The wait is over! We finally have Norma’s new crop of coffee. It was WELL worth the wait! We are so familiar with her coffee. Mike nailed the profile the first go around, so it is now available online and in our stores.
Who is Norma and why is her coffee so special?
Norma Lara is a coffee grower and cupping specialist in Honduras. Emeran first met Norma Lara on a visit to Honduras 7 years ago. We have been fortunate enough to purchase her coffee every year for the past 7 years. Norma is supporting two kids with her coffee and her work running the cupping lab at Cocafelol Co-op. Norma takes all the information she learns cupping coffee and applies it to her own coffee. We are always impressed with her willingness to learn, implement and improve the quality of her coffee. It means investing in the tree stock, pruning and cleaning the trees in the off season, hiring pickers and paying them extra to pick just the ripe cherries, and finally investing time to properly process the coffee. Norma is also a founding member of a women’s co-op. We purchase her coffee directly from her, but the paperwork moves through the women’s co-op. The picture of the two beautiful women are Norma and her daughter Gaby. Gaby is learning the ropes as a barista. She works in a café in their community.
Why the wait?
Norma lives near the town of La Labor in the Department of Ocotepeque, Honduras. It is on the western side of the state, bordering El Salvador. After her coffee is picked and processed, it is put on a truck to the eastern side of the state. Most of the coffee exported out of Honduras leaves from ports on the east coast. Due to container shortages, it took weeks to find its way into a container and onto a ship. In our case, the container ship was heading to Portland OR. So, it had to go through the Panama Canal to the west coast. From there, it made its way to Portland. It took another month sitting on the water to be unloaded at the port and another few weeks to arrive in the warehouse. The last leg of the journey, from Portland to New Hampshire, only took 6 days! And to think you can enjoy a cup of Norma’s coffee at home for only 25 cents! It’s pretty amazing!
What to expect in the cup.
This year has been so interesting in many ways. It makes the known and comfortable all the more special. That is how we feel about Norma’s coffee. It is consistently good every year. One of the things we love about her coffee is the creamy body. It feels like a cream pastry. The sweet, fruit qualities really shine too. We taste guava as the main fruit. What is guava? It’s a tropical fruit that has a soft floral quality and tastes between a strawberry and a pear. Sounds good, right? Combine that with a raw honey sweetness and texture all wrapped in a creamy pastry. What’s NOT to like?
Stop by one of our locations or order online!