Overview
This is a depulped and demucilaged washed coffee from Ocotepeque, Honduras, produced by Silvia Lizeth Ventura Urias on her farm, Finca La Balastrera.
The flavor profile is bright, crisp and clean with fresh flavors of cherry, orange, and lemongrass, supported by notes of milk chocolate, grilled peach, and oolong tea.
Our roasters found the coffee a little chaffy, but to color nicely at Maillard reactions and roast easily.
When brewed, we liked flat-bottomed pour-overs with moderate up-doses and finer grinds.
Diedrich IR5 Analysis by Doris Garrido
A truly expressive coffee, this excellent Parainema cultivar, produced by Silvia Ventura Urias from Honduras, presents a delicate yet tart profile with a touch of malic acidity, beautifully complemented by a clean sweetness.
I was highly intrigued by this coffee from the moment I first tasted the offer, and I'm thrilled to have it in our Crown Jewel program.
For the roast, I aimed for an extended drying phase, lasting over five minutes. I started at a charge temperature of 396°F, adding gas during the turning point and maintaining full gas for nearly three minutes. I then reduced the gas, working the yellowing phase with the remaining energy in the drum. On this particular roast, I initiated full airflow after six minutes, intending to maximize time spent on caramelization. The coffee began cracking at 9:03 minutes, and I allowed it to develop for 1 minute and 20 seconds before dropping at 403°F. I observed that the coffee maintained significant energy through the final roasting phases, leading me to turn off the pilot light just a few seconds before the drop.
The overall roast time was 10 minutes and 23 seconds, broken down as drying: 5 minutes 28 seconds, yellowing: 3 minutes 38 seconds and post-development: 1 minute 20 seconds
The results were truly delightful. The acidity, which is always the first characteristic I catch while cupping, ended up to me as a delicate green apple, plum, yogurt, mandarin and sherry vinegar. For sweetness, I was particularly amazed to find some of my favorite notes: palm sugar, grilled peach, apricot Danish, Tootsie Roll, toffee, milk chocolate.
This is an excellent offering from Silvia Ventura Urias – superb quality and exceptional taste. I'm thoroughly impressed with the Parainema cultivar and the dedicated work of this producer.
