Guatemalan Coffee Blossom Honey – Producer Series – 4 -12 oz jars

Description

One of each of our Coffee Blossom Honeys!

Three distinct micro-lots of Coffee Blossom Honey from acclaimed Guatemalan coffee producers. The Producer Series highlights each of these talented producers and shares the unique flavor, origin, and story of each micro-lot.

• Jorge Mendez is the original single-origin producer of Coffee Blossom Honey from the legendary farm Finca El Apiario (“Honeybee Farm”).  El Apiario honey exhibits a well-balanced body with brown sugar and vanilla aromas. Flavors of peach, chamomile, caramel, and orange are finished with delicate lavender notes.

• Francisco Cardona, known in the local community as “Chico Cardona”, was born picking cherry.  At the age of fifteen he was picking full time and working neighboring farms.  Having grown up impoverished Chico Cardona dreamed of owning his own land.  Ten years after saving his first quetzales, he bought a tiny ten square meter plot and began cultivating coffee. Don Francisco has been producing honey for twelve years.  In conversations with neighboring producers, he had learned about the secondary income they were making selling their honey, in addition to significant improvements to coffee production.  He began with twenty five frames, and in the first years nearly lost his colonies entirely.  Over many years he taught himself how to partner with the bees, and over time fell in love with them.  Now Chico Cardona has three apiaries, and around 150 hives.  It’s no accident his farm is called La Colmenita, or “The Beehive”.  Finca La Colmenita lies at 1800 – 2000 MASL, just above our family farm in San Pedro Necta.  Each year coffees from La Colmenita are well-sought after:  Deeply fruited like strawberries and tropical punch, complex and sweet, grounded in chocolate and spice.  Their Coffee Blossom Honey is no less special, with a rich and silky texture, bright florals, tropical fruits and citrus.

• Ana Maria Ortega grew up with bees.  The apiary was close to the house, and she recalls consuming the sticky rich honeycomb as much as inhaling the intoxicating fragrance of coffee blossoms.  Her father lovingly kept the apiary, but when Ana Maria was just seventeen, her parents died tragically.  The farm was hers, and she poured her grief into running Finca Los Angeles, waking up before dawn to pick and process cherries, raking in her parchment after dark.  But the bees floundered.  The hives nearly died out as Ana Maria had no idea how to care for them.  Through years of hard lessons and support from neighbors, she learned how to successfully partner with both coffee plants and bees.  Now, Ana Maria highlights these challenges as catalysts for her growth into the leader she is today.  Aside from cultivating excellent coffee at Los Angeles and Piedra Partida, Ana Maria Ortega is proud to share her delicious honey.

• Otto Herrera is a third generation coffee producer and has over 50 years of experience growing specialty coffee. La Esperanza Coffee Blossom Honey is an extension of the Herrera family’s legacy of quality and innovation. La Esperanza offers a complex, crystallized profile with a wild floral and citrusy aroma. Bursting flavors of red apple, kiwi and jasmine greet your first taste, followed by warm cinnamon and sweet lemonade finish.

This honey is very dense and during the winter months may arrive partly crystallized. Soaking the jar in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes will return it to a honey consistency.