Microlots in specialty coffee

Picture of Axel Simon

Axel Simon

June 7, 2023

Microlots in specialty coffee

What is a microlot?

The term Microlot recognizes the importance of a high quality, exclusive coffee. The microbatches guarantee and ensure traceability where production is carried out in a sustainable manner and the sorting of the grain is carefully processed.

For consumers in the coffee industry it represents a unique experience, as more and more consumers are looking for the origin and particularities of the coffee they buy and taste.

The particularity of microlot coffees is that they have limited availability and are seasonal.

They are usually small batches of coffees, so their production can be from one or several producers and does not exceed 20 bags of 30 kg each and in batches of 300 to 1,500 kg.

How do I get a microlot?

In order to guarantee the result as a microbatch there are a series of processes that are indispensable:

  1. Coffee varietal

  2. Fertilization

  3. Harvesting

  4. The beneficiation or fermentation process: Drying (temperatures, humidity level)

  5. Grain classification

  6. And the tasting with the quality control and the final score.

Producers at origin must label and mark the microlots from the beginning and carry out an exhaustive control from harvesting to milling.

Likewise, the way in which the bags are transported is very careful so as not to alter the product and to guarantee its integrity.

Microlots require extensive knowledge of the farm, processes, labor and quality control.

Worldwide demand for microbatches is booming, as customers and roasters seek coffees with differentiated profiles and flavors. These facts make producers demand more quality and knowledge in their processes and experiments on the farm and to be updated in terms of prices and trends.

Our microlots

At Mare Terra Coffee we reflect the microlots through our Constellations ranges.

The Constellations range has a cup profile with a strong character and profiles with personality, where a broad palette of key descriptors is used to describe them.
During harvesting, the following is performed a meticulous selection in coffee beans of the reference varietals, approving only a maximum of 5 secondary and 0 primary defects for 350 grams of green coffee of each origin, the result are coffees with an SCA score of of more than 85 points and with the guarantee of traceability from the farm of production.

The green coffee batches in the constellations range are of 30 kg, unifying the packaging to make it more convenient and practical for the roaster.

The commercialization of Constellations microlots in Mare Terra Coffee is segmented by region, that is, a lot from one region will never be sold to two roasters, they are exclusive microlots of one process and producer.

Year after year, we have been innovating and evolving these microlots through our processes.
our processes
. The R&D team and our producer partners from different origins develop new processing techniques to achieve unique results and to be able to defend the term microbatch.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

simon_mtc

Axel Simon

Coffee Mare Terra

“Q – Lab Director”

Your green coffee,
now online and with free shipping!

Select the Coffee you need for your company and place your order in one click.

Not registered yet?

Register to purchase and access the price catalog