Farm(er) Friday, March 10th, 2023
Don Arnulfo Alvarado of El Sute, Honduras
Don Arnulfo has been quietly growing some of the best coffee in the world for some time now. He joined the organic coffee co-op in the Comayagua region of Honduras several years ago because his brother Don Chico brought him in. But in the quality tests of 2021, Arnulfo’s coffee was rated best of the co-op.
His farm is high on the mountain at around 1700 meters above sea level, and the drier climate allows the coffee cherries to mature on the plants for a long time, which leads to a more complex flavor. The high elevation also protects somewhat from the dreaded coffee rust, but not entirely.
This year, when we visited El Sute, Don Chico’s grandson drove us up to see Don Arnulfo’s farm. Arnulfo wasn’t there (cows had gotten out and into another part of his coffee plantation), but Doña Adilia attended us.
After our visit, I was left with the impression that Doña Adilia must have been sick or something because the spark we knew from previous pre-pandemic visits was gone. I asked Alex about it and he talked about how since Arnulfo and Adilia’s daughter died last year, she has not been the same.
When I saw Arnulfo on the last day of my visit, he apologized for not being there and he related how hard things have been for his family. His mother Julia also died last year. Although, at close to 100 years old, she had lived a full life.
I brought some coffee home with me that was roasted by the co-op president, Alex, as part of his personal venture. He said that the batch I brought back with me was from Don Arnulfo and Doña Adilia. That made it feel special to me.
I think there are some harmful stereotypes out there for people living with depression. We think of depression happening to people in wealthy countries, but it can happen anywhere. The pandemic was/is a hard time for people all over the world. Our connections become even more important.
In writing news, I missed last week’s Farm Friday and have no intention of making it up. It was a good run of weekly stories, but I have been busy with work and decided to take a week off.
