Finca Irlanda: where it all started for us

Some coffees stay with you. Finca Irlanda is one of those coffees for us. We first visited the farm in 2009, in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. Our visit showed us how coffee, nature and farming can work together. A few years later, we decided to start roasting coffee ourselves.

Where it all started

In 2009, we visited Finca Irlanda for the first time, in the mountains of Chiapas, close to the border with Guatemala. At the time, we didn't know that the visit would eventually contribute to our decision to start roasting coffee ourselves.

What stayed with us was how the coffee grows there: among the trees of the original forest, in the shade and as part of its surroundings. Rather than a large monoculture, the farm makes room for different plants and animals.

What struck us most was the quality of the coffee. At the farm, we discovered how much difference there can be between coffees grown in the same place. Finca Irlanda has its own dry mill, where the different coffees are processed and graded. Tasting the different selections side by side showed us how much origin, quality and processing affect the taste of coffee.

Back in the Netherlands, Finca Irlanda stayed on our minds. We wanted to understand where those quality differences came from, and how to recognise and judge coffee quality at farm level. That's what got us into coffee more deeply: tasting a lot, and training ourselves to judge quality.

When we then had one of Finca Irlanda's best selections roasted, we noticed something striking. The coffee lost much of the flavour and nuance we'd tasted at the farm. What was left tasted like the coffee we already knew: bitter and strong. That was an important moment for us. We didn't want roasting to hide the qualities of a good coffee. We wanted it to bring those flavours forward.

That's why we started our own roastery in 2013. It let us learn how to match a roast profile to the quality and character of the coffee, to keep as much as possible of the beans' character in the final cup.

Finca Irlanda is an important part of the story behind Blommers.

Working biodynamically

Finca Irlanda has been working biodynamically for more than 50 years.

On the farm, this means paying close attention to natural cycles. The coffee grows in the shade of trees and among other plants. Plant material and processing by-products are used to make compost and worm compost, returning nutrients to the soil.

The farm also works without synthetic pesticides. Natural methods are used to help control pests, including native ants.

Biodynamic farming is not one single part of the farm. It is part of the way the farm as a whole is managed.

The best-studied shade-grown coffee farm in the world

For close to twenty years, Finca Irlanda has been the main field station for American ecologists Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer (University of Michigan), who study coffee agro-ecology on the farm. Their work led to the academic book Coffee Agroecology (Routledge, 2015).

One of their findings: a native ant species on the farm keeps the coffee berry borer, one of the most damaging pests in coffee worldwide, under control naturally. The ants prey on the beetle before it can damage the coffee cherries, without the need for pesticides. Later research on the farm even found larvae that feed on coffee leaf rust spores, a possible natural defence against one of coffee's most feared diseases.

Finca Irlanda's Demeter certification is part of the same story. When the farm was certified decades ago, coffee wasn't even on the list of crops eligible for Demeter certification yet. Finca Irlanda was the reason coffee was added to that list, making it the first coffee farm in the world to receive Demeter certification.

For us, that's not just a fact on a page: the farm's way of working doesn't just convince us; it also holds up under scientific research.

The Peters family

Finca Irlanda was founded by Rodolfo Peters in 1928. Today, the farm is run by the fourth generation of the Peters family. They are related to our family, which has made Finca Irlanda a personal part of our story over the years.

The family is also involved with Peters IAP, a foundation supporting healthcare and education for workers and people in the surrounding communities.

Finca Irlanda has a long history, but it is also a place where each generation continues to build on what came before.

What to expect in the cup

This coffee is made up of several varieties, including Bourbon, Caturra and Catuai.

It is a washed coffee with a clear sweetness. We find chocolate in the cup, together with a fresh acidity that reminds us of red apple. The texture is round and soft.

It works well as an espresso, but also in milk-based drinks.

How to brew Finca Irlanda

This coffee works well across different preparations: espresso, americano or a milk drink. Depending on the size of your filter basket, choose the amount of coffee accordingly.

Example
18 grams of coffee
36 grams out, for a milk drink
45 grams out, for an americano or espresso

Around 25 seconds for more malic acidity.
Around 30 seconds for more sweetness and chocolate.