Microlots are lots of coffee that come from a single farm (many times also from a specific zone of that farm) and are characterized for having an exceptional quality and an outstanding cup profile. This is due to several factors such as the process during its cultivation, the post-harvest processes and the specific characteristics of the soil and climatic conditions in which the coffee is grown.
Microlots are available in a limited quantity each harvest, for this reason they are not coffees that are mass marketed and this is one of the reasons why you will find different coffees throughout the year in our store.
In addition to the microlots, which are coffees scored with more than 85 points on the international SCA scale, there are also the nanolots, which are normally even more exotic coffees, to which other types of processing methods have been applied to create excellent and exotic cups. These coffees are scored with more than 90 points and are known as rarities. The availability of these coffees is even less than in the micro-lots and their price is of course much higher.
The most beautiful thing about drinking a microlot or nanolot coffee is knowing that this coffee reflects the characteristics of a specific part of the land and is the result of the conscious and careful work of the coffee grower. Its flavor is exclusive and unique and you will not be able to reproduce it or find it anywhere else, which is fascinating.
When we tell you that we import and negotiate our coffee directly, it is because it’s true. This differentiates us from the rest and allows us to create long term relationships with coffee growers.
By having the possibility of contacting the coffee growers directly, not only can we choose the best lots, but we can also guarantee 100% traceability of our coffees. This, on the other hand, is a great advantage for both the coffee grower and the consumer, since by not having intermediaries in the process of purchasing green coffee, we can offer a fair price to the buyer.
But although we look for our coffees at the origin, the logistics and quality control are complex and very careful issues, and at the end of the day our specialty is roasting. For this reason we rely on our exporter who is in charge of these issues to be 100% sure that the post-harvest processes and the quality are excellent and will be maintained over time. This gives us security and so everyone does what they do best.
In the market there are many labels that indicate that coffee has been traded fairly. But fair to whom? Most of the time “Fair Trade” simply means that this coffee has been paid a small percentage above the commercial value. If we take into account that many times the commercial value of a pound of coffee is not even enough to cover the production value, and that coffee growers are forced to sell at that price in order to cover the credits and costs they have already assumed because it is that or lose the harvest, this is not fair at all.
For this reason in Pacandé you will not find labels of any kind, we negotiate our coffee directly and we bring it, that’s it. Often the labels are also very expensive for a coffee grower with a small farm and therefore it is not profitable for them. We know that we ask a lot from you, because we ask for your trust. But in return we offer you a totally transparent price calculation that you can check HERE.
