FUGLEN COFFEE CABALLERO ESPRESSO / HONDURAS

In 2017, Fuglen Coffee Roasters purchased coffee from the Caballero family’s El Pantanal plot for their first Christmas coffee. Since then, the company has continued to primarily deal in its flagship variety, Catuai, and from 2021, different varieties such as Java and Geisha, as well as coffees processed using various methods such as natural and anaerobic. This year we bring you a washed Catuai espresso from the Amazon region.

When we launch a new coffee, we start by opening the freshly-delivered burlap bag and roasting a small amount in our small sample roaster. At this point, we measure the moisture content and density of the green beans, create a simple roast plan for a sample roast, and check the condition of the beans.

When we roast samples, we don’t wait long to cup and taste them, usually the next day or a few days later. This is mainly to understand the condition of the coffee beans rather than the quality of the roast.
The morning after roasting, we tasted three slightly different Caballero roasts. The mild, clean sour taste and soft liquid slowly spread in your mouth. While the flavors aren’t quite there yet, the balance is truly pleasing and I really feel like this year’s wait was worth it. When brewed as espresso, it has a strong, sour flavor. Sweet, rich espressos are delicious, but lighter espressos with a subtle acidity like Caballero are also very appealing.

Marisabel Caballero and Moises Herrera grow coffee with Marisabel's father, Don Fabio, in the Macala region of Honduras, covering approximately 200 hectares divided into 17 plantations. All farms are located around a refinery called Xinacla, where coffee beans harvested from each farm are refined.

The refining process includes depulping, removing mucilage in the Penagos Aqua Pulper, fermenting in tanks for 12 hours, and then sorting in the wash tank. The parchment is then soaked in water for about 12 hours and then left to dry on African raised beds for 14 days. In recent years, we have introduced a new sorting system that combines weight and color sorting through capital investment, which has improved sorting efficiency and saved water resources.

Farm management pays special attention to soil health. They mainly use organic fertilizer made from a mixture of cow dung, chicken manure and coffee cherry pulp, and work with agronomists to manage the nutritional status of the coffee trees. We also plant fruit trees such as orange, avocado and banana to maintain biodiversity and provide shade.

During harvest, a double bag system is used to separate the fully ripe cherries from the rest. We pay above-average wages for the skills required to pick the ripest cherries. Cherries are picked daily and paid according to their weight.

Continuous quality control efforts are also reflected in the company’s first place wins in the 2016 and 2018 Honduras Cup of Excellence competitions. Caballeros always listens to the requests of roasters and importers and is constantly working on improving quality, including the introduction of new conching methods.