HONDURAS MARIA ADELA CATRACHA

Origin: Honduras Region: Casas Quemadas, Santa Elena, La Paz Department Masl: 1730 Producer: Maria Adela Nolasco Farm: El Mango Varietal: Catuai Process: Washed

Maria Adela and her family grow coffee on a small plot of land in the remote Santa Elena mountains of Honduras. We have been purchasing her coffee since the early days of Andytown and she has been growing alongside us. Adela is a part of the Catracha Coffee Company: a social enterprise that allows farmers in Santa Elena to gain access to the specialty coffee market. Catracha has a profit-sharing model that allows producers to reinvest in their farm and increase their standard of living over time.

With guidance from Catracha Coffee Co., Adela has been able to improve her wet mill, resurface her fermentation tank, and add a washing channel which helps lower the risk of coffee damage. In 2018, she resurfaced her patio and added raised beds to dry coffee. She also purchased a motor to run the coffee depulper, which she previously had to turn by hand. Her farm management has also improved, and has been using organic products like natural fungicide to protect her plans from leaf rust. All of this hard work has helped improve coffee quality and increase her production from 8 bags last year to 10 bags this year. The coffee is really easy to drink. It has an acidity reminiscent of white grape, a sweetness and viscosity that makes us think of maduros—fried sweet plantain—and milk chocolate.

Catracha makes two payments to producers: the first is when Catracha buys the coffee in Honduras, and the second is when the coffee is sold, in which Catracha shares their profits. This year, we’re working with Catracha on a BlockChain project that allows for increased transparency and implementing a third payment that will be split three ways between the producers, coffee pickers, and an emergency medical care response fund to help producers who are dealing with unexpected expenses from a medical emergency. To learn more, click this link!