Honduras Finca Matilde

Coffee is a very important crop for Honduras. It accounts for more than a third of the country’s agricultural output. While Honduras is blessed with the right environmental factors: soil, altitude, climate, it has always sold its coffee as a commodity, with no price premium for its quality. For many years, many Honduran coffee growers smuggled their beans to Guatemala, where they would fetch a higher price due to Guatemala’s reputation for quality coffee.

Over the past few years, with more farmers better trained in agricultural practices, Honduras has attracted more buyers in the specialty coffee market. On the contrary, Honduran coffees are not commonly offered by roasters or cafés in Singapore as it’s not something which most coffee drinkers will look out for. This lack of demand pretty much accounts for why the supply is very much lacking locally.

We have been very lucky to be working with our importer based in Europe to source these beautiful beans from Finca Matilde, a farm run by Marysabel Caballero and her husband Moises Herrera. They inherited the land from Marysabel’s father, Don Fabio Caballero, who in turn inherited large areas of land in around Marcala (southwest of Honduras) from his father. The forefathers of this family have played a big role in pioneering coffee cultivation in Honduras. Moises manages approximately 200 hectares of coffee separated into 17 different farms.

They have since been extremely successful producing quality coffees and have contributed to the improving reputation of Honduran quality coffees. Everything they do at the farms is documented, and they invest considerable time and resources both in new equipment and planting of new coffee varieties in order to improve the quality of the coffee.

Don Fabio, Marysabel and Moises have always focused on quality, and they won 3rd prize at the annual SCAA “Coffee of the year” competition in 2010. They have also done well in the Cup of Excellence for many years, as one of the few producers from their area. As a result of this they have established close relationships with quality-oriented roasters like Stumptown, Intelligentsia and Tim Wendleboe.

• Farm: Finca Matilde
• Producer: Marysabel Caballero, Moises Herrera
• Region: La Paz, Marcala, Honduras
• Wet mill: Xinacla
• Altitude: 1482 m asl
• Varietals: New Catuaí, Old Bourbon, some Geisha and SL 28

Process: De-pulped, some demucilaged mechanically, but mainly dry fermented for 12 hours. The beans are then washed in channels, which helps sort out floaters and undeveloped beans from the heavier, more developed coffee. Soaked for 24 hours in running clean water. Patio dried for 12-16 days

Cupping notes: Floral notes in aroma. As an espresso, we taste more stone fruit flavours with liquorice sweetness in the finish. A juicy cup with medium intensity, the espresso is defined, balanced and complex. While we feel this coffee is more interesting as an espresso, when brewed with the Kalita wave dripper, the flavours become more delicate, highlighting hints of apricots and peaches. 

This coffee is a micro-lot and is currently available on our retail rack as a single origin espresso, just in time for your Christmas party.

Sleigh bells ringing @ Everton Park

X'mas time is here! It’s always a joy to share & celebrate with your friends and loved ones during this festive season. But sometimes, we struggle with gift ideas. Thinking of what to get for your coffee-loving friends/family members? Fret no more. We have come up with a few great gift sets that might be your “solution”. Over at Nylon, we love encouraging people to try brewing coffee at home or in the office. It’s fun & simple, definitely not as complicated as many would think it is. Just think of the end result -  a freshly brewed cup of delicious coffee, it will all be worth it.

We have 3 gift sets up for grab.

Santa’s Brewing Kit:

• Kalita stainless steel wave dripper (155)
• Kalita brown wave paper filters (50 pcs)
• Porlex mini hand grinder
• A bag of beans

[15% off total retail price]

Rudolf’s Wish List:

• D'Ancap cup/saucer set
• Hile Kapu coffee bag sealer/scoop
• A bag of beans

[15% off total retail price]

Yuletide Special: 

• Porlex mini hand grinder
• Packet of Kantan drippers (30 pcs)
• A bag of beans

[10% off total retail price]

Come by soon & grab the gift sets which comes in a limited tote bag. While stocks last! This offer will be available till 31 Dec 2012.

Zac & Jo's big day

A little overdue, but thank you Zac & Jo for having us on the most important day of your lives.

Photo courtesy of Jovian Lim

Black Friday Sale

Mini Black Friday special. The beautiful Ancap cups get the same discount too!

** Not applicable to retail beans and drinks

Ethiopia Debello

We have been looking forward to the arrival of the next fresh crops of Africans for a while since we last featured an African bean (Rwanda Nyamasheke Karengera). African beans always have a special place in our hearts and few will argue about the uniqueness of their aromas and flavours coming from beans originating from this region. The first African bean that we are rolling out from our new arrivals will be from an old-time favourite origin, Ethiopia, a country also known as the birthplace of coffee.

Some interesting facts about this country – there are more than 1 million small coffee farmers (smallholders) representing 95% of the coffee production in Ethiopia. The varieties are referred to collectively as Ethiopian Heirloom, which is a myriad of local native Typica hybrids and new improved varietals based on the old strains. Most coffees are organic by default.

This coffee is a result of a sustainable Technoserve project in the western part of the country. Technoserve is a NGO supporting the farmers in setting up washing stations and new cooperative structures, based on transparency and increased quality production. Technoserve’s coffee initiative is a project measuring their success in the value and quality of the coffees produced and the farmers’ increase in their coffee income. All cooperative members qualify for second payment. This has so far contributed to a significant increase in payment for the local coffee farmers.

Debello is one of the strongest and best managed cooperatives in the Limu area with about 500 smallholders. Though the cooperative buys from non-members as well, but they do not qualify for second payment as cooperative members do. They strictly adhere to the lot traceability system and maintain very high quality controls through the process. The cherries are hand-sorted for unripes and overripes by the farmers before they go into production. The cherries are pulped and mechanically demucilaged, soaked in water and sun-dried on African drying beds. The cooperative has also implemented various measures to reduce cost, such as using solar powered lights as an energy source as well as implementing a waste water treatment program. This particular coffee is certified organic.

We feel this coffee is best enjoyed as a filtered coffee. Lovely jasmine aromatics with lemon-lime like acidity. Complex juicy fruits are complemented by a delicate body. The finish is sweet with notes of candy sugar and peaches. Brewing with Aeropress accentuates the sweetness, while its fruit tea characteristics and clean cup profile shines through with the Kalita wave dripper. We are expecting this coffee to be a crowd pleaser, so don’t miss out on one yourself!

• Cooperative: Debello Cooperative
• Location: Jimma, Western Ethiopia
• Local municipality: Limu - Kossa
• Altitude: ~1740 masl
• Varietals: Ethiopian Heirloom. Native coffee of forest origin transferred to family smallholder plots.
• Processing: Pulped and mechanically demucilaged, soaked in water and sundried.