HONDURAS MARCALA (FTO, Organic): chocolaty, lower acidity, medium bodied, sweeter edge, nutty, caramel, flora.

DESCRIPTION: Finca Humana (the Human Farm) is the first thing you will hear about Café Organico Marcala, S.A. (COMSA) if you make your way to visit this cooperative in Marcala, Honduras. The well-being of humans is foundational to the COMSA philosophy, and educating more than 1,500 producer-members to successfully live in harmony with nature is everywhere at COMSA. It starts with the La Fortaleza, the COMSA biodynamic demonstration farm, where the focus of transferring knowledge takes place through week-long seminars called Pata de Chucho (pawprints left by a stray dog), which aptly reveal COMSA’s dogged exploration for human productivity in harmony with nature.

The trailblazing ideas for using organic matter to productively cultivate high-quality coffee are only a sliver of what COMSA teaches about the power of nature through the Finca Humana philosophy. COMSA dedicates significant funding from the proceeds of coffee sales to run a cutting-edge international school dedicated to filling children’s minds with possibility and training them to be the future leaders of Finca Humana.

What makes it so good? The fundamentals: traceability to the Marcala region, which is a protected designation of origin (DENOMINACION DE ORIGEN CAFE DE MARCALA); meticulous post-harvest hand sorting of cherry; cherry floating to remove less dense beans; proper fermentation; long drying times; and a healthy dose of the COMSA philosophy and training.

Honduras Marcala coffee is fair trade. It is certified organic and produced under fair trade conditions, ensuring that the coffee farmers receive fair compensation for their work. The coffee is grown in a chemical-free environment, and the fair trade price premium supports various social projects in the region.

TASTING NOTES: This cup is nice and chocolaty, with lower acidity and medium-bodied. A little sweeter edge to it, except for super dark roasts. Besides a chocolaty factor, one will get some nutty/caramel/floral-like tones at the medium to dark roast points, giving it some nice complementing depth without being too exotic. We all thought it was at its best right around a full city – smooth without too much of a roasty note and great chocolaty tones.