People
In 1983, Sr. Mario Jordán Duarte decided to grow coffee on his family farm Alotepeque Reseña in Concepción Las Minas. However, it is not him who started the coffee legacy in his family: over a hundred years before, his ancestor Sr. Guillermo Duarte came to work as a miner in Concepción. The coffee legacy of the Duarte family began when Sr. Guillermo Duarte brought coffee seeds with him.
After Sr. Guillermo Duarte started growing coffee, the farm expanded their production and his son, Luciano, started growing sugar. After these two generations, coffee was replaced with different crops until Mario Jordán decided to go back to the delicate and special craft that is coffee production.
Today, Mario Jordán has mastered the whole coffee process. He does not only take care of the production but also of the milling and drying process. The ability to process his own coffee allows him to control every step, so that the final product does not lose any of its original high quality.
Product
Mario Jordán has dedicated 70% of his farm to coffee production. His coffee cherries grow at an altitude of 1,200 to 1,600 masl. The harvest period is between December and March. The cherries are picked by hand, then after being washed, the fermentation process runs for 24 hours. Then, the sun drying process on the patio starts. Finally, the beans are processed in the wet mill that belongs to Nueva Concepción.
The final product is an exceptional, washed coffee with a cup profile that is identified by a round and nutty taste, dominated by tastes of dried fruit, orange, apricot and cocoa powder.
Price
Small producers in Central America often face the hurdle of low prices and labour exploitation – an issue that The Coffee Quest is targeting. This is possible only thanks to our close relationships with our local suppliers, such as Nueva Concepción.
Planet
The farm is surrounded by an astonishing natural landscape. The microclimate is ideal for high-quality coffee production, which is something Mario really cares about.
The remaining 30% of Alotepeque Reseña that are not dedicated to coffee plants, is dedicated to natural ecosystems – partly forests, partly a variety of flora and fauna. Furthermore, the farm is the starting point of the Las Minas river which serves as a water supply for many communities.
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