Estate vs Microlot: What's the Difference?
What is the difference between an "estate" coffee versus a "microlot" coffee? Do those terms matter when you are buying coffee beans?
Traceability.
Not only in coffee, but in many food products, around the world, traceablity is not only becoming more desired, but also easier to execute. While most coffee is blended and exported in regional lots, in many circumstances, we can trace lots of coffees to single farms, or even a single acre.
Among the many benefits of traceability are that farmers are able to secure a living wage in exchange for the products they produce and consumers are able to have greater access and insight into the supply chain that produces their coffee.
She helped pick your coffee! Coffee production on the family-owned Edelweiss estate in Oldeani, Tanzania.
The most traceable lots are often referred to as 'microlots,' a term that may cause some confusion. Although this term is applied differently around the world, usually microlots are single farm coffees, selected for quality or species (i.e. Bourbon, Castillo,etc.)
There are many agricultural models utilized around the world--farms, estates, co-ops--each with differing levels of traceablity and highly dependent on local laws and customs. Some examples will help illuminate the complexity of subject.
Small Estate, Single Farmer.
We have several coffees at Trianon that can be traced to a single estate or farm, or single section of a farm. Our Honduras Lempira, for example, is grown by a farmer, Marvin Bonvilla and his family, who are part of a growing association through which their coffees might be blended and homogenized with other growers's coffees and sold as a regional export. But this year, the coffee from this farm was high enough quality to be isolated and exported as its own lot.
Coffee beans being inspected by hand during the washing process at Marvin Bonvilla’s farm in Honduras.
While this is clearly an estate coffee, it is not necessarily a microlot even though it comes from a single farm. Marvin may pull beans from all over his 60+ acre farm to make this coffee so special. So it was not sold as a microlot, but it is still highly traceable.
Isolated Lots & Special Processing Methods.
Another good example of traceablity is our Costa Rica Honey which is grown in the very famous Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. This is also from a family farm--of the Monge family, in the Santa Elena Estate--and not only is this coffee isolated from a single farm from within that estate, but it is further isolated by also going through the honey process. (In Costa Rica, most of the coffee is washed.)
The Monge family in Tarrazu, Costa Rica.
It is this isolation of a portion of a single farm's harvest which make this coffee a true "microlot."
Microlots & Estates.
One final illustration of these concepts comes from the two Tanzanian coffees currently in stock.
Our washed Tanzania (Edelweiss) comes from several Estates run by the Vohora family, including the Ascona, Helgoland, and Edelweiss Estates. It is a large geographic area with dozens of exported lots every year. So whereas the Honduras comes from a small estate, our Edelweiss lot comes from a larger estate-network. But still it is an estate coffee, and relatively traceable.
Coffee beans being dried on raised beds at Edelweiss Estate in Tanzania.
In Tanzania, many estates are vast in land area with many farms located within, a common agricultural structure in many of the well-established coffee growing regions of Africa and Indonesia.
Our Tanzania Honey is from the Finagro farm, within the aforementioned Ascona Estate. From this estate the Vohora family have exported a single lot of honey processed coffee. That gives this coffee the triple provenance of being single-estate, single-family, microlot coffee, specially selected and specially prepared. Traceability at it's finest.
Honey processed coffee beans from Finagro farm in Tanzania.
Takeaways.
These are just a few examples that hopefully help illuminate the terms we see on our coffee bags and bins. Practices vary considerably between regions of the world. Around the world of coffee, farm and estate sizes and structures are as varied as you can imagine them to be. But traceability always means the same thing.
We will continue to try to tell you exactly where your coffee comes from and bring you the farmers story. We think the coffee tastes better that way.
Want to try some of the coffees mentioned in this article? Browse our current selection of Small Estate & Microlot Coffees.
213 comments
Hi everyone! I hope this post finds you well. Ignorance occurs when you recognize an opportunity but decide to overlook it. Not everything you come across online is false or deceptive. The internet was designed for various purposes to assist individuals globally. I never thought I would discover a spell caster online capable of providing me with guaranteed winning numbers that turned me into a LOTTERY winner of TEN MILLION DOLLARS after I attentively adhered to all his advice and today, I’m happy to announce that my financial aspirations was fulfilled with his amazing spell. If you need his help on anything such as to rekindle your ex lover back, to cure any sickness/diseases, to attract prosperity into your life E.T.C, then contact LORD MEDUZA..
Email via : Lordmeduzatemple@hotmail.com
WhatsApp : +1 (807) 907-2687
LORD MEDUZA is the BEST when it comes to spell casting.
Hi everyone! I hope this post finds you well. Ignorance occurs when you recognize an opportunity but decide to overlook it. Not everything you come across online is false or deceptive. The internet was designed for various purposes to assist individuals globally. I never thought I would discover a spell caster online capable of providing me with guaranteed winning numbers that turned me into a LOTTERY winner of TEN MILLION DOLLARS after I attentively adhered to all his advice and today, I’m happy to announce that my financial aspirations was fulfilled with his amazing spell. If you need his help on anything such as to rekindle your ex lover back, to cure any sickness/diseases, to attract prosperity into your life E.T.C, then contact LORD MEDUZA.
Email: Lordmeduzatemple@hotmail.com
WhatsApp: +1 (807) 907-2687
LORD MEDUZA is the BEST when it comes to spell casting.
You can work with Dr. Excellent his spells work’ My marriage was restored and my husband came back to me he apologized for all the wrongs he did and promise never to do it again. A big thanks to this wonderful psychic for bringing my husband back to me.. I never really believed in magic spells or anything spiritual but a trusted friend opened my eyes to the truth about life. My marriage was heading to divorce a few months ago. I was so confused and devastated with no clue or help on how to prevent it, till I was introduced to Dr. Excellent that did a love spell and broke every spiritual distraction from my marriage. A day later my husband started showing me love and care even better than it used to be, he’s ready to talk things through and find ways for us to stay happy. It’s such a miracle that my marriage can be saved so quickly without stress. You can also contact him for help. Here his contact. Call/WhatsApp him at: +2348084273514 "Or email him at: Excellentspellcaster@gmail.com , His website:https://drexcellentspellcaster.godaddysites.com
I never thought I would fall victim to a crypto scam until I was convinced of a crypto investment scam that saw me lose all my entire assets worth $487,000 to a crypto investment manager who convinced me I could earn more from my investment. I thought it was all gone for good but I kept looking for ways to get back my stolen crypto assets and finally came across Ethical Hack Recovery, a crypto recovery/spying company that has been very successful in the recovery of crypto for many other victims of crypto scams and people who lost access to their crypto. I’m truly grateful for their help as I was able to recover my stolen crypto assets and get my life back together. I highly recommend their services
EMAIL ETHICALHACKERS009 AT @GMAIL DOT COM
whatsapp +14106350697
In December 2024, I experienced a major setback when over $1,000,000 worth of BTC and USDT was stolen from my trading account. I had entrusted a well-known broker, an influencer in the industry, with managing my digital assets and reinvesting the proceeds from the sale of my house. After weeks of frustration and searching for answers, I found ICC Services. Their team was incredibly professional, reviewing my case and quickly developing a recovery plan. Within just two days, they successfully recovered my stolen assets. The process was smooth, and their dedication was evident. If you’ve lost access to your wallet or been a victim of fraud, I highly recommend ICC Services for their efficient and reliable recovery solutions. They truly have your back!
Contact addresses:
Email: (ironcladcyber@techie.com)
Gmail:(Ironcladcyberrecovery@gmail.com)