Honduras — Maikon Fernandez Las Flores Natural Mixed Varietals (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🥭 Mango • 🍒 Red Cherry • 🍷 Sangria • 🍫 Milk Chocolate

DETAILS

• Producer: Maikon Fernandez
• Region: Las Flores, Santa Barbara, Honduras
• Varietal: Mixed
• Process: Natural
• Altitude: 1,600 MASL

INTRO

From Maikon Fernandez in Las Flores, Santa Barbara — a young and ambitious producer farming land gifted by his father, just down the mountain from the family's original Finca Don Andres plot planted by his grandfather in 1970. Processed with the purest of intentions: no anaerobic shenanigans, no CO₂ injections — just perfectly ripe cherries, hand-sorted and spread out to dry. Big, intense, and very fun. In the cup: mango, red cherry, sangria, and milk chocolate.

THE PRODUCER

The Fernandez family's coffee story in Santa Barbara began in 1970, when Maikon's grandfather planted a small plot of trees on a mountain in Las Flores. That land — now called Finca Don Andres — is still farmed today by multiple members of the extended Fernandez family, and Maikon represents the third generation of a lineage that has taken deep root in the mountain. He was gifted part of his father's land just a few years ago and is building his own chapter alongside his cousin Nahun Fernandez — a producer who has become a regular fixture on Black & White's menu. Together they are contributing to what is becoming one of Santa Barbara's most compelling family coffee stories.

The lot was processed with input from their friend and neighbour Benjamin Paz — another celebrated Santa Barbara producer — whose characteristically straightforward description of the process ("it's just a straight natural") says everything about the philosophy behind it.

THE PROCESS

The Natural process involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries hand-sorted for quality at peak ripeness 🔍 Sorting — Carefully selected before drying to ensure only the finest ripe cherries proceed ☀️ Natural drying — Whole cherries spread out to dry with fruit intact — no additional intervention

The simplicity of the approach is the defining step — no sealed tanks, no gas injection, no manipulation. Just ripe fruit, patience, and the mountain air of Santa Barbara doing exactly what they're supposed to do, building the intense red fruit and tropical sweetness that define this lot.

THE CUP

A classic, big, and joyfully expressive natural from one of Santa Barbara's most promising young producers — mango and red cherry up front, deepening into a memory of red sangria, with a round and smooth milk chocolate body that ties everything together beautifully. Pure fruit, pure fun.

Flavour Notes

🥭 Mango 🍒 Red Cherry 🍷 Sangria 🍫 Milk Chocolate