What is Intelligentsia Honduras La Tortuga Anacafe 14?
A limited lot of Anacafe 14, a variety combining Catimor and Pacamara genetics, from La Tortuga in Marcala.
Anacafe 14 is not a coffee most drinkers will have met. It was developed in Guatemala and it crosses Catimor, a hardy disease-resistant hybrid usually associated with ordinary cup quality, with Pacamara, a large-beaned variety known for exactly the opposite. The combination is unusual enough that trying it is the point.
Marysabel Caballero and Moises Herrera grew this limited harvest on the shaded slopes of their farm in Marcala. It is $25.00 for a single 7 oz bag, roasted Bright and filed for pour over.
Intelligentsia Honduras La Tortuga Anacafe 14 Taste: What It Actually Tastes Like
A bouquet of florals, citrus and sweet melon, roasted light enough to show all three.
Melon is an uncommon note to find described on a coffee bag, and it is the one that marks this lot out. The florals and citrus place it in the same family as a good washed Ethiopian; the melon is what the Pacamara genetics are contributing.
It is roasted on their Bright profile, which is the right call for a variety bought for its aromatics, and filed for pour over. Anything else would be a waste of a limited harvest.
How fresh is it when it arrives?
One size, roasted in Chicago and shipped direct.
A single 7 oz bag is a sensible format for a limited lot: small enough to finish while it is still lively, and there is no bulk option to tempt anyone into buying more than they can drink.
Whole bean holds far longer than ground and costs the same, and on a coffee at this price grinding to order is not optional.
Where the coffee comes from
One farm, two named growers, one named variety, and shaded slopes in Marcala.
This is the most completely described coffee on the site. Farm, growers, growing region, cultivation method and the exact variety are all named, and the variety is unusual enough that naming it is genuinely informative rather than decorative.
Marcala is Honduras's best known coffee region and holds a protected designation of origin. Shade growing slows the cherry down and is generally associated with better cup quality, so it is worth the roaster stating it.
Intelligentsia Honduras La Tortuga Anacafe 14 vs Intelligentsia Honduras La Tortuga Geisha
Against the Geisha from the same farm, this is the rarer variety and the dearer coffee per gram.
The Geisha is $30.00 for 10 oz, about $91 a kilo, and is the famous variety everyone wants to try once. The Anacafe 14 is $25.00 for 7 oz, about $126 a kilo, and is a variety most cuppers have never seen. Same farm, same growers, opposite kinds of rarity.
Against Koa's Kona Peaberry at about $171 a kilo this is cheaper, and both are bought for the same reason: a variety or a grade you cannot get elsewhere.
If you want to taste something new, this. If you want to taste something legendary, the Geisha.
Intelligentsia Honduras La Tortuga Anacafe 14 price per kilo: how it compares
About $126.26 a kilo, the highest per-gram price in the range, for a coffee nobody else is selling.
The 7 oz bag disguises this. At $25.00 it looks cheaper than the $30.00 Geisha, and per gram it is nearly forty percent dearer. Anyone comparing shelf prices across this range should do the arithmetic first.
What the money buys is access to a variety almost nobody has cupped, from a limited harvest, from growers Intelligentsia have worked with for thirty years. As a one-off that is defensible. As a habit it is the most expensive coffee here except Koa's Kona.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Right for a curious drinker who brews by hand and wants a variety nobody else has; wrong for anyone who drinks coffee by the mug.
Buy it if the interest is the coffee itself: an unusual cross, a limited harvest, a named farm and a light roast that lets all of it through. There is no other way to try Anacafe 14 on this site.
Take the Geisha from the same farm if you want the celebrated variety at a lower price per gram, or Illumination at $20.00 if what you actually need is a good bag for the mornings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Anacafe 14?
A coffee variety developed in Guatemala that combines Catimor and Pacamara genetics: Catimor is a hardy disease-resistant hybrid, Pacamara a large-beaned variety known for cup quality. The cross is unusual enough that trying it is most of the reason to buy this lot.
What does Anacafe 14 taste like?
Intelligentsia describe a bouquet of florals, citrus and sweet melon. The florals and citrus place it near a good washed Ethiopian; the melon is the unusual note and is what the Pacamara side of the genetics appears to contribute.
Is the Anacafe 14 more expensive than the Geisha?
Per gram, yes, by nearly forty percent. The Anacafe 14 is $25.00 for a 7 oz bag, about $126.26 a kilo. The Geisha is $30.00 for 10 oz, about $91.27 a kilo. The smaller bag makes the shelf price misleading.
Where is it grown?
On the shaded slopes of Marysabel Caballero and Moises Herrera's farm in Marcala, Honduras. Marcala is the country's best known coffee region and holds a protected designation of origin, and shade growing slows the cherry down, which is generally associated with better cup quality.
How should I brew Anacafe 14?
Pour over, which is what Intelligentsia file it under. It is roasted on their Bright profile specifically so the florals and melon come through, and a drip machine or an espresso shot would flatten a limited harvest into something ordinary.
Can I buy Anacafe 14 in a larger bag?
The 7 oz bag is the one size, which is the right format for a limited harvest: small enough to finish while it is still lively. The Geisha from the same farm comes in 10 oz and a 5 lb bulk bag if volume is what you need.
