Proyecto Cabañas mill

Description

Location: La Paz
Varieties: Catimor, Catuai, Pacas
Process: Fully washed
Elevation: 1550-1730m

The lot is made up of coffee from 10 small producers in the villages of Los Planes Tierra Colorada, Agua Zarca, El Durazno & Las Marias in the Cabañas district. The producers have an average farm size of 2 hectares, at an average altitude of 1,700masl. Processing is carried out at the Proyecto Cabañas mill, situated at 1,753masl. Most of the farms are managed traditionally without pesticides or herbicides.

Some residents in Cabañas began to experiment with coffee cultivation in the year 2000 after seeing the success of the sector in other communities. They initially began with varieties such as Typica, until 2011 when an outbreak of roya (leaf rust) decimated crops. Producers renewed their farms with resistant Catimor varieties such as Lempira and have been growing since.

The farmers deliver their coffee to the mill in whole ripe cherry. It is then pulped and the mucilage is removed mechanically without fermentation. The coffee is thoroughly washed in clean water and then dried in the sun on raised beds for an average of 15 days. During this period the coffee is continually turned and selected to remove any defects. The Montecillos region is notable for its high altitude and subsequently cool temperatures, which allow coffee cherries to mature slowly and develop increased complexity in the cup.

Text from Heart Coffee Roasters' listing.