Monos de Piedra

History

Senel Campos was only 12 years old when he started to plant his first coffee plantation in 1968. He started with 1000 trees and he is very thankful that because of the coffee plantation, he was able to start a family with Maria Eugenia Jimenez and support their children. To this day, his children and grandchildren are working together at the family farm helping during the harvest and processing of the coffees.
The Campos family used to sell their crop to cooperatives and multinational mills, receiving very little for their products. In 2014, when the financial sustainability of the farm was threatened, Don Senel decided to start processing specialty coffees. He switched to selective harvest (picking only the ripe cherries) and using an old, run down pulper decked out with a laundry machine motor. These new procedures resulted in 86+ point coffee, proving that his crop has high potential and is worth much more than pennies for beans. Don Senel and his family are determined to continue to improve the quality of their coffees.

To preserve the quality of the soils and to obtain a better maturation of the cherries, Don Senel planted Guava, Jocote, Anona, Higuerilla and Poro trees to protect the coffee plants from the sun. Also, the use of herbicides has been reduced by 85%, making their coffee farming more friendly to the planet. Senel Campos and his family started a process of fumigation and pest control based on natural microorganisms known as Bioles. In Don Senels’ mill, they have tried to incorporate more innovative practices year after year that are more beneficial to the environment and still allow them to maintain the high quality of their coffees.

Coffee Processing System

After picking only the ripe cherries, they are transferred into a centrifuge system that removes the stones. Then, the cherries are put into a flotation system where the grains with any imperfections or damage are removed (e.g. vain grains, brocaded grains) to avoid contamination by unwanted microorganisms that may affect the process.
When the coffee fruit has passed through the flotation system, it is taken to the drying beds where it will spend about 72 hours pre-drying. Next, measurements of Brix degrees are made – the fruit must have an average percentage between 25 and 28 degrees Brix – to later be deposited into fermentation tanks and exposed to anaerobic fermentation for several days. The optimum time to remove the cherries is determined by daily pH level measurements.
Once they reach their optimum level, they are taken to drying greenhouses where they will spend around 4 days drying. The coffee is then taken once again to the fermentation tanks where it will be left for the same amount of time that it spent in the first fermentation. Finally, it is again taken to the drying beds to receive a slow drying that will take around 40 days. This slow drying guarantees that the flavours intensify, resulting in an explosion of flavour in the cupping.

Future

Senel Campos and his family wish to one day be able to process their entire production themselves.

Interesting Facts

The name ‘Anonas’ was given to this lot when Don Senel dedicated some of his land to creating a plantation of Anonas trees that would serve as a food source for the animals living in the area surrounding his lot to compensate for the land used to grow his coffees.

This is another great example of one of the ways in which Don Senel and his family are making an effort to work with the environment, rather than against it.