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Kevin Stark

Articles by Kevin Stark

  • Visiting Santa Elena & Many of the Catracha Farms

    The municipality of Santa Elena in Western Honduras is located in the department of La Paz, at an elevation of 1,800 meters above sea level and is very near the border with El Salvador. Most of the Catracha farms are located in this region, and many with long views down the valley below. If you […]

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  • The Catracha Quality Project Results Are Coming

    At the end of July, Catracha Coffee single farm micro-lots arrived in the Royal warehouse in Oakland, California. The coffees were produced by individual farmers in Santa Elena, Honduras, and the lots ranged from 5 to 20 bags. All bags were printed with the farmer’s name to ensure traceability. While the coffee has been selling fast, […]

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  • How are Catracha Coffee Producers Fighting Leaf Rust?

    Editor’s Note: This is part of a continued series on our commitment to the Catracha Quality Project. Look for further articles and for the arrival of these coffees in the coming months. We have a few of these coffees available SPOT in both Oakland & Seattle. ___________________ When I was visiting Catracha Coffee farms in […]

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  • What We Learned From This Year’s Catracha Quality Project

    We are wrapping up our analysis of the 2016 Catracha Quality Project (CQP). Royal published a lot on this over the last two months, but if you haven’t been following this series, I’d suggest starting here. I’ll summarize a few of our key takeaways below. The team has started focusing on the next step, taking […]

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  • Can Cherry Selection Correlate to Higher Cup Scores in Catracha Coffee?

    When the Catracha Quality Project began, Catracha organizers encouraged producers to focus on the quality of the coffee by selecting ripe cherry. In the Royal Blog last week, Arvin Juan presented a post-harvest process map, the result of two years of observing practices and interviewing producers. It’s a visual tool for identifying best practices with […]

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  • How is Climate Effecting the Spread of Leaf Rust?

    How is Climate Effecting the Spread of Leaf Rust?

    How is Climate Effecting the Spread of Leaf Rust? by Kevin Stark Editor’s Note: This is part of a continued series on our commitment to the Catracha Quality Project. Look for further articles and for the arrival of these coffees in the coming months. We have a few of these coffees available SPOT in both […]

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  • Catracha Coffee Quality Project Reflections from Arvin Juan

    Catracha Coffee Quality Project Reflections from Arvin Juan

    by Kevin Stark Editor’s Note: This is part of a continued series on our commitment to the Catracha Quality Project. Look for further articles and for the arrival of these coffees in the coming months. We have a few of these coffees available SPOT in both Oakland & Seattle. See the previous installment here. ___________________ […]

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