IL CAFETERO SPECIALTY COFFEE - Roastery

Shyira is the highest washing station in Rwanda. The temperate climate, high altitude and volcanic soil give the station a perfect microclimate for growing specialty coffee. As with all specialty coffee plantations, the harvesting phase is carried out only by hand. During this operation we try to make an initial qualitative selection of the coffee by removing the unripe or damaged cherries. Subsequently, the cherry undergoes an initial washing in tanks to remove any floating bodies, the aim is to make our coffee even cleaner. Once the parchment has been separated from the coffee bean, a final rinse is carried out. Once all the washing phases have been completed, the moment of drying arrives: first in an area dedicated to drying where a further quality control of the pulped beans is carried out. Once this check is completed, the beans are left to dry and turned regularly during the day.

The Los Santos plantation is located in an agroforestry system between 1700 and 2000 meters above sea level in the heart of the Amazon. Born in 1941, it has a long history in the coffee world and a family legacy that make this agricultural company rich in experience. On the farm the plants (exclusively arabica) and the processes are chosen with care: in addition to maintaining Caturra and Typica, other plants such as Geisha, Pacamara and Pacas have been introduced. Thanks to a covered area for drying the coffee with a temperature that does not go above 30°, they are able to apply different processes: natural, washed and Honey (yellow, red and black), all with excellent results, often obtaining coffees with ratings higher than 88 points.

Produced by Luiz Saldanha de Capricornio in his finca California, it follows the natural “Cold Soul” process developed by himself to give coffee grown at low altitude unique characteristics never experienced in this region. The extreme brightness, predominant fruit notes and complexity of this coffee are mainly due to the special process of washing the cherries in cold water overnight as the first processing step. In this way, a cleaner and sweeter coffee is obtained than a conventional natural process. Subsequently, the coffee dries slowly in the classic "African beds" for 25 - 30 days.

Four years ago, when Falcon started the project to develop quality coffee in Honduras, Carlos was appointed responsible for microlots and specialty coffee. This has allowed him to develop technical capabilities across all aspects of coffee, from plant nutrition to innovative extraction and drying methods. Given the success of the first project, Carlos decided to purchase new land and expand coffee cultivation. He found lands in the highest areas, all above 1450 meters above sea level. He grows caturra, lempira, parainema and Ihcafe 90, some of which were planted recently, while others were already growing when he purchased the land. Carlos relies on the nearby mill where the cherry is evaluated and the process is defined accordingly. The cherry is always cleaned and washed and then floated to remove any immature parts.