Every expert of coffee knows about the entire process of coffee from the seed, plant, drying and roasting to the final product. I am far short of one of those experts, yet enjoy learning and conversing with them, so that I can assist the impoverished here both mentally and wealth wise. The two essential variables are the ecosystem or micro climate and the plant, which sometimes results in coffee scoring in the 90s or low 80s. However, the means to improve and maintain a high 80s or 90s coffee requires best practices and essential effort and knowledge of the process by farmers and roasters to wash depulp and pick ripe coffee.
The two variables needed to buy or own a farm are the micro climate & the plant. The micro climate or altitude (density & fuller flavor), amount of sun (sweetness), presence of shade & fruit plants, rain, and other climate conditions make a great opportunity or leave one with nothing spectacular. Naturally, the micro climate must be feasible or a good match to your plant, which grows best. Each strain of coffee has its own traits, strengths, and flavors. Currently, Geisha is the best, coming from Panama and costing a fortune both to plant and buy to roast. Still, a good catuai in Honduras can ultimately have the same cupping score as a geisha, as that strain is from Panama for Panama and not always worth the cost for Honduras. In buying or choosing a location, the prevalence of sun, water, good soil, and ample shade are essential. Costs vary currently from 80,000 lps a manzana to 180,000 for a prime property without coffee plants. These same properties valued closer to 15-30,000 back when coffee prices were below $100. After buying the land, find a plant that you find has a good taste, which implies you knowing the flavor of its parent plant or at least knowing that it fits the micro climate. Naturally, you should change out the plant, if you do not have a specialty flavor within 5-15 years, so that you can move into specialty coffee.
Besides the preparation of the location, the process of maintaining the farm is essential, which includes weeding and using a machete to keep weeds down to benefit the farm. Most will admit that herbicides will hurt yield, flavor, and soil. Many claim that fertilizer is essential, while others claim organic and coffee pulp fertilizer is enough. Regardless, to keep up quantity of production you need to fertilize well, usually only 4 times a year with 9 bags a manzana or 3 a hectare (not very good with conversion 1.6 manzanas are a hectare?). The shade needs fruit trees, bees, and other products to consume or sell, especially quality lumber trees. Otherwise, spacing of the plants at a half meter is important, as well as making sure no diseases develop. Naturally, the best coffee farms have the farmer living and working the field often, so living outside of the country is a sure way to limit oneself to poor coffee or a stolen property.
Washing and depulping coffee, is considered by many the essential process for quality; yet really it is this with the picking of it that gives cuppers the ability to test your process with exact accuracy. The cupper can tell if you picked pink or semi ripe cherries/grapes, as there is a cereal flavor that remains. Any coffee that has significant problems like over ripe coffee or over fermented coffee are disqualified getting sub 80s and a return to sender for a breach of contract. Thus, regardless of the entire process this is the place to put effort into to maintain quality. The picker that picks only bright dark red cherries and has it depulped at exactly 3 hours will get the best flavor out of the coffee, according to Soren Markuessen, regularly placing in the top 6 world’s best roaster. Also the fermentation process have signature methods like the Kenyan or the day later Honduran. Unfortunately, the fermentation is not standardized here, nor is essential for quality coffee. Unfortunately many just leave the coffee fermenting until the next day, usually 12 hours. This allows for many problems to develop, as sometimes fermentation is quicker or slower. If one plunges a stick into the coffee and the beans do not refill the space immediately, the coffee is ready or fermented. If you leave it too long in the water or too short, the coffee has different flavors. As in baking everything done on purpose can be good, which includes leaving the honey on the coffee to retain more sugar or not fermenting it. Still, the essential is a fermentation of 6-12 hours that leaves the coffee without a phenol taste.
There are many costly ways of washing and depulping including storing the waste honey of the coffee and pulp. Still, the easiest is the simplest without large machinery or $30,000 investment, as they rely on less water and fewer lakes of stinky calcium needing stench ponds. The machine is small and mobile, so that one can place it under the wooden tub with tubing running with the water to a far off lake or two and the pulp being piled behind the tub. Naturally, the process will require walking up a ladder to dump the coffee into the tub, and room for someone to both make sure the pulp is disposed of and does not block the water’s flowing away. Calcium is essential to keep the stench down and kill any larva inside the water. These less costly processes tend to lack the ability to bake using honey or fermenting processes. Still, the lowest cost on environment, your wallet, and time make this process desired locally.
What do you think of the many stumbling blocks?
Does anyone want to go to a tasting?
Does anyone want to learn how to cup coffee?
Do you want to buy a farm in Honduras?
What do you think of fermented coffee or solely washed?
Do you have any questions for my local farmers or me?
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