Grower: Members of Asociación de Productores Orgánicos Café Organico Marcala, S.A. (APROCOMSA)

Altitude: 1300 – 1700 masl

Variety: Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra, Lempira, Ihcafe 90, Pacas, and Typica

Soil: Clay minerals

Region: Marcala, La Paz, Honduras

Process: Fully washed and dried in the sun and mechanical dryers

Harvest: November – February

Certification: Fair Trade (FT / USA) | Organic

Sourcing Details:

Here is one of those rare opportunities where all that is good about coffee intersect.  Simply a trifecta of: organic farm management practices; traceable to producers in the Marcala region, a protected designation of origin (DENOMINACION DE ORIGEN CAFE DE MARCALA); and a meticulous post-harvest standard of hand sorting cherry, cherry floating to remove less dense and damaged beans, proper fermentation, and long drying times.

Cooperative Activities:

It starts with a concept called Finca Humana (the Human Farm) at Asociación de Productores Orgánicos Café Organico Marcala, S.A. (APROCOMSA), where the wellbeing of humans is the core objective and educating more than 1,500 producer-members to successfully live in harmony with nature is everywhere.  At La Fortaleza, the APROCOMSA biodynamic demonstration farm, the focus of transferring knowledge takes place through week-long seminars called Pata de Chucho (pawprints left by a stray dog), which aptly reveals APROCOMSA’s dogged exploration for human productivity in harmony with nature.  The trailblazing ideas for using organic matter to productively cultivate high quality coffee is only a sliver of what APRCOMSA teaches about the power of nature through the Finca Humana philosophy.  APROCOMSA dedicates funding from the proceeds of coffee sales to run a cutting edge International school dedicated to filling children’s minds with possibility, and training them to be the future leaders of Finca Humana.

Processing Details:

This particular lot is a washed process carried out at APROCOMSA’s centralized wet-mill dedicated to process organic lots.  After farmers meticulously harvest ripe cherries and deliver them to APROCOMSA, the post harvest process begins by floating cherries to eliminate under ripe and damaged coffee.  The water is recycled several times to ensure conservation of water.  Next the cherries are depulped and the mucilage covered beans are fermented in tanks for 24 hours.  Then the coffee is washed mechanically with a demucilager designed to significantly reduce wastewater.  The washed coffee in parchment is dried on patios to 11 percent moisture and then stored until preparation for export.

Exporting Details:

APROCOMSA’s dry-mill facility is also located in Marcala where dried coffee in parchment is received, cupped and selected for export. Coffee is hulled and sorted by density and color in preparation for export.  APROCOMSA has a fully equipped cupping lab and several Q graders who check the quality prior to shipping.  APROCOMSA’s preparation ensures traceability and quality control throughout the post harvest process, which is a vital resource for establishing higher prices for producers.

Grower: Smallholder farmers organized around Fahem General Trading PLC

Altitude: 1900 masl

Variety: Indigenous landraces and heirloom cultivars

Soil: Vertisol

Region: Limu Seka district, Jimma zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia

Process: Washed

Harvest: October - December

Certification: Organic

This is a smallholder-grown coffee processed centrally by Fahem General Trading PLC, an independent specialty exporter operating in Limu Seka, a small agricultural area at the top of the Jimma zone, southeast of Addis Ababa. Generally considered part of Ethiopia’s “western” coffee area, Jimma sits next to the Keffa zone, in whose high altitude forests arabica coffee is believed to have first evolved.  

Jimma Zone  

Jimma zone sits southwest of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Like much of coffee-growing Ethiopia, Jimma is a broad, sloping plateau of indescribable fertility and drastically high elevations. The best coffees of Jimma, from the Limu, Gera and Goma districts in particular, are known for being snappy with sweet and delicate fruit flavors. The area’s “white” honey, foraged by bees from coffee and forest blossoms, is another famous Jimma icon, and an utter sensory delight. Coffees from this zone, along with those from neighboring Illubabor, are commonly referred to as “Limu”, which is not a geographical indicator itself but more of a terroir distinction encapsulating common cup profiles from this part of the country.  

Fahem General Trading PLC and processing  

Ato Mohamed Lalo is the founder of Fahem General Trading PLC and is very involved in Ethiopia’s specialty industry, along with his wife, who co-runs the couple’s private coffee estate in Limu Seka. Like a lot of private estates, they make the most of their processing capacity by buying cherry from surrounding smallholders—in this case almost 3,000 of them—to use the estate like a washing station, processing centrally and selling the coffee separately from farm’s.  

Fully washed coffee is produced by intaking cherry from registered smallholders daily at Fahem’s collection sites in the area. The coffee is weighed and transported to the estate where it is immediately depulped and fermented underwater for an average of 12 hours, then soaked in fresh water for another 12 hours, and finally washed and spread across raised screen beds to dry. Drying takes 7-10 days, after which the parchment coffee is bagged and moved into a ventilated warehouse for longer term storage.  

Fahem consists of over 500 staff during harvest months, including all farm work, certification, training for farmers, marketing for their international sales (and local roasted brand), and apiary management. A portion of the company’s profit is annually reinvested in the local community, including schools, grain mills, pruning tools for smallholders, a local bridge, and expanding the national electric grid.

Grower: Association of Special Coffee Producers of Huehuetenango (ASOPCE) | 450 members

Altitude: 1350-2050 masl

Variety: Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra, Pache, and San Ramon

Soil: Clay minerals

Region: Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Process: Fully washed and dried in the sun

Harvest: December-April

Certification: Organic

There are plenty of obstacles to cultivating and exporting coffee from the department of Huehuetenango. The terrain is rugged, and the weather is extreme. But coffee grows well here, and more than 450 families with farms that average just a few acres in size work together through a cooperative called the Association of Special Coffee Producers of Huehuetenango (ASOPCE) to overcome the obstacles.

Each family uses their own micro-mill to process their harvest, which allows for meticulous care in cherry selection, depulping, fermenting, and drying the coffee. ASOPCE has a centralized warehouse to store dried parchment until it is time to move the coffee across the country along rough roads to Guatemala City where the coffee is prepared for export. Through ASOPCE, producers have gained access to technical assistance for managing their farms with the best agricultural practices. Using materials like coffee pulp to make organic fertilizers has helped reduce the transportation costs associated with purchasing fertilizer from afar, and at the same time, creates an abundant source of fertilizer that ensures better yields and quality.

Grower: Siane Organic Agriculture Cooperative (SOAC)

Altitude: 1350 masl

Variety: Bourbon, Typica

Soil: Volcanic loam

Region: Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea

Process: Fully washed and dried in the sun

Harvest: April-September

Certification: Organic

Description ComPAPUA NEW GUINEA ORGANIC SIANE CHIMBU A/X is sourced from farms organized around the Siane Organic Agriculture Cooperative (SOAC) located in the Chuave district within the province of Chimbu, Papua New Guinea.  SOAC accesses the international coffee markets for farmers, creating greater earning capacity from direct trade relationships. SOAC also assist farmers with financing, coffee quality improvement, organic certification, and community based projects that promote gender equality and education.ing Soon