Coffee is a complicated crop and requires a lot of labor, care and time to produce properly. Here at Selva Negra we pride ourselves in our coffee, and look forward to taking you on a tour of lives work.
This is intended to be a walking tour and is weather dependent, but we'll be happy to arrange a bus tour instead if necessary. You will walk through the plantillos of coffee and learn the entire process of the coffee cycle from seed to cup. The tour is most complete when taken during the coffee season, since you will see all the action taking plance. At Selva Negra the harvest seaon is approximately from November to February. Some of the highlights include:
- Plantillos - Maintenance of the plantillos is a constant and never ending project at Selva Negra. Some of the tasks involved in maintaining the plantillos are application of weed & pest control, application of compost, and the pruning of the shade trees.
- Picking - (harvest location dependent) The coffee harvest is an exciting time at Selva Negra as in most coffee estates because there is so much activity. Additional help is hired during this time to help with the amazing amount of work involved in hand picking each red bean in each of the plantillos at the estate.
- Measuring - (harvest location dependent) each employee is called up and the beans that his team has collected are measured.
- Coffee Mill - where the wet processing happens. All with minimal water utilization we remove the pulp, wash and ferment the beans.
- Reutilization of coffee waste products - the coffee pulp, contaminated water, and the husk are all used to generated usable products. From the pulp we get fertilizer, the contaminated coffee water we get methane gas, and from the husk we get fuel for the kitchen.
- Drying on old fashioned racks - The coffee is fully dried at our drying mill in Chaguitillo, but we sometimes use these racks both for historical reasons and for the improved drying that is achieved because the coffee beans are aerated from above and below.
- Visit the coffee museum - You will get a guided tour through the coffee museum and learn about the way coffee was processed while viewing the antique machinery.
- Coffee cupping - Coffee cupping, or coffee tasting, is the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. You will have a chance to taste the coffee and learn the profile of Selva Negra Estate Coffee.
- More - Beyond these you will learn of the organic laboratory, fertilizer generation, shade coffee integration, as well as the social and economic factors involved in the process.