans" is a ee t or onio "Tet f oñit oFinanza (UMF). or the o" P fir s onc t time, with the help of rur series tr e Bautis t acking a y a as he att empts t ear in the lifv al de o bring his c el e of - of opment