Honduran Org. 18 Rabbit Microlot – Black Honey

Description

This is the Black Honey version of the “18 Rabbit,” very fruit forward with some fermenty tones that make this cup quite wild. Higher chaff and more uneven roasting. A tasty challenge for a natural processed fan.

Nestled near the pyramids of the Mayan King known in the records as “18 Rabbit” (from which this coffee pulls its name), Flhor Zelaya Ontreras set out to change the coffee culture in her area.

Starting her first farm when she was five years old, she was already focusing on growing organically. Now, as an adult, Flhor is committed to total sustainability of the land. She acquired a Biodynamic certification, which guarantees that her farming not only has the absence of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, but that the planting of coffee does not disrupt the ecosystem. It instead works with it.

She manages an all-female cooperative and has now partnered with Cafe Kreyol and Cafe Femenino, to begin an entrepreneur program for indigenous women in the mountains.

Healthier land makes better coffee, and for her hard work, Flhor earns over 300% higher wages than the Fair Trade minimum. We have come to love her in the time we have known her, and we hope you can see why.

Tasting Notes: A good clean cup high rated cup of Honduran coffee. At light roasts it hold up well but will be higher acidity and very fruity and winy upfront with only a hint of a darker toned contrast. Medium roasts introduce a more chocolaty balance and mute up some of the acidity making it nice for a lower acidity fan. A great mix of fruit and chocolaty factor where one can play with the balance of tones through roast level. Darker roasts are not recommended, get edgy and smoky with a little hint of fruit coming through.

Roasting Notes: A bit more challenging to roast, higher chaff and roasts pretty uneven but well worth the challenge. I would cut the batch size a bit and bring it up to temp a bit slower. When shooting for the lighter roast mark you have to make sure to get the lighter beans through first crack otherwise you will want to flick anything out of the roast that has not quite expanded. Medium roasts a great and much easier to insure those lighter beans get where they need to be. Pushing close to 2nd crack still creates a tasty cup but will mute a lot of acidity and fruity factor, into 2nd crack is not recommended.