Last year, Prodigal Coffee purchased the winning Honduran lot from the Cup of Excellence, and its producer at the time has since become a close friend who helps them discover other great Honduran coffees. That’s how Patricio Navarro came into the picture. This year, Patricio entered this lot in the Cup of Excellence, where it ultimately took second place in the traditional category, and Prodigal managed to secure a sample even before the auction itself. In the cup, this semi-washed Typica offers notes of juicy apricot, green grapes, and melon.
Patricio grows his coffee in the Lempira department of Honduras, a region renowned for its mountainous terrain and microclimate, which allows the cherries to ripen slowly and develop complex flavor profiles. The Typica variety, one of the oldest and genetically purest coffee varieties in existence, is given the opportunity here to showcase its full potential, and it is precisely thanks to the meticulous work of producers like Patricio that Honduras has been building a reputation in recent years as one of Central America’s most intriguing coffee origins.
The coffee undergoes a semi-washed processing method. The cherries are hand-harvested at peak ripeness, then left to rest for three days in sealed bags directly at the washing station, where the first phase of fermentation takes place. Once this is complete, the cherries are pulped and returned to the bags for another three days. This is followed by four thorough washings; despite this, the beans retain a tiny amount of pulp, which is why the entire process is classified as semi-washed. The process concludes with 18 days of drying on raised beds, and despite such a complex processing method, the resulting cup remains exceptionally clean.