Don Fabio Caballero - Intelligentsia Coffee

INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE
MAY 2014
Marysabel with parchment coffee on raised beds.
Direct Trade
LA TORTUGA
HONDURAS
Aesop’s Fable, “The Tortoise and the
Hare” inspired the name of this coffee. For
decades Honduran coffee took a backseat
to better-known coffee producing countries.
Although the conditions for producing worldclass coffee have always existed, Honduras
took its time – like the Tortoise – to make a
name for itself in specialty coffee. Thus, La
Tortuga “The Tortoise” was born.
La Tortuga comes from high in the mountains of Marcala, in the department of La Paz.
The farms reach as high as 1650 meters above
sea level, high enough that you can see the volcanoes of El Salvador from the farm. Although
Don Fabio Caballero has several farms, we
source mostly from La Tina and La Isabel. Don
Fabio is a third generation coffee producer,
experience that’s evident in his coffee. His
farms are managed by Amilcar, Marysabel’s
cousin, which when we visited were a healthy
vibrant green and full of growth. They continue to make their own natural fertilizer by
composting coffee pulp (from the wet mill) and
adding cow/chicken manure – an accomplishment Don Fabio spent years perfecting and is
understandably really proud of.
La Tortuga is a fully washed coffee. Marysabel (Don Fabio’s daughter) and her husband,
Moises, own the wet mill where our coffee is
washed and dried, just a few miles from the
farms. The washing stations were updated this
year with beautiful ceramic tile, making them
easier to clean and providing more control
during fermentation. Several styles of drying
are used at the mill: patios, raised beds and
mechanical dryers. To ensure coffee is never
dried at a temperature higher than 45 degrees
Celsius, a new digital temperature reader had
been installed on the mechanical dryers. The
benefit of this major improvement is clear in
the quality of this year’s harvest.
La Tortuga made its debut in 2004, and
now we can proudly say it’s been in Intelligentsia’s line up for a decade. This relationship
is an inspiring illustration of our Direct Trade
model. The Caballeros and Moises are continually improving the health of their farms and
their processes at the wet mill. The level of
commitment between Intelligentsia and these
coffee producers is astounding. You can look
forward to La Tortuga this year, and in many
years to come.
Written by Brenna Kail | Retail Store Manager / Green Coffee Buyer
Don Fabio Caballero / Fincas
La Tina, La Isabel and Tanairi
Mogola, San
Jose
Catuai, Bourbon
1,480–1,590 masl
January–February
2014
PRODUCER / FARM
REGION
CULTIVAR
ELEVATION
HARVEST
top right: Washing stations at the wet mill with new ceramic tile-lined tanks. lower: The lush vegetation abounds on Don Fabio’s farms.