HALE: Parainema / Natural (SP)
This coffee is named after Hale Zukas, a legendary disability rights advocate, barrier breaker and general badass.
The sledgehammer icon for this coffee is representative of Zukas’ earliest targets, which were physical barriers around Berkeley. He started a movement in which disability warriors would go out at night and create “curb cuts” on sidewalks using sledgehammers. Curb cuts would eventually become the norm for cities around the world.
And we picked a unique and vibrant Parainema coffee from Audeli Vasquez to honor Hale and the incredible legacy he represents.
Parainema is a coffee hybrid from Honduras known for bright, complex flavors often featuring citrus, tropical fruit, and tea-like notes. It gained in popularity after the varietal was used for the winning 2015 Cup of Excellence coffee.
ORIGIN + VARIETY: Honduras + Parainema
TASTING NOTES: mellon + mango + jasmine + citrus
ROAST: Light
PRODUCER: Audeli Vasquez
FARM: Genesis (2 hectares)
REGION: El Ocotillo, Jesus de Otoro, Intibuca
ALTITUDE: 1850 masl
PROCESS: Natural
SIZE: 125g, 227g, 340g and 908g bags.
GRIND: whole bean, filter, espresso/moka pot, French press
More about the processing method:
Cherries are picked at peak ripeness and are placed in sealed bags to ferment for 45 hours. They are then moved to raised beds where they’re dried under shade for 20 days, depending on the climate conditions.
More about Hale Zukas:
Zukas could talk, but he often communicated by pointing his head stick at letters on a board mounted to the front of his chair. One of the first severely disabled students to attend the University of California, Berkeley, he ended up graduating with honors with a degree in mathematics and a minor in Russian. Zukas graduated from Berkeley at the height of the civil rights movement; yet, at the time, people with disabilities still faced hospitalization and confinement and had little chance of independence.
Using the tactics of the civil rights era, Zukas staged provocative protests and lobbied politicians in Washington DC. Perhaps most famously, he and dozens of other activists with disabilities staged a historic 26-day takeover of San Francisco’s federal building in 1977. They slept on the building’s floor and refused to leave, demanding that the government enforce a law requiring equal rights and access to publicly funded services for people with disabilities.
When Zukas first started working on transportation issues, there was no way for wheelchair users to board the high-floored city buses either. And the next generation of buses used lifts that were notorious for mechanical breakdowns. Zukas served on the accessibility committee for decades – and patiently suggested and testee new versions, until a bus was designed that wheelchair users could simply get into by using a ramp. That model is now being copied worldwide.
Zukas didn’t just focus on public transit. In the 1980s he turned his attention to Greyhound Lines, which said at the time that, as a private company, it didn’t have to make its buses accessible to people in wheelchairs. Zukas and other activists disagreed forcefully, and staged a protest in San Francisco during which they chained their wheelchairs to buses.
His contributions and their impact are truly incredible. And you should check out the movie, HALE.
More about Audeli Vasquez:
Audeli is a young producer. Her farm, Genesis, has only been producing coffee for 5 years. This lot represents Audeli’s first microlot exported under her name, an accomplishmnet she’s very proud of. Sadly, it is still the case that many cooperatives and producers do not have the market access necessary to consistenly sell microlot coffees. So it's huge win when they can, and a huge win for us to be able to try these amazing single producer coffees that would otherwise be blended with a range of other coffees.
Brewing Tips:
- ESPRESSO: If wanting to pull this coffee as an espresso, we recommend experimentation. Try a 1:2.5 or even 1:3 ratio, and grind a litter finer for a slightly longer extraction to draw out some extra sweetness and balance.
- POUR OVER: For a V60, we recommend grinding fine-medium for this roast, 2-3 pours (post bloom). We use a 1:15 for a real complex and velvety cup, or a 1:16/1:17 for a more rounded cup. Don't over-extract (over 3 min) as this coffee is delicate. We love this coffee on a flat bottom dripper too! It also shines using the 4:6 method if you want to get extra fancy with the brew.
- FRENCH PRESS: We recommend the James Hoffman method for French press: 1:16.67 ratio // medium grind (not too coarse) // add water, do not stir, brew for 4 minutes // after 4 mins break crust gently, scoop everything off that floats // let sit for another 5-8 minutes // don't press all the way, only use it as a filter at the surface of the brew.
- ICED COFFEE: Perfect as a fun pour over flash freeze brew. Use large cocktail ice, lower your brewing ratios and then prepare as you usually would (with the option of adding a bit less water)! And if not wanting to add too much ice while brewing, try adding whiskey stones after brewing to not further dilute it.
Thank you as always to our partners at www.Semilla.com for a lot of the information and images contained on this page!
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