Heart & Soul in Every Bean

How It’s Done

Washed Process

Our washed coffees are fermented and washed to remove the mucilage, then carefully dried and rested, for a clean, bright and balanced cup. Here is every step, from the farm to your roaster.

Clusters of ripe coffee cherries on a coffee plant

Shade-Grown at Altitude

Our Caturra and Catuaí grow under shade trees in Nicaragua’s highlands at 1,200–1,320 masl. The shade and the altitude let the cherries ripen slowly, which builds density and sweetness.

Coffee picker holding freshly picked red cherries over a full harvest basket

Selective Hand-Picking

Cherries are picked by hand at peak ripeness, so unripe and overripe fruit stays out of the lot.

Freshly harvested coffee cherries floating in a water tank

Cherry Sorting

At the wet mill, cherries are sorted in water. Floating, defective fruit and debris are removed before processing.

Close-up of washed green coffee beans

Pulping

Pulpers remove the skin and fruit, leaving parchment coffee still coated in mucilage.

Green coffee beans flowing through a hulling and sorting machine

Fermentation & Washing

The parchment ferments until the mucilage breaks down and is then washed in clean water. This produces the bright, clean cup of a classic washed coffee.

Washed parchment coffee being raked on drying beds

Drying

The washed parchment is dried to 10–12% moisture, and moisture is checked throughout drying.

Coffee resting in parchment inside a drying greenhouse

Reposo (Resting in Parchment)

The dried coffee rests in parchment so moisture evens out and the beans stabilize before milling.

Red coffee milling and hulling machinery inside a dry mill

Dry Milling & Hulling

At the dry mill, the parchment is hulled and the coffee is cleaned of husk and foreign matter.

Coffee sorting machine in a brick processing facility

Screen-Size Grading

Green beans are graded by screen size, giving uniform lots that roast evenly and meet SHG-EP preparation.

Workers hand-sorting green coffee beans on a sorting table

Density & Color Sorting

Density sorting removes light, underdeveloped beans, and electronic color sorters reject discolored and defective ones.

Workers hand-sorting green coffee beans on a sorting table

Hand Sorting

Trained sorters inspect the coffee by hand and remove any remaining defects, bringing each lot to SHG-EP (European Preparation) standards.

Coffee cupping cups set up on a wooden table for tasting

Cupping & Quality Control

Each lot is checked for moisture and defects and cupped at origin to confirm specialty, micro-lot quality. Pre-shipment samples are available for roaster approval.

Stacked bags of green coffee ready for export

Packaging & Export

Approved coffee, sourced from partner producers committed to responsible, sustainable farming, is packed in jute bags with hermetic Ecotact liners, labeled for traceability, and shipped from Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua, with full export documentation.