Erin’s whole family work in coffee, he inherited his land from his father, Pedro.
Erin Moreno
Honduras
We have been impressed with many Honduran lots over the last few years, but especially over the past couple of seasons. Quality seems to be improving at a very high rate, partly thanks to the work of visionaries like Benjamin Paz and his company Beneficio San Vicente in helping producers realise the quality of their coffees, and connecting them to like-minded roasters. The Santa Barbara mountain provides some challenges to those hoping to grow high quality coffee. It stretches from the border with Guatemala into the central highlands, home to some of the highest altitude in the country. Santa Barbara also sits close to a large area of jungle, leading to high humidity and a great deal of rainfall, especially during harvest season, which creates great difficulty in consistently drying coffees. The low night temperatures here, along with the wet climate, can also lead to ‘freezing’ of the coffee plant, where cherries cease to mature on the tree, leading to crop loss. However, all of these challenges only serve to strengthen the resolve of the farmers here, and the vast majority of Honduran Cup of Excellence winners have come from Santa Barbara since the inception of the competition here in 2005.


This Anaerobic Paraneima is driven by crisp acidity, while the anaerobic fermentation adds layers of complexity, and a refreshing dryness.
Santa Barbara
Erin Moreno
The Moreno family have been growing excellent quality coffee for years. Erin’s father, Pedro, was one of the first producers to enter the specialty coffee market in Santa Barbara. Erin inherited this plot of the farm from Pedro, initially planted with Catimor. However, after witnessing the success of Paraneima on other parts of the farm, Erin chose to replant the entire plot soon after he took over. Paraneima is a native Honduran varietal, created in response to a nematode outbreak in the mid 80’s. The Honduran Coffee Institute carefully selected from strains of Sarchimor hybrids, looking for nematode resistance, while maintaining positive attributes in the cup and a degree of disease resistance.
The varietal is known to bring a heavy silky body and some slight herbal notes to the cup, alongside a notable bean size and length. We feel the varietal characteristics are clear here, with fresh herbal aromas followed by a crisp and juicy acidity. The anaerobic process has highlighted this acidity, while adding layers of complexity, especially in the finish. The herbal notes soften into an almost tea-like dryness in the finish, bringing an excellent balance to the cup. To achieve this, Erin sealed Paraneima cherries in plastic bags for 4 hours, kick starting fermentation, pushing for the generation of lactic acid bacteria. From here, a more traditional washed protocol was followed, de-pulped, fermented in tanks for 18 hours, then washed with clean water several times before drying.
Technical Data
-
Producer
Erin Moreno -
Region
Santa Barbara -
Altitude
1480 masl -
Varietal
Paraneima -
Process
Anaerobic -
Harvest
April 2021
Anaerobic Process
The coffee is first pulped mechanically, removing most of the fruit, as with a white honey process. The parchment coffee and almost gel-like mucilage are then packed tightly into a small fermentation tank, and sealed with almost no oxygen present. As the fermentation starts to occur, carbon dioxide is produced, creating a completely anaerobic environment, and also high pressure within the tank. This affects coffee flavour in two ways.
An anaerobic environment favours a very different set of fermenting bacteria and yeast, leading to a dominant lacto-fermentation. The pressure also forces coffee juices into the seed itself, adding more fermentable sugars to continue the process. The coffee is then dried with the mucilage still attached, as with a honey processed coffee. All of this adds layers of complexity to the final cup.
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152 2nd Ave
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Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00
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Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 18:00
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8000 Aarhus C
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2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
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Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: Closed
813 Charoen Krung Rd, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong
10100 Bangkok
Thailand
Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 8:00 - 17:00
Sat - Sun: 8:00 - 17:00
304 Phahonyothin Road, Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai
10400 Bangkok
Thailand
Opening Hours:
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