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Zoom Allan Melgar Single Origin Coffee
Zoom Allan Melgar Single Origin Coffee

Allan Melgar's Natural Catuai | Guatemala

$18.00 CAD
off

Description

Natural Catuai ¹
Las Flores Farm in Santa Rosa de Lima, Casillas, Jalapa, Guatemala ²

This lot from Allan Melgar is the first natural coffee Semilla and P.S. have ever purchased from Guatemala and comes to us from his farm, Las Flores, which Allan tends alongside his father, Fernando. Their farm features its own fully established beneficio that allows them to experiment with different varieties and processes like this natural lot.

As with all the producers we work with in Guatemala, Allan and Fernando lend assistance to the Xinka resistance against the Escobal silver mine. Like many of the larger farmers in the group, their assistance comes largely in the form of financial support due to their more extensive means.

We've been thrilled with the quality of the coffees coming out of their stunning farm. In this natural lot, we find rich notes of dark chocolate, black cherry, and pineapple.

¹ Processing & Varietal

Natural Catuai

Coffee is selected at peak ripeness and floated to remove any underripe cherries. Cherries then ferment for 30 hours before being turned out onto a concrete patio where they are dried for between 20-25 days.

² Region of Origin

Las Flores Farm in Santa Rosa de Lima, Casillas, Jalapa, Guatemala

Las Flores Farm is 28 hectares at an altitude of 1850masl.

The average price paid for fair trade coffee is $1.60 USD/lb, which often barely covers the cost of production.

This is not that coffee.

Meet the Producer Who Made This Coffee

Allan Melgar

Allan Melgar tends to his farm, Las Flores, alongside his father, Fernando. Their farm is one of the largest farms Semilla, our sourcing partner, has ever purchased from in Guatemala and still largely tended by the family.

As with all the producers we work with in Guatemala, Allan and Fernando lend assistance to the Xinka resistance against the Escobal silver mine. Like many of the larger farmers in the group, their assistance comes largely in the form of financial support due to their more extensive means.


Read Their Story

At the Las Flores farm, which Allan tends alongside his father, Fernando, features it's own fully established beneficio that allows them to experiment with different varieties and processes like this natural lot.

FAQ's

WHO MAKES P.S. COFFEE?

The P.S. Coffee menu is made possible by grower communities and smallholder farmers in Rwanda, Honduras, Colombia and Guatemala. Through our sourcing sister-company Semilla, we hold long-term and consensus based partnerships with producers that have had zero or limited access to or knowledge of the specialty market.

These skilled and passionate professionals are redefining coffee production within their growing regions that have historically been underserved and overlooked despite being within well-respected coffee producing countries. Through community support networks, access to knowledge and capital and investment into physical and intellectual infastracture, they are transitioning towards autonomy and away from the exploitative model they’ve mostly always known.

These are the people and communities you’ll meet through P.S. — and build connections with as we continue to support and purchase from them year after year.

Meet the P.S. Producer Network

HOW IS P.S. COFFEE SOURCED?

All of the coffee on the P.S. menu is exclusively sourced with Semilla Coffee through the following principles:

Durable Relationships

All of Semilla’s relationships are formed with specific communities in underserved coffee growing regions within well-respected coffee production countries. Semilla identifies producer groups that have zero or limited access to or knowledge of the specialty market and takes on the requisite risk that comes with their transition into becoming specialty coffee producers with dedicated buyers across North America. Semilla’s commitment is to work only within the bounds of these groups, seeking to grow with them in pursuit of purchasing all of their production, year after year.

Best Prices, Defined by Producers

All coffees purchased by Semilla are purchased at the best locally available price. This is determined via communication with and understanding of local market dynamics, and prices are arrived upon via a consensus model in which the coffee growers and Semilla agree democratically on the best prices for all involved.

Traceability and Transparency 

Semilla’s commitment is to work with complete commitment to traceability and transparency along the value chain. This means full transparency of prices paid to the farmer (farmgate) as well as prices paid at port (FOB). Additionally, Semilla offers in depth information and context for each coffee, the producers who grew it, and the condition within which they work with each purchase. 

Quality 

Semilla exclusively works in the specialty coffee realm, meaning all of the coffees purchase are above the quality levels offered  by conventional commodity or Fair Trade and Organic buyers. Quality is determined in reference to the Specialty Coffee Association and Coffee Quality Institute’s grading standards, with all coffees source for P.S. achieving a minimum of 85 points out of a possible 100. 

DO YOU HAVE THIRD-PARTY SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION?

We are skeptic of most fair trade/organic/sustainability certifications. They often leave the financial burden on coffee producers who are, and let's be honest, not polluting anywhere near us folks in the Global North are.

Instead of focusing on these certifications, we work towards a value system that uplifts everyone along the coffee supply chain. Through Semilla, our sourcing sister-company, we can connect directly with our coffee producer network to bring to life their ideas that come from, and work for, them towards a more sustainable, equitable value chain.