Delmy Hernández, Finca Cascaritas, three plots: Chupadero 1, Chupadero 2, Los Laureles
Not long ago, my husband died. It was a devastating blow to my life and the lives of my children .
He was the pillar of our family, the one I naturally leaned on for comfort in times of distress. After decades of sharing every day with him, through sadness and joy, he passed away.
But we are strong, my children and I. Besides, we are third and fourth generation coffee farmers, and my husband had instilled all his knowledge and experience in our children long before he passed away.
My own knowledge has evolved and expanded considerably over the years. When I was little, I had to pulp the coffee by hand. It was hard work, but we didn't have a machine and couldn't afford to hire someone. Fortunately, I only had to work on weekends and holidays, but when I finished primary school, I started working full-time.
Now, we use a variety of techniques and skills to cultivate and then process high-quality beans, and we started offering micro-lots in 2015. My son Hidardo oversees much of our production, but I specialize in drying and preparing several micro-lots at our home simultaneously, from late November through March. We have a large patio where I can sun-dry our coffees. But we've also built a robust solar dryer with three levels of raised African beds, where we can process our batches in a very controlled and slow manner.
I particularly enjoy working with carbonic maceration. It allows for extravagant experimentation, and the resulting profiles tend to be more exotic and memorable, though it's also riskier because I can't fully control the fermentation process. Therefore, I typically opt for 60% sparging and 40% natural and honey processes for our larger microbatches, and then prepare smaller anaerobic batches separately.
We have a growing network of partner roasters in different parts of the world. This allows us to reinvest the profits in our land and facilities, which in turn means we can increase production and further improve quality. What began as a humble staple grain farming project is gradually becoming a thriving, well-focused, and more diversified family business.
So, although our husband and father will never set foot on our land again, we are united in our determination and joy to continue building his legacy.
Property details
Currently, we own 3.5 hectares at an altitude of 1230 to 1300 meters .
We work with Parainema , Catucai , Amarello 2SL , IHCAFE90 , Obata .
In addition to the pine trees that naturally predominate in our region, we have planted additional trees to provide ample shade throughout the plantation. These include sycamore, walnut, hazelnut, guamo, and malcinca trees.
Our coffees are FTO .
This farm is certified by the Rain Forest Alliance .
