What is the connection between the VW beetle trunk lid for our sign and coffee?
Armando and I might be accused of being the type to leap first, and look second in our enthusiasm to get things done, and sometimes our passion for new ideas rule our motivations.
The sign was just such an idea. I saw the beetle hood for sale and it reminded me of Mexico , which got me thinking of Armando and the factory. We had to have it, not sure what we were going do with it, but I thought it would be cool somehow. Sometimes cool wins out over practical. Being that we import coffee from all over Latin America and the VW beetle in prevalent throughout, it seemed there was a connection. I saw it, it was dropped off and 10 minutes later after much laughter we thought of the sign idea outside. While it was painted we ordered the license plate and rewired the light with an LED light. We made up a bracket and there you go.
I think it exemplifies our willingness to take chances, do it ourselves, make things happen and all the time maintaining a connection to where our coffee comes from and the stories that come our way. Wait ‘til you see the new sign we are working on!
We always love visitors to come to our factory and try our coffees but now with COVID protocol we ask that you make an appointment on our “contact” section of the website or Facebook. We limit visitors to 3 people for safety but also to have enough time to ask all your coffee questions without feeling rushed. Welcome to Las Fincas Coffee.
Las Fincas Coffee is now a proud supporter of the IWCA ,International Women’s Coffee Alliance. We are always looking for coffees that tell that particular story and that makes your cup of coffee something unique and inspiring.
In our search we came across an amazing coffee from Delas in Brazil that had been grown and cultivated by women. It was part of the IWCA movement, which got us to dig a little deeper. One of our missions is to work with smaller farms or cooperatives that are trying to move their own business forward through innovation and new practices.
The IWCA works with three words. Connect. Empower. Advance. So we immediately felt there was a connection. We reached out to Kellem Emanuele to see how Las Fincas could get involved. We are two guys ,that love to roast coffee, with a small business in Montreal. What could we do? To make an impact it was decided that a percentage of our total coffee sales would go the IWCA, whether or not the coffees were acknowledged by the IWCA.
Without wanting to repeating their website completely, please look at the values they hold. They are values that need to be applied to all businesses everywhere, including one run but two guys in Montreal.
IWCA Values
Respect - Every woman has a unique and valid voice; therefore, the IWCA respects every person and their ideas.
Sustainability - The IWCA supports programs that foster harmony of environmental, social and economic impact.
Equity - The IWCA supports programs that encourage the equitable allocation of resources in the world.
Integrity - Serving women in coffee is the ultimate goal of the IWCA and to further this goal, all decisions are made with honesty and integrity.
Collaboration - Communities hold the solutions to their own problems, therefore the best way to impact these communities is through collaboration and partnership.
Empowerment - The IWCA supports actions that strengthen women to realize their full potential.
Inclusion - The IWCA supports the inclusion of all - men, women, and youth - working together to achieve positive impact through empowered communities.
Please look them up to learn more at www.womenincoffee.org.
Along with our 4 blends of espresso coffees and our other single origin coffees we decided to highlight these values by creating a line coffees that reflect the efforts of the IWCA and women in the industry. We designed cans with women front and centre. Each can will be from a different country and have a unique story of success. The logo for the IWCA is present on all our packaging. Our latest search has lead us to Burundi for our next adventure. Please look at Armando’s blog to learn more of the efforts of Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian in Burundi. We should have this coffee in our warehouse in May.
Sometimes we connect to an idea and get so wrapped up in it that we forget the obvious, to tell people about it. We always have a small story on the back of each can , but somethings just need more space. So we are trying make more space for women in coffee by working with the IWCA.
At Las Fincas Coffee we pay attention to detail so look closely at our designs and see the words “Connect” “ Empower” and “Advance” on our new line of coffee highlighting women in the industry.
As always, reach out and tell us your coffee story.
Warren
By definition specialty coffee is a term applied to beans of the highest taste standard arriving from a single origin or single estate. If we were to trying to define specialty coffee in taste rather than words, Oso farms coffee from the rainforests of Costa Rica would be the best interpretation we could come up with. The farms are a family owned business headed by Jenny and her husband Eric. She is a 4th generation coffee farmer and the founder and manager of the farms. Oso farms own their micro mill and this allows the family to have full control of the process. The coffee never scores below mid 80’s at cupping for quality making them specialty grade standard. Their practices are 100% environmentally conscious to the mountain and the rain forest where they are grown. The mountain provides perfect drainage, Banana trees are planted among the coffee trees to mostly help enrich the plants. The fertilizer used is made from harvested soil from the grounds of the neighbouring rainforest and fermented separately to add nourishment to the coffee trees. Coffee is grown at 1,250 m.a.s.l. to allow for a slow and steady growth of the coffee cherries while being watered by the mountain rains. The farm encourages the local Chiquiri tribe to help harvest the cherries from October to December by offering up to 50% higher pay standards, more than if they worked at other local farms. The Chquiri in return engage in the same quality output commitment and only the red and ripe cherries are hand picked. The cherries are stripped from their outer skin the very same day they were picked and only the sweets fruit pulp is left to ferment on top of the coffee beans, what is known as a honey process. Let me explain you a bit more about the honey process if you permit me.
The process appeared out of necessity, really. In 2005 after the devastation of hurricane Paulina throughout Central America coffee farmers were caught in the middle of the wet processing season (the most used process in Central American coffees). The government of Costa Rica passed a decree that water for non-essential use was forbidden. So farmers were forced to figure ways to save the years harvest and one of the results was the honey process. It consists of leaving the fruit pulp to ferment on top of the coffee beans rather than washing it off. There are three levels of fermentation: Yellow, Brown and Black depending on how long the pulp is left on the beans it will oxidize, like bananas do and change its colour hue. As the fermentation is taking place the sugars in the pulp caramelize and start transforming to a molasses state, resulting in the term “honey”. As we well know necessity sometimes is the mother of invention and in this case gave way to hybrid process between wet and dry with a prolonged fruit fermentation that enhances the final sugar content in the beans. The results of this really shine when the coffee is roasted, the sugars make the coffee sweeter and more aromatic, with other notes that would not be evident in the cup otherwise.
So back to Oso farms processes, the coffee is put on raised African beds after the fruit pulp is exposed and left to dry on the beans until yellow the first stage of honey. The process is carefully monitored until it reaches about 40% moisture content then the leftover pulp is washed of and the coffee is dried again until it finally gets to about 12% moisture content at this point is ready to go to us roasters. Running a farm in this way requires huge efforts and work, but this is the very definition of quality and standard that really defines a specialty grade coffee. “Oso” in Spanish translates to bear, but I guess that in coffee terms it translates to huge undertakings to achieve great results. Lucky for us and you dear friends and customers of Las Fincas we have these beans available in our pressurized can version and the availability is limited. I really recommend this coffee for all of you fans of the pour-over it is nothing more than pure honey sweetness…
As we say “every coffee tells a story”, and we have one to tell you. In January we received bags of one of the first five micro-lots produced in Burundi by the “Turihamwe Turashabora” investment group and imported by JNP Coffee in Massachusetts. JNP Coffee’s deep ties to Burundi lie in the concept of collaboration with farmers in Burundi to produce coffee of specialty quality with the terroirs’ best character and together share the success of their work by earning financial premiums. In the province of Ngozi there are seven women that saved the premiums earned from JNP coffee through the IWCA premium program. In 2019 they used their savings to form a small financial group named “Turihamwe Turashabora” which in Kirundi translates to “Together we can”. They used their funding money to build their own washing station named “Gitemezi” after the local hill where the station stands. These women have the belief that good quality coffee is a way out of poverty. They have a goal to increase their capacity to 1,200 bags a year in the following years. The financial benefits for these women allow them to participate in new financial literacy programs sponsored by JNP Coffee and Burundi Friends International, the program helps them make appropriate economic decisions.
The coffee is of the Bourbon variety and its full of the citrus and sweet molasses and dark bakers chocolate notes that prized Burundian coffees are known for. Our mission at Las Fincas is to deliver coffee full of quality and rich of stories, such is the one of this burundian micro-lot tells so sweetly. The traceability of this coffee invites our customers to know the impacts their purchases have at origin and the benefits that this provides to farmers like the women of Turihamwe Turashabora station. The most effective financial models are those where women play the principal role. This allows women to provide stability for their families and ensure a source of income. This also helps women increase productivity, decrease infant mortality and promotes better nutrition and health in coffee farming families.
Coffee industry in the country started in 1922 with Belgian Colonialism and remained private until 1976. The industry flourished between 1976-1991 before the civil war of liberation. In 2019 an outbreak of malaria dropped coffee output for about a third triggering a new proposal to nationalize the industry in 2020 with a new $55 million investment from the world bank to help farmers boost output of 30,000 tons by 2023. We don’t know what the impact will be for the private ownership for the moment but we expect that this should result in a new positive era for the production of coffee in Burundi as it has happened before.
We encourage you to try this amazing coffee that is not only delicious but also represents how the future of specialty coffee relies in the collaborative efforts to produce quality at origin while empowering the farmers that produce it and at the end of the chain consuming these coffees of amazing character. We will be roasting the first lots as soon as we have enough orders to start shipping them out. We will be packing them in 150g aluminum can with our innovative pressurized process. If you would like to reserve and pre-order some cans of Turihamwe Turashabora please subscribe and we will let you know when the coffee is available for purchase.
One visit to our factory will let you in on our coffee world. We have mixed a workable space with an inviting atmosphere where we are always willing to stop and talk coffee. What you notice first is our variety of specialty coffees from every corner of the globe. We have always chosen our coffees based on quality of cupping notes and the traceability to the farmers that grow it. We are drawn to unique harvesting methods, washing and drying techniques and sometimes simply the characters themselves that tell us about their coffee.
Our goal is to respect all those that have a hand in that coffee from the time it’s grown to the time it poured into the cup. Once we receive our coffee at our factory that’s when our aspirations shine through. At first glance our larger coffee roaster looks much like any other drum style roaster. But here is where “our way” takes root and stands out from the others.
While our roaster has a 70 kg capacity, we found that half batches produce a consistent roast and allows us to monitor all our sensors more precisely. If you come by, and we strongly suggest you do, we will show you how we have modified our roaster to suit the results we are looking for. Every bean, depending on origin, elevation and variety can have different sizes and densities and this in turn effects our roasting methods. With this in mind we have modified the size of the burners we use, in fact Armando’s love of bread making lead to the research on our specific burners. Our burners are similar to those used in large bakeries when baking baguettes. Las Fincas worked with a company in France to design and supply the correct burners so that the heat produced could be manipulated easily throughout the roast. Equally important is the quality of heat they produce that allows us to extend roasting times allowing the full flavors of each roast the be extracted without going to a dark, over-roasted or burnt coffee. In addition to the burners we have added turbo chargers to each burner that ensures the proper ratio of propane and air is available no mater how intense the heat required. Sensors that monitor bean temperature, air and exhaust temperature all contribute to being able to replicate identical roasts for each blend. These might be considered little things to some but it is all in an effort to produce the best results for each origin or blend of coffee we roast. Our efforts to respect the process from beginning to end drives us to be unique in our approach to the craft of roasting coffee. We are always looking for ways to improve with every roast. Our own custom roaster is just one of those ways that makes us stand out. When people ask what is our best cup of coffee is, we always answer “ the next one”.
Ok, it’s not a big stretch, but both Armando and I loves old style café racer motorcycles. It wasn’t hard for us to connect coffee with something else that we loved.
I started with my telling Armando about my trip to Colombia and how every coffee town had these motorcycles overloaded with bags of coffee bringing them to the markets.
So it was after that, the idea of the Las Fincas Lone Rider came to be. We loved the idea of road trips and the idea that we could somehow bring the coffee here by motorcycle. Armando envisioned the leather helmet and goggles look and so our Lone Rider began. The Lone Rider came to represent our line of single source coffees and remind us of the efforts of everyone who brings the coffee to us .
This idea of speed and espresso coffee was always in Armando’s mind when making the espresso blends. The names alone have always signified speed, Mach 1 , Mach 2, Mach 3 and you guessed it Mach 4. Each blend getting more complex in its’ taste and mouth feel. Each one getting more horsepower and handling so to speak. So when designing our cans for our Mach series of espresso coffees we wanted the motorcade idea to be maintained. If you look closely, we have incorporated motorcycle images on the can and our numbers were designed remind us of the café racer styles used on the side of the bikes when racing. Each one getting more italicized and faster looking.
Our intention with our designs are to get people to look closer at the origins of the coffee and ask questions. We aren’t shy to tell you what is inside. Our goal is traceability so we encourage you to read every can carefully and learn what’s giving our coffee its’ unique tastes. When questions come up, it’s then our passion for what we do can comes through as we get to talk about the stories behind the coffee we import, the trips we’ve taken and our desire to connect them to everyone we meet.
It never stops to amaze me when I open a bag of green coffee and see thousands of rock like, emerald, translucent green seeds. In such state they really don’t possess much more than a vegetable smell that ranges from fruity to spices depending on their process and where they came from. As you may know the soil where coffee beans were grown and their varietal will influence their flavor character and aromas. Of course, the real magic happens when coffee beans are finally roasted and they bring out all their organoleptic characteristics which can vary from chocolate like to savory, fruity, etc., you get the idea. As coffee is roasted there are many physical and chemical changes that perhaps you already know about. These changes allow coffee to deliver somewhere around 800 flavor compounds in the form of taste and aromas. Imagine, just to compare, wine is considered a very complex beverage with its 300 about flavor compounds. So all of this is really incredible, how can a simple lifeless seed produce such a complex and delicious nectar of pure joy. While coffee is in its green form flavor deterioration is really slow compared to when it has been roasted. A well stored green coffee will lose its freshness in quite some time. While a freshly roasted coffee really depending on how it is stored and how it was roasted loses its flavor peak very quickly, surely within 45 days.
Ingenious as we humans are, we discover amazing things (like coffee) and invent ways to process them to make the best use out of them. While at the same time creating new conundrums that keep us mind-boggling about solutions. Yes… materials are invented as protective barriers and putting a one way valve is proposed to release the CO2 build up produced at roasting. However, the solution allows us to extend the shelf life of our precious roasted coffee, but not for much longer. I apologize, you have been reading already way to many words and I don’t want to bore you much longer with all the technicalities of materials and processes. You have probably heard it all by now, and you are rushing through this words to get to my point. Ok, well I will try to be short and explain you the theory behind our pressurized aluminum coffee cans.
So, what if instead of releasing all the CO2 contained in freshly roasted coffee beans we where to use it to our advantage? Oxygen is coffee’s ultimate enemy along with the moisture in the environment. CO2 gas also needs to be released from the coffee beans to make our beverage stable in flavor. The release of the gas contained in the roasted coffee will drag out some essential aromas and lipids that are important for a flavorful cup. Also the pressure that the gas exerts in the internal wall of each coffee bean pushes these fatty and tasty oils to its exterior surface. Perhaps, you have noticed on some medium roast coffees that at times they inhibit droplets of oil like a drop of water on their surface. When coffee gets crushed during grinding, these oily substances will end up in some particles but not evenly distributed in the crushed coffee bean. With our unique controlled packing method we are using the CO2 that is usually forced out of coffee and containing it inside the can. This keeps oxygen out of contact with the roasted coffee, while the aluminum container makes a complete anti-moisture barrier protecting the coffee aromas from deterioration. Best of all, the lipids and aromatic compounds are distributed evenly within all the internal walls of the roasted coffee. There is no external exposure of them and this will make for a more structured and defined flavor in the final stage, your cup. Finally, we are capable of extending the shelf life for up to a year from the roasting and packing date. Basically, we create a complete protective negative pressure vault that helps age coffee if the term could apply, resulting in a more intense and unique cup of coffee. An added bonus to our coffee cans is that you still get to enjoy the coffee within the next 45 days from opening, even if that would be a year later from its original roasting date.
