FLORENCE, Italy – A journey that begins in Honduras, in Finca El Puente Farm, owned by the Caballero family, producer of precious specialty coffees processed by Ditta Artigianale to end up in the cups of taste lovers. The roasting company led by Francesco Sanapo launches the campaign to discover the finest varieties, with a new selection of coffees per month, grown by producers with whom the team of experts at Ditta Artigianale has built a direct relationship of trust, available on the online store www.dittaartigianale.it and at the cafeterias in Florence.
First stop in Honduras: Finca El Puente
Surrounded by the green of Honduran lands, the Finca El Puente farm is managed passionately by Marysabel and Moises Caballero, who have been cultivating coffee plantations for over twenty years. After four years of collaboration with Ditta Artigianale, and thanks to the passion of their hard work, we can finally taste its fruits while enjoying a drink of unique quality.
The extraordinary consistency of the coffee with a simple, elegant and clean taste of Finca El Puente boasts high resistance of quality during the year of consumption, a symbol of meticulous and correct processing of the final product. There are three varieties proposed that lead to an captivating taste experience and to discover some of the rarest and most indigenous botanicals: “Java” renowned and with unique scents, a selection of several Ethiopian varieties; the appreciated “Geisha”, with which the Caballero family reached a score of 91 SCA points, winning the Cup of Excellence in 2016; “Mokka”, from Yemen one of the oldest and best-known varieties in the world, known for its small berries and for the particular roundness of the original grain. It is a mutation of Typica that is commonly grown in Brazil and Hawaii.
Marysabel about the collaboration with Ditta Artigianale:
“The way in which we started the collaboration with Ditta Artigianale is a pleasant memory: a client told us that a friend of his was in our hometown, he wanted to meet us. So we went to the hotel where Francesco was staying at the time. And guess what? The hotel was closed, so we met and got to know each other by talking through the gate. Francesco asked us for samples and, after bringing them to him, he tried them in the cup. Since that moment our friendship has grown not only in business but also on an emotional level”.
“With my husband I manage the farm in our work we put all our hope, our commitment and our passion. We focus on every single detail to make you taste an extraordinary coffee. We imagine yourself preparing it, savoring its taste: it is a coffee made with love, thinking of you who will consume it”.
She continues:
“I decided to become a coffee farmer when I was just a child, I grew up completely surrounded by coffee crops, a wonderful world for me! I owe the root of my passion to my mother: she is one of the third generation of coffee farmers in the family, Me one of the fourth. He transmitted to me the love for this job, for the care of plants, from the seed to the adult tree, to maintain a healthy and happy farm. My husband Moises, on the other hand, has a degree in Economics and worked for a coffee company in the accounting department. In Honduras he started buying land and then fell in love with the whole world, from sowing to export. We have learned over the years that there is no secret to obtaining good quality coffee, for us quality is the result of hard work. We take care of every process until we reach the quality we are looking for, and again, we do not stop: every year we do things better, we work more, we invest in our farm and mill, to have better results compared to the previous year. We have about 57 different varieties of coffee, our 85% crop is Catuai but we also produce Java, Geisha, Pacamara, Moka, etc. in small areas ”.
On the current situation she adds:
“We think no one can truly say that they have not been affected in some way by the pandemic. For us it was like surviving in the face of uncertainty. The pandemic has brought us changes that we have taken as opportunities to improve ourselves, improve our processes, to prune some areas and take care of ourselves and the people who work with us”.
On the perception of coffee she says:
“In commercial terms, coffee is very undervalued, but when we talk about specialty coffee the situation changes; we think the price is fair both for us as manufacturers and for customers. We must focus on education and the dissemination of culture in the world of coffee: it is an issue that is never talked about enough.
There is a huge distance between producers, roasters and the final consumer: we must always explain to others the difference between commercial coffees and specialty coffees. There are many actions behind our supply chain: for example, we plant varieties according to altitude, soil, microclimate (we do a soil test every year on your farms, to know exactly what they need); we control the way we clean the grass (manually, without herbicide); we keep a healthy environment.
In the harvest we must be very selective, selecting only ripe cherries, to obtain sweetness and clarity of flavors. We grind the cherries at the right time, we ferment at the exact moment. The last step is in ‘wet milling’, one of the most delicate drying processes.
For special coffees, drying is slower and softer, to preserve the bean and maintain its freshness. In the warehouse we take care of humidity control and that it is a pleasant place where the beans can feel comfortable. Before starting with the export, let’s check the humidity (for specialty coffees it must be between 10-11%) and aquatic activity. Lastly, we have to separate the coffee based on size, check the number of defects, the type of packaging, with grain-pro or vacuum bags.
Finca El Puente from Ditta Artigianale is available
Finca El Puente is available on the online store www.dittaartigianale.it and at the coffee shops in Florence.
