Mint December 8-12, 2022
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lilnouns.coffee
ââ¨-⨠RARE COFFEE ALERT ââ¨-â¨
HONDURAS BENJAMIN PAZ GESHA
PASSION FRUIT ⢠JOLLY RANCHER ⢠JASMINE
Origin // HONDURAS
Region // SANTA BARBARA
Producer // BENJAMIN PAZ
Variety // GESHAâ¨
Elevation // 1,680 M.A.S.L.
Process // WASHED
CONNECT
Benjamin Paz is a name synonymous with coffee in Honduras. His family owns the Beneficio San Vicente mill, where producers from all over the Santa BĂĄrbara mountain bring their coffee for milling and export. Since he started working in the family business in 2009, he has been instrumental in connecting coffee producers with roasters at all levels, no matter the amount of coffee they grow. He is the reason our friends were able to connect with other producers in Honduras, including Damian Chavez, Wilson Morales, and Nelin Guzman.
In addition to everything Benjamin does in his community working directly with producers, he also has a farm of his own where he grows La Salsa Gesha. The coffee we get to share with you this month placed 5th in the 2021 Cup of Excellence. The same plants that produced this lot of coffee produced the lot that came in first place in this yearâs Cup of Excellence competition. The intentional care put into his coffee feels like a reflection of the care that Benjamin puts into his community. Working tirelessly to connect smallholding producers to roasters like us, and ensuring that each lot of coffee that goes through the Beneficio San Vicente mill finds a home. Itâs a true thing of beauty, and we canât wait to share it with you.
EXPERIENCE
Benjaminâs La Salsa Gesha pops with an array of tropical flavors without losing the delicate florality and sweetness gesha coffee is renowned for. It opens with mango and passion fruit, and a balanced acidity that is reminiscent of a jolly rancher. These powerful flavors are offset by jasmine and fresh vanilla bean that lingers on your palate. This is a truly unique coffee worth experiencing, no matter what your coffee preference is, donât sleep on it!
DEEP DIVE
Gesha coffee is slow growing, and sensitive to weather changes, but the unique flavor profile it produces makes it clear why itâs one of the most sought-after varieties in the coffee world. This variety can be traced all the way back to the 1930s in its name sake's forest in Ethiopia. It presents an incredibly delicate profile with nuanced sweetness, florals, and citrus notes that donât overpower the palate.
REGION: SANTA BARBARA
The Santa BĂĄrbara region is a mountainous landscape in northwestern Honduras known for producing coffee with a bright and round flavor profile and common threads of stone fruit and sweet caramel. Benjaminâs coffee comes to us from an area of the Santa BĂĄrbara mountain called El Cedral, where the high elevations and cooler temperatures make it an ideal place to grow coffee. This area is absolutely littered with incredible products, and when we visit it feels like a home away from home, surrounded by two Best Friendâs Club producers, Wilson and Damian, and an exclusive partner of our friends at Dune Coffee, William Guzman.
PROCESSING METHOD: WASHED
The washed process creates coffee that is clean, bright, with lots of sweetness, and typically is the best way to represent the intrinsic flavors of the coffee. In the washed process coffee is first depulped,â¨before being fermented in water for 16-24 hours. From there the coffee is washed in a 2-3 hour agitated washing process to fully remove any remaining mucilage. Once the mucilage is fully washed from the seeds, the coffee is laid out to dry on raised beds, which allows more airflow for even drying.
