CAVEWOMAN IN COLOMBIA
SOME COFFEE FACTS, FROM THE FARM:
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Each plant takes 4 years to mature enough to produce cherries.
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Most coffee plants will produce cherries for 20 years.
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Each coffee cherry will mature at a different time than the ones next to it on a branch.
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Each cherry must be hand selected by a trained eye.
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The cherry must only be picked when it is ripe or it will not have enough nutrients or flavors to produce a good taste when roasted.
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The cherry must be picked before it starts to get hard and go bad. There is a point when it is past ripe.
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Only 30% of beans sent to the dry mill will pass inspection and meet the standards of a specialty coffee bean.
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From picking to roasting a bean journey is about 4 months.
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Banana and plantain trees are planted along with the coffee to create shade.
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You can taste the flavor profiles of the vegetation around the coffee plants. Flowers and citrus trees are all over Villa Myriam and you can taste it in our roasts, especially the White Gold and Onnit ® Amber Roast.
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Part of maintaining our Rainforest Alliance Certification is using nature to maintain the land. All the extra fruit is composted and given back to the earth.
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No chemicals are ever use
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Issues can be a rusting of the plant, drought and bugs.
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The farmers track everything from daily sunlight and could coverage to daily rain levels.