Finca El Morito
£0.04 / Pricing
Peru
Familia Flores Chilcón
Red grapes, sugarcane, plum acidity, juicy body, medium roast
About
We are delighted to have Finca El Morito back on the counter for its fourth year. David Flores and his family have had a very busy year making improvements to their micro-beneficio and processing. The family first became interested in specialty coffee when they were unexpectedly rewarded with a premium for their good quality. David was particularly curious about what made this lot of coffee different from previous crops and his pursuit for the best quality coffee they could grow, and process, started that day. Over the years, David and his family have spent time learning about specialty coffee growing, including varietal selection, soil nutrition, harvesting and processing. Last year they made a significant investment in new fermentation vats, installation of new drying beds, and a greenhouse. They are now measuring the key parameters during the harvest: sugar content of the cherry (to check on ripeness development), mucilage pH during fermentation (to understand exactly when fermentation is complete), and moisture content in the drying coffee (to ensure even and complete, but not over, drying). Control of each of these parameters is crucial for specialty coffee. Before the technology became available for measuring, farmers had their experience and expertise to understand each step, but having qualitative measurements means their protocols can be more exacting day to day and crop to crop. Coffee growing, like all farming, benefits from both scientific and practical knowledge.