Honduras Jocsan Otoniel — Natural | Solar Dryer

Producer & Farm
This natural processed lot is produced at Finca La Sierra, a farm owned and operated by Jocsan Otoniel Mendoza. Jocsan is a producer driven by innovation and the pursuit of quality improvement in all he does. He sees each harvest as an opportunity to learn and improve. For this year’s harvest season, he introduced changes in coffee plant tissue management and combined organic soil amendments with fertilization while strengthening drying methods and coffee processing practices.

Despite the many challenges of coffee production, Jocsan and his family are committed to their farm and the coffees they produce. For them, specialty coffee has contributed to their family’s development and achievement of new goals. Behind all of his coffee is a family working with great effort to maintain and continuously improve quality.

Varietal
The Finca La Sierra farm has approximately 4 manzanas — or parcels of land — growing coffee at around 1600 meters above sea level (MASL), primarily planted with Parainema, a disease-resistant hybrid developed in Honduras by the IHCAFE. Its lineage is tied to a selection of Sarchimor — T5296 — and a cross between Villa Sarchi and Timor Hybrid.

The innovation, cultivation, and processing of this varietal over the years have taken it from being sought after solely for its disease resistance to winning cup of excellence awards for its sweet and floral tasting notes.

Process
Undergoing a standard Natural process — fermented and dried in cherry before milling — this coffee was dried using a solar dryer versus in open-air. Using a green-house like structure, solar drying heats the air with solar radiation, gently drying whole coffee cherries while cutting its drying time by nearly half, and shielding them from rain, dust, and animals.

Cup Profile
Sweet with notes of strawberry jam, butterscotch candy, and a floral sweet tea, this cup is approachable for the everyday coffee drinker. As you sip, expect a well-rounded cup, with an almost syrup-like mouthfeel, but still quite clean.