Everything about coffee can be considered an art form. Each hand involved in the production, selection, quality control, roasting, and preparation of specialty coffee comprises a set of factors that ultimately bring out the best of the best in every note presented in a cup. Not to forget the role of Mother Earth, whose soil chemistry adds yet another variable to the specialty coffee production game.
Ensuring that the home where all our lovingly cultivated coffee trees thrive is kept clean is a crucial factor that we must always keep in mind. It is also a reason to know that we are doing things right, respecting the soil organically that sustains them. Keeping bejucos (a vine that attacks coffee plantations and can wreak havoc on branches) at bay is one of the most important tasks in maintaining the plantations.
However, not everything is bad. While it’s well understood that bejucos are harmful to coffee, the weeds that grow around the base of the coffee plants are a strong indicator that our soil has an interesting organic composition and is healthy. Thanks to our careful management and our avoidance of overly abrasive chemicals to eradicate natural pests and vegetation, our soils have a “nutritious” load that promotes the growth of various plants. The presence of weeds, though labor-intensive, is a positive indicator that our soil has an optimal pH for strong coffee growth.
To keep bejucos in check, after each major coffee harvest, we schedule a ReRe with our team of harvesters—a “re-harvest”—to ensure that all ripe beans have been collected and to correct any errors that may have occurred during the main harvest. During this ReRe, we also carry out a “clean-up” that helps remove all the harmful weeds surrounding the coffee trees.
