Festive Brew

Red honey catuai by Mauricio Jimenez.

It is a pleasure to welcome coffee produced by Mauricio Jimenez to our menu for a fourth season. One of four outstanding lots sourced from Mauricio this year, this sweet catuai is soft and satisfying, reminding us of caramel and dried fruits. For our Christmas coffee, the aim is always to source something that is sweet, balanced and easy drinking, which can be enjoyed by all and shared with loved ones. This red honey catuai showcases all of these characteristics and for us, is the ideal coffee for this time of year. The artwork, as has become a tradition for us since 2020, was designed by the extremely talented Manchester based artist, Hannah Valentine.

This particular lot is a collaboration with Mauricio’s uncle, Yano. Don Yano has been growing coffee for decades and delivers his newest planted catuai to Mauricio for processing. 

Mauricio uses his neighbour’s wet mill in the nearby town of San Pablo. First, floaters are removed before the ripe cherries go through the depulping machine. Next, the coffee passes through the mechanical mucilage remover that is adjusted to leave a certain amount of mucilage on the seeds. In the case of this lot, Mauricio has chosen to leave about 30% of the mucilage on the seeds while drying, resulting in what he describes as a “Red Honey” process. By leaving some of the mucilage on the seeds while drying, Mauricio is able to achieve a clean and sweet yet complex and nuanced profile. Finally, the parchment is dried on raised beds typically for around 10-12 days until a moisture content of 10-10.5% is achieved.

Below is the key transparency data relating to this coffee. To find our more about our commitment to transparency, check out our latest annual transparency report.

Volume purchased: 966kg

Purchase history: Fourth year

FOB: $12.98/kg

Importer: Selva