Nelson Moreno (WS)

AN ANAEROBIC SINGLE ORIGIN WITH A UNIQUE TERROIR

Nelson Moreno inherited his first 3 hectares of land from his father Orlando when he was only 16. In the Santa Bárbara region, the surname Moreno and quality go hand-in-hand. Generations of Morenos work together harvesting each other’s coffee, as well as processing all of their lots together. Their collective effort is what sets the Moreno’s level of quality apart from the rest, and they have the Cup of Excellence awards to prove it.

Specialty coffee enthusiasts recognize Santa Bárbara, Honduras, as one of the most unique coffee micro-terroirs in all of Central America. Coffees from this region are known for being pleasantly sweet and wonderfully complex. Nelson Moreno’s coffee is a brilliant example of how terroir, generations of experience, and fine tuning can result in a stand out crop of coffee.

This Pacas variety is depulped and fermented anaerobically in plastic barrels for 80 hours, transferred to ceramic fermentation tanks for 12 hours before being washed, and finally dried for 12-13 days on greenhouse raised beds. This innovative processing technique results in a juicy and expressive cup, with notes of fruit punch, cherry blossom, and plum.

Nelson Moreno (WS) from Madcap Coffee Company showcases the potential of anaerobic processing applied to Pacas, a varietal grown in Honduras's Santa Bárbara region. The roaster identifies fruit punch, cherry blossom, and plum in the cup—a profile suggesting the fermentation-forward characteristics typical of anaerobic lots, where controlled oxygen deprivation intensifies fruit-driven aromatics and sweetness. Pacas, a compact Bourbon mutation, pairs naturally with this processing method to yield layered, vibrant notes that reward careful brewing and tasting attention.