This offering from Ethiopia is a stunning lot from two washing stations near the Koke Kebele. Located in the heart of Yirgacheffe region of the Gedeo zone, coffees from the Koke washing station exhibit the intense fruited-sweetness and delicate florals we love about Ethiopian coffees. You can expect to find expressive fruity characteristics resulting from the light fermentation of this coffee that reminds us of passionfruit and blackberries.. This coffee is abundantly sweet and pleasantly bright.

"This lot of Koke Honey was sourced from a total of around 1200 smallholder farmers from Birbes Kela, Koke, Konga, Wedessa, and Tisho kebeles. Farmers bring their harvested cherries for processing at the Koke and Birbes Kele washing stations. Harvested cherries are fermented in-cherry for two days prior to being pulped. The pulped coffee is then dried on raised beds to its optimal humidity." - Ally Coffee

We Taste: Passionfruit, Blackberry Jam, Hops, Peach Tea, Apricots

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe

Process: Honey

Lot name: Koke Honey

Producer: Smallholders

Varietal: Kurume, Dega, Wolisho

Elevation: 1800

Harvest Date: Summer 2025

Our Price: $6.13/lb

Quantity Purchased: 5 x 60kgs

In a past life, El Manzanal was a prized lot we looked forward to each year. After traveling to Don Eli to meet Carlos Montero ourselves, we understood why. La Pastora Manzanal is the location of Carlos’s highest elevation lots on his farm Don Eli and routinely produces the most beautiful coffees. This honey processed catuai is brimming with soft honey-like florals, plum and lemon curd acidity, and milk chocolate. Balanced, complex, sweet - It’s everything we first fell in love with. For us, this coffee draws us back to who we are and where we come from.

We Taste: Plum, Lemon Curd, Milk Chocolate, Floral

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Terrazu

Process: White Honey

Lot name: La Pastora Manzanal

Producer: Jacob and Carlos Montero

Varietal: Catuai

Elevation: 1700

Harvest Date: Spring 2025

Our Price: $6.72 USD/lb

Quantity Purchased: 7 × 69kgs

Lot Description

Manzanal is an exclusive lot from the Don Eli Micro Mill and Family. The farms that the Monteros have on La Pastora Mountain brought them the recognition that they deserve in the specialty coffee realm. This is due in part to the high altitude, fertile soil, and unique micro climate of cool temperatures and soft sun exposure. This farm is named Manzanal or “Apple Farm”, because Carlos used to grow apples there with great success. However, a root disease decimated the apple farm and Carlos decided to plant it with coffee in order to one day more easily sell the land. Since the farm was terraced for apple trees the terraces were bigger and ended up giving the coffee trees much more room to grow - this resulted in an even heightened quality for this special lot. As the family started their wet mill they experimented processing coffees from this farm and the outcome was found to be spectacular - catapulting the family to new accomplishments in specialty coffee.

Processing

White Honey - This is the classic process that paired with the lots coming from La Pastora Mountain brought acclaim to the Don Eli Wet Mill. Jacob receives the fresh fruit at the mill and lets it rest in the tiled tank in the cool of the night. Early the next morning the coffee is put through the equipment which sorts, pulps, and mechanically demucilages the seeds. There is only a very small amount of mucilage still intact on the parchment which makes this like a semi-washed process. The coffee is put directly on raised drying beds and frequently moved every day for 10-12 days until reaching optimal moisture content.

Victoria Aguirre is a coffee producer who takes pride in her work as a woman-producer and community leader. We had the privilege of meeting Victoria in 2024 when we visited her farm in Intibuca where she produces coffee as a member of the female-led Campanario Co-op. The Campanario Co-op has worked imaginatively to overcome the barriers small holders face by pooling resources and dedicating themselves to mutual support. We are extremely proud to work with Victoria and her amazing coffee. In the cup we find a vibrant acidity that reminds us of pink lemonade, aromatics like eucalyptus, and a sweet, comforting depth reminiscent of dried plums and nougat.

We Taste: Pink Lemonade, Plum, Sweet Nougat, Eucalyptus

Country: Honduras

Region: Campanario

Process: Washed

Lot name: Mi Bendicion

Producer: Victoria Aguirre

Varietal: Bourbon

Elevation: 1750-1800

Harvest Date: May 2025

Farmgate price: 22,250 Lempira/carga parchment

Local farmgate price (2025): 12,000 Lempira/carga parchment

FOB Price: $5.50 USD/lb

Our Price: $7.42 USD/lb

Quantity Purchased: 4 × 69kgs

“Victoria Aguirre, a 49-year-old wife and mother of six, began her journey in coffee farming in 2013. With the support of her husband, who emigrated to the United States to help financially, she purchased a small, already-planted coffee plot. As a second-generation coffee farmer, Victoria grew up seeing her parents cultivate coffee as the primary source of income in their region, where most families depend on the crop.

Victoria is deeply passionate about coffee farming, not only because it sustains her family but also because it connects her to her roots. Her dream is to continue selling her coffee as a high-quality product, earning better prices to create improved living conditions for her family. However, the journey has not been without challenges. Low market prices, rising production costs, and the impacts of climate change have made sustaining her farm increasingly difficult. Despite these struggles, Victoria remains committed to her work. Her goal is to manage her coffee farm effectively, secure fair prices, and ensure a better quality of life for her family. She finds great pride in being an independent woman who contributes economically and financially to her household.

Victoria expresses her gratitude to buyers, roasters, and consumers who support her coffee in international markets:

‘As a woman coffee producer, I am thankful for the opportunity to sell my coffee in your country. Your support allows me to achieve financial independence and provide for my family.’”

Dulces Sueños is a blend of coffees from producers involved in the Sueños de Semilla project in Honduras. Each of these producers has been involved in the effort to find an international market for their coffees, and thus a more sustainable price. This decaf blend has undergone a Swiss Water Process to decaffeinate the coffee while preserving the intrinsic quality of the seed. We find this cup to be comforting and sweet with notes of milk chocolate, nougat, almond, and graham crackers.
We Taste: Milk Chocolate, Nougat, Almond, Graham Cracker

Country: Honduras

Region: Comayagua and El Paraiso

Process: Swiss Water Process, Washed and Honey

Lot name: Sueños

Producers: Clementino Ramirez, Maria Caceres, and Edis Aguilar

Varietal: Typica and Parainema

Elevation: 1700-1900

Swiss Water Process Date: April 2025

Farmgate price: 7300 Lempira/quintal green coffee.

Regional farmgate price (2024): 3500 Lempira/quintal parchment coffee

FOB Price: $3.19 USD/lb

Decaf cost: $0.87 USD/lb

Our Price: $6.10 USD/lb

Quantity Purchased: 10 × 60 kgs

“This water-processed decaf lot is an exciting and limited offering from Semilla. We consistently strive to purchase as much coffee as possible from the communities we work with in Honduras. Therefore, sending specific lots to the decaf plant in Burnaby allows us to enhance our purchasing commitment and acquire coffees that may slightly exceed our standard criteria for selling as micro-lots. This process also includes some coffees that originally qualified as micro-lots but had a few excess pounds. As a result, we can still purchase coffee that may test slightly outside the ideal range for humidity or water activity at competitive prices.

The benefit is that we’re able to provide fresh decaf coffee to our roaster partners as well. As it can be very difficult to find quality decaf, let alone fresh decaf, this Sueños Decaf lot ensures that a just price was paid to the producer and that you, as a roaster, have a traceable decaf made of high-quality, fresh coffee!” - Semilla