Juan Evangelista - Parainema Washed

MEET THE PRODUCER | At the ripe young age of 85 years, Juan Evangelista is a real OG in the Santa Barbara coffee community. His father was one of the first to move to the area now known as Las Flores, and Juan began growing coffee there in the 1970s - before any roads existed which would later link the community to neighboring towns. Fast forward to 2016, and Juan had built both a name for himself and a livelihood for his family. It was then that he started planting a new coffee variety at La Maravilla - Parainema, with the hopes of improving the quality of his production. A couple of years later, he got connected with our good buddy Bejamin Paz, and Juan has been selling all of his lots as specialty coffee ever since. Today, Juan is one of the most experienced and respected producers in all of Santa Barbara, and we are honored to feature the fruit of his long labor on our menu this Fall.

TRUST THE PROCESS | Cherries are hand-picked at peak ripeness and floated for defects. Then, the lot is de-pulped and placed in concrete tanks to dry ferment for about 15 hours. After three rounds of rinsing, they are finally removed to a parabolic solar dryer, where the cherries take about 13 days to dry.

TAKE A SIP | Parainema is a fascinating variety. Although it was initially cultivated as a disease-resistant coffee variety, producers soon found that it was capable of taking on Gesha characteristics when grown at higher elevations. Well, we actually thought this was a Gesha lot when it appeared on our cupping table! The vibrant acidity is what really had us fooled for a moment, reminding us of candied orange and limeaid. Stone fruit, like plum, can also be discerned. But the prevailing delight of this cup is its sweetness, which reminds us of toasted marshmallows.

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Origin | Las Flores, Santa Barbara, Honduras

Producer | Juan Evangelista Fernández Pineda

Process | Washed

Variety | Parainema

Elevation | 1500 masl