Honduras is known for producing high-quality coffee, particularly in the regions of Marcala, Comayagua, and Copán. Marcala, located in the western part of the country, is known for its mild and balanced coffees. Comayagua, located in the center of Honduras, produces coffees with a medium body and acidity. Copán, located in the western part of the country, is known for its unique and complex flavors. Other regions of Honduras that produce coffee include Santa Barbara, Olancho and La Paz.
San Marcos is a coffee-growing region located in western Honduras. It is known for producing high-quality Arabica beans that have a bright acidity, medium body, and a sweet, fruity flavor. The region has a favorable climate for coffee cultivation with high altitude, rich volcanic soil, and consistent rainfall. The coffee from San Marcos is considered to be among the best in Honduras and is exported to various countries worldwide. Many smallholder farmers, who are members of cooperatives, grow coffee in the region. The region also has a strong tradition of organic and sustainable farming practices.
Liquidambar is a wholly organic specialty coffee farm we buy. It makes up 80% of our Organic Gardeners Blend. Owner Demly Regalado works hard to generate their own compost with the help of the Californian Red Worm, which acts as a pest control and strengthens the plant’s resilience against pests and disease. Using their own compost prevents pollution of the farm’s waterways, and improves the quality of the soil and the quality and nutritional content of the coffee.
Delmy was president of IWCA Honduras for 5 years, running projects and training programs to support the financial independence of women in Honduran coffee-growing communities. For five years, Delmy was the president of The Honduras Chapter of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) and is still heavily involved in the association. The IWCA is dedicated to strengthening the role of women in coffee production, processing and trading.
A key project has been training over 200 women in skills required in a range of coffee farming & business-related roles. These workshops have included barista courses, cupping, marketing, MS excel, farm certifications, project proposal methods, governance and financial literacy.After its initial success, the chapter gained further support to develop on-farm training such as climate change adaptation, income diversification, temporary shade and distance cultivation.
We hope you try our Organic Gardener's blend and experience these delicious cherries!
]]>Just a quick update blog post for you about the renovations at Albion after the flood. A lot of you have been in and seen that we have taken over the giant shed next door, knocked a archway through the wall and have extended. We actually started this a couple of week before the Feb floods.
Fast forward and the new big roaster has arrived, not quite plumbed in yet but getting there, and we have built a loft for storage that will have a new kitchen in it. Food will be back in a couple of weeks fingers crossed! There is more seating and a much bigger retail room.
For those who haven't made it back to us yet, you won't recognise the space. Here are a couple of updated photos. We are looking forward to getting back to normal and serving you some delicious food with your coffee.
Thanks for your patience everyone...
We have lost thousands of dollars in green beans and refrigeration and equipment but we will be back bigger and better than ever. The renovation will now be done in one go and there will be a grand re-opening of the roastery once we get all the building materials that we lost to complete the job.
We have had amazing support from the local Hope Centre Church and our surrounding tenants, Wineism, Hacienda's Flowers, Botanica, Magnolias and The Cheeseboard Cave, friends and family....it's been truly inspiring. Thank you so much everyone!
How can you support us?
Here are some images of what we came into and the start of something new...
]]>This year we have brought in some beautiful Robert Gordon ceramics to our retail section. We are selling as individual pieces for in our own in store hampers.
]]>This year we have brought in some beautiful Robert Gordon ceramics to our retail section. We are selling as individual pieces for in our own in store hampers. We have had an amazing response and have already sold quite a few pieces so get in touch if you are looking for a gift for the coffee lover in your life!
We also have some beautiful coffee pourover gift boxes by Robert Gordon themselves.
We have done up some beans and latte cups into boxes but you can mix and match some pieces individually as well, come and see us in store or email jocelyn@neighbourhoodcoffee.com to pre-order or bulk order.
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Like anything you are trying to keep freshness and flavour in, oxygen and UV light and humidity are the enemy. At the very best, you should buy your beans whole instead of ground if you can and seal it in an airtight dark place. If you are serious about your coffee then you might invest in an Airscape.
Airscape® is your go-to airless coffee storage system. Our new favourite way to store beans. These better-than-airtight storage containers force oxygen out of the canister, rather than trapping it in, using innovative inner lid technology which pushes air out rather than trapping it in. Airscape® is reusable & refillable, and is ideal for storing more than just coffee - tea, spices, pet treats & more will stay fresh today, fresh tomorrow with Airscape®.
Airscapes are available online or in the Albion roastery.
]]>Composting with coffee is a great way to make use of something that would otherwise end up taking up space in a landfill. Composting coffee grounds helps to add nitrogen to your compost pile.
If you will be adding used coffee grounds to your compost pile, keep in mind that they are considered green compost material and will need to be balanced with the addition of some brown compost material.
Many people feel that coffee grounds lower the pH (or raise the acid level) of soil, which is good for acid loving plants. But this is only true for unwashed coffee grounds. “Fresh coffee grounds are acidic. Used coffee grounds are neutral.” If you rinse your used coffee grounds, they will have a near neutral pH of 6.5 and will not affect the acid levels of the soil. To use coffee grounds as fertilizer, work the coffee grounds into the soil around your plants. Leftover diluted coffee works well like this too.
The benefit of using coffee grounds as a fertilizer is that it adds organic material to the soil, which improves drainage, water retention and aeration in the soil. The used coffee grounds will also help microorganisms beneficial to plant growth thrive as well as attract earthworms.
There is lots to learn and not all plants will like the acidity so I suggest you do a little research on what plants with go well with your coffee grounds, but we are all for re-using and re-cycling where we can. It's worth looking in to!
Alex :)
]]>This delicious coffee lovers dessert comes from Italy, Tiramisu literally means 'pick me up' or 'cheer me up'..always a lovely end to a meal. This is such a great desert to make for dinner parties as you can do it the day before and it tastes even better. Obviously freshly brewed coffee tastes best!
Serves: 6
Keep it in the fridge for at least a few hours but overnight is even better, take it out about 20 mins before serving.
You will find us in the old Mercedes Benz workshop out the back, just drive down Pedder Street and you will see us. We look forward to seeing you soon!
]]>You will find us in the old Mercedes Benz workshop out the back, just drive down Pedder Street and you will see us.
Come and sit in our beautiful courtyard and enjoy a coffee and little treat. We have lots of retail beans and brewing equipment for sale as well.
Easy parking on site, we look forward to seeing you soon.
Alex :)
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