Marysabels father Don Fabio operates coffee farms around Marcala. After many years of poor profits, he decided to hand out land to his daughter Marysabel and her husband Moises Herrera. Moises brought his own farms into the family business and together they have almost 200 hectares of coffee split across various fincas.
Four years ago, Caballero began producing Naturals with dedication on improving the process (beans are dried with cherry). In Honduras drying Natural coffees can be challenging. The climate is very humid and it can rain during the drying period. This results in a drying period that can take from 20 up to 40 days, depending on temperatures.
Marysabel and Moises have played a big part in contributing to the growing reputation of Honduran coffees. Everything they do is documented, and considerable resources are invested both in new equipment and planting of new coffee varieties.
The Caballeros are committed to the environmental sustainability of their farms. A lot of their focus goes towards improving the soil of their farms to ensure a healthy environment. They produce organic fertilizer made from cow and chicken manure mixed with pulp from coffee cherries and other organic material. This is used in addition to some mineral fertilizer to ensure that the coffee plants get the nutrients they need. Oranges, avocados, flowers, bananas and other fruits are also grown at the farms, for the pickers to eat and to create biodiversity at the farms that ensures good growing conditions and shade for the coffee trees.
The Process
Moises began producing Naturals 3 or so years ago, initially only starting with 30 bags. Drying Natural coffees is very difficult in Honduras because of the humid climate and the rain experienced during the drying period. Moises has perfected the process over the years. They are picking ripe cherry and drying on covered raised beds. Initially the layer of cherry must be thin and as the coffee dries you can increase the thickness of the drying cherry. Cherry can take 20-40 days to dry depending on the temperatures.
