Coffee Info
Want to know more about what's in your bag? Why of course you do (or you probably wouldn't be here).
We like to keep it simple on the sticker but we'd love to tell you a little bit more about the amazing producers and processes that make these marvellous beans on this dedicated page of information.
If there's anything else you'd like to see, let us know we're very happy to share all parts of journey :)
Guatemala - recommended for espresso, stove top and aeropress (with or without milk)
Region - Sacatapéquez Department, Antigua
Producer - San Carlos
Importer - Falcon Coffees
Process - Washed
Varietal - Bourbon and Caturra
1500-1700 masl
Roast - Medium
Notes - Red plum, milk chocolate, toffee, round buttery and structured
San Carlos is a 16 hectare farm owned by the same producers of Villa Estela and San Ignacio, these 3 farms are historic farms located amongst the ruins, tiendas and restaurants of downtown La Antigua, Guatemala.
The owner is currently not running the farms directly but he asked Josué at Los Volcanes to take care of them directly, that brought out the farms full potential for specialty coffee production.
Carlos Durán was the founder of these farms in 1850 and has passed them down through his family's generations.
The main cultivar found on this farm is 100 to 135 year old Bourbon varietals. These plants have been grown and managed and pruned in a way that at a certain height, around the average height of a Guatemalan, they bend and grow towards the ground, many with the tops now touching the ground. This method is used so that the pickers are able to reach all of the cherries without stunting the growth of this precious variety. The trick to keeping this variety productive for so long is by alternating between plants harvested every year.
The natural cycle of a coffee plant is to produce every two years, however, humans have been able to stress the plants to produce every year.
On San Carlos the plants remain productive and live longer by allowing plants to rest each year between production.
Also stripping the plants of every leaf and cherry at the end of the harvest season helps keep their ancient Bourbons healthy and productive, through continuous regeneration.
Aside from Bourbon, San Carlos produces 40 year old Caturra and Catuaí varietals. The main shade tree used on San Carlos is Gravilea and Inga. Particular care is given to those shade trees that get pruned once every 10 years allowing the trees to
grow higher than those found on traditional Antigua farms. The taller shade trees help protect the plants from the frost characterised by the cool Antigua nights while allowing a breeze to pass through the plantation to keep a lower level of humidity.
An interesting fact about this farm is the duration of their harvest season that start in December, sometime even November and lasting all the way through to April, the harvest season of this farm is remarkably longer than those of the neighbouring coffee farms. Most farms in this region are only in harvest from January to March. How they manage to achieve this long lucrative season remains a mystery!.
Bag Code - 11111122
Nicaragua - recommended for pour-over, filter and cafetiere (with or without milk)
Region - Ocotal
Producer - Cafetos De Segovia
Importer - Falcon Coffees
Process - Washed
Varietal - Mixed
1400 masl
Roast - Medium
Notes - Peanut Butter, Brown Sugar, Dark Choc
Cafetos de Segovia is a dry mill located in Ocotal and surrounded by coffee land, making it easy for producers to deliver the wet parchment the same day as they harvest and process it. In 2015, a local producer family realised that the prices paid for coffee cherries in the region were too low and that they could produce high-quality coffee on their own farm.
They decided to create a dry mill to add value to their product, and that mill is now run by sisters Martha and Ana, along with their team. The family own a few farms that were inherited from Martha and Ana’s father. Like many properties in the area (in the north, bordering Honduras), the story of the farms’ ownership is a complex one. From 1975-1979 the Nicaraguan revolution hit the entire country, but it was even more intense at the Honduran border, forcing the family to emigrate to the USA. They returned to Ocotal six years later to find that their house and much of their farmland had been seized by the government. Only the house was returned to them – they had lost more than 100 manzanas (70ha) of coffee farm.
Up to 30 people work at the mill during the season. Most of the coffee is delivered as wet parchment or cherries and 80% of the lots are washed. The drying is usually started on a patio, in the shade for 5-6 days and then in full sun. All patios are covered with black net so that the coffee is not laid directly on the floor. Shade drying is necessary as the sun hits hard at this lower altitude (less than 900masl). The naturals are moved every 3-4 hours and the coffee is piled during the hottest hours of the day.
Cafetos de Segovia submits lots to the national Cup of Excellence every year, and always ranks highly.
Bag Code - 22222235
Peru - recommended for pour-over, filter, cold brew (without milk)
Region - El Laurel, La Coipa, San Ignacio, Jaen
Producer - Marcelino Chinguel
Importer - Falcon Coffees
Lot - Lot 2
Process - Natural
Varietal - Marshell
1750 masl
Roast - Medium
Notes - Elderflower, mango and papaya, gooseberry and pink grapefruit acidity, tropical juicy and sweet
Don Marcelino Chinguel had been growing coffee for most of his life, well over forty year, despite that he is always willing to explore and change his way of thinking, and this lot represent that spirit, this is the first lot produced by the Marshell variety that Marcelino planted in 2018 on his farm.
On the farm, La Lucuma, he lives with his family and they are taking care of most of the work that need to be carried out, hiring eight pickers only during the harvest.
Within the family they had been spreading the workload in specific areas of responsibilities.
Marcelino is taking care of the administration and sales duties, his wife manage the post harvesting protocols, Franclin the oldest son is in charge to overview the picking, and the youngest son Yocner is the QC manager.
This lot his process as natural and after picking is hand sorted, floated and left to rest for 16 hours before laid out to dry on raised beds in the solar drier for around 20 to 30 days.
Bag Code - 33333342
Colombia - recommended for all brew methods, with or without milk
Region - Argelia
Producer - Cauca / Siruma (female owned)
Importer - Falcon Coffees
Process - Sugar Cane
Varital - Mixed
2040 masl
Roast - Medium
Notes - Raspberry, Milk Chocolate, Butter Biscuit Finish
This coffee comes from the municipality of Argelia which is situated in the south west of the department of Cauca. Cauca is the 4th largest producer of specialty coffee in Colombia with around 90,000 small holder farmers all producing coffee on approximately 1ha of land. Often these farmers are part of small associations who have very limited access to market as well as limited resources to find channels to sell their coffees at the premiums they could achieve.
The Argelia municipality is located in an area that has been plagued by the civil unrest and illegal drug trade for many years. This is still a pertinent problem for the families living here and many of them are looking to make a living though legal channels where they can support their families and communities.
Siruma Coffee a small specialty female led exporter have launched a project in this past season that started in 2020 in Argelia for an initial 15 months period until early 2022. The funding has come from USAID to support 5 small Associations incorporating about 220 families who grow coffee for their livelihood. Siruma have been providing technical assistance of the ground with their agronomist helping provided educational sessions on pre and post harvest techniques for the families that wish to join. Baseline data was established from the producers who each annually produce approximately 17 bags of green exportable coffee. The producers are also being trained in sensory analysis of the coffees and how their own coffees taste and the impact of processing on quality. Siruma are also helping to provide commercial specialty channels for the coffees though the partnership with Falcon Coffees who are buying all the coffee sourced from this project.
The farmers from these associations all have small 1 ha farms and have mix of varieties including Typica, Tabi, Caturra, Castillo and Colombia. As well as producing coffee they also produce small amounts of food for consumption including bananas, avocado and oranges. Some of which they can sell to also generate extra income. In the harvest they will pick the ripe cherry with their family and will do this every week as the coffee ripens at varying stages even on such small plots. Once picked they then wash and float the cherry before then pulping the coffee and leaving it to ferment overnight for 12 - 18 hours.
After this the wet parchment is floated and immatures removed before being dried for 8 - 14 days in parabolic tents or on covered roof patios.
The coffee is then taken to the association where it is stored and the producers receive the initial payment for their coffees. The coffee is then assessed by the Siruma team and all coffees purchased that meet the physical quality specifications required.
Initially in the first phase of the project in total there have been 165 producers who have attended training and from this in total 92 of these have delivered coffees to Siruma. All of these 92 producers have received on average 9.5% more than the local market rate for their coffees.
The Sugar Cane Decaf Process
The coffee first undergoes steaming at low pressures to remove the silver skins before then being moistened with hot water to allow the beans to swell and soften. This then prepares the coffee for the hydrolysis of caffeine, which is attached to the salts of the chlorogenic acid within the coffee.
The extractors (naturally obtained from the fermentation of sugar cane and not from chemical synthesis) are then filled with moistened coffee which is washed several times with the natural ethyl acetate solvent, to reduce the caffeine down to the correct levels. Once this process is finished the coffee then must be cleaned of the remaining ethyl acetate by using a flow of low pressured saturated steam, before moving onto the final steps. From here the coffee is sent to vacuum drying drums where the water previously used to moisten the beans is removed and the coffee dried to between 10-12%.
The coffee is then cooled quickly to ambient temperature using fans before the final step of carnauba wax being applied to polish and provide the coffee with protection against environmental conditions and to help provide stability. From here, the coffee is the packed into 35kg bags ready for export.
Bag Code - 44444449
fyi
All our coffee beans are specialty grade, sustainably sourced through a selection of passsionate importers. As we grow we hope to work directly with farms but all aspects to this process and approach can be improved and will always look at what we can do to be as transparent and conscious and are always open change.
Each bean is designed for how you brew and drink your coffee but there are no strict rules, feel free to experiment and mix them up. you could just find you favourite new flavour combo.
To keep our packaging as minimal as possible we only stamp the best before date, if you're interested in the roast date, it will be 3 months prior to the date shown on the bottom of the bag. We recommend storing in an airtight container or rolling the top of the bag as tightly to the coffee as it gets used. The batch/bag codes relate to the coffee inside. Beans will change seasonally and subject to stock but rest assured all coffee will be carefully chosen and roasted follow our themes for each bag and brew method.