Here are two videos showing the nice flowering at Rio Negro, and an early peek at what looks to be very good production for the 24/25 harvest.
Rio Negro road maintenance
After harvest we turn our attention at the farms to maintenance of the trees and infrastructure. Road grading and repair is a big job following the rainy season and harvest.
Boa at Rio Negro
Early picking for our BRT Microlots 21/22 at La Pradera
Hacienda La Pradera short video
Small Lot Offerings
Harvest is underway!
Hacienda Rio Negro - Community Vaccination Site
Off-Season activity - Nursery at La Minita
Our nursery operations are one of our most critical undertakings at our farms. Healthy nurseries are where healthy coffee trees begin their lives.
Off-Season activity at La Minita - Weed control
Off-Season activity at La Minita - Terracing
Maintaining terraced slopes is important for a few reasons. Terraces help control rain runoff and mitigate erosion. Terraces also provide safe footing for workers, whether they are applying fertilizer, pruning, or picking.
Snapshots from Peru
Since we couldn’t travel to Peru this year for our annual visit, we asked our partners at Finca Churupampa and Valles de Cafe cooperative to send us some photo updates.
Colombia Single Farm Lot arrivals
Early Flowering at La Minita
Enjoy the beautiful flowering across a few blocks at La Minita!
March 31, 2021
Preparing for 2021/22 harvest at La Minita
Harvest is over. The mill is chugging along and preparing our remaining lots for shipment over the next 3 months. Our hand cleaning room is working with their new reality of fewer employees, staggered shifts, and slower processing. The coffee trees are empty of ripe cherries and popping with flowers here and there. So while things may look quiet on the farm, there is plenty going on at the moment in anticipation of the next crop. 2020 was a drag, and we are happy to leave it behind.
The good news is that life moves on and we are already hard at work preparing for next year and the future. 2021/22 will be an “on-cycle” year; This is an early advantage as we anticipate our trees to be healthy and in good shape to produce a heavy crop. We have also made changes to certain farm practices that will improve overall tree health and help to mitigate wide yield swings from on to off cycle years. One of these is a return to row pruning from block pruning. We found that block pruning kept us focused on certain parts of the farm at the expense of others. Row pruning will force us to visit every section of farm more attentively and spread the work over 100% of the farm in a more holistic manner.
Another important change - This year we are rededicating our efforts to have the finest nurseries in Tarrazu. Our team has been hard at work rebuilding Russ’ favorite nursery location on the Hybrido Tico section of Minita, at high elevation with access to water and excellent wind protection. This area had been recently repurposed from nursery to coffee production, due to its more remote location and difficult access.
Our interest in changing this location back to a nursery represents a mindset shift for us. Yes we may have to make tough decisions as we manage the farm for profit and efficiency. But we need not make those decisions at the sake of our history, and the things that have brought us success and joy. When you come visit in 2022 or later and this area is full of beautiful baby trees we think you’ll agree.
2020 harvest in review
Guatemala Visit 2020
Q&A with Carmen Elena Silva from Sicafe in El Salvador
New Mexican Offering - Honey Coffee from La Laja
La Laja is one of our new offerings in 2020 and we are so happy to present their honey coffee. It is truly a sugar bomb with flavors of chocolate and cherry and a mild orange citric acidity. You will love the big creamy body on this coffee. Read on for more about the farm’s history.
El Salvador Arrivals!
Rafael and Carmen Elena Silva run a beautiful coffee operation in El Salvador. They are gracious people, who view their work as an opportunity to improve things in the world one small step at a time. Their farms are tended carefully to promote the quality of the coffee and to preserve native tree and wildlife species, local workers are protected and treated fairly, and their coffees always sparkle on our cupping table.