Updates from Catracha Coffee: Tough Market and Adela's Harvest
The 2023 harvest year was hard for Catracha Coffee, our long-time partners in Santa Elena, Honduras. Lowell Powell at Catracha explained that the coffee market caused a lot of unpredictability for coffee producers. Buying prices for cherries remained high: usually, this happens when there is a shortage of coffee, demand has increased, or possibly both. When the buying price for cherry is high, it is incredibly appealing for coffee growers to sell their cherries as is: the option to sell cherry without risk or needing to invest in post-harvest work is too good for many to pass up.
Catracha purchases coffee in parchment, and all farmers they work with are provided with tools and resources that help them to improve their farm management and post-harvest coffee processing practices. It’s hard work, but this investment allows farmers to produce specialty coffees and receive higher prices for their coffee year after year. Catracha makes two payments to farmers: the first is when Catracha buys coffee from farmers in Honduras, and the second payment is made when the coffee is sold, in which Catracha shares their profits.
The town of santa elena is located in la paz, honduras. the community in connected by dirt roads
Many farmers who work with Catracha asked if Catracha could pay higher than the 2023 market prices. But Catracha has always paid higher prices since the beginning of their operations, and it was difficult for them to suddenly increase their buying prices. It’s difficult to compete with other buyers who historically pay less and only increase their prices when they need to fill their quota. When market prices remain high, there is less incentive for farmers to produce higher quality coffees. As a result, we often see coffee quality dip and it becomes harder to find higher quality and an appropriate price.
sorting out non-red, partially red, and defective cherries before they are placed into the depulper. adela only processes the ripe red cherries for catracha and andytown.
Farmers should always have more than one choice in how to sell their coffee, and they should always choose what is best for them. It is also understandable when farmers decide to sell their cherries to others who can pay higher and require less work. However, it is often a short-term solution at best. If and when the market drops and farmers don’t maintain their farming and processing practices, they may be trapped in selling their coffees at lower prices until they can improve their processes and coffee quality again.
Some of Catracha’s partner farmers decided to sell all of their cherries to another market instead of Catracha. Maria Adela chose to sell half of her cherries to other buyers, and then processed the remaining half herself to sell her coffee to Catracha and Andytown. We are glad she saved some coffee for us from this harvest, and it’s encouraging that her coffee quality has remained high. During the last several years, she’s put more effort into managing her farm by diligently tending to her trees and using natural fungicide to protect her plants from leaf rust. Her farm continues to serve as a model farm for other farmers who are looking to improve their own farms.
one of adela’s pickers places freshly picked cherries into the depulper. her wet mill and drying area is right next to her home, while her farm is perhaps a 15-20 minute drive away.
For the 2022 harvest, we participated in Catracha’s Third Payment Initiative: for every retail bag sold, $1 goes back to Catracha and is split between Maria Adela, coffee pickers, and an emergency medical care response fund to help producers who are dealing with unexpected expenses from a medical emergency. Essentially, this third payment is funded by consumers and is Catracha’s solution to coffee drinkers who have thought about “tipping the farmer.” By having payment built into the price of the coffee, customers can know specifically where their extra dollar is going. We sold 1528 bags out of Adela’s 2022 harvest, and we made a payment of $1528.00 to Catracha Coffee! Adela plans to use her portion to cover some of her expenses for the 2024 harvest that is happening now.
maria adela nolaso drying coffees on raised beds. Drying coffees inside a parabolic dryer allows for temperature control and slower drying of coffees.
While we wait to see how things will play out in 2024 for Catracha Coffee and Adela, we are excited to share Adela’s coffee once again and participate in the Third Payment Initiative. You can expect the same, delicious coffee as last year: it has an approachable acidity and a balanced sweetness and body that reminds us of white grape, maduros (fried sweet plantain), and milk chocolate. With a heavier coffee-to-water ratio, it has a sweet and velvety mouthfeel that reminds us of a peanut butter cup!
