Description
A very highly rated natural processed. Fruity but not overly fermented like many of the modern natural processed coffees. Great balance of tones, sweetness and complexity. Produced by a friend of a friend, Julio who owns Finca Los Conejos is buddies with Edwin at Finca Vista Hermosa, who is one of our longest standing direct relationships and sources some stellar lots for us including from his own family farm.
Tasting Notes: A beautiful cup from light to dark roasts. A very sweet cup with fruity highlights, good body and medium acidity. Being a high rated bean, it is very clean at lighter roasts, which we thought presented it best, but found darker roast points with its mix of stronger malty dark tones with a pinch of fruit in the aftertaste, quite tasty as well. Light roasts are delicate, sweet and clean. Will have a little citric crispness upfront, a bit of fruitiness and some lovely malty contrast. A fruit note for sure, but not overly fermented like many, a bean for every coffee fan.
Roasting Notes:
If your a natural processed fan, keep this on the lighter side. Although fruity, it is not a fruit bomb coffee, to see clear and defined fruit notes, light to medium roasts will be best. For traditional Guatemalan fans, medium to dark is the way to go, will show many traditional Guatemalan notes with above average sweetness and complexity. Beans are a little higher chaff but will roast pretty even.
For the past few years, Julio Ordoñez of Finca Los Conejos worked with local coffee expert and owner of Finca La Canoa to pioneer, experiment, and perfect small to large scale production of alternative processes. At first, just a small portion of the land was planted with new trees. When they began producing cherry, the 90% Catuai and 10% Bourbon varieties were given to natural processing. Each year since the first production, lots produced at Los Conejos have performed very well in regional competitions, winning many awards. This initial success inspired the family to invest deeply in more production. Catisic, Yellow Bourbon, Pacamara, Mundo Novo and Gesha varieites were planted, and the farm is just beginning to see the first harvests of some of these young lots. Alternative processing like anaerobic and carbonic maceration are also up-leveling the quality of more mature lots, whose trees had been well established before the transfer in ownership. Cherry picking is determined with the use of brix refractometers. Harvest begins mid-December, and cherries are hand-picked through March. The height of harvest is the beginning of March, when the majority of workers are needed to pick ripe cherries.
The farm sits amidst an old growth pine forest, with a great variety of other shade trees including cypress and encino oaks, and fruit trees such as orange, lemon, loquat, jocote, pacaya, banana, and platano rojo. Altitudes range from 1500 to 1625 MASL. The soil is a fluffy volcanic loam composition with rich compost material. Clean water for irrigation and processing is provided by three ground sources, as well as the Pinula River along the northern boundary of the farm. In addition to rich biodiversity, Los Conejos practices multilayer cultivation, or polyculture. This approach improves the overall productivity of the farm, adds layers of income diversification, creates food security for the community, and engages long-term sustainability. Crops fruit on different cycles throughout the year, and animals need tending throughout the year. The farm has goats, chickens and rabbits, as well as bees for pollination and honey production.
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