Women Producer Box Set

We have just a few box sets left! Any orders placed after 4/11 will be fulfilled with batches roasted on 4/10. Because we roast these coffees light on a Loring roaster (which relies heavily on convection), our roasts actually benefit from a few weeks of resting time, which gives them a chance to open up and meet their full flavor potential. 

In March and every month, we celebrate women in coffee. Take a journey through terroir and processing with four unique 8oz bags (2 pounds!) of coffee, an educational zine, and other goodies.

We especially love the set because it covers four origins: Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. It also includes three core processing methods: washed, honey, and natural. Lastly, the set represents our commitment to purchasing from the same producers year after year. For example, we’ve purchased featured producer, Balbina Sabillón’s coffee for the past six years.

We are thrilled to share this carefully curated selection of coffees with you. The set truly has something for everyone. Whether you’re a coffee expert or beginner, it is the perfect way to explore and learn.

Note: these coffees are roasted light to light-medium. Balbina Sabillón and Laura Rivera are roasted especially light and would benefit from 2-4 weeks of rest to open up before brewing. 

About the producers...

LAURA RIVERA

Country: Colombia

Department: Huila

Town: Nátaga

Nátaga, located at the Southwestern border of Huila, is a beautiful part of Colombia. Nestled in the Andes mountains, the landscape is lush and expansive and the air warm and fragrant. Coffee is grown at high altitudes in Colombia and Laura’s farm, Finca La Rivera, is no exception at 1950 masl. Laura produces coffee alongside her sisters, Leonela, Maria Aricely, and Aleida. In years past, we sourced a lovely collaboration lot from the sisters called Las Hermanas. We’ve also purchased several harvests from Leonela, all of which have been high-clarity washed process lots with notes like black tea and crisp apple.

This is the first time we’ve roasted a honey processed coffee from one of the Rivera sisters and we are excited to share a brand new flavor profile from the same farm. Though producers in Colombia tend not to track the degree of honey process, Laura’s processing most closely resembles a red honey. Her micro lot was hand-selected at peak ripeness, depulped, and put out to dry for 25-30 days.  Sourced in partnership with Osito Coffee. 

 

 

BALBINA SABILLÓN

Country: Honduras

Department: Santa Bárbara

Nearest Town: Las Flores

Variety: Parainema 

Elevation: 1350 masl

Process: Washed

Farm size: 1.5 hectares 

Varieties grown: 66% Parainema, 34% Gesha 

Tasting Notes: Sarsparilla, Bing Cherry, Lime 

As distinct as it is consistent, Balbina’s coffee is a treasure season after season. The 100% Parainema variety selection is uniform in appearance with seeds that are large and canoe-shaped. Parainema is a hybrid variety that was created in Honduras by breeding two members of the Sarchimor variety. The result is efficient without sacrificing the potential of a good cup quality. Think high coffee yield, strong growth at medium altitudes, and tolerance to coffee diseases like leaf rust and some nematodes.

We featured both Balbina’s Gesha natural and Parainema washed varieties last year. Though the coffees are grown on the same farm, the cup experience between the two is entirely different. Known for a pronounced acidity and herbal notes, her Parainema variety sparkles with flavors of sarsaparilla, cherry, and lime that are articulated clearly in our light roast. On the other hand, her Gesha variety, prized for intense sweetness and florality, presented lovely notes of cocoa, peach blossom, and strawberry. 

Balbina’s coffee was exported by San Vicente and imported by Collaborative Coffee Source/Covoya Coffee

 

 

LUCINDA PUAC PÉREZ

Country: Guatemala

Department: Sololá Aldea Pasajquim

Municipality: San Juan la Laguna

Elevation: 1550-1650 masl

Farm Size: 13 hectares

Variety: Bourbon 

Process: Washed

Tasting Notes: Green Apple, Cane Sugar, Milk Chocolate 

Lucinda Puac Pérez inherited her home and farm from her grandmother. We had the honor of visiting her in Guatemela last spring where we toured the organic, 100% Bourbon variety farm. The coffee on Doña Lucinda's land grows wild and is heavily shaded with other crops like banana and avocado. Fallen branches and leaves are left alone, serving as protection from erosion for the coffee plant roots. Doña Lucinda is a member of a group of farmers called Aprocafé Association and has been since it began in 2014. You may recognize the name Atitlán Aprocafé from our menu, as we also serve a community blend created by the group.

During harvest, after de-pulping the coffee cherries, Lucinda dry ferments them for 12-24 hours, washes, and dries them on her patio. Lucinda does farm with her husband Bacilio Alescio, but she’s very clearly the boss.

Small Planes has purchased coffee from Lucinda since 2021. Sourced in partnership with Huckleberry Coffee Roasters and imported by Sucafina Coffee. 

 

CHELCHELE by SHITAYE MAMO

Country: Ethiopia

Zone: Gedeo

Woreda: Yirgacheffe

Elevation: 2150 masl

Farm size: 5 hectares

Varieties: JARC 74110 + 74112, Dega, Kudhume

Process: Natural

Tasting Notes: Candied Violet, Strawberry, Milk Tea 

Shitaye Mamo is a farmer, wife, and mother of three daughters and two sons. Her husband Mulugeta is a coffee farmer, too.  She comes from a coffee farming family. Her grandfather, Shalo, and her father, Momo, have nearly a century of coffee farming experience between them.  Shitaye’s skill is undeniable.

This natural or “dried in cherry” coffee is quite elegant. The aromatics are intensely floral. On the palate, vibrant berry acidity is balanced by a creamy body, not unlike milk tea. An abundance of ripe fruit notes, from juicy cotton candy grapes to wild berries right off the vine make Chelchele a delightfully complex tasting experience.  Chelchele was harvested by hand and then slow-dried over a period of 28 days.  We are so excited to bring Shitaye’s coffee to the Small Planes menu for the first (!!) time this year and can’t wait to see what she continues to produce. 

Sourced in partnership with Collaborative Coffee Source and SNAP Coffee.