Honduras Organic -Ana Cecilia Rouco Microlot
Honduras Organic -Ana Cecilia Rouco Microlot
Farm Description
This lot is produced by a co-op called COCOSAM (Cooperativa Cafetelera Sanmarquena) from the west-central area of Honduras, a subregion of Maracala; San Marcos de Colon. For years, Marcala has produced some of the better coffees of Honduras, partly because they process and dry the coffees so well, as opposed to other districts which have wet climate and lack of proper drying patios. We have bought general mixed lots from this cooperative for several years, as well as another well-known roaster, Allegro. They initiated a program this past year to identify special producers within the coop that have superior cup quality, and the result was 17 winning lots ranging from 86-94 points in a micro-competition. This lot came in at #6 with 87.09 points, but both the Darrin from Allegro and myself (Tom) identified it as the sweetest coffee of all, with a more moderate acidity than the others. When I recupped the samples again, it was my top coffee! It is also one of the higher-grown lots, at 1550 meters. We are not solidly convinced this is Catuai (we think it might be a mix with Bourbon) but since COCOSAM recorded it as Catuai we will respect that.
Cupping Notes
This is one of the sweetest Honduran coffees we have cupped lately. The dry fragrance from the grounds at lighter roast levels attests to this: caramel and malt syrup scents dominate. At Full City roast level, soft chocolate roast notes emerge. Adding hot water, the aroma from the cup has the same intense sweetness, with hints of apricot and Earl Gray in the lighter roasts, a more aggressive chocolate bittersweet and toasted nut tone with roasts approaching 2nd crack. This coffee is versatile, very dense with a tightly wound body, and can take a range of roasts. It has very different character from a light roast treatment to dark, as the aromatics suggest. Light roasts have a brilliant sweet flavor, finishing with a hint of tea bittering flavor, or tannic and a tamarind-like acidity. The body is creamy, and the cup flavor laced with peach-apricot fruit and ending with a sarsaparilla hint. Full City roast has considerably more chocolate roast flavor and a more opaque, weighty, creamy mouthfeel, ending with an almondy afternote. The brightness of lighter roast levels holds up as the roast nears 2nd, making in a more dimensional cup than lighter roast levels.

