Latin America

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #10

Counter Culture Honduras El Puente – Marysabel Caballero.  Counter Culture’s Peter Giuliano calls this coffee the Purple Princess “because its perfume and silkiness seem feminine and regal, and the aromas and flavors of the cup—lavender, plum, grape, incense—all seem purple.” I was eager to try this coffee.  Not only did the description seem intriguing (especially for a Central American coffee), I had not yet tried a Honduran.  Importantly, it was also shade grown — and farm owner Marysabel Caballero fosters a hectare of native forest for each hectare of shade coffee she grows.  She has 17.5 ha in coffee at this time.

Caballero’s farm, Finca El Puente, is in southwestern Honduras, La Paz department, near the city of Chinacla; coffees in this vicinity are often marketed under the name of another nearby municipality, Marcala (see map, click to enlarge).  Cataui is the variety grown.

El Puente has a great pedigree in the Cup of Excellence competitions.  It garnered third place in 2004 (under Dulce Nombre) and moved up to second place in 2005.  It slipped to 8th in 2006 (although still scoring 88.91), yet it went for a higher price at auction than any of the other winners.

This was the most subtly complex and distinctive Central American coffee we’ve tasted.  The beans smelled of chocolate — very specifically milk chocoloate, like a Hershey bar — and delicate floral tones. Like many of the coffees we’ve tried, the chocolate doesn’t come through in the cup.  Instead there is a honey-like sweetness and most interesting winey/plum/berry notes after it cools briefly.  This reminded us of African coffees.  I posed this question to Peter, and he told me that Marysabel believes her beans get this unique taste from the repeated washings she gives them with fresh, natural spring water.  Peter notes that “it is common in Kenya to soak coffee in manychanges of fresh water, and coffees that are treated this way frequently have asilky, fruity flavor not unlike the Purple Princess.”  Alas, he says this is speculation, and the mystery of the Purple Princess endures.The Purple Princess comes in at just a feather under 4 motmots, and is easily my most favorite Central American coffee so far.  Highly recommended!

Speaking of motmots, the Blue-throated Motmot, which has the smallest range of the motmots, is found in La Paz dept. Other interesting or restricted range birds found in the vicinity of El Puente are Bushy-crested Jay, Blue-and-white Mockingbird, and the spectacular Resplendent Quetzal.  The (U.S.) federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler winters in Honduras, including in La Paz.  The preservation of forest at El Puente takes on added importance in light of the rich bird life of the area.

You can read a review of Counter Culture’s 2005 El Puente crop at Coffee Review.

Map adapted from those at Wikipedia.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #8.

I have been interested in trying coffees from Finca Hartmann since I traveled to Panama a couple of years ago.  Finca Hartmann is in the Chiriqui highlands in the Boquete region, and most of the land is in shade coffee.  It is a popular birding destination, and researchers are welcome (they offer a field station for use) — many associated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have published papers on research conducted there, some with Hartmann family members as co-authors. Over 280 bird species have been recorded at the finca, and Christmas Bird Counts typically yield around 200 species.  It is an example of a finca with a great deal of concern for preservation of biodiversity that has not been certified shade or organic.  We tried several Finca Hartmann coffees from different roasters.

Paradise Roasters Palo Verde.  This coffee placed sixth in the 2006 Best of Panama competition — the same competition in which the Hacienda la Esmeralda won first prize. There are two “sections” to Finca Hartmann, and Palo Verde is the smaller, southernmost one on the property. This was a medium roast, with no oil on the beans.  I detected some sort of very sweet, fruity aroma in the beans that I found really nice.

As is typical, we tried this in the French press, Aeropress, and as a brew. Something had to have gone awry in the press, because it was pretty bad.  It fared better as an Americano from the Aeropress, and as a brew, where it was a nice, smooth, sweet, classic coffee, with a hint of chocolate.  In general, nobody was overwhelmed by it.  It was variously described as “unspectacular,” “not a lot of depth,” and one taster said, “I’m not moved by it.” I think I’m beginning to foster snobs.  2 motmots. Also available green, for which there is a review at Coffee Cuppers.

Mayorga Coffee Roasters Hartmann Estate.  This coffee was billed as a medium roast, but was leaning much darker than the Paradise Roaster selection, with all beans showing quite a bit of oil.  The coffee beans were quite fragrant, and the coffee itself fresh from the French press had a slightly fruity fragrance — a couple tasters suggested cherries.  This was a very well-balanced, smooth cup, without any distinctive characteristics, a classic cup.  “It’s just a good cup of coffee,” Nighthawk suggested.  I think a lighter roast might have coaxed some more interesting aspects out of the bean. 2.5 motmots.

Cafe Pronto Panama Boquete SHB, Hartmann Estate. This coffee was received a mere two days after ordering (truly pronto!), but had been roasted five days prior to ordering.  Thus it was 8 days old when we tried, within it’s fresh period, but perhaps “middle-aged.” Nonetheless, when the water hit it in the French Press, it produced a moderate amount of bloom, and was the hands-down winner of the three.

It was also a medium roast, with some beans showing a bit of oil.  The beans, both whole and ground, were very fragrant, sort of spicy, one of the most appealing aromas we’ve had from a Central American bean so far.  Very hot, the coffee delivered a juicy, almost mouth-watering first few sips.  It stayed just as good as it cooled, medium-bodied, with a very soft mouthfeel.  I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw this descriptor from the roaster, but it is certainly an apt adjective. Brewed, it was also tasty, but lacked some of the pleasant subtleties found when prepared in a press pot.

We could call this coffee well-balanced, but “harmonious” might be a better description.  As in many “classic” coffees, there were not a lot of flavors that jumped out.  Yet it stood out from the other Finca Hartmann’s.  Let’s call this a Classic ++ rated at 3.75  (nearly 4) motmots.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #7.

Paradise Roasters Calama Marka Bolivia Cup of Excellence.

I had not actually intended on reviewing this coffee, but once a couple of us tasted it, we were so impressed we had to tell you about it. Calama Marka came in first place in the 2005 Bolivia Cup of Excellence competition, and a number of roasters (the now-familiar “Small Axe” cooperative) won the auction lot.  We tried it from Paradise Roasters, where it is also available green.

Calama Marka is a small farm, only 4.5 ha in coffee, in the Yungas region (in the central cordillera northeast of La Paz) where the majority of Bolivian coffee is grown.  This farm only grows typica, and although the farm is not certified organic, like most of the small holders that make up this area, it is passive organic and described as “nature friendly.”

The beans themselves, roasted to a medium brown without oil, had a candy-like fragrance. It was even more pronounced once freshly ground. One day, I ground a little too much, so I dumped the extra in my commuter French press to take the work the next day.  Many hours later, after only a few minutes in the car, the vehicle filled with this coffee’s enchanting aroma.

As usual, we prepared our first run in the French press.  For quite a few minutes, it evoked silence.  Finally, Risky Kingbird broke the spell.  “I am really enjoying this coffee!” he said.

It is beautifully balanced, smooth, with a lush, creamy mouthfeel.  Very hot, there is an initial juicy, citrus pulse. From first sip to last, it is full of chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, and hints of vanilla notes, especially as it cools.  You cannot come closer to a sweet, flavored coffee without adding extra ingredients.  There is an intriguing complexity that is subtle and delightful, like simple but great poetry.

There was not a hint of bitterness, not even in the last pour from the press, not even when I brewed it and left a quarter-inch in the pot to cook for a half-hour.  Every pot and cup was superior, even when the beans were past 10 days old.

Not only did everybody love this coffee, it got several “5 motmot” ratings. This is beautiful coffee.

But there’s more to this story…
There’s a bit of the star-crossed lover aspect to this coffee.  We have found true love, but will we ever be able to sip it again?

First, the farmer, Juan de Dios Blanco, was killed in a car crash shortly after he won the CoE.  Miguel Meza at Paradise Roasters told me that Juan’s wife is still operating the farm, but he does not know if she will continue to produce and market coffee.  Miguel was planning to visit the farm during the 2006 CoE competition, but the program was cancelled, which brings us to the next tragedy.

The coffee growing regions of Bolivia are also coca growing regions. In order to discourage coca growing and provide alternate sources of farm income, USAID has provided funding and support to promote specialty coffee in Bolivia.  Sponsoring the Cup of Excellence program was part of that effort, as the recognition and high price of winning coffees at auction are powerful incentives for farmers to improve their crops.  That the Bolivian CoE program was a stunning success is evident in the superb Calama Marka reviewed here. According to USAID, by 2003, over 5,000 families improved coffee harvest and post-harvest techniques, increasing their income by an average 38%; this in a country where 58% of the population lives in poverty.

Then the political situation in Bolivia changed, in a way that was not to the liking of the Bush Administration.  An article at Trade Aid summed it up:

Bolivia won’t be having a Cup of Excellence competition this year. Why not? Funding for the event has been provided previously by USAID, the main aid program run by the United States government, but this year USAID will not be contributing. Unhappy with the outcome of the presidential elections in late 2005 which installed Evo Morales in office instead of their own preferred candidate, the United States has
withdrawn funding as part of their wider campaign to hurt the Bolivian economy.

Promoting specialty coffee is not the answer to squelching coca production in Bolivia, but  the CoE was essentially the best and probably only way for farmers to become individually empowered (versus all their beans being mixed at a cooperative), for them to obtain the prices to truly motivate them to continue to improve their crops, and for these Bolivian coffees to get the recognition that commands attention from the coffee-buying public. This situation is really a shame, as it will do little or nothing to hinder Morales, and much to punish farmers and those of us who have discovered this wonderful coffee.  Hopefully, the Bolivian CoE will be held in 2007.  For more on the complexity and politics of coca and coffee in Bolivia, see this article in the World Policy Journal. A note from UK roaster Stephen Leighton about the cancellation of the CoE competition is at the Hasbean blog.

Other reviews of the Calama Marka:

• Review at Coffee Cuppers
• Review at Coffee Review
• Review at bread,coffee,chocolate,yoga
• Victrola Coffee blog praise for the Calama Marka