Honduras Finca La Esmeralda Washed Organic
Captain's Gold top 6! This direct trade microlot comes to us from De La Finca’s newest project farm, Finca La Esmeralda, in the Comayagua region of Honduras. This fully washed lot was hand selected from their caturra and typica harvest specifically for washed processing in order to offer a more traditional cup with the patented La Esmeralda twist. For a fully washed coffee, it’s surprisingly sweet! The cup is super clean with notes of cocoa, ripe peach, pear, lovely florals and a just a hint of tropical fruit.
This coffee comes to us direct trade - straight from one of De La Finca’s family farms, Finca La Esmeralda. If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve seen several Anaerobic Natural coffees from La Esmeralda which have been among our favorites, but we have yet to feature their other processes. Well we can finally complete the collection with a fresh harvest of fully washed and red honey offerings!
This fully washed lot was hand selected from their caturra and typica harvest specifically for washed processing in order to offer a more traditional cup with the patented La Esmeralda twist. The cup is super clean, full bodied and creamy with an almost tropical fruit brightness. For a fully washed coffee, it’s surprisingly sweet. I initially thought I had mixed up the washed and red honey samples! But it’s not the intense, wild sweetness you get from a natural – more like a ripe peach. In fact, our cups, we got peach, pear and lovely florals with a deep cocoa undertone. Perfect as a daily driver for folks who take their coffee black!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: August 23rd, 2024. Harvest year: 2024, Packed in GrainPro
Acidity & Brightness: Pleasantly bright and sweet
Balance & Finish: Good balance with a quick, clean finish
Body & Texture: Rich body and creamy texture
Flavors: Cocoa, ripe peach, pear, honey, florals and a hint of tropical fruit.
Grade: SHG-EP, grown at 1750 masl
Certifications: Direct trade, Organic & Bird friendly
Processing: Fully washed and sun dried on raised African beds.
Grower: De La Finca Coffee | Finca la Esmeralda
Region: La Sampedrana, Comayagua, Honduras
Varietals: Caturra & Typica
Recommended Roast Range: City to Full City+ (Light to Medium-Dark)
We like this coffee best at City + (light-medium, at the tail end of 1st crack), but it will perform well nearly anywhere in the Light to Medium spectrum. Lighter roasts accent pleasant acidity and fresh florals, while medium roasts will trade a bit of brightness for body as well as bringing out more rounded, sweetness. Take it as dark as the first snaps of 2nd crack to further round out the flavors towards the chocolatey end.
De La Finca Coffee - "La Esmeralda is a new DLF Project Farm in the Comayagua region. We bought this farm in 2021 in order to continue experimental processing in the area. La Sampedrama is an under-promoted area in the Comayagua region with high altitude, volcanic soil, and is rich in culture. We wanted a farm in the area where we could have more control over the quality and consistency on larger experimental specialty lots including varietals like geisha, pink bourbon, parainema which we've planted and will be coming in the next few years.”
