IHCafe90 by Olga Benitez in Marcala, Honduras

Producer: Olga Benitez
Origin: Marcala, Honduras
Varieties: IHCafe90
Processing: Washed
Exporter: Beneficio San Vicente
Harvest: Mar 2022
Tasting: bancha tea, herbal, nashi pear

Round and grounding, this lot from Olga Benitez reminds us of bancha tea, with pear sweetness and herbal complexity. Washed processed, this IHCafe90 cultivar was grown in Marcala, Honduras, near the boarder of El Salvador. Olga participates in the Cabañas drying project, which focuses on the longevity of green coffee as a result of meticulous drying on covered raised beds with excellent airflow.

Olga Benitez received just under a hectare of land from her father and has been producing coffee with her sons since 2009 on her farm, called “Eye of the water.”

IHCafe90 is a hybrid cultivar – an early seed selection of Catimor. It can be tasty, but the need for ample fertilization is key. I’ve seen as much as 50% of a person’s production lost because after the coffee is picked and depulped, there are empty parchment shells with no coffee inside. So it needs loads of fertilizer and good soil health to properly grow this variety.

This washed processed lot of IHCafe90 was depulped and fermented overnight, before being dried on raised beds in a controlled manner as part of Proyecto Cabañas, a quality improvement project from a friend, Juan Contreras. This quality improvement project started with Juan’s coffee for his farm in Santa Bárbara. With help from his family in Marcala, they use the same drying methodology of covered raised beds with ample airflow, making for green coffee that has an awesome shelf life. This project also assists in bringing up-and-coming producers to the world stage.