We’re happy to present our first anaerobic processed coffee from Honduras. Both we at Mercon Specialty and our producer partners in Honduras are incredibly pleased with both how well this coffee turned out and how well it has been received by our roaster clients.
This coffee comes from our Guinope LIFT cluster, in the southeastern region of Honduras near the Nicaragua border. This cluster is currently in their third year with the program, and we have seen great results. Through LIFT, our farms have realized a 50% increase in production and a similar increase in coffee, increasing the overall sustainability of the farms. All the farms participating in LIFT are Rainforest Alliance certified.
Download Guinope Anaerobic ML LIFT Info Sheet
For our anaerobic lots, ripe coffee cherries were fermented for up to 48 hours in sealed tanks without oxygen. Through this method, the microorganisms present in the coffee break down glucose molecules and generate CO2 and heat. This displaced the oxygen in the tank, limiting the type and voracity of microorganisms in the fermentation process. For this lot we submerged the coffee in water, resulting in a slower fermentation, yielding less wildly fruity notes than a traditional natural. The coffee cherries were then sundried on raised beds for about 20 days.
This creates a coffee with a very bright acidity and a lot of sweetness, but without being fruity. The flavors in an anaerobically processed coffee are singular and do not come from any other type of process.
