La Suiza Anaerobic FW

Second-generation coffee grower, Hector Zuniga, has been cultivating coffee for over 20 years. In the beginning, he and his brother worked alongside his father, who is himself a lifelong coffee producer. As Hector started his own family, he strove to instill his passion for coffee in his own children who now, as adults, work with Hector on Finca La Suiza.

Hector was motivated to shift to specialty coffee following the coffee leaf rust outbreak in 2011. In the midst of the outbreak, Hector saw the need to create new markets and cater to specialty producers. His dream is to create an even more sustainable and profitable model overtime. He focuses on adding value through a focus on high-quality cultivation and innovative processing.

While most of the work is done by the family, Hector does hire additional labor during the harvest season to ensure only ripe, red cherry is picked. Finding skilled pickers is a consistent problem for Hector and other farmers in the region, where labor is short due to climate and migration changes

Ripe, red cherry are hand picked and delivered to the on-site wet mill. As part of his push towards specialty coffee, Hector standardized his coffee processing and now uses repeatable processing methods to ensure delicious, consistent coffees.

Ripe cherries were collected, they were taken to the hopper and fermented there for 12 hours. After desiccating them, they were fermented for 50 hours in conical steel tanks. stainless. At the end of 50 hours, they were washed in clean water and then laid on marquesinas, parabolic beds to dry. Parchment is raked frequently to ensure even drying. Drying is finished in mechanical Silos dryers.

Once collected, cherry is fermented in an open hopper for 12 hours before being pulped. Once pulped, coffee is transferred into conical steel tanks and fermented for 50 hours. Following fermentation, coffee is washed in clean water and parchment is taken to a mechanical dryer to dry.