February 2012 Coffee News

-Sun Dried

The past few days, with temperatures in the 40's and our limited snow melting quickly, we've been surrounded by fog here in Saint Paul, reminding our family of the coffee farm in Honduras. Up in the mountains, it isn't fog so much as clouds that roll in (it is the cloud forest after all). But the sensation is the same. We've posted a few of our favorite "foggy day" photos from Honduras in our photo gallery here and here and here. Below we talk more about the sun (or lack thereof) -- and the challenges of drying coffee in the sun when you live in a cloud forest.

Sun Dried
Our labels, brochures and the top of our website boast that our coffee is "shade grown, hand picked, sun dried and fair trade." Since we've written about the first two of these in the past (click on the links if you missed those particular newsletters), it is time to write about "sun dried." (With hopes that thinking about the sun will help it appear sometime soon.) Visit a coffee producing country during harvest season (which is right now in Central America) and you'll see coffee spread out drying in the sun on every possible surface -- including at times some roadways. Coffee berries are picked, the berry part is removed, the seed part is washed and fermented for a day and then -- if it isn't immediately sold wet -- it needs to be dried. (See our flickr slideshow for photos of this whole process.)

Many coffee farmers, including Guillermo's family, have a cement patio where they spread coffee to dry in the sun. At night, the coffee is collected into sacks and stored inside in case it rains. The next day, if the sun is shining, it is spread out again. Depending on how sunny it is, this process is repeated for several days until the coffee is dried thoroughly. Unfortunately, in the mountains, the coffee harvest coincides with the rainy season, making the process of drying coffee a real challenge. Some farmers simply sell their coffee wet as quickly as they can, taking a reduction in price in exchange for the convenience of not needing to dry their coffee. Others have patios (or rent patio space) down in the valley where the sun shines more consistently. Large exporters purchase dryers to mechanically dry coffee quickly.

In the area where our family farms, a new approach to drying coffee is taking hold. The coffee producers association that Guillermo's brother Sabel works for has been giving grants to farmers to build green houses and drying serandas out of fairly simple materials -- plastic tubes, large sheets of plastic, wood (usually gleened from the forest) and screens (like you'd find in a screen door). The plastic is stretched over the tubes in a "hoop house" type of green house that keeps rain away from the coffee and holds in heat. The screens, set in large wooden tables, allow the coffee to dry more quickly on top and on the bottom. When the coffee harvest is done, the green houses can be used to grow vegetables, coffee seedlings and even provide a great place to dry clothes. Guillermo's brothers now have 4 of these "coffee dryers" and when he was there he helped build a 5th one for his dad. We hope this makes the process of getting their coffee ready to export to us that much easier.

Holiday Flavors - while supplies last
For a limited time, you can still order our popular holiday flavors on a "first come first served basis" but only while supplies last. Visit our website for descriptions and the latest inventory. When they are gone, they're gone.

Vienna Roast
By request, we reordered the Vienna Roast again in February. This roast is a bit darker than our Full City Roast by not as dark as the French Roast -- described by our roaster as: "Dark brown with small amounts of oil on the bean's surface, light roast flavor. "  12 oz and 5 lb bulk bags are available. Visit our website for the latest inventory. 

Housecleaning Help
Just a reminder that Guillermo's sister Consebida and her daughter Cinthia are providing house cleaning services. If you are interested give Cinthia a call at 651-487-1231 or 651-285-3067 or email her at rodriguez20007@gmail.com for a cost estimate based on the size of your house and the frequency of cleaning you need.