Dear coffee subscriber,
August has arrived and your subscription coffee has just left our roastery.
This month, we are tasting coffees from the Caballero family in Honduras. The coffees just arrived to our warehouse in July, so I’m really happy to share these really fresh coffees with you.
Years ago we started the work with Moises and Marysabel to plant and test new and old coffee cultivars at their farms. We wanted to do this to see if we could develop more interesting and diverse tasting coffees. The results are really interesting and we have been able to buy our favourite cultivars from the Caballero farms for several years. This is why you now have the the opportunity to taste different cultivars of coffee grown on the same farm.
Caballero Catuaí – 1st & 4th bag
Flavour notes: Chocolate, dried fruits & roasted nuts
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: February 2022
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Catuaí
Since we started buying coffees from Marysabel and Moises we have focused a lot on perfecting the process together in order to make their coffees taste clean, consistent and have a long shelf life.Two years ago, Moises started working a bit more on the fermentation stage when processing his Catuaí coffees. His wet mill is equipped with Penagos de-pulpers that have mechanical mucilage removers. This means that fermentation is not really necessary because most of the mucilage is removed from the beans mechanically, before they get dried. Still, Moises wanted to see if he could improve the quality slightly by letting the coffee ferment with the small amounts of mucilage still left on the coffee. The coffee is now fermented over night before washing and drying.
Since Moises started with the new protocol I have noticed more fruity flavours in their coffees and also the quality in the last years have greatly improved. The coffees are sweeter, have more concentration of flavour and the best lots have a delicious dried fruit, plum and red apple like flavour to them.
Although Marysabel and Moises produce a lot of the Catuaí cultivar, not all lots are produced the same way. Some are dried on patios and others in mechanical driers or on raised beds under shade. Over the years I have developed a protocol in cooperation with Moises and Marysabel on how to separate, process and especially dry and store the coffees. In the last 5-6 years they have been producing a lot of Catuaí coffees especially for us to choose from.
All the lots we buy are dried on raised beds in shade and are hand sorted and milled with extreme care and attention. It really makes a difference in the final cup. In fact Moises was the one who let me experiment with shade dried coffee in the first place and we found that the green coffee will stay fresh for a longer time and taste much cleaner than the patio or mechanically dried coffees they produce.
Caballero SL28 – 2nd & 5th bag
Flavour notes: Floral, red berries & apples
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: February 2022
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: SL28
Most of you know that the SL28 cultivar is commonly grown in Kenya and a big reason why Kenyan coffees are so fruity and intense. Still, we have found that when planted in other countries, the profile can change quite a bit. Like the SL28 from Finca Tamanna in Colombia, the SL28 from Marysabel and Moises is quite subtle in the flavour profile. I can still taste subtle flavours of red berries, and delicate floral notes but they are not as intense as in the SL28 coffee from Jobneel and his farm Nacimiento further north in Honduras. The Caballero’s SL28 coffee has a lighter body and some tannins like you find in black tea. I personally think that the quality of this coffee is much better this year compared to last year and that it has more intensity of fruity flavours and more sweetness than last years harvest.
The Caballeros only produce small amounts of this coffee from seeds that I gave them a few years back. This year we bought their total SL28 production of 300 kg and most of it will go out to our subscribers.
Caballero Batian – 2nd & 5th bag
Flavour notes: Citric, red berries & herbs
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: February 2022
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Batian
Batian is actually a Kenyan hybrid cultivar but this particular coffee was grown in Honduras by our friends Marysabel Caballero and Moises Herrera. They have only planted a small amount of these trees and we are fortunate to be able to buy their entire production of this cultivar.
This is the fourth year we are able to offer a small amount of this coffee and I believe it is tasting better this year than the previous years. I find the 2022 lot to have a more citric flavours and still with a delicate floral flavour, berry notes and a herbal finish. It is a very interesting coffee that has many layers of flavours to offer. I love tasting it next to other coffees from various origins as the flavour perception changes every time i come back to this Batian.
Caballero Java – 3rd & 6th bag
Flavour notes: Green tea, floral & white chocolate
Producer: Marysabel Caballero & Moises Herrera
Harvest: February 2022
Origin: Chinacla, La Paz, Honduras
Process: Washed
Cultivar: Java
Marysabel and Moises grow very little of this rare Java cultivar. We have been fortunate to be able to buy most of their Java coffees since they started their production and for some of us it is a little highlight of the year. This is kind of a controversial coffee. Some people love it while others don’t get what it is all about.
I personally really like how different it is to all our other coffees. With a very distinct green tea or Oolong tea flavour and its creamy mouthfeel it reminds me of eating the green tea flavoured white chocolates that are so popular in Japan. I believe it has never tasted better than this years harvest. The beans look bigger, the flavours are more pronounced and it is more mouth watering and juicy to drink compared to previous harvests.
The Java from the Caballero family is definitely very recognisable on a cupping table because of its distinct flavour profile. Try to open your mind before tasting this coffee and enjoy the richness and tea like flavours of this Java.