Coffee Description
With a medium body and sweet acidity, El Refugio has notes of berry jam, chocolate cake and cashew. A delightful cup to wake you up!
Roast Level from the Roaster
Refers to the roast level in comparison with other coffees from the roaster
Medium
Process
Washed
Region
Marcala
About Alfonso Hernandez of Honduras
Alfonso Hernandez grew this single-producer microlot on his family farm, El Refugio, using sustainable methods in tandem with Catracha Coffee. In 2014, the Catracha Quality Project (CQP) was launched in Santa Elena, Honduras. The CQP is a coffee data collection project aimed at helping producers in Santa Elena understand how their processing decisions impact the quality of their coffee.
As a Catracha producer, Alfonso maintains his farm and produces coffee for Catracha. Each of the Catracha producers have their own small wet-mill on the farm, so their ripe cherries are depulped on the farm the same day that they are picked, and fermented immediately after to remove the mucilage from the beans.
Zocalo Coffee had the opportunity to visit Santa Elena and meet Alfonso during harvest in 2019 and a direct relationship was established between our two communities. We are grateful that with all the uncertainty 2020 has brought, we can continue to feature Alfonso's entire microlot for a 2nd year. This year we are releasing Alfonso's coffee under our new Flourish label to highlight a coffee developed and shared through our relationship with the producer.
Marcala, Honduras
Zocalo Coffee
Zocalo Coffee is a community focused cafe and roastery in San Leandro, California. As a woman owned and operated coffee company, we strive to hold the door open and create a space for those who walk through to be in community with one another. Being intentional with our sourcing allows us to share coffees that we believe in and know have a positive impact from the ground up.
We source our coffees from small farms and organized cooperatives that are Women-Produced, Direct Trade, Traceable, Farm Gate Coffees or invest directly in a Farm or Origin. When combined with these criteria, we also seek out coffees that fit one or more of the following; Bird Friendly®, Rain Forest Alliance Certified, Organic Certified/organically grown, or coffee that meets or exceeds Fair Trade minimums.
While certifications do show that coffees are grown following environmental or economic standards, we are conscious that they can also be inaccessible to smaller farms and cooperatives that are operating on slim margins and cannot afford certification. Our aim is for both our local and global community to benefit by creating equitable opportunities, sustainable and traceable commerce, and environmentally conscious purchasing choices.
