Written by Ian Bailey. All Photos Copyright Vivid 2019 (Unless noted otherwise).
The view from Nahun Fernandez’s farm in Santa Barbara, Honduras
If you’ve been drinking Vivid Coffee at home or in cafes over the past few years, you are likely familiar with the name Santos Lopez. In 2017 we purchased Santos’ entire harvest of the pacas and bourbon varieties grown on his farm. In the subsequent years we have continued to purchase the pacas/bourbon; as well as the rest of Santos’ crop which is made up of the variety catimor, which grows on the lower parts of his farm.
The first year we purchased Santos’ coffee was the first year Santos sold his coffee as a specialty product. Without knowing the potential quality of his coffee or having the proper connections to sell his coffee in other ways, at the age of 68, Santos had previously sold his coffee to anyone who was willing to purchase the coffee and at whatever price he could get (typically very low prices).
In 2017, the first year we purchased coffee from Santos, Santos decided to explore the potential of selling his coffee in the specialty market. It was around that time, that Santos became aware of Beneficio San Vicente, a dry-mill in the area that partners with many of Santos’ neighbors in improving the quality of the coffee and assists in finding buyers that will pay higher prices for the coffees.
Santos, Lopez
Benjamin Paz, who owns and runs Beneficio San Vicente with his brother Fidel and cousin Arturo, said this of Santos in 2017, “He changed the way he worked after hearing and seeing the specialty coffee project that was developed in the area. All his neighbors and relatives were a part of it and he wanted to participate. He was aware that he had the potential to produce great coffee. The altitude, the area where the farm is located, the old Bourbon and Pacas he has planted, all these details showed that he could do well.”
From 2017 to 2019 - We Are Releasing 11 Coffees From Santa Barbara
As mentioned, we have continued to purchased Santos’ coffee each year since. That first year, the Pacas and Bourbon harvest wasn’t particularly large – we received two 69KG bags (about 300 lbs. total) of green (unroasted) coffee. This year we will receive 18 bags (about 2730 lbs. total) from Santos.
In addition to Santos’ coffee, we have greatly expanded our purchasing commitment to coffees from Santa Barbara, Honduras. Specifically coffees processed at Beneficio San Vicente. Over the coming weeks, we will be releasing 11 different coffees from the area. You can be certain it was an intentional decision moving from 300lbs. in 2017 to nearly 10,000 lbs. in 2019.
But it’s not just because we believe in the quality and unique character of these beautiful coffees (we do!). Since the inception of Vivid Coffee, we have not only strived to source the highest quality coffee possible. We have also worked toward purchasing coffees within a framework of values that address (at least in some capacity) the larger issues facing the coffee industry: climate change, coffee plant disease, and the coffee price crisis – which all have a very large human impact in coffee growing communities.
Which brings us back to Santos’ coffee, which was introduced to us by Todd Mackey of Olam Speciality Coffee. Todd has been an invaluable resource to Vivid over the years. It’s been clear to us that Todd has worked hard to not only understand the types of coffees that find their way into Vivid’s line-up, but to also understand the values we are hoping will continue to inform our purchasing practices.
Todd wrote an informative blog on Olam’s website, which you can read here, detailing the coffees milled at Beneficio San Vicente. (Please read it!) To summarize one of the things that makes the trading of these coffee’s unique: Beneficio San Vicente allows buyers to contract coffees directly with producers. This means that an importer (like Olam) or a roaster (like Vivid) can work with the mill and producer directly in determining a fair price for the coffee. In many other contexts, a producer is selling coffee cherry or parchment (unmilled coffee) to a mill for very low prices. In those contexts if the coffee happens to be of a higher quality, the mill would be the benefactor not the producer. However Beneficio San Vicente charges a flat fee to the producer for milling and other services provided, and then contracts are made directly with producers. This becomes an incentive for producers to participate in the specialty market because any increase in a final contract price due to an increase in quality goes into the pocket of the farmers and employees of the farm.
This structure is one of the primary reasons we continue to increase our purchasing volume from Santa Barbara, Honduras of coffees that are milled at Beneficio San Vicente. And to be honest, it’s not really about what we are doing in buying these coffees, that’s not the story we want to tell. The real good is being done by the producers, who work diligently and humbly to produce excellent coffees. And it’s about the good that Benjamin, Fidel, Arturo, and the team at BSV are doing in empowering producers to earn a better wage for their work. They are doing things differently and better and we can’t help but want to be a part of it. We believe in these coffees and we believe in the work of these producers and in the structure set up by the team at BSV. We are incredibly humbled to be able to share these 11 coffees with as many of you as possible.
How We Selected These 11 Coffees
Author’s Note (Vivid’s owner, Ian Bailey): though I have been writing this post in the first-person plural “we/our”, I will be writing the next section in first-person singular. Since I am not a writer, I couldn’t figure out how to write it in the collective “we” I use for most of Vivid’s communication because it refers to a trip I took in March. Thank you for continuing to read.
In March, Benjamin Paz graciously hosted me on my trip to Santa Barbara, Honduras. I also got to share the trip with my friends, Todd Mackey of Olam Specialty and Bryan Gibb of Bolt Coffee Company in Providence, RI. On our first day, we had the privilege of meeting Santos Lopez and visiting his farm. It was a magical day. I was able to share two bags of coffee roasted in Vermont, branded with Santos’ name as we have done from the beginning. And it was a meaningful moment of connection.
Benjamin Paz at Santos Lopez’s farm.
We spent the following days visiting with other producers and being captivated by the beauty of the farms on the slopes of Santa Barbara, many which overlooked Lake Joya. After a few days of farm visits, in which many great conversations were had, we then had a marathon final two days at the mill Beneficio San Vicente, where we cupped over a 130 coffees. In that process, I was able to identify the large majority of the 11 coffees we selected pending availability and pre-shipment samples. (Though some of the coffees were selected by cupping pre-shipment samples we received while in Vermont.)
Todd Mackey and Bryan Gibb chatting with Jeovany and Rafael Lara
How We Are Releasing These Coffees?
We have been working over the past few years to increase our purchasing capacity from producers that are partnered with BSV. And one of the things we have been working on is how to share this information and these stories with our wholesale café partners. We knew we wanted to buy more coffee from more farms in the area and we started proposing the idea of connecting our wholesale partners to single-farm coffees.
This means we are establishing a purchasing relationship with a small group of farmers. Vivid Coffee will be committed to purchasing these coffees each harvest, as we have done with Santos’ coffee, as long as the coffee is available to us and it is in the best interest of the producer to contract the coffee with us. We have been securing “homes” for the coffees, so to speak, at coffee shops we partner with. For example, Scout and Co. (in Winooski and Burlington) will be exclusively serving and selling the pacas/bourbon microlot from Santos Lopez.
It’s our hope in rolling out these coffees as exclusives that baristas and guests in those shops are able to connect with the coffee in a deeper way – to be connected in a human way more than a transactional way. Our dream would be when the final cup of coffee from this year’s harvest is poured, that there will be a large group of people anticipating next year’s harvest.
And even though the last shipments of this years harvest are just arriving, we are in some strange way already anticipatory of next year as well. But for now, we can’t wait to share these coffees with you. We hope you are able to visit at least one of the shops that are rolling out exclusives. And if you aren’t able to, we have some great options on our online store for you to try.
What Are the Exclusive Coffees and Where Are They Being Served?
Scout and Company (Winooski/Burlington, Vermont): Santos Lopez, Pacas/Bourbon
Summary: Vivid has been purchasing coffee from Santos longer than any other single producer. Which means this will always be a coffee very dear to us as it was our introduction to purchasing coffee from the region, not only because of the quality of the coffee we receive. It only made sense for us to offer this coffee as an exclusive to Scout and Co. our longest standing wholesale partner.
This coffee has a rich body, with a round sweetness – our tasting notes include brown sugar, hazelnut, dried cherry, and orange.
Ian Bailey with Santos Lopez and his daughter
Little Woodfords (Portland, Maine): Santos Lopez, Catimor
Summary: The other separation lot we purchase from Santos is composed entirely of the Catimor variety. We selected this coffee to be served exclusively at Little Woodfords in Portland, Maine because it is a coffee that emulates (in flavor) the hospitality and welcoming atmosphere of Little Woodfords. It is the type of coffee you want in your cup, warming your hands on a windy and brisk day in Non-Peninsula Portland (we see you Woodfords Corner!).
This coffee is incredibly balanced with notes of marzipan, mandarin, and cocoa nibs.
Royal Oak (Middlebury, Vermont): Evin Gomez, Parainema
Summary: we had this unique variety in mind for Royal Oak as we were considering a good fit for their program. Matt and Aless have a particular taste for unique and captivating coffees. Parainema, a variety only gaining notoriety in recent years due to it comprising a winning lot in the Honduras Cup of Excellence, has very distinct and interesting flavor characteristics. We often get vibrant citrus notes (think Limeade) and herbaceous-notes (think cola) in the cup.
This parainema grown by Evin Gomez is no different. Though the citrus note in this particular lot seems to be a bit tamer, more like tangerine than lime. With a dark chocolate structure/flavor and an herbaceous finish. Matt and Aless have already started dialing in this coffee and it couldn’t be in better hands.
Evin Gomez
Catalyst Coffee Bar (Saint Albans, Vermont): Domatila Sarmiento, Cataui*
Summary: Our owner, Ian, didn’t get to visit Domatila in March. However, he was able to waive to her as she tended drying coffee parchment behind her home. Ian was visiting with another farmer and someone said, “That’s Domatila, you will be trying her coffee later this week.” Sure enough we did and Ian knew the moment he cupped it that her coffee would be a good fit for Catalyst Coffee in Saint Albans. Catalyst is owned and operated by our friend Karen Scheffler. As a woman who has been setting a standard for everyone in the way she operates her business, empowering women in her own community, it only makes sense that Karen is able to serve an exclusive from a hard-working woman producer in her café.
Our tasting notes include milk chocolate, almond, and toffee
*We are working on securing another lot separation for Domatila from a different plot of land that will also be served at Catalsyt in Saint Albans.
Domatila Sarmiento, Photo Courtesy of Beneficio San Vicente
Onyx Tonics Specialty Coffee (Burlington, Vermont): Nahun Fernandez, Parainema, Honey-Processed
Summary: In March, Ian visited Nahun’s farm and couldn’t have been more impressed. Nahun shares a processing facility with his brothers and father, which means they were able to collectively able to build a very impressive set-up. It was also clear that Nahun cares deeply about the quality of the coffee he is producing and is continually asking how he can improve the quality of his coffee. There were a lot of processing experiments going on when Ian visited Nahun’s farm – who impressed us with his knowledge and commitment to education.
This particular coffee is a honey-process Parainema. Which means the fruit is left on the coffee parchment while drying which produces a unique sweetness and body in the coffee. While Parainema is typically very citrusy, the honey-process produces sweet tropical fruit characeristics – it is still distinctly parainema, but in a way we have never had before. Get ready to nerd out with Jason and the rest of the coffee nerds at Onyx over this coffee.
Nahun Fernandez rocking a Cat and Cloud shirt, Photo Courtesy Beneficio San Vicente
Philo Ridge Farm (Charlotte, Vermont): Javier Fernandez, Bourbon
Summary: the brother of Nahun (see Onyx Tonics Specialty Coffee), Javier Fernandez was actually de-pulping a portion of the bourbon harvest when Ian visited in March. The coffee we received is as sweet as the cherries looked waiting to be de-pulped before drying.
Philo Ridge Farm will be serving this coffee as espresso and in all espresso based drinks in place of the Sugar Shack espresso blend we normally provide them with. Expect notes of dark chocolate, caramel apple, and tangerine.
Javier Fernandez, Photo Courtesy Beneficio San Vicente