We made a brief mention of this bean in our run-down of new
beverages coming into the café but there’s an interesting back-story so of course, we’ll bring you the backstory!
First, the bean: It is an organic, fair trade coffee. It has a sweet, vanilla aroma with a mild citrus flavor and a clean, smooth finish. The aroma is softly sweet, with a subtle citrus and vanilla taste. It’s mellow,smooth, nicely balanced, with apricot and citrus notes. The body has a light finish: Smooth, tangy, clean. This Caturra variety is grown at 2500 feet , and wash harvested April-November
But wait, there’s more: In 2003, the first organized meeting of 460 Women Coffee Producers was held. Out of this meeting the Café Femenino Coffee Project was formed in 2004 as a new idea of separating their coffee from the rest of production was proposed as the women, with the combined efforts of several organizations along the coffee chain from grower to roaster searched for ideas to improve their living conditions. For the first time, their coffee is now being separated and sold as “produced by women only” specialty organic and Fair Trade coffee.
It is very rare for women to participate in selling the coffee or decisions on how the money from coffee sales will be used. Cafe Femeninio works to raise self-esteem and to change the view of women’s roles. They are working to start economical activities that generate sales the women can control. The women’s response to these organizational activities has been amazing. Even the support offered by community leaders and other men has gone well. The women’s conferences have focused on building self-esteem and leadership, and sharing their experiences from work in the field to participation inother organizations.
From this process, come our Dominican beans. More than just a coffee, they represent empowerment to women working at the ground level of the coffee industry. Very cool.
