Dark Chocolate. Toffee. Blackberry Jam.
Farm: Casa de Piedra
Grower: Gerardo Arias
Region: Tarrazú
Country: Costa Rica
Processing: Natural
Elevation: 1,400 - 1,500m
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai
Sourced Through: InterAmerican Coffee Australia
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Casa de Piedra is located in the Tarrazu district, in the micro-region of “Llano Bonito de Leon Cortes”. The farm’s name means “Stone House”, and its yearly production is around the 2500 fanegas, with varietals in production such as Caturra, Yellow Catuai, Red Catuai, Venecia, Villa Sarchi, and Geisha.
The Arias family began to mill their cherries themselves in order to gain a better control over their coffee’s quality and fetch better prices. Semi washed, honey, and natural are some of the processes most popular processes for Casa de Piedra, but they also process some very nice anaerobic fermentation coffees.
In addition, Gerardo Arias recently obtained his Q grader and Q processing certification which only adds to his already wide knowledge and experience.
The cherries for this lot are hand-picked before they are immersed in a floatation tank to separate unripe/defective fruits. The cherries were dried with the entire fruit on concrete patios for 8 days, before being transferred to the mechanical dryer where time and temperature are meticulously controlled to achieve the best possible shelf-life.
When the coffee reaches the desired humidity point, it is stored and left to rest for 2 months before being hauled. It is then dry-milled, process during which dry husk is removed from the seeds, and the resulting coffee beans go through weight, screen, density, and colour sorting.
The farm has 3 rock formations near the river that used to be inhabited by the first settlers. Don Gerardo says that when he was a kid he would go spend summers living in these caves.
Mechanical driers are commonly know as Guardiolas in Costa Rica. “G#2” stands for “Guardiola 2” which is Gerardo’s favourite guardiola on his farm.
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Farm: Resplendor
Country: Brazil
Region: Chapada de Minas
Altitude: 900 - 1,000 masl
Variety: Icatu
Processing: Pulped Natural
Farmer: Gustavo Nunes
Sourced Through: Southland Merchants
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Resplendor Farm is a producer of specialty coffee located in the heart of Chapada de Minas region, between the municipalities of Agua Boa and Capelinha. It began in the 1970’s when Mr. Walter Palmeiras and Mr. Alair Campos came from Machado, south of Minas Gerais, to the city of Capelinha. They have since brought several other growers to the region, which has allowed the development of it, generating well distributed, higher incomes.
In 2005, Mr João Felisberto de Miranda took the responsibility for the farm, starting a cycle of changes there. In 2009, Gustavo Vieira de Carvalho was invited to become a partner with him, bringing morse techniques and strong experience in administration. Joao Miranda and Gustavo de Carvalho are from two different generations but both carry on in the tradition of their families, whom are endlessly passionate about coffee production.
It was in the Southwest of Minas Gerais state that they started this partnership for the construction of a new chapter in their story; they became principal actors in the transformation of the Vale do Jequitinhonha region. This region combines the natural advantages of the microclimate of Brazil with constant investments in planting technologies, post-harvest techniques and in the drying process of pulped coffee.
Furthermore they have well integrated logistics with warehouses from their own group, which guarantees access to export markets with a constant volume, being able to withstand crop failures. Resplendor Farm has 600 hectares of coffee planted and it is managed with the latest techniques and production concepts. In this way, the plantation is self-sustaining.
They also have a strong social responsibility on the farm with its employees and surrounding communities, along with their farming practices and the environment. The farm has both UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification, a sustainable agriculture norm, which they endeavoured to acquire in order to meet the challenges they set themselves. Gustavo Vieira owns the Geral Super Safra warehouse, located in the South of Minas Gerais. There all the selection, distribution and storage is done.
Joao and Gustavo believe strongly in the way they choose to operate, as they do in Resplendor Farm and in the Geral Super Safra warehouse, always seeking to achieve excellent performance and deliver the best coffee possible.
Region: Jambi
Cup of Excellence 2022
Rank: 19
Score: 87.35
Cup of Excellence: These coffees have each been cupped a minimum of five different times during the cupping process. The winning lots are the top 30 coffees that scored above an 87 by the Cup of Excellence Global Coffee Centers.
National Winners: The National Winner lots are coffees scoring 85+ points during the International Phase by the Cup of Excellence National Jury and International Jury. These coffees have each been cupped a minimum of five different times during the cupping process.
Hear from Irwandi here:
"I am Irwandi, I know coffee from 2016. and started to enter the post-harvest process in 2017, why did I get into the world of coffee because, coffee is a source of economic income for me and my family, besides that processing coffee is also fun for me. My hope for the world of coffee is that the price of coffee will get better and more stable, the market will be wider and more open, we as farmers can be more enthusiastic and confident that coffee is a sufficient and sustainable income for us."
Farm: Finca el Paraíso 92
Producer: Wilton Benitez
Country: Colombia
Region: Cauca
Elevation: 1,950 masl
Variety: Colombia
Processing: Double anaerobic thermal shock
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Wilton Benitez is a highly specialised Colombian coffee producer with a lifetime of experience in the production and processing of exotic coffee, with a plethora of awards for the quality of his coffees. Today Wilton has a processing plant in the Department of Cauca and two small farms (one in Cauca and the other in Risaralda). His farms meet the highest standards of quality and control and social practice. Granja Paraíso 92 is a family farm that has different varieties such as Java, Bourbon Pink, Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra, Tabi, Castillo, Supremo and Colombia. They use highly innovative cultivation systems such as terraces and drip irrigation. It has its own laboratories to calculate all the details from shade to nutrition with scientific efficiency - all aimed at producing incredibly unique and aromatic coffees.
The processes applied to the different coffees start from a strict selection, sterilisation and characterisation of the cherry. Next is the first phase of controlled anaerobic fermentation, where a specific microorganism is added for each process. After that, the coffee is pulped and subjected to a second fermentation phase which is followed by a bean sealing process that is carried out through impacts of hot and cold water to improve the organoleptic conditions of the coffee.
Farm: Finca el Paraíso 92
Producer: Wilton Benitez
Country: Colombia
Region: Cauca
Elevation: 1,950 masl
Variety: Caturra
Processing: Double anaerobic thermal shock
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Wilton Benitez is a highly specialised Colombian coffee producer with a lifetime of experience in the production and processing of exotic coffee, with a plethora of awards for the quality of his coffees. Today Wilton has a processing plant in the Department of Cauca and two small farms (one in Cauca and the other in Risaralda). His farms meet the highest standards of quality and control and social practice. Granja Paraíso 92 is a family farm that has different varieties such as Java, Bourbon Pink, Geisha, Pacamara, Caturra, Tabi, Castillo, Supremo and Colombia. They use highly innovative cultivation systems such as terraces and drip irrigation. It has its own laboratories to calculate all the details from shade to nutrition with scientific efficiency - all aimed at producing incredibly unique and aromatic coffees.
The processes applied to the different coffees start from a strict selection, sterilisation and characterisation of the cherry. Next is the first phase of controlled anaerobic fermentation, where a specific microorganism is added for each process. After that, the coffee is pulped and subjected to a second fermentation phase which is followed by a bean sealing process that is carried out through impacts of hot and cold water to improve the organoleptic conditions of the coffee.
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Honeydew melon, blueberry yoghurt and cumquat
Washing Station: Deri Kidame
Country: Ethiopia
Woreda: Wamena
Zone: Guji
Elevation: 2050 masl
Varieties: Kurume, Dega, Wolisho
Processing: Natural
Sourced Through: Utopia Coffee
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The Deri Kidame washing station is named for the Deri Kidame kebele (town/village), where it is located in the Wamena woreda (administrative district) of Ethiopia’s Guji zone. The area has fertile red brown soil and Cordia Africana and Acacia Ensete ventricosum trees for shade, benefiting the coffee plants grown by the many smallholder farmers who contribute cherries to the washing station. Coffee farms in the area range 2000–2100 meters above sea level in elevation. The washing station is outfitted with 10 fermentation tanks and 181 raised drying beds which are assigned individual codes, allowing for improved traceability and a higher level of control and tracking throughout the drying process.
This lot of coffee underwent Natural processing at the Deri Kidame washing station. Coffee cherries are sorted to remove less dense fruit prior to processing. The cherries are then moved to raised beds where they are dried for approximately 18 days.
Coffee is prepared for export at Tracon Trading’s coffee cleaning and storage plant on 30,000 sq meters of land in Addis Ababa. The plant is equipped with modern Pinhalense coffee processing machines and a Buhler Z+ color sorter. The machine has the capacity of processing six tons per hour. Beans pass through a final hand sort on conveyor belts. The plant’s six storage silos have a capacity of roughly 15,000 metric tons. The warehouses are clean, with ample lighting and ventilation, which are ideal for maintaining the quality of the coffee.
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