Coffee Story
Luis Alberto Monge is a renowned producer who has won the Cup of Excellence and owns the La Lia micro mill, named after his grandmother. Monge's mill began operations in 2007, and his family has produced coffee since his grandmother's time. They prioritize high-quality coffee by focusing on the coffee trees and their soil, starting with proper fertilization. Utilizing technology and information, Monge can accurately determine the right amount of calcium to enhance the quality of his coffee cherries. Additionally, increasing potassium levels produces harder beans and improves flavour and overall development. This White-Honey Processed Cataui is grown on Luis’s highest elevation farm, Piesan, and is processed at his family-owned micro-mill, La Lia. As with most coffees from the region, after picking, this lot has undergone honey process fermentation wherein the coffee is allowed to ferment in a portion of its pulped fruit mucilage before being washed and dried.
About the Honey Process
Rather than fermenting under water and removing the mucilage by washing it clean from the parchment, the Calderon family uses a mechanical demucilager to release a certain amount before drying. In general, as the amount of mucilage left on the parchment increases, so does the colour of the honey, which progresses from white (the least amount of mucilage) to black (the most amount of mucilage). The honey process happens as the sugars from the mucilage react with the environment over time throughout the different stages of the drying process. This creates a sticky layer on the outside of the parchment that is reminiscent of honey!
