Click on the image for the full story of La Tortuga, Honduras
Some very exciting news. I’m sure Intelligentsia will be providing more details, but I found this so interesting I wanted to share it.
Intelligentsia is now importing their own coffee.
We received our first shipment of Direct Trade Honduras (La Tortuga) this last week of May. Every year this coffee is a favorite among all of our customers. Last year, this coffee wasn’t in our hands until the first week of July. The harvest took place at the same time (coffee is typically harvested only once per year), but because Intelligentsia financed and imported the coffee themselves they were able to get it into our hands SIX FULL WEEKS earlier than last season. This coffee was still being harvested in March… and now you can drink it. Chances are if you’re drinking any other Honduras… it’s probably from LAST YEAR. Think about that.
Well we know it’s “Direct Trade“, and “In Season“, so what exactly does this news mean?
For coffee drinkers- this means the coffee will taste even fresher and more vibrant than ever before. The super short time from harvest to cup combined with many quality improvements made at farm level guarantee that this will be the best edition of “the turtle” to date. Intelli’s financing of the transaction means an even more direct and transparent financial relationship with the producers (farmers) than ever before. Doing their own importing gives Intelli greater control over the logistics of getting the coffee from origin to the roasting works in Chicago. Farmers are happy, coffee lovers are happy, and everything tastes as close as it could to the cupping table in Honduras.
This is akin to the difference between purchasing your farm direct strawberries at the local farmer’s market versus getting them from the grocery store. Fresher coffee tastes better. Intelli is not the kind of company that coins a term like “Direct Trade” and gets complacent- they continue to refine and define the truly highest end of the specialty coffee market, and we’re so proud to serve the fruits of their labor.
